Question 1

Which area of the brain is involved in encoding novel relations among objects and events,and may,thus,explain amnesic patterns of memory deficit and preservation?

Accepted Answer

The medial temporal lobe is involved in encoding novel relations among objects and events, and may, thus, explain amnesic patterns of memory deficit and preservation.

Question 2

Baddeley added a fourth component to his original model that attempts to account for the influence of relevant information from long-term memory within working memory.This component is called the

Accepted Answer

Baddeley added the episodic buffer as the fourth component to account for the influence of long-term memory within working memory. The visuo-spatial sketchpad, articulatory loop, and central executive are the original three components of Baddeley's model.

Question 3

The embedded process view of STM

Accepted Answer

The embedded process view of Short-Term Memory (STM) is considered a hybrid view because it integrates aspects of both unitary and multi-store models, suggesting that STM processes are not separate but are embedded within long-term memory processes.

Question 4

When irrelevant information is presented during the encoding of other material,

Accepted Answer

Irrelevant information presented during encoding occupies the phonological loop and therefore negatively impacts processing. This is because the phonological loop is responsible for processing and storing auditory information, and irrelevant information competes for its resources, leading to interference with the processing of relevant information.

Question 5

Which component of working memory serves as the "gatekeeper" or "capacity allocator" for the attentional system?

Accepted Answer

The central executive is the component of working memory that is responsible for the allocation of attention and resources to different tasks, making it the "gatekeeper" or "capacity allocator" for the attentional system. The other components, such as the visuo-spatial sketchpad, articulatory loop, and episodic buffer, are responsible for the temporary storage and manipulation of specific types of information but are not directly involved in attentional control.

Question 6

Baddeley proposed that the functions of the central executive might be better specified through what he termed _____ of the central executive.

Accepted Answer

Baddeley proposed that the functions of the central executive might be better specified through what he termed fractionation, which refers to breaking down the central executive into more specific components or processes. This approach allows for a more detailed understanding of the different functions and processes involved in executive control.

Question 7

The most investigated component of Baddeley's working memory model is

Accepted Answer

The phonological loop has been the most thoroughly studied component of Baddeley's working memory model, particularly in relation to language processing and verbal working memory tasks.

Question 8

Deaf individuals

Accepted Answer

Deaf individuals, like hearing individuals, are affected by both the length of words and their similarity when it comes to memory tasks. This suggests that the mechanisms underlying these effects are not solely dependent on auditory processes.

Question 9

Dissociations within the components of working memory proposed by Baddeley _____,which tends to _____ the theory.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dissociations within the components of working memory...

Question 10

Who is the "boss" of short term memory,supervising the operations of the other subsystems?

Accepted Answer

The central executive is considered the "boss" of short term memory as it supervises the operations of the other subsystems (visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and articulatory loop). It's responsible for allocating attention and coordinating information from the other subsystems.

Question 11

Baddeley himself referred to which component of working memory as a "conceptual ragbag" because so many functions and processes get "thrown into it"?

Accepted Answer

Baddeley himself referred to the central executive component of working memory as a "conceptual ragbag" because it is responsible for a broad range of functions and processes, such as attention, decision making, and task switching. The other components of working memory (visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer, and articulatory loop) are more specialized in their functions.

Question 12

Several researchers have examined how well deaf participants remember signs,just as listeners remember words they hear.In listening,words that sound alike are less likely to be remembered.What happens with American Sign Language?

Accepted Answer

Signs in American Sign Language (ASL) that involve similar motions are more likely to be confused with one another, leading to a lower recall rate. This is analogous to the confusion seen in auditory languages where words that sound alike are more easily confused, affecting recall. The key factor in ASL recall is the similarity in the motion or gesture used to make the signs, rather than their auditory similarity or their closeness in meaning.

Question 13

The case where later information interferes with the ability to retain information that occurred earlier is called

Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference is the phenomenon where newly learned information interferes with the ability to remember previously learned information. Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to form new memories after a particular event, while retrograde amnesia is the inability to retrieve memories from a period before a particular event. Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information.

Question 14

Decay theories of forgetting have been criticized on the grounds that they are merely descriptive.In the same way that time doesn't cause metal to rust (oxidation does),time doesn't cause forgetting.What is one proposal for the "oxidation" equivalent in decay (i.e. ,the actual mechanism that leads to forgetting)?

Accepted Answer

Neurons going out of sync due to lack of retrieval is a proposed mechanism for forgetting, suggesting that without regular retrieval, neural connections weaken, leading to forgetting.

Question 15

An experiment by Wilson and Emmorey (1998)gave deaf participants signs that were long,trying to mimic words that are long in length (have many letters)to see if they would find a "word length" effect.What happened in the experiment?

Accepted Answer

The experiment by Wilson and Emmorey (1998) found that recall was worse for long signs, mirroring the word length effect observed with spoken or written words, where longer words are generally harder to remember than shorter ones.

Question 16

The function of working memory whereby we control the allocation of attention is called

Accepted Answer

The function of working memory that involves the control of attention is called executive attention. This involves the ability to focus and shift attention, resist distraction, and inhibit irrelevant information. Thus, option C is the correct answer. Option A and D are not accurate terms, and option B specifically refers to attention at the sensory level rather than at the level of working memory.

Question 17

Which of these sequences would be the most difficult to keep track of in STM?

Accepted Answer

The sequence of letters in option B is not easily identifiable or predictable, which makes it difficult to remember in STM compared to other options which have numerical or alphabetical patterns.

Question 18

The _____ words take to pronounce,the ______ of them can be held in STM.

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that shorter words take less time to pronounce and are more likely to be held in short term memory, also called STM or working memory capacity. This is because shorter words are phonologically and visually less complex than longer words. Therefore, option A is the best choice.

Question 19

What happens to the phonological similarity effect and the word length effect if you do an articulatory suppression task while encoding an STM load?

Accepted Answer

Articulatory suppression, which involves repeating an irrelevant sound (like "the" or "la") during the encoding of information into short-term memory (STM), disrupts the phonological loop component of the working memory model. This loop is responsible for the temporary storage of verbal and auditory information. When participants engage in articulatory suppression, it prevents them from rehearsing the items in the phonological loop, thus diminishing the phonological similarity effect (where similar sounding items are more difficult to remember than dissimilar ones) and the word length effect (where longer words are harder to remember than shorter ones). Both effects are reliant on the phonological loop for encoding information into STM, and articulatory suppression disrupts this process, leading to the disappearance of both effects.

Question 20

If I have a list of three weapons and try to recall them,and then get another list of three weapons and try to recall them,and then get yet another list of three items and try to recall them,what is likely to happen?

Accepted Answer

As more lists of weapons are presented, there is an increased likelihood of proactive interference. This is because the prior lists are likely to interfere with the recall of the most recent list. This interference may result in difficulty recalling the most recently presented list, which can cause decreased recall accuracy over time.

Quiz 4: Immediate Memory