Exam Two Questions Flashcards
what is the purpose of sensory memory?
too keep a record of what each sense has just experienced for a brief period of time
describe George Sperling’s WHOLE report technique
12 letters flash on a screen and the participant must try to recall as many letters as they can
describe George Sperling’s partial report technique
12 letters flash on a screen, a tone is played while or right after they are flashed indicating which line needs to be recalled
what is echoic memory?
persistence of auditory impressions and brief availability for further processing
what is an echo?
representation of an auditory stimulus that is no longer present
is working memory dynamic or static?
dynamic, we work with the information and process it in our memory
what are the four functional components of working memory?
- phonological loop
- visuospatial sketch pad
- central executive
- episodic buffer
what is the evolutionary reason we would have a better echoic memory than iconic memory
we can generally look at threats multiple times, but you usually only have the opportunity to hear something once
what is the rule for how much we can hold in working memory?
7 +/- 2
so 5 is the lower end and 9 is the higher end
what is proactive inhibition (interference)
what you heard from a prior trial may still be rattling around and causing your performance to decrease on future trials
what is the best way to chunk?
by making the chunks into something meaningful (FBI vs. IBF)
can you stretch working memory past the normal limits?
yes, through practice
this is how people memorize hundreds of digits of pi
why can native English speakers remember higher amounts of numbers/letters?
english has very few syllables so you can rehearse them more
in a list, what are we best at recalling:
the first, middle, or last items
first and last are best
(primacy and recency effects)
when searching for an item in a list in our working memories, why does the position of where that item is not matter for reaction time?
we search our working memories serially, meaning that we will still search the whole list item by item even after we’ve seen the item were looking for
what is the most widely accepted theory of working memory?
(describe it)
the multicomponent model (Baddeley)
contains the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and central executive
if you are having trouble learning new material because previously learned material is getting in the way, what are you experiencing?
proactive interference
teasdale and colleagues (1995) demonstrated that the ability to generate a list of numbers that appears random is hindered by
a. concurrently using phonological loop
b. poor math ability
c. engaging in verbal expression (la la la)
d. engaging in daydreaming
d. engaging in daydreaming
describe declarative memory and give examples
type of memory that is easy to put into words
episodic and semantic
describe non-declarative memory and give examples
type of memory that is not easy to put into words
procedural
what is the permastore theory
everything you have learned well stays in your memory, you might not remember it outright but you can if cued
the idea of even if you haven’t spoken a language in 10 years you still remember it
what is the decay theory of forgetting?
“use it or lose it”
memory is a shiv and if you are not actively using information it gets lost
what is the interference theory of forgetting?
information you have learned stays in there even if you cannot remember it
cues and context might bring those memories back
what is deep processing
you are extracting some kind of meaning from a stimulus which helps you remember it better
give an example of deep vs. shallow processing
deep:
1. does the word presume mean the same as suppose
2. is a clutch a type of purse
shallow:
1. is the word presume in capital letters
2. does the word clutch start with the letter C
why does maintenance rehearsal not work as well as elaborative rehearsal?
maintenance requires minimal thinking, such as repeating a word over and over or re-reading definitions
elaborative requires more meaningful thinking, such as connecting material from different classes together, re-writing definitions in your own words, or making connections to yourself
why does the self-reference effect work?
- the “self” provides richer cues so it is easier to link to and remember new info
- connecting ideas to yourself requires elaboration which in turn leads to better recall
forgetting what you wanted from the fridge until you walk back into the room you were originally sitting in is an example of what?
encoding-specificity principle
considering the pleasantness of information, what is recalled best and worst?
pleasant > unpleasant > neutral
considering mood congruence, what group of people are most likely to have better memory for unpleasant information?
depressed individuals
memory for your plans for spring break would fall under what type of memory?
episodic, even plans still count as a future episode
patients with anxiety/PTSD remember more ______ concepts when tested implicitly, but this is not true when tested explicitly
negative
give an example of dissociation in amnesiacs
an amnesiac patient may do better at a game they learned yesterday even though they do not remember learning it
are flashbulb memories generally accurate?
they can be but not really, usually the finer details people think they remember have gotten twisted and changed over the years
describe framing as used in autobiographical memory
the phrasing of a question may manipulate what a person thinks that they remember/saw
what percentage of the participants in the Loftus and Pickrell study falsely remembered being lost in a shopping mall as a child?
a. 0-30%
b. 31-60%
c. 91-99%
d. 100%
a. 0-30%
which structure of semantic memory is historically important but not used much today?
feature comparison
(organizing info based on defining and characteristic attributes)
which of the following would be considered a defining feature of the concept “school”
a. a building where students go to learn
b. a hard copy or paperback textbook
c. both a and b
d. neither a nor b
d. neither a nor b
which level of categorization is most commonly used to describe objects?
basic level
(like knife not kitchen utensil or paring knife)
how is the exemplar approach different than prototypes?
your concept of “dog” would be based on numerous examples of dogs you have know
prototypes aren’t necessarily based off of things you have seen, they are more conceptual
