Chapter 5: Memory Structures and Processes

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Clive Wearing lost his ability to form new memories when encephalitis damaged his ______.

a. hippocampus

b. parietal cortex

c. frontal lobe

d. insular cortex

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction: The Pervasiveness of Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. After Wearing’s brain injury, he could still play the piano, but he could no longer remember his surroundings for more than a minute or so. How would a scientist describe this situation?

a. Wearing’s injury affected his prospective memory, but his semantic memory remained intact.

b. Wearing’s injury affected his semantic memory, but his prospective memory remained intact.

c. The injury affected his procedural memory, but his episodic memory remained intact.

d. The injury affected his episodic memory, but his procedural memory remained intact.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction: The Pervasiveness of Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Some experts describe memory as a ______, while others believe it is a ______.

a. secret; journey

b. checklist; blueprint

c. structure; process

d. ball of string; pool of water

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Memory as Structure or Process

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. According to what you have read in this chapter, which of these is the most accurate way to describe memory?

a. a storage unit full of books and furniture

b. an empty box waiting to be filled

c. a lake that is rippling in the breeze

d. a series of postcards from a far-off destination

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction: Memory as Structure or Process

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Imagine that you are sitting in class, listening to your professor lecture, and viewing slides on the projector that she is flipping through. Your brain understands these slides as varying forms of light. This translation is an example of ______.

a. storage

b. encoding

c. retrieval

d. a translator

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. You spent several days studying for your psychology final exam and are confident you are going to perform well. However, in the middle of taking the exam, you are stuck on a question and find yourself struggling to remember a topic that you are being questioned on. This is most likely a problem with ______.

a. encoding

b. your studying habits

c. short-term storage

d. retrieval

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which of these is a component of the memory formation process?

a. inspiration

b. modality

c. retrieval

d. interference

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. You arrive at the local shopping mall to pick up a few things. The parking lot is crowded, but you find a spot toward the back. While in the mall, you do not think about your parking spot, but you have no trouble remembering where you parked when it is time to leave. This scenario illustrates your brain’s ability to ______ information.

a. forget

b. store

c. change

d. encode

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Which of the following is the correct order of memory formation?

a. encoding, storage, retrieval

b. interference, retrieval, encoding

c. storage, interference, retrieval

d. encoding, retrieval, storage

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Encoding the color of a stimulus is to the ______ as encoding the sound of that stimulus is to the ______.

a. temporal cortex; visual cortex

b. visual cortex; temporal cortex

c. visual cortex; frontal lobe

d. parietal lobe; temporal cortex

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Very brief memories are to ______ as fairly brief memories are to ______ and as longer-held memories are to ______.

a. long-term memory; sensory memory; short-term memory

b. short-term memory; long-term memory; sensory memory

c. short-term memory; sensory memory; long-term memory

d. sensory memory; short-term memory; long-term memory

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Modal Model of Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. The briefest form of memory is ______ memory.

a. sensory

b. short-term

c. working

d. long-term

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. You are at a professional football game. You look across from your seat and notice the other side of the stadium and all of the people in their seats. You close your eyes, and for a brief second, you see an accurate afterimage of that view in your mind. This is an example of ______.

a. echoic memory

b. working memory

c. sensory memory

d. short-term memory

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. You are participating in a study in which you are presented with an array of letters. However, you are asked to report only the top line of five rows (much like an eye exam). This process best illustrates a ______ method.

a. full-report

b. delayed-report

c. varied-report

d. partial-report

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Visual sensory memories last for approximately ______.

a. one second

b. three seconds

c. five seconds

d. one minute

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

16 .An intermediate memory storage called ______ processes perceptual information transferred from ______.

a. short-term memory; working memory

b. working memory; short-term memory

c. long-term memory; short-term memory

d. short-term memory; sensory memory

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Short-Term Memory (STM)

