Unit 3: Memory

Question 1

What evidence suggested to Alan Baddeley that working memory has several components?

A) the research on release from proactive interference

B) complex computer simulations

C) modeling using the parallel distributed processing approach

D) research showing that people can rehearse words and make spatial judgments at the same time

Answer 1

D) research showing that people can rehearse words and make spatial judgments at the same time

Question 2

Suppose that you are having trouble recalling the information for a question about Baddeley’s theory because the information about Atkinson and Shiffrin’s theory (which you learned earlier) keeps interfering. This phenomenon is called

A) proactive interference.

B) the recency effect.

C) the primacy effect.

D) chunking.

Answer 2

A) proactive interference.

Question 3

Neuroscientists who have examined the visuospatial sketchpad have discovered that

A) visual tasks typically activate the right hemisphere, whereas spatial tasks typically activate the left hemisphere.

B) visual and spatial tasks typically activate the right hemisphere of the brain.

C) visual and spatial tasks are apparently converted into a verbal code because they primarily activate the left hemisphere of the brain.

D) there is no clear correspondence between visuospatial tasks and the patterns of brain activation.

Answer 3

B) visual and spatial tasks typically activate the right hemisphere of the brain.

Question 4

Chapter 4 discussed research on the recency effect. How is this research related to short-term memory?

A) The final words in a list are recalled accurately because they are still in short-term memory.

B) There is a clear-cut difference between pattern perception and short-term memory.

C) The material can pass directly into long-term memory, without first entering short-term memory.

D) The recency effect showed that the capacity of short-term memory is extremely large.

Answer 4

A) The final words in a list are recalled accurately because they are still in short-term memory.

Question 5

According to Chapter 4, working memory is especially important because

A) it provides a perfect copy of the physical stimulus, for example, a visual image that accurately represents the words on a page.

B) it demonstrates that there is a clear-cut limit to the number of items we can store for a short time.

C) it is the first process that occurs after the stimulus has entered long-term memory.

D) it keeps some items active, so that we can use these items when we are working on a relevant task.

Answer 5

D) it keeps some items active, so that we can use these items when we are working on a relevant task.

Question 6

According to the discussion of working memory, the phonological loop

A) is useful when you learn a foreign language.

B) primarily activates the right hemisphere of the brain.

C) primarily receives information from the episodic buffer.

D) has a large capacity when you are learning new vocabulary words.

Answer 6

A) is useful when you learn a foreign language.

Question 7

People with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often have problems because they are impulsive and inattentive. The component of working memory that is most likely to be relevant in these problems is

A) the episodic buffer.

B) the central executive.

C) the visuospatial sketchpad.

D) the phonological loop.

Answer 7

B) the central executive.

Question 8

One of the most widely cited articles in psychology is George Miller’s (1956) article on the size of short-term memory. According to your text, Miller used the term _____ to describe the capacity of short-term memory.

A) buffer

B) rehearsal

C) chunk

D) bit

Answer 8

C) chunk

Question 9

According to the Baddeley’s revised model of working memory, one major purpose of the episodic buffer is to

A) store musical information (such as pitch and tones) for brief periods of time.

B) manage the decisions that are too complicated for the central executive.

C) coordinate the meaning and the visual appearance of written text.

D) provide temporary storage for information from long-term memory, the phonological loop, and the visuospatial sketchpad.

Answer 9

D) provide temporary storage for information form long-term memory, the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.

Question 10

According to Atkinson and Shiffrin’s classic theory,

A) short-term memory and long-term memory are distinctly different.

B) items stored in short-term memory are fairly permanent.

C) rehearsal is necessary in order to move material from sensory memory to short-term memory.

D) there are no strict limits to the capacity of short-term memory.

Answer 10

A) short-term memory and long-term memory are distinctly different.

Question 11

The research on encoding specificity shows that the effect

A) short-term memory and long-term memory are distinctly different.

B) is more likely when tested by recognition, rather than recall.

C) works only for negative or neutral events.

D) works best when testing physical context, rather than mental context.

