Question 1

Many people can easily recall exactly what they were doing when they heard the news of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy. This best illustrates ________ memory.

Accepted Answer

Flashbulb memory is a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshot' of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was heard. The 9/11 terrorist tragedy was a deeply emotional and significant event that is likely to have triggered the formation of flashbulb memories in many people.

Question 2

The happier Judie is,the more readily she recalls experiences with former teachers who were warm and generous. This best illustrates that emotional states can be

Accepted Answer

The fact that Judie's emotional state affects her ability to recall memories indicates that her emotional state is acting as a retrieval cue, helping her to access relevant memories more readily.

Question 3

Combining individual letters into familiar words enables you to remember more of the letters in this sentence. This best illustrates the value of

Accepted Answer

Chunking refers to the process of grouping individual bits of information into larger units or chunks, allowing for more efficient storage and recall. By combining individual letters into familiar words, we are chunking the information together and making it easier to remember. The other options listed do not accurately capture the process at work in this scenario. The spacing effect refers to the fact that spaced out learning sessions lead to better retention than massed practice, which is not directly relevant here. Iconic memory refers to our visual sensory memory and is not related to the process of combining letters into words. The serial position effect refers to the tendency to remember items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list better than items in the middle, which is not relevant to this scenario.

Question 4

When you hear familiar words in your native language,it is virtually impossible not to register the meanings of the words. This best illustrates the importance of

Accepted Answer

Automatic processing is the ability to process information unconsciously and effortlessly. When we hear familiar words in our native language, we automatically process and register the meanings of the words without even trying. This is why it is virtually impossible not to understand the meanings of familiar words in our native language.

Question 5

Which of the following is most likely to be stored as an implicit memory?

Accepted Answer

A conditioned fear is a type of implicit memory, as it is formed through repeated association without conscious awareness or intention. The other options all involve more conscious encoding and therefore are more likely to be explicit memories.

Question 6

An understanding of the spacing effect provides insight into effective strategies for

Accepted Answer

The spacing effect refers to the fact that information is better retained and recalled when it is studied or rehearsed over a longer period of time with breaks in between, rather than being studied or rehearsed all at once. This provides insight into effective strategies for rehearsal, such as repeated studying of material over several days rather than cramming all at once.

Question 7

The three steps in memory information processing are

Accepted Answer

The three steps in memory information processing are encoding, which involves taking in information and converting it into a usable form; storage, which involves the retention of encoded information over time; and retrieval, which involves accessing stored information when needed. Choice D accurately reflects these three steps.

Question 8

Experimenters gave people a list of words to be recalled. When the participants were tested after a delay,the items that were best recalled were those

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is known as the serial position effect, where items at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be remembered than items in the middle. This occurs because items at the beginning are remembered due to the primacy effect, where the first few items in a list are rehearsed more and therefore better remembered, and items at the end are remembered due to the recency effect, where the last few items in a list are still in working memory and therefore more easily recalled.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a measure of retention?

Accepted Answer

Retrieval refers to the process of accessing and retrieving information from memory, which is an essential component of retention. Recall, recognition, and relearning are all measures of retention, as they involve demonstrating the ability to retrieve information previously learned.

Question 10

A measure of your memory in which you need to pick the correctly learned answer from a displayed list of options is known as a measure of

Accepted Answer

Recognition is a measure of memory in which a person is presented with a list of options and must select the correct one that they have previously learned. Recall refers to a measure of memory in which a person must retrieve information without any cues or hints. Rehearsal involves repeating information to improve memory retention. Relearning refers to the amount of time it takes to learn previously learned information again.

Question 11

The peg-word system relies heavily on the use of

Accepted Answer

The peg-word system is a mnemonic device that helps individuals remember a list of items in order by associating each item with a visual image that is linked to a peg or anchor word. This system relies heavily on the use of visual encoding, as the images are created to help represent the items on the list.

Question 12

The first thing Karen did when she discovered that she had misplaced her keys was to re-create in her mind the day's events. That she had little difficulty in doing so illustrates

Accepted Answer

Karen's ability to easily recall and mentally reconstruct the events of her day suggests that her memory of the day's events was encoded and stored through automatic processing, which typically involves implicit, effortless encoding of information. Effortful processing, on the other hand, requires conscious effort, attention, and rehearsal to encode and store information. State-dependent memory refers to the phenomenon where memory retrieval is influenced by the state or context in which the memory was formed or experienced, which does not seem to be applicable in this scenario. Priming refers to the enhanced ability to retrieve a particular memory due to exposure to related stimuli, which also does not seem to be relevant in this situation.

Question 13

To recall his early life experiences,Aaron formed vivid mental images of the various rooms in his childhood home. Aaron was applying the process of

Accepted Answer

Aaron is using priming, which is the process of retrieving a specific memory by activating a related memory or concept. In this case, he is using mental images of rooms in his childhood home to activate memories of his early life experiences.

Question 14

Although you can't recall the answer to a question on your psychology midterm,you have a clear mental image of the textbook page on which it appears. Evidently,your ________ encoding of the answer was ________.

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a visual encoding process, as the person remembers the image of the textbook page. Since they can't recall the answer, it suggests that the encoding was effortful, not automatic.

Question 15

Connectionism proposes that memory emerges from

Accepted Answer

Connectionism proposes that memory and cognitive processes arise from the interconnected neural networks that make up the brain. These networks allow for associations between new and old information which can then be utilized to solve problems and perform tasks.

Question 16

One way to increase the amount of information in memory is to group it into larger,familiar units. This process is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Chunking refers to grouping information into larger, familiar units which allows for easier recall and retention in memory. Consolidating refers to the process of strengthening and stabilizing memories. Organization and encoding are also involved in memory processing but do not specifically refer to the grouping of information into larger units.

Question 17

Having read a story once,certain amnesia victims will read it faster the second time even though they can't recall having seen the story before. They have most likely suffered damage to the

Accepted Answer

The hippocampus is responsible for forming new memories, and damage to this area can result in anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories). However, some studies have shown that certain types of amnesia patients may still retain some implicit memory (unconscious memory) and can show improvements in tasks or activities they have done previously, even if they do not remember doing them. This phenomenon is believed to involve other brain areas such as the basal ganglia or the cerebellum, but the hippocampus is still considered crucial for explicit memory (conscious memory). Therefore, the fact that the amnesia patients in the story can read faster the second time suggests that they are using some form of implicit memory, but this does not necessarily mean that the damage to their hippocampus is the primary cause of their amnesia.

Question 18

The spacing effect means that

Accepted Answer

The spacing effect refers to the phenomenon where distributing study sessions over time produces better retention and recall than cramming all the material into one study session.

Question 19

Whenever Valerie experiences intense feelings of fear,she is overwhelmed with childhood memories of her abusive parents. Valerie's experience best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Mood-congruent memory is when we tend to recall memories that are consistent with our current mood or emotional state. In this case, Valerie is recalling memories of her abusive parents when she feels fear, which is consistent with her childhood experiences.

Question 20

The three-stage processing model of memory was proposed by

Accepted Answer

The three-stage processing model of memory was proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968.

Quiz 20: How Do Groups Intensify Decisions