Memory Exam Questions

Question 1

Identify the research method used in Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study into prominent
and persistent loss of past awareness in amnesia.

Answer 1

A - case study

Question 2

Identify the type of brain scans used in Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study.

Answer 2

C - MRI

Question 3

Identify which of the following is a criticism of Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study.

Answer 3

D - low generalisability

Question 4

• that she is trying to put too much information into her memory;
• that she should try repeating the information she is trying to learn;
• that she should try thinking about the meanings of the information.
  Using the source:

(a) Identify the suggestion that refers to capacity of short-term memory

Answer 4

she is trying
to put too much information in to her memory

Question 5

Suggest one way in which Yasmin could increase the capacity of her short-term memory

Answer 5

chunking

Question 6

Using the Multi-store Model of Memory;
Describe how information will transfer from Yasmin’s short-term to long-term memory.

Answer 6

Once information is
encoded into short-term memory, it goes through
maintenance rehearsal so it can be transferred in to
long-term memory

Question 7

Evaluate the Multi-store Model of Memory.

Answer 7

The multi-store model is reductionist [1],
as it over simplifies the memory process [1]
‘The
model over emphasises the role of rehearsal [1], there
is lots of information in the long-term memory that has
not been rehearsed but stored because it has meaning [1]
‘The multi-store model of memory is useful [1]
because it showed us that short-term memory and longterm memory are separate memory stores [1]

Question 8

whats anterograde amnesia

Answer 8

Difficulty in forming new
memories.

Question 9

whats retrograde amnesia

Answer 9

Difficulty in recalling memories
from the past.

Question 10

The part of the brain associated with anterograde amnesia is the____ Damage to the …………………………………. is associated with retrograde
amnesia. Procedural memories, like knowing how to drive a car or play a musical instrument, can
be affected by damage to the ………………………………….

Answer 10

hippocampus.
frontal lobe
cerebellum

Question 11

Suggest one way in which memories can be reconstructed, other than by prior experience or
expectation.

Answer 11

Confabulation

Question 12

Describe one criticism of the Theory of Reconstructive Memory.

Answer 12

‘The theory of reconstructive memory is
reductionist [1] as it does not explain how memories are processed [1]’.

Question 13

Describe one way in which the development of neuropsychology has contributed to measuring
different memory functions. [2]

Answer 13

Neuropsychologists have developed tests to use with
brain damaged patients [1] so they can identify memory
problems / develop appropriate treatments [1]’.

Question 14

Identify the stage of information processing which involves the formatting of information.

Answer 14

A – encoding

Question 15

Identify the type of forgetting which occurs when memory is overloaded.

Answer 15

B – displacement

Question 16

Identify the part of the brain associated with procedural memory.

Answer 16

A - cerebellum

Question 17

Outline how Kane could use cues to help him recall what he has revised.

Answer 17

Kane could wear a particular scent when revising so
that if he wears it into the exam (1) the smell will help
to trigger his memory (1)

Question 18

Describe one criticism of the Multi-store model of memory

Answer 18

the model is too simple (1) Evidence shows that there
are more than three memory stores (1).

Question 19

identify how information is encoded in long-term memory

Answer 19

1 mark for C (Mainly semantic).

Question 20

Identify how long information can remain in short-term memory, according to the Multi-store
Model of memory

Answer 20

1 mark for C (Up to 30 seconds).

Question 21

Identify one criticism of the Multi-store Model of memory

Answer 21

1 mark for C (The model does not explain why we can
recall things we have not rehearsed).

Question 22

State what would have happened, according to the Multi-store Model of memory, if the
children had not paid attention to Ling reading the number sequences.

Answer 22

1 mark for Decays.

Question 23

State the capacity of short-term memory according to the Multi-store Model of memory.

Answer 23

5-9 chunks

Question 24

Describe one ethical issue Ling should have considered before conducting the digit span
experiment.

Answer 24

‘Ling should consider any
psychological harm that may result from the study
because the children may be embarrassed if they
cannot recall many

Question 25

Explain one strength of the case study method as used in Wilson et al.’s (2008) study

Answer 25

Case studies are very in depth and detailed, gathering
a lot of data [1]. This case study was longitudinal
spanning 21 years with qualitative and quantitative data
gathered [1]

Question 26

Explain one weakness of the case study method as used in Wilson et al.’s (2008) study.

Answer 26

‘One weakness of the case study method is the lack of
generalisability [1]. Wilson studied Clive wearing who is
a unique individual and highly unusual [1] so there are
limitations in generalising the findings

Question 27

Outline the role of the hippocampus in anterograde amnesia.

Answer 27

‘the hippocampus plays a vital role in the formation of
new memories [1], so damage to it can lead to
anterograde amnesia [1]

Question 28

Explain one strength of Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008) using a case study.

Answer 28

One strength of using a case study is that it allows
researchers to collect data in greater depth. [1] This was
the case in this study where a series of MRI scans were
taken over an extended period of time.