Answer 11

A) short-term memory and long-term memory are distinctly different.

Question 12

When people estimate their confidence while providing eyewitness testimony,

A) they are typically more correct than they estimate themselves to be.

B) they are almost as confident about their incorrect memories as they are about their correct memories.

C) their confidence about their eyewitness testimony is strongly correlated with the accuracy of the testimony.

D) their confidence is reduced because of the constructivist effect.

Answer 12

B) they are almost as confident about their incorrect memories as they are about their correct memories.

Question 13

Stephanie is trying to decide whether she told Sid that the history test had been postponed—or whether she had only imagined telling him this. Stephanie is currently engaging in

A) flashbulb memory.

B) an implicit memory task.

C) reality monitoring.

D) a dissociation.

Answer 13

C) reality monitoring.

Question 14

Chapter 5 discussed the relationship between the violence of a TV program and people’s recall of commercials shown during that program. According to this research, people recall a commercial more accurately

A) when the program is extremely violent.

B) when the program is moderately violent.

C) when the program is nonviolent.

D) when the visual component of the program is nonviolent but the auditory component is moderately violent.

Answer 14

C) when the program is nonviolent.

Question 15

Suppose that you are trying to recall a friend’s phone number, so you repeat it over and over to yourself without analyzing it or giving it meaning. According to the levels-of-processing approach, this activity would be categorized as

A) shallow processing.

B) working-memory processing.

C) deep processing.

D) the self-reference effect.

Answer 15

A) shallow processing.

Question 16

According to the research on the own-ethnicity bias,

A) people are always more accurate in recognizing individuals from their own ethnic group than from another ethnic group.

B) the own ethnicity bias may be reduced if people have frequent contact with people from other ethnic groups.

C) people actually recognize individuals better if they are from a different ethnic group.

D) here is currently little evidence for this kind of bias.

Answer 16

B) the own ethnicity bias may be reduced if people have frequent contact with people from other ethnic groups.

Question 17

Why is retroactive interference relevant to the post-event misinformation effect?

A) Recently learned material may interfere with the older memories.

B) Information gathered prior to an event may somehow bias the way you perceive the event.

C) More vivid information will be recalled more accurately than less vivid information.

D) Eyewitnesses are less confident than they should be.

Answer 17

A) Recently learned material may interfere with the older memories.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of semantic memory?

A) Before dinner tonight, I must go to the fitness centre.

B) I recall the first time I ever thought about becoming a psychology major.

C) I remember seeing the word consciousness in the third chapter of this textbook.

D) I know that cabbage tastes bitter.

Answer 18

D) I know that cabbage tastes bitter.

Question 19

According to the research on implicit memory and explicit memory,

A) people with amnesia typically perform better on explicit memory tasks than on implicit memory tasks.

B) when the tests are conducted properly, most people with normal memory reveal very little implicit memory.

C) on implicit memory tasks, people recall much more when they have used deep levels of processing, rather than shallow levels.

D) psychologists sometimes discover a dissociation; for example, a variable may have a large effect on an explicit task, but a small effect on an implicit task.

Answer 19

D) psychologists sometimes discover a dissociation; for example, a variable may have a large effect on an explicit task, but a small effect on an implicit task.

Question 20

Foley and her colleagues (1999) proposed that the research on self-reference may actually underestimate the magnitude of the self-reference effect. They reached this conclusion because

A) participants typically process items at a shallow level of processing, even when they are instructed to use deep processing.

B) the meta-analysis of the data on the self-reference effect demonstrates that this technique is not especially helpful.

C) participants cannot really relate items to their own lives.

D) the participants reported that they had often used self-reference processing, even when they had received other instructions.

Question 21

According to research on the testing effect,

A) although testing can improve recall, it is not as helpful as spending the same amount of time studying.

B) testing consistently improves recall, no matter whether the retention interval is short or long.

C) the effect only operates when students receive feedback on their test scores.

D) one explanation for the effect is that test-taking creates desirable difficulties.

