Homework Questions for Test Flashcards
According to the article, a major debate within cognitive psychology in the 1960s was
whether memory should be seen as a single system or if it should be seen as composed of different subsystems
The observation that amnesic patients had trouble forming new long-lasting memories but did not seem to have deficits in performance in tasks that tested only their immediate memories suggested that:
there should be at least 2 memory subsystems
Atkinson and Shiffrin (i.e., Stage Model) proposed a model in which short-term memory is a memory subsystem involved in the temporary storage of information.
They also proposed that short-term memory may also be involved in other cognitive tasks. However, in studies where participants were asked to engage in cognitive tasks (e.g., solve mathematical expressions) while trying to memorize words, performance in the memory tests was less disrupted than it would be expected when the number of words to be memorized increased and supposedly competed with the capacity and resources of short-term memory to complete the other cognitive tasks.
Given these conclusions, what did Baddeley and his colleagues propose?
A working memory system composed of 3 subsystems
According to Baddeley, working memory is:
involved in both the temporary storage and manipulation of information
According to the article, what are the components of working memory?
Central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop
Working memory span tests measure:
the ability to store and manipulate information
Researchers have found a correlation between working memory span and:
scores on reading and comprehension tests
measures of reasoning skills
measures of intelligence
The main role of the central executive is to:
allocate resources to the other subsystems and coordinate information from the subsystems
According to the article, which of the components of working memory has been studied the most?
The phonological loop
Which procedure is commonly used to study the phonological loop?
The memory-span procedure
What are the 2 components of the phonological loop?
Phonological store and articulatory loop
What is the main function of phonological store?
Hold verbal (acoustic or speech-based) information for 1 to 2 seconds
In the article, the irrelevant speech effect is defined as a “reduction in recall of lists of visually presented items brought about by the presence of irrelevant spoken material”. In other words, presentation of any spoken stimulus (including in a language that the person does not understand) can disrupt the ability to process and remember information (e.g., words presented visually) even if the person is told to ignore the irrelevant speech.
Why does this “irrelevant speech” cause a decrease in the ability to recall the words presented visually?
Because the spoken material ends up making to the phonological store and competes with the to-be processed and remembered words
In class, Dr. Friedrich mentioned one more subsystem of working memory that was not included in the original proposal of the model (and also not in the paper you just read). Which subsystem was added later to the model?
episodic buffer
In the clip, Dr. Chew talks about a study done by Hyde and Jenkins (1969) in which 5 groups of participants differed in terms of:
the instructions they were given about what to do with a list of words
What were the 2 independent variables (IV) used in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
kind of learning and level of processing
How many conditions, in addition to the control condition, were there in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)
4
What were the levels of the “kind of learning” independent variable used in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
intentional and incidental
In Hyde and Jenkins (1969) what was the difference between the incidental and intentional conditions?
Participants in the intentional conditions were told their memory would be tested while participants in the incidental conditions were not
In Hyde and Jenkins (1969) what was the difference between the incidental and intentional conditions?
Participants in the intentional conditions were told their memory would be tested while participants in the incidental conditions were not
What were the levels of the of the “level of processing” independent variable used in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
shallow and deep
What did participants in the shallow conditions have to do when presented with the words in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
- Indicate whether or not each word had the letter “E” on it
What did participants in the deep conditions have to do when presented with the words in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
Indicate whether or not they found each word pleasant
Why in Hyde and Jenkins (1969) indicating whether a word was pleasant or not was considered a deeper form of processing?
Because one has to think about the meaning of the word and their own experiences to be able to do so
What were participants in the control condition asked to do?
Memorize the words the best they could
What was the dependent variable (DV) used in Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
number of words recalled
In Hyde and Jenkins (1969), which group of participants recalled the most words?
participants in the deep conditions
What are the main conclusions one can draw from Hyde and Jenkins (1969)?
Intention to learn does not affect how much one learns but how deep they process the information does
A student who is studying by just repeating out loud definitions written on a flashcard over and over again is engaging in
________ which according to the levels of processing theory should
lead to _________
recall of information
shallow ; poor
do the results from the Hyde and Jenkins study support the levels of processing theory?
yes
What is the main difference between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal?
Elaborative rehearsal relies on meaning while maintenance rehearsal relies on repetition
Dan could easily remember her new locker combination by noting that the first 2 numbers were the day of her birthday and the last two were the same than his house number. This is a example of:
elaborative rehearsal
Repeating your new student ID number over and over again in your head in an attempt to remember it when you need it is an example of:
maintenance rehearsal
In the case cited by John Locke, what seem to be serving as a retrieval cue?
the steps of a dance
According to the authors, why was their study necessary?
Because previous studies investigating context dependent effects have produced mixed results
What was the purpose of Godden and Baddeley (1975)?
Investigate the phenomenon of context-dependent memory in 2 natural environments
Who were the participants in Experiment 1?
18 scuba divers
In Godden and Baddeley (1975) what were the participants asked to memorize?
36 words
A factorial design (i.e., a study with more than one independent variable) was used in Godden and Baddeley (1975). What were the 2 independent variables? TIP: looking at Table 1 may help.
learning environment and recall environment
What did participants who were in the wet recall environment conditions have to do?
recall the words while underwater
According to the results section, which participants remembered more words?
The ones who learned the words while on land and were tested while on land AND the ones who learned the words while underwater and were tested while underwater
Given the results, what did the authors conclude?
Recall is better if the person is tested in the same context where they learned the material
According to Dr. Bjork, is it really necessary to simulate the context where you will be tested when you are studying the material for an exam?
no
According to Dr. Bjork, why might studying in multiple locations be a better strategy than studying in the same place where you will be tested?
Because you will have more contextual cues available to help you retrieve the information
According to Dr. Bjork, when should students consider studying always in the same place?
When a certain place helps you get down to work
According to Dr. Bjork, why might studying in multiple locations be a better strategy than studying in the same place where you will be tested?
Because you will have more contextual cues available to help you retrieve the information
According to Dr. Bjork, when should students consider studying always in the same place?
When a certain place helps you get down to work
How does Jill Price describe her memory?
As she had a split screen in her head that plays what she is experiencing in the moment but also vivid images of past events
Which event does Jill Price link to the day Princess Grace died?
the day she started 12th grade
Jill Price seems to have a very good memory. According to her, she has many times been able to:
correct dates on books
What does Jake have in common with Jill Price?
Both of them are cases of H-SAM
According to Jake’s parents:
since he started speaking they noticed that he was “different” and had some special memory abilities
How does Jake define H-SAM?
He defines is as being able to remember days of one’s own life in lots of details
What is Jake’s “special ability”?
He can tell what he did in a specific date in the past
According to Dr. McGaugh, what happens when you ask people with H-SAM to identify what happened on a certain day some time ago?
They correctly describe what happened on that day at least 80% of the time
How long ago did Dr. McGaugh “discover” H-SAM?
less than 20 years ago
Which brain structure binds the “pieces of information” from an episodic memory?
hippocampus
At the time that Dr. Nader conducted his seminal study, how was memory seen?
as a library
According to Dr. Nader, what happens when we recall a memory?
We rewrite that memory
In his seminal study, Dr. Nader classically conditioned rats to fear a tone. During test trials he injected them with a drug that blocks the proteins necessary to form the connections that store new memories. What happened when the rats heard the tone during these test trials?
They froze in response to the tone
Where are our episodic memories coded in the brain?
Different parts of memories are coded in different locations of the brain
Nowadays, how do scientists see memory?
As opening a file in a computer and modifying it before saving it again
