Memory questions

Question 1

What is Coding in the context of memory?

Answer 1

The format in which information is stored.

Question 2

Define Capacity in relation to memory.

Answer 2

The amount of information that can be held.

Question 3

What does Duration refer to in memory?

Answer 3

The length of time information can be held.

Question 4

What is the Sensory Register (SR)?

Answer 4

The memory stores for each of the five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store).

Question 5

What is the coding type in the iconic sensory register?

Answer 5

Visual.

Question 6

What is the coding type in the echoic sensory register?

Answer 6

Acoustic.

Question 7

What is the capacity of the sensory register?

Answer 7

Huge.

Question 8

What is the duration of information in the sensory register?

Answer 8

Less than half a second.

Question 9

Define Short-term Memory (STM).

Answer 9

A limited-capacity memory store.

Question 10

What is the main coding type in short-term memory?

Answer 10

Acoustic.

Question 11

What is the average capacity of short-term memory?

Answer 11

Between 5 and 9 items.

Question 12

What is the duration of information in short-term memory?

Answer 12

Between about 18 and 30 seconds.

Question 13

Define Long-term Memory (LTM).

Answer 13

A permanent memory store.

Question 14

What is the main coding type in long-term memory?

Answer 14

Semantic.

Question 15

What is the capacity of long-term memory?

Answer 15

Unlimited.

Question 16

What is the duration of information in long-term memory?

Answer 16

Can store memories for up to a lifetime.

Question 17

Fill in the blank: The capacity of short-term memory is _______.

Answer 17

7 +/- 2.

Question 18

Fill in the blank: The duration of sensory register is _______.

Answer 18

Less than half a second.

Question 19

True or False: Long-term memory has a limited capacity.

Answer 19

False.

Question 20

What is the Sensory Register (SR)?

Answer 20

An automatic response to the reception of information by the sense organs.

Question 21

How is information coded in the Sensory Register?

Answer 21

Depending on the sense organ:
* Visual information is stored iconically
* Auditory information is stored in echoic format
* Touch information is stored haptically
* Taste information is stored in gustatory format
* Smells are stored olfactorily

Question 22

What is the capacity of the Sensory Register?

Answer 22

Large, as the senses provide detailed information.

Question 23

What is the duration of information in the Sensory Register?

Answer 23

Limited, with different types of information decaying at different rates.

Question 24

How long does the iconic store retain information according to Crowder (1993)?

Answer 24

A few milliseconds.

Question 25

How long does the echoic store retain information according to Crowder (1993)?

Answer 25

Two to three seconds.

Question 26

What experiment did Sperling (1960) conduct to study the capacity of the SR?

Answer 26

Flashed a 3 x 4 grid of letters for one-twentieth of a second and asked participants to recall one row.

Question 27

What did Sperling (1960) conclude about the capacity of the SR?

Answer 27

All information was originally there, indicating a large capacity.

Question 28

What did Triesman (1964) find about the duration of the echoic store?

Answer 28

Participants noticed identical auditory messages if the delay was two seconds or less.

Question 29

What is a limitation of calculating the capacity of sensory memory stores?

Answer 29

Estimates are often based on artificial experiments that do not reflect everyday tasks.

Question 30

What does the evidence suggest about the capacity of the iconic store?

Answer 30

Can hold 15-20 images.

Question 31

Why is the capacity of other sensory stores not well studied?

Answer 31

They have more limited duration and are generally identified at a pre-conscious level.

Question 32

From an evolutionary perspective, why is the duration of the SR brief?

Answer 32

Humans need to focus on perceptual information with immediate survival value.

Question 33

True or False: Humans are good at remembering sensory information for long periods of time.

Answer 33

False.