Module 2.3 - 2.5

The three stages of the Atkinson–Shiffrin process of memory are

• iconic, echoic, encoding

• sensory, short term, long term

• shallow, medium, and deep processing

• semantic, episodic, procedural

Answer explanation

The three stages of the Atkinson–Shiffrin process of memory are sensory memory, short-term (working) memory, and long-term

memory.

Which of the following is an effective method for testing whether a memory is actually true or whether it is a constructed memory?

• checking to see whether it was deeply processed or shallowly processed

• testing to see if the memory was encoded from sensory memory into working memory

• using a PET scan to see if the memory is stored in the hippocampus

• using other evidence, such as written records, to substantiate the memory

Answer explanation

The only way to determine if a memory is accurate or constructed is to look at other evidence for the “remembered” event. Brain scans and memory models cannot differentiate between true and false memories.

While Allison was watching a storm over the lake, a flash of lightning lit up the dark skies. Even though the flash of light disappeared from the sky quickly, Allison could still briefly “see” the light. It appears that this information was being held in Allison’s

• iconic memory.

• short-term memory.

• eidetic memory.

• flashbulb memory.

Answer explanation

Iconic memory is visual sensory memory. Visual information, like the lightning flash, is held briefly in iconic memory. Then the information either decays quickly or is transferred to short-term memory. Choice B, short-term memory, stores 7 ± 2 units of information for up to 30 seconds. Choice C, eidetic or “photographic” memory, occurs when information is retained in great detail after limited exposure. Implicit memory, choice D, is memory for automatic processes, such as tying one’s shoes. Flashbulb memories, choice E, are typically detailed for salient and emotional events.

Audra is taking a multiple-choice test in her psychology class. Such a test is considered an example of

• a recall test.

• an implicit memory test.

• a test of recognition.

• an iconic memory test.

Answer explanation

A recognition test, like a multiple-choice test, provides retrieval cues and is a test of familiarity. A recall test, choice A, requires memory reconstruction, such as an essay test. Implicit memory, choice B, does not require conscious thought, such as the ability to ride a bike. Iconic memory, choice D, is visual sensory memory. Mood congruent memory, choice E, occurs when our emotions act as retrieval cues for remembering personal events.

One of the ways memories are physically stored in the brain is by what process?

• deep processing, which increases levels of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus

• encoding, which stimulates electric activity in the hippocampus

• long-term potentiation, which strengthens connections between neurons

• selective attention, which increases myelination of memory neurons

Answer explanation

Long-term potentiation strengthens neural connections by allowing them to communicate more efficiently. The other options do not describe brain processes accurately

Which of the following brain structures plays a key role in transferring information from short-term memory to long-term memory?

• hypothalamus

• thalamus

• hippocampus

• frontal lobe

Answer explanation

Although explicit memories are not necessarily stored in the hippocampus, we know that hippocampal damage does affect processing of explicit memories for semantic and episodic events into long-term memory.

A friend mentions to you that she heard humans never forget anything; we remember everything that ever happens to us. What concept from memory research most directly contradicts this belief?

• Sensory memory

• Selective attention

• Long-term memory

• Constructive memory

Answer explanation

The concept of selective attention contradicts this statement. Selective attention determines what sensations we attend to and encode into short-term memory. Research shows that stimuli not attended to are not remembered, so we do not remember everything that happens to us. Sensory memory, long-term memory, and constructed memories do not obviously contradict the statement.

Simeon finds that when he crams for a test the night before, he usually does well but is almost completely unable to remember the material he studied a few weeks later. What best explains why this might happen?

• The material he crams only makes it into his short-term memory.

• Cramming the night before usually involves a shallow level of processing.

• After a few weeks, he misremembers because memory is often constructed.

• Simeon is suffering from retrograde amnesia.

Answer explanation

Cramming the night before typically involves relatively superficial forms of processing that make recalling the information later difficult. Choice (A) is incorrect because short-term memory (STM) only lasts 20–30 seconds. So if the information never made it out of the STM, Simeon would forget it long before the test. The idea that we construct our memories could explain some errors in memory like source amnesia but is unlikely to explain the inability to recall a topic at all. Finally, amnesia isn't the same as not remembering something you once learned; it typically involves learning a larger amount of information and is most often due to a brain injury.

Carrie finds that she remembers more when she studies 10 minutes each night instead of cramming the night before a test for 3 hours. Carrie is taking advantage of

• the serial position effect.

• the spacing effect.

• semantic encoding.

• chunking.

Answer explanation

When information is rehearsed repeatedly over time, recall is improved. This is called the spacing effect. The serial position effect, choice A, occurs when we recall items at the beginning and at the end of a list. Semantic encoding, choice C, refers to encoding information based on the information’s meaning. The testing effect, choice D, leads to improved recall due to repeated testing of learned information. Chunking, choice E, is the grouping of information into meaningful units to improve recall.

Researchers found that when a rat’s hippocampus was removed a few hours after the animal had learned where to find a treat, the memory for the event did not form. What process has primarily been disrupted?

• Chunking

• Priming

• Consolidation

• Convergent thinking

Answer explanation

The hippocampus appears to be the brain region responsible for the formation of new memories. Memory consolidation takes place during sleep when long-term storage of information occurs. Choice A, chunking, helps increase the capacity of short-term memory (by grouping individual memories into larger “chunks”). This is not the process referred to in this question. Serial processing, choice B, occurs when you focus on one aspect of a problem in a deliberate and conscious, step-by-step manner. Priming, choice C, occurs when youare exposed to a particular stimulus that unconsciously leads to the retrieval of specific information later. Convergent thinking, choice E, is a type of problem solving when you are looking for a single solution to a problem.