Question 29

State what is meant by decay.

Answer 29

is when information is
lost when we do not pay attention to it (in the sensory
store) or in the absence of rehearsal (in short-term
memory).

Question 30

Outline one other type of forgetting that may explain the results of this study. (decay affecting ability to remember)

Answer 30

One type of forgetting is displacement [1] which occurs
when the short-term store is full so information is
displaced to make room for new information

Question 31

Explain how the psychologist could have calculated the median number of words recalled in
each condition.

Answer 31

‘The psychologist would place the number of words
recalled in ascending order and find the middle score [1]
for each group.

Question 32

Explain whether the psychologist used an independent measures or repeated measures
experimental design in this study.

Answer 32

‘The psychologist used an independent measures
experimental design [1] because one group recalled the
word list immediately whereas the other group were
asked to count backwards from 10-1

Question 33

Outline how the Wechsler Memory Scale is used to measure memory functions

Answer 33

The test was designed to measure whether different
types of memory are functioning properly. [1] It does this
with seven subsets including spatial addition, symbol
span and design memory.

Question 34

Explain how leading questions could lead to memory distortion of how satisfied customers
are with the company’s service.

Answer 34

‘Leading questions use specific verbs or words that lead
an individual into a response So by asking how much did you
like the service, was it excellent or good, they are leading
the participant to recall the service as either excellent or
good

Question 35

Explain one strength of Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008) using a case study

Answer 35

‘One strength of using a case study is that it allows
researchers to observe and record information about rare
conditions. [1] This was the case in this study as Clive
Wearing suffered from a severe and rare case of both
anterograde and retrograde amnesia

Question 36

State what is meant by decay

Answer 36

when information is
lost when we do not pay attention to it (in the sensory
store) or in the absence of rehearsal

Question 37

Outline one other type of forgetting that may explain the results of this study

Answer 37

One type of forgetting is displacement [1] which occurs
when the short-term store is full so information is
displaced to make room for new information

Question 38

Outline how the Wechsler Memory Scale is used to measure memory functions

Answer 38

The test was designed to measure whether different
types of memory are functioning properly. [1] It does this
with seven subsets including spatial addition, symbol
span and design memory.

Question 39

Identify the part of the brain that is damaged in people who have anterograde amnesia.

Answer 39

Hippocampus

Question 40

Identify the part of the brain that is damaged in people who have retrograde amnesia.

Answer 40

Frontal lobe

Question 41

Identify the part of the brain that, if damaged, affects a person’s procedural memory so they
cannot learn new skills or improve old skills.

Answer 41

cerebellum

Question 42

Explain how the Theory of Reconstructive Memory could be considered reductionist

Answer 42

The Theory of Reconstructed Memory could be considered reductionist
because it says memory is dependent only on one thing; schemas [1], it doesn’t take into account other explanations of memory like rehearsal’

Question 43

Describe one strength of the experimental method as used in Braun et al.’s (2002) study

Answer 43

One strength of the experimental method is high control [1], for example, all participants were
given a distraction task to reduce the chance of demand characteristics [1], this increases the
validity

Question 44

Explain how Braun et al.’s (2002) study used an independent measures design

Answer 44

‘In an independent measures design, participants only take part in one of the conditions [1], in
Braun et al. they were randomly assigned to the experimental group (Disney) or control grou

Question 45

Explain one weakness of using an independent measures design in this study.

Answer 45

One weakness of an independent measures design
is more participants are needed [1], Braun needed 107 in experiment 1 (and 167 in experiment
2)

Question 46

Explain how autobiographical advertising could be used to promote the sales of this new
chocolate bar

Answer 46

Autobiographical advertising is advertising which tries to get people to recall past personal
experiences [1]. Advertising the chocolate bar with positive memories such as spending time
with the family could be used to advertise the product

Question 47

Describe how information will transfer from Yasmin’s short-term to long-term memory.

Answer 47

Yasmin must repeat or rehearse [1] the
information to allow it to be moved from short-term to
long-term memory

Question 48

Evaluate the Multi-store Model of Memory.

Answer 48

The multi-store model is reductionist [1],
as it over simplifies the memory process
‘The
model over emphasises the role of rehearsal [1], there
is lots of information in the long-term memory that has
not been rehearsed but stored because it has meaning
‘The multi-store model of memory is useful [1]
because it showed us that short-term memory and longterm memory are separate memory stores

Question 49

Describe one criticism of the Theory of Reconstructive Memory.

Answer 49

The theory of reconstructive memory is
reductionist [1] as it does not explain how memories are
processed

Question 50

Describe one way in which the development of neuropsychology has contributed to measuring
different memory functions.

Answer 50

Neuropsychologists have developed tests to use with
brain damaged patients [1] so they can identify memory
problems / develop appropriate treatments [1]’