Chapter 1
Concepts to know
1. Hermann Ebbinghaus- German psychologist first to study memory using scientific
memory
1. Nonsense syllables
1. Meaningless syllables that can be given to participants to study that avoid
the effect of meaning on memory
1. WOB
2. Retention interval
1. The amount of time that elapses between initially learning and when it is
recalled or retrieved
3. Savings score
1. The reduction or difference in time needed to relearn a previously mastered
material
2. most sensitive measure of memory
3. also known as relearning score
4. Forgetting curve (know what it shows)
1. A graph that traces the decline of memory performance
2. Most information is forgotten shortly after learning
5. Overlearning
1. Studying after material has been thoroughly learned
2.
3.
1. Massed practice or study
1. a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods without
interruption
2. When all study occurs in one block of time, cramming
2. Distributed practice or study
1. Studying that is distributed/dispersed over a reasonable amount of time;
through repetition intervals
2. When study is spread out over time
3. Spacing effect
1. the tendency for distributed practice to yield better long-term retention than
through massed practice.
1. Distributed practice > massed practice
1. Cognitive psychology
1. approach to psychology that emphasizes hidden mental processes
2. Cognitive neuroscience
1. the study of the role of the brain in producing cognition.
4.
1. Experiment
1. Set of observations that occur under controlled circumstances determined by
the experimenter
2. Independent variables
1. Variable that is manipulated, I vary
3. Dependent variables
1. The measurable effect, outcome, or response to the independent
4. Random assignment
1. Any particular participant is equally likely to be assigned to any of the
conditions.
5. Double-blind procedure
1. Experimental structure in which neither the tester nor the participant know
what assignment or condition the participant is in.
5. Measures of memory:
1. Recall- To generate target memory based on cues, without seeing or hearing
the actual target memory
1. free- generating a memory with little or no cuing of the memories
2. cued- a person is given a specific cue and must generate a target
memory that corresponds to that cue.
2. recognition (multiple choice test)1. Identifying target memory among a set of presented items.
6. Reaction time- The measured amount of time needed to perform a particular task.
7.
1. Source judgments
1. Our attributions of where or from whom we learned something
2. Reality monitoring
1. Our ability to distinguish whether our memory is of a real or imagined event.
1. Is this real life or is this just fantasy
8. Metamemory- our knowledge of memory processes and awareness of the contents
of our own brain
9. Judgments of learning- Predictions we make as we study items of the likelihood
that we will remember them later
Items from class slides
10. why recognition tasks are easier than recall tasks
1. Recognition tasks are easier than recall tasks since the target memory is listed
one just has to select it.
11. the most sensitive measure of memory
1. Savings bc it shows evidence of memory even if a person is not aware of having
a memory
12. direct and indirect measures of memory
1. Direct- Recall, recognition ——> amount and accuracy
2. Indirect•error analysis
•reality monitoring
•reaction time
•judgments of learning (and other
•source judgments
metamemory judgments)
13. two components that every experiment must have
1. Random assignment
2. control of the independent variable
Possible ideas for open-ended questions
14. Give an example of a direct and an indirect measure of memory.
1.
15. Give an example of a free recall test, cued recall test, and a recognition test.
1.
16. Give an example of a source judgment and reality monitoring.
1.
17. What is metamemory?
1. our knowledge and awareness of our own memory processes,
18. When given a description of a study, identify independent and dependent
variable(s).
1. Independent- I vary
2. Dependent- what is the outcome
19. What are the two components that every experiment must have?
1. Random assignment
2. control of the independent
variable
1/15 I-Clicker
1. The activity we did during last class was meant to illustrate ___.
A.
benefit of retrieval cues
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
B.
limited nature of attention
C.
limited duration of short-term memory
D.
difficulty with searching long-term memory
Research by Ebbinghaus showed that ____.
A.
savings score applies to the most recent information
B.
information is forgotten at a consistent rate, a little bit at a time
C.
most information is forgotten soon after learning
D.
there is little forgetting soon after learning
What is a savings score?
A.
the reduction in time needed to relearn previously learned information
B.
the reduction in time needed to learn new information using mnemonics
C.
the difference in memory performance between children and adults
D.
the way memories are saved in the brain
Task #1 (“write down as many words as you can”) is an example of what measure of
memory?
A.
Cued recall
C.
Recognition
B.
Free recall
D.
Savings
Task #2 (“write down words starting with a certain letter”) is an example of what
measure of memory?
A.
Cued recall
C.
Recognition
B.
Free recall
D.
Savings
Task #3 (“indicating whether each presented word was on the list”) is an example of
what measure of memory?
A.
Cued recall
C.
Recognition
B.
Free recall
D.
Savings
Multiple-choice tests are examples of ___ memory tests.
A.
Recall
C.
Retrieval
B.
Recognition
D.
Academic
Which of these memory tasks is easier?
A.
Recall
B.
Recognition
Why?
Recognition tests provide better _____.
9. Which of these is the MOST sensitive measure of memory?
A.
Recall
B.
Recognition
C.
Savings
1/17 clicker
A researcher wants to find out what type of study strategy, FLASH CARDS or
RETRIEVAL PRACTICE, produces better recall.
1. What is the Independent Variable (IV) in this example?
A.
Flash cards
C.
Type of study strategy
B.
Retrieval practice
D.
Performance on a recall test
2. What is the Dependent Variable (DV) in this example?
A.
Flash cards
C.
Type of study strategy
B.
Retrieval practice
D.
Performance on a recall test
3. I teach two sections of EXP 3523 – U02 and U01. If I wanted to compare the two
sections’ performance on exams, will this be an experiment?
A.
Yes
B.
No
Why?
4. Research by Ebbinghaus showed that ____.
A.
there is little forgetting soon after learning
B.
most information is forgotten soon after learning
C.
savings score applies to the most recent information
D.
information is forgotten at a consistent rate, a little bit at a time
5. Based on last class discussion, which of the following is the most sensitive measure
of memory?
A.
Metamemory
C.
Recognition
B.
Recall
D.
Savings
6. Which of the following is a DIRECT measure of memory?
A. Accuracy of retrieved information
B.
Judgment of learning
C.
Reaction time
D.
Savings score
E.
All of the above
7. Dr. Zepnik hypothesizes that being drunk negatively affects people’s short-term
memory. She gives half of her subjects an alcoholic drink and the other half a
“virgin” drink and then gives everyone a short-term memory task. What is the IV in
this study?
A. Type of drink
D.Performance on a short-term
B. Type of short-term memory
memory task
task
C.People’s short-term memory
D.Performance on a memory span
8. What is the DV in Dr. Zepnik’s study?
task
A.Being drunk
E.Negative effect of alcohol on
B.Getting a “virgin” drink
memory