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. When you were young, your teachers likely had you write your name, phone number, and address repeatedly to help you remember them. This rehearsal helped get the information from ______ to ______.

a. working memory; sensory memory

b. sensory memory; working memory

c. short-term memory; long-term memory

d. sensory memory; short-term memory

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Short-Term Memory (STM)

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The capacity of short-term memory is ______.

a. five plus or minus two bits of information

b. seven plus or minus two bits of information

c. five plus or minus two words

d. seven plus or minus two words

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Capacity of STM

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Remembering your phone number in sequences such as xxx-xxx-xxxx and your Social Security number in sequences such as xxx-xx-xxxx are examples of ______.

a. encoding

b. sensory memory

c. chunking

d. short-term memory

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Short-Term Memory (STM)

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Which of these words would have the smallest span in short-term memory?

a. cathedral

b. apples

c. strength

d. persuasiveness

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Capacity of STM

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. You are about to take an exam, and you spend a few minutes going over your notes. You understand certain topics well, but you are not so sure about others. As soon as the professor hands out the test, you scribble down those few terms you are not very confident about before you forget them. You likely stored these terms in ______.

a. short-term memory

b. long-term memory

c. sensory memory

d. echoic memory

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. You recently bought a new phone and had to change your number. However, your old phone number keeps interfering with your ability to remember your new one. This is an example of ______.

a. retroactive interference

b. proactive interference

c. executive retrieval

d. overactive retrieval

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. You have been working at a bank for the last four years, but they recently changed systems, and you had to relearn how to perform every task. After a while, you notice that you cannot remember how you used to perform these tasks using the old system. This is an example of ______.

a. retroactive interference

b. proactive interference

c. executive retrieval

d. overactive retrieval

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Old information interfering with the storage or retrieval of new information is to ______ as new information interfering with the storage of retrieval of old information is to ______.

a. retroactive interference; proactive interference

b. proactive interference; retroactive interference

c. executive retrieval; overactive retrieval

d. overactive retrieval; executive retrieval

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Being able to recall what you had for breakfast yesterday is an example of ______.

a. short-term memory

b. long-term memory

c. sensory memory

d. working memory

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Long-term memory storage appears to be ______.

a. smaller than short-term memory storage

b. unlimited for visual memories only

c. limited to five to nine items

d. unlimited

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. Remembering your fifth birthday party is an example of ______.

a. semantic memory

b. procedural memory

c. episodic memory

d. working memory

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Types of LTM Memories

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Your memory for cognitive psychology terms is an example of ______ memory.

a. semantic

b. procedural

c. episodic

d. working

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Types of LTM Memories

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Remembering how to drive a car is an example of ______ memory.

a. semantic

b. procedural

c. episodic

d. working

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Types of LTM Memories

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. What is the difference between working memory and short-term memory?

a. Working memory is part of long-term memory.

b. Short-term memory is limited to a few items within working memory.

c. Working memory controls the memories in short-term memory.

d. Short-term memory is a subset of procedural memory.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Working-Memory (WM) System

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. You are at home cooking dinner when your phone rings, the doorbell rings, and the smoke alarm goes off. Which type of memory will you use to take care of these tasks in order of urgency?

a. working memory

b. long-term memory

c. short-term memory

d. procedural memory

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Working-Memory (WM) System

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. The phonological loop is to ______ as the visuospatial sketchpad is to ______.

a. sounds; images

b. images; sounds

c. short-term memory; long-term memory

d. long-term memory; short-term memory

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Baddeley's Model

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Which of these is the best comparison to how the visuospatial sketchpad works?