Answer 21

D) one explanation for the effect is that test-taking creates desirable difficulties.

Question 22

Your textbook discussed a metamemory study that asked students to estimate their total score on a test that they had just taken. The comparison between the students’ actual score and their estimated score showed that

A) the students consistently overestimated how well they had performed.

B) the students consistently underestimated how well they had performed.

C) the students with the lowest actual scores provided the most accurate estimated scores.

D) the students with the highest actual scores provided the most accurate estimated scores.

Answer 22

D) the students with the highest actual scores provided the most accurate estimated scores.

Question 23

Which of the following students provides the best summary of why a person’s confidence is important to the topic of memory strategies and metacognition?

A) Asli: “In general, people are overconfident that they will remember material accurately.”

B) Megan: “Ironically, people are overconfident about eyewitness testimony and underconfident about material they learn in an academic setting.”

C) George: “People are especially likely to be overconfident if they have studied material using the self-reference technique.”

D) Xavier: “People are generally overconfident when they use memory strategies, and underconfident when they use metacognition.”

Answer 23

A) Asli: “In general, people are overconfident that they will remember material accurately.”

Question 24

Suppose that a friend is having difficulty in introductory psychology, and you decide to give her some memory tips. If you decide to emphasize metamemory, you would be likely to

A) make her think more about the factors that influence her memory.

B) emphasize that, in the ideal situation, memory is schematic.

C) inform her that the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is more a myth than a reality.

D) emphasize shallow processing for working memory and deep processing for long-term memory.

Answer 24

A) make her think more about the factors that influence her memory.

Question 25

Part of the section on metamemory examined how students regulate their study strategies. If you are typical of the college students discussed in that section—and the task is relatively easy—you would be likely to

A) spend somewhat more time on the more difficult material, but not as much time as it deserves.

B) fail to review the material you already know.

C) show no relationship between study time and the difficulty of the material.

D) spend roughly three times as long on difficult topics as on the topics you already know.

Answer 25

A) spend somewhat more time on the more difficult material, but not as much time as it deserves.

Question 26

According to the discussion of metacomprehension,

A) college students do not need special training in this area because their metacomprehension is reasonably accurate.

B) metacomprehension accuracy is correlated with reading comprehension.

C) good readers and poor readers do not differ in their awareness of reading strategies.

D) metacomprehension is basically the same as meta-analysis.

Answer 26

B) metacomprehension accuracy is correlated with reading comprehension.

Question 27

Mandi is studying for her biopsychology exam by creating a diagram for the parts of the human nervous system. Her diagram shows two basic divisions, the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system; each of these systems is further divided and then subdivided. Mandi is using

A) the method of loci.

B) the spacing effect.

C) the keyword method.

D) the hierarchy technique.

Answer 27

D) the hierarchy technique.

Question 28

The term metacognition refers to

A) an especially deep level of processing—even deeper than the self-reference effect.

B) the perspective that memory improvement must be comprehensive, instead of targeting just one memory strategy.

C) remembering to do something in the future.

D) our knowledge and control of our cognitive processes.

Answer 28

D) our knowledge and control of our cognitive processes.

Question 29

According to the discussion of prospective and retrospective memory,

A) distinctive encoding improves performance on both kinds of memory tasks.

B) the research on retrospective memory is typically higher in ecological validity than is the research on prospective memory.

C) a delay period has a stronger effect on retrospective memory than on prospective memory.

D) retrospective-memory tasks typically activate the frontal lobe of the brain, but prospective-memory tasks do not.

Answer 29

A) distinctive encoding improves performance on both kinds of memory tasks.

Question 30

According to research on the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon,

A) when an item is on the tip of your tongue, you will seldom be able to recover it.

B) your mental dictionary is arranged in alphabetical order.

C) you can identify similar-sounding words, but you cannot accurately guess the number of syllables in the target word.

D) you can typically provide a similar-sounding word, which matches the target word reasonably closely.

Answer 30

D) you can typically provide a similar-sounding word, which matches the target word reasonably closely.