Memory and Forgetting

Question 1

Researchers describe memory as involving ___ processes.

Answer 1

3.

Question 2

_________________ is the transition of incoming stimuli into a code that can be processed by the brain. Although it is often automatic, it is more effective when it involves deliberate rehearsal.

Answer 2

Encoding.

Question 3

____________________ is the process of maintaining information in memory. This can be disrupted by several factors including retroactive and proactive interference, and brain trauma.

Answer 3

Storage.

Question 4

___________________ refers to the recovery of stored information, facilitated by the use of cues.

Answer 4

Retrieval.

Question 5

The _________________________ Model (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968) describes memory as consisting of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Answer 5

Information-Processing (Multi-Store) Model.

Question 6

____________________ is also known as sensory register and provides brief storage of sensory stimuli. It is retained for no more than a few seconds; the store for auditory information is referred to the “echoic store,” while the store for visual stimuli is referred to as “iconic store.”

Answer 6

Sensory Memory.

Question 7

When information in sensory memory becomes the focus of attention, it is transferred to ________________. This type of memory holds limited information, and (without rehearsal) begins to fade within 30 seconds.

Answer 7

Short-term memory (STM).

Question 8

STM encoding is believed to be primarily ________________, but may also be, to a lesser degree, semantic, visual, and/or kinesthetic.

Answer 8

Acoustic.

Question 9

STM consists of __________________ (passive memory storage) and ___________________.

Answer 9

• Primary memory
• Working memory

Question 10

Miller (1956) proposed that the average capacity of short-term memory is between _________ distinct units and that the ability to hold larger amounts of information in STM is due to the chunking (grouping) of related items of information.

Answer 10

5-9 (7_+_2).

Question 11

_________________ is responsible for the manipulation and processing of information (e.g., repeating the phone number you just found until you dial the number on the phone).

Answer 11

Working memory.

Question 12

The process of converting STM to long-term memory (LTM) is most likely due to the type of rehearsal; info. is more likely to be transferred to LTM with ______________ rehearsal, which involves relating new information to existing information, than with ______________ rehearsal, which involves simply repeating the information with little or no processing.

Answer 12

• Elaborative
• Maintenance

Question 13

Encoding LTM is largely ______________, though some information may be encoded visually or acoustically.

Answer 13

Semantic.

Question 14

LTM consists of ____________ memory and ____________ memory.

Answer 14

• Recent (secondary)
• Remote

Question 15

The ___________________ Model (Craik and Tulving, 1975) is an alternative to the information-processing model. It proposes that differences in memory are due to differences in depth of processing rather than to separate memroy stores and distinguishes between 3 levels of processing: structural, phonemic, and semantic.

Answer 15

Levels-of-Processing Model.

Question 16

In the Levels-of-Processing Model, focusing on the structural/physical properties would involve ___________ processing, focusing on sound properties would involve ___________ processing, and focusing on its meaning would involve ______________ processing.

Answer 16

• Structural
• Phonemic
• Semantic

Question 17

_______________ processing, in the Levels-of-Processing Model, is the deepest level of processing and produces the greatest amount of recall.

Answer 17

Semantic.

Question 18

Additionally, LTM is conceptualized as consisting of _____________ and ______________ components.

Answer 18

• Procedural
• Declarative

Question 19

_____________ memory stores information about how to do things and is used to acquire, retain, and employ perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills and habits.

Answer 19

Procedural.

Question 20

_______________ memory mediates the acquisition of facts and other information and is further subdivided into semantic and episodic memory.

Answer 20

Declarative.

Question 21

________________ memory includes general knowledge that is independent of any context and is responsible for the storage of facts, rules, and concepts.

Answer 21

Semantic.

Question 22

______________ (autobiographical) memory consists of information about events that have been personally experienced. It is affected mor by normal aging than are other types of memory.

Answer 22

Episodic.

Question 23

_______________ memories (vivid, detailed images of what one was doing at the time a dramatic event occurred) are stored in episodic memory.

Answer 23

Flashbulb memory.

Question 24

LTM is sometimes also distinguished by reference to ___________ (procedural) and _____________ (declarative).

Answer 24

• Implicit
• Explicit

Question 25

_________________ memory is automatic, while ______________ memory requires conscious recollection.

Answer 25

• Implicit
• Explicit

Question 26

The hippocampus and frontal lobes seem to mediate ______________ memory, while the basal ganglia and cerebellum are important for ______________ memory.

Answer 26

• Explicit
• Implicit

Question 27

Some investigators identify ______________ memory as a component of LTM, that is responsible for the capacity to remember to do things in the future.

Answer 27

Prospective.

Question 28

Studies have found that the ability to maintain attention in the presence of distractions accounts for the difference between individuals with good versus poor _______________ memory.

Answer 28

Working.

Question 29

According to Baddeley’s (2000) ________________, working memory consists of a central executive and three subsystems - the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer.

Answer 29

Muti-Component Model of Working Memory

Question 30

The __________________ is the primary component of working memory and is described by Baddeley as the “attentional control system.” It is responsible for directing attention to relevant information, suppressing irrelevant information, and coordinating the three subsystems.