a. a clay tablet that people inscribed and then baked solid

b. a program in a computer language that nobody uses anymore

c. a handwritten document that has lasted for decades

d. a chalkboard that can be erased and reused

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Visuospatial Sketchpad

Difficulty Level: Hard

34. The ______ controls the flow of information between the ______, the ______, and the ______.

a. central executive; episodic buffer; phonological loop; visuospatial sketchpad

b. central executive; short-term memory; phonological loop; visuospatial sketchpad

c. episodic buffer; central executive; phonological loop; visuospatial sketchpad

d. phonological loop; central executive; episodic buffer; visuospatial sketchpad

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Baddeley's Model

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Your professor has asked you to create a study in which people remember as many random letters as possible. Based on your knowledge of the phonological loop, which of these actions should you take to help ensure success?

a. Make sure that as many letters as possible sound alike (B, D, P, and so on).

b. Make sure that as many letters as possible have distinct sounds (A, L, Q, and so on).

c. Have subjects recite a sentence aloud as they learn the list.

d. Invite children to take part in the study because they have faster recall than adults do.

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Phonological Loop

Difficulty Level: Hard

36. What happens to verbal information that is in the phonological loop when new verbal information comes in?

a. The old information binds with visual information.

b. The brain fails to receive the new information.

c. The old information moves to the visuospatial sketchpad.

d. The new information replaces the old.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Phonological Loop

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Which of these do experts believe to be a bridge between working memory and long-term memory?

a. sensory memory

b. Baddeley's model

c. episodic buffer

d. modal model

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Episodic Buffer

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Which of these have researchers begun using to help them understand working memory?

a. applying the Sperling study to the senses of sound and touch

b. monitoring how and when semantic memories become implanted

c. studying when brain cells become more or less active

d. interviewing research subjects about procedural memories

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Beyond Baddeley's Model

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. How does Cowan’s memory model differ from Baddeley’s?

a. Cowan believes that working memory and long-term memory are separate systems.

b. Cowan believes that working memory is a subset of long-term memory.

c. Cowan focuses on neural activity, while Baddeley focuses on self-reporting by research subjects.

d. Baddeley focuses on neural activity, while Cowan focuses on self-reporting by research subjects.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Beyond Baddeley's Model

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. How many types of memory are there?

a. There are two types: explicit and implicit.

b. There are four types: working, short-term, long-term, and unretrievable.

c. Three types exist: episodic, short-term, and long-term.

d. More study is needed before researchers can answer this question.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Memory Overview

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Clive Wearing’s brain injury helped researchers understand the differences between episodic memories and procedural memories.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction: The Pervasiveness of Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The correct order of memory processing is as follows: storage, encoding, and retrieval.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The modal model of memory classifies memories based on how long the subject's brain has held each memory.

Learning Objective: 5-3: Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Modal Model of Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. The briefest form of memory is short-term memory.

Learning Objective: 5-2: How many types of memories are there?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Remembering your phone number from childhood is an example of sensory memory.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sensory Memory

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Short-term memory has a limited capacity and unlimited duration.

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Short-Term Memory (STM)

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Chunking is a method used to increase the number of pieces of information one can remember.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Short-Term Memory (STM)

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Retroactive interference occurs when old information interferes with the storage or retrieval of new information.

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. An example of a procedural memory would be how to ride a bicycle.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Types of LTM Memories

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Proactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the storage or retrieval of old information.

Learning Objective: 5-5: How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Duration of STM

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Trace the process that a memory goes through during formation. Include the brain areas involved in each step.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Memory as Structure or Process

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss the three types of long-term memories, and give an example of each from your everyday life.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Define working memory and discuss Baddeley’s model of working memory. Give an example of how your brain processed an event in your life, according to Baddeley's model.

Learning Objective: 5-4: What kind of memory helps us to focus on a task?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Baddeley’s Model

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Many questions about memory structures and processes remain. Choose one unanswered question that interests you, and then define, describe, and give an example of it.

Learning Objective: 5-1: Is memory a process, a structure, or a system?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Memory Overview

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, how would you redesign the course material to make it easier to remember? Give at least two examples of ways to improve the memory-making process, and explain how each applies to the material in this class.

Learning Objective: 5-6: What are the limits of our memory?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Memory Overview

Difficulty Level: Hard