AP Psychology: Memory End of Unit Test

1 ________ involves converting sensory information into a form to be stored in the brain; ________ involves getting this information out from the brain such that it can be used.

• Retrieval; storage

• Encoding; storage

• Encoding; retrieval

• Storage; encoding

Answer explanation

encoding the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systems.

storage holding on to information for some period of time.

retrieval getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used.

Linda wants to improve her memory. Her professor has advised her to relate the concepts learned to her everyday experiences. Doing so would allow her to create deeper meaning to the concepts learnt which may improve her retention of information. From which model of memory is Linda’s professor basing his advice on?

• Parallel distributed processing model

• Three-stage model of memory

• Information processing model

• Levels-of-processing model

Answer explanation

levels-of-processing model model of memory that assumes information that is more “deeply processed,” or processed according to its meaning rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words, will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time.

Which of the following is not a property of iconic memory in Sperling’s Iconic Memory Test?

• It can hold both visual and auditory information.

• It can distinguish focal information from contextual information.

• It has a high capacity in terms of amount of information it can hold.

• It can hold onto information for a few seconds.

Answer explanation

Iconic Sensory Memory The example of seeing the possibly pantless person is an example of how the visual sensory system works. The visual sensory system is often called iconic memory, and it only lasts for a fraction of a second. Icon is the Greek word for “image.” Iconic memory was studied in several classic experiments by George Sperling (1960), as shown in the Classic Studies in Psychology feature.

Using this technique, Sperling found that subjects could accurately report any of the three rows. This meant that the entire grid was in iconic memory and available to the subjects. The capacity of iconic memory is everything that can be seen at one time. Sperling also found that if he delayed the tone for a brief period of time, after about a second, subjects could no longer recall letters from the grid any better than they had during the whole report procedure. The iconic information had completely faded out of sensory memory in that brief time.

Which of the following is not true about iconic and echoic memory?

• Iconic memory pertains to the visual sensory system while echoic memory pertains to the auditory sensory system.

• Echoic memory lasts longer than iconic memory.

• Iconic memory has a smaller capacity than echoic memory.

• Both iconic and echoic memory store sensory information from the environment for a brief period of time to allow the brain enough time to process it.

Answer explanation

In what form does short-term memory tend to be encoded in?

• Visual

• Tactile

• Auditory

• Olfactory

Answer explanation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-8

Working memory is said to be an active system of the short-term memory which has three interrelated components. Which of the following is not a component of the working memory?

• Central executive

• Visuospatial sketchpad

• Phonological loop

• Microsaccades

Answer explanation

Microsaccades are a kind of fixational eye movement. They are small, jerk-like, involuntary eye movements, similar to miniature versions of voluntary saccades. They typically occur during prolonged visual fixation, not only in humans, but also in animals with foveal vision.

“You never forget how to ride a bicycle when you’ve learnt to do so.” This refers to a type of memory which, once stored, is difficult to lose. What type of memory is Harry’s mother referring to?

• Episodic memory

• Implicit memory

• Semantic memory

• Short-term memory

Answer explanation

In psychology, implicit memory is one of the two main types of long-term human memory. It is acquired and used unconsciously, and can affect thoughts and behaviours. One of its most common forms is procedural memory, which allows people to perform certain tasks without conscious awareness of these previous experiences; for example, remembering how to tie one's shoes or ride a bicycle without consciously thinking about those activities.

Implicit memory's counterpart is known as explicit memory or declarative memory, which refers to the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences and concepts.

Evidence for implicit memory arises in priming, a process whereby subjects are measured by how they have improved their performance on tasks for which they have been subconsciously prepared. Implicit memory also leads to the illusory truth effect, which suggests that subjects are more likely to rate as true those statements that they have already heard, regardless of their truthfulness.

Episodic memory is the memory of everyday events (such as times, location geography, associated emotions, and other contextual information) that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at particular times and places; for example, the party on one's 7th birthday.^[1] Along with semantic memory, it comprises the category of explicit memory, one of the two major divisions of long-term memory (the other being implicit memory).^[2]

_______ memory stores information about facts, whereas _______ memory stores information about our personal experiences.

• Episodic, sematic

• Declarative, episodic

• Semantic, implicit

• Semantic, episodic

Answer explanation

Episodic Memorya type of long-term memory that involves conscious recollection of previous experiences together with their context in terms of time, place, associated emotions, etc.

"those results suggest that participants were using episodic memory to recall the presented words in all conditions"

a conscious memory of a previous experience.

"the hippocampus is critically involved in forming episodic memories"

Semantic memory a type of long-term memory involving the capacity to recall words, concepts, or numbers, which is essential for the use and understanding of language.

"if patients lose semantic memory, they struggle with knowledge of everyday objects in the world, and have trouble communicating"

a recollection of a word, concept, or number.

"the extraction of semantic memories and associated emotions"

In Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) study, scuba divers who had learnt a set of words underwater showed better recall when they recalled these words underwater. On the other hand, scuba divers who had learned the words out of the pool showed better recall when they were out of the pool. What type of learning were the researchers investigating?

• Context-dependent learning

• Elaborative rehearsal

• State-dependent learning

• Maintenance rehearsal

Answer explanation

Context-dependent learning -In psychology, context-dependent memory is the improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

State-dependent memory or state-dependent learning is the phenomenon where people remember more information if their physical or mental state is the same at time of encoding and time of recall.

Before an exam, Kelly has a habit of reading her notes until the very last second. She explains that doing so ensures the information is “still in her brain” when she enters the examination hall. What phenomenon is Kelly using as a strategy to help her better remember information for her exams?

• Primacy effect

• Testing effect

• Recency effect

• Serial position effect

Answer explanation

The recency effect is a cognitive bias in which those items, ideas, or arguments that came last are remembered more clearly than those that came first. The more recently heard, the clearer something may exist in a juror's memory.

The primacy effect is a cognitive bias and refers to an individual's tendency to better remember the first piece of information they encounter than the information they receive later on.