Answer 30

Central Executive.

Question 31

The _______________ and ________________ are responsible for temporarily storing auditory-verbal and visual-spatial information, respectively.

Answer 31

• Phonological loop
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Question 32

The ______________ temporarily integrates auditory, visual, and spatial information.

Answer 32

Episodic buffer.

Question 33

According to the Multi-Component Model of Working Memory, tasks that depend on the ____________________ are the ones that are most adversely affected by advancing age.

Answer 33

Central Executive.

Question 34

Broadbent’s (1958) _______________ was the first of the “bottleneck” theories of attention. It’s based on the information processing model and explains how information is transferred from sensory memory to short-term memory:

a) Two sensory stimuli presented at the same time are maintained briefly in the sensory register
b) A filter selects one of the stimuli to pass through a limited sensory channel based on its physical characteristics while the other stimulus is held in a temporary buffer for later processing
c) The stimulus that passes through the channel to short-term memory is processed for meaning and comes into conscious awareness.

Answer 34

Filter Theory of Selective Attention.

Question 35

According to Treisman and Gelade’s (1980) _________________, the initial processing of visual information involves two stages. During the initial ________________ stage, the basic features of the object are perceived in parallel at an automatic/subconscious level. Then, during the _______________ stage, the features are processed serially to form a cohesive whole, and this binding of features depends on focal attention.

Answer 35

• Feature-Integration Theory
• Preattentive
• Attentive

Question 36

The accuracy of memories can be greatly influenced by ______________ and __________________.

Answer 36

• Schemas
• Construction

Question 37

One of the first significant studies on forgetting was conducted by _____________________ (1885), who used himself as the research subject, nonsense syllables as the stimulus material, and the relearning (savings) method as the criterion. He determined that the rote learning of nonsense syllables is followed by a predictable “________________” in which most forgetting occurs during the first 4-5 days and then gradually tapers off.

Answer 37

• Ebbinghaus
• “Forgetting Curve”

Question 38

According to _________________, learning produces a trace, or engram, which is a physiological change in the brain that decays over time as the result of disuse. However, research on forgetting has found that people forget less when asleep than when awake suggesting that forgetting is due more to _______________ than to the decay of memory traces over time.

Answer 38

• Trace Decay Theory
• Interference

Question 39

___________________ proposes that forgetting occurs when the ability to recall certain information is affected by information acquired previosly or subsequently.

Answer 39

Interference Theory.

Question 40

Interference is most likely when new and old information are ___________; when the task involves ___________ (versus recognition); and when the information to be recalled is ___________/_____________.

Answer 40

• Similar
• Recall
• Unimportant/meaningless

Question 41

__________________ Interference occurs when new material interferes with the recall of previously learned (old) material; __________________ Interference occurs when old material interferes with the recall of subsequent (new) material.

Answer 41

• Retroactive
• Proactive

Question 42

_________________________: According to this view, forgetting results when cues neede to retrieve information from long-term memory are insufficient or incomplete. The __________________ phenomenon is believed to be due to inadequate retrieval cues.

Answer 42

• Cue-Dependent Forgetting
• “Tip-of-the-tongue”

Question 43

___________________: This principle proposes that the greater the similarity between the way information is encoded and the cues that are present at the time of recall, the better the recall. This is confirmed by research on __________________, which ahs shown that recall of information is sometimes better when the learner is in the same emotional state during learning and recall.

Answer 43

• Encoding specificity
• State-dependent learning

Question 44

____________________: Information is most likely to be transferred from short-term to long-term memory whe this is employed - i.e., when new information is made more meaningful by relating it to existing knowledge.

Answer 44

Elaborative rehearsal.

Question 45

_________________: These are formal strategies for improving memory and are calssified as visual or verbal.

Answer 45

Mnemonics.

Question 46

The _______________ involves visually associating items to be remembered with a series of places (loci) already in memory. Using this method, a person first forms an image of each item to be remembered and then mentally “walks through” a familiar room, placing the items in visible locations. To recall the items, the person would again mentally walk through the room and look in the corners and on the tables and chairs.

Answer 46

Method of loci.

Question 47

The ________________ is another imagery technique and is useful for paired associative tasks in which two words must be linked. For instance, to remember the French word for book - “livre” - a person would create an image of a leaf on a book.

Answer 47

Keyword method.

Question 48

An _____________ is a word that’s formed using the first letter of each item on the list. An ______________ is a phrase or rhyme that’s constructed from the first letter of each word that is to be memorized.

Answer 48

• Acronym
• Acrostic

Question 49

According to the __________________ (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908), moderate levels of arousal maximize the efficiency of learning and performance, while extremely low and high levels are associated with decreased efficiency (i.e., the relationship between arousal and learning assumes the shape of an inverted-U).

Answer 49

Yerkes-Dodson Law.

Bonus: The relationship between arousal and learning is also affected by task difficulty; usually, the more difficult the task, the lower the optimal level of arousal.