Memory Exam Questions Flashcards
Identify the research method used in Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study into prominent
and persistent loss of past awareness in amnesia.
A - case study
Identify the type of brain scans used in Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study.
C - MRI
Identify which of the following is a criticism of Wilson, Kopelman & Kapur’s (2008) study.
D - low generalisability
- 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
she is trying
to put too much information in to her memory
Suggest one way in which Yasmin could increase the capacity of her short-term memory
chunking
Using the Multi-store Model of Memory;
Describe how information will transfer from Yasmin’s short-term to long-term memory.
Once information is
encoded into short-term memory, it goes through
maintenance rehearsal so it can be transferred in to
long-term memory
Evaluate the Multi-store Model of Memory.
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]
whats anterograde amnesia
Difficulty in forming new
memories.
whats retrograde amnesia
Difficulty in recalling memories
from the past.
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 ………………………………….
hippocampus.
frontal lobe
cerebellum
Suggest one way in which memories can be reconstructed, other than by prior experience or
expectation.
Confabulation
Describe one criticism of the Theory of Reconstructive Memory.
‘The theory of reconstructive memory is
reductionist [1] as it does not explain how memories are processed [1]’.
Describe one way in which the development of neuropsychology has contributed to measuring
different memory functions. [2]
Neuropsychologists have developed tests to use with
brain damaged patients [1] so they can identify memory
problems / develop appropriate treatments [1]’.
Identify the stage of information processing which involves the formatting of information.
A – encoding
Identify the type of forgetting which occurs when memory is overloaded.
B – displacement
Identify the part of the brain associated with procedural memory.
A - cerebellum
Outline how Kane could use cues to help him recall what he has revised.
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)
Describe one criticism of the Multi-store model of memory
the model is too simple (1) Evidence shows that there
are more than three memory stores (1).
identify how information is encoded in long-term memory
1 mark for C (Mainly semantic).
Identify how long information can remain in short-term memory, according to the Multi-store
Model of memory
1 mark for C (Up to 30 seconds).
Identify one criticism of the Multi-store Model of memory
1 mark for C (The model does not explain why we can
recall things we have not rehearsed).
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.
1 mark for Decays.
State the capacity of short-term memory according to the Multi-store Model of memory.
5-9 chunks
Describe one ethical issue Ling should have considered before conducting the digit span
experiment.
‘Ling should consider any
psychological harm that may result from the study
because the children may be embarrassed if they
cannot recall many
Explain one strength of the case study method as used in Wilson et al.’s (2008) study
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]
Explain one weakness of the case study method as used in Wilson et al.’s (2008) study.
‘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
Outline the role of the hippocampus in anterograde amnesia.
‘the hippocampus plays a vital role in the formation of
new memories [1], so damage to it can lead to
anterograde amnesia [1]
Explain one strength of Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008) using a case study.
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.
State what is meant by decay.
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).
Outline one other type of forgetting that may explain the results of this study. (decay affecting ability to remember)
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
Explain how the psychologist could have calculated the median number of words recalled in
each condition.
‘The psychologist would place the number of words
recalled in ascending order and find the middle score [1]
for each group.
Explain whether the psychologist used an independent measures or repeated measures
experimental design in this study.
‘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
Outline how the Wechsler Memory Scale is used to measure memory functions
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.
Explain how leading questions could lead to memory distortion of how satisfied customers
are with the company’s service.
‘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
Explain one strength of Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008) using a case study
‘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
State what is meant by decay
when information is
lost when we do not pay attention to it (in the sensory
store) or in the absence of rehearsal
Outline one other type of forgetting that may explain the results of this study
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
Outline how the Wechsler Memory Scale is used to measure memory functions
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.
Identify the part of the brain that is damaged in people who have anterograde amnesia.
Hippocampus
Identify the part of the brain that is damaged in people who have retrograde amnesia.
Frontal lobe
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.
cerebellum
Explain how the Theory of Reconstructive Memory could be considered reductionist
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’
Describe one strength of the experimental method as used in Braun et al.’s (2002) study
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
Explain how Braun et al.’s (2002) study used an independent measures design
‘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
Explain one weakness of using an independent measures design in this study.
One weakness of an independent measures design
is more participants are needed [1], Braun needed 107 in experiment 1 (and 167 in experiment
2)
Explain how autobiographical advertising could be used to promote the sales of this new
chocolate bar
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
Describe how information will transfer from Yasmin’s short-term to long-term memory.
Yasmin must repeat or rehearse [1] the
information to allow it to be moved from short-term to
long-term memory
Evaluate the Multi-store Model of Memory.
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
Describe one criticism of the Theory of Reconstructive Memory.
The theory of reconstructive memory is
reductionist [1] as it does not explain how memories are
processed
Describe one way in which the development of neuropsychology has contributed to measuring
different memory functions.
Neuropsychologists have developed tests to use with
brain damaged patients [1] so they can identify memory
problems / develop appropriate treatments [1]’
