Memory and Cognition
Chapter 7
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Answers: Chapter 7 (Long-Term Memory – Encoding and Retrieval)
This is a set of questions to help you check your understanding of the material. It is
recommended that you do them right after doing the lecture and the readings for
that section, and then check your answers.
1. Which statement below is most closely associated with levels of processing
theory?
a. Information enters memory by passing through a number of levels,
beginning with sensory memory, and then short-term memory, and
then long-term memory
b. Events that are repeated enough can influence our behavior, even
after we have forgotten the original events
c. Deep processing takes longer than shallow processing and results in
better memory
d. People who were sad when they studied did better when they were
sad during testing.
The correct answer is C. Two of the other choices are related to theories
we’ve talked about but not the levels of processing theory. A is related to the
modal model of memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin) and D is related to the findings
on state-dependent learning. The lesson is that you do not want to pick an
answer just because it seems familiar – you need to have more specific
knowledge than that. And of course know all three of these theories.
2. According to your text, imagery enhances memory because
a. Research shows people like pictures better than words, so there is an
enhanced emotional response
b. The brain processes images more easily than the meanings of words
c. Imagery can be used to create connections between items to be
remembered
d. Pictures fit better with our basic instincts because children learn
pictures before reading words
The correct answer is C. Actually this is the only one that even sounds like an
explanation from a cognitive psychologist.
3. The story in the text about the balloons that were used to suspend a speaker
in mid air was used to illustrate the role of ____________ in memory.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Rehearsal
Organization
Depth of processing
Forming connections with other information
The correct answer is B. Organization involves forming connections between
little pieces of information, so D might have been tempting, but the best
answer is B.
4. Mantyla’s “banana / yellow, bunches, edible” experiment demonstrates that,
for best memory performance, retrieval cues should be created
a. By agreement among many people, thus providing proof they are
effective
b. By a memory expert who understands what makes cues effective
c. Using visual images
d. By the person whose memory will be tested
The correct answer is D. There are other studies in the chapter that
demonstrated the effectiveness of imagery (answer C) so that might have
been a tempting answer, but it wasn’t the focus of Mantyla’s experiment. It is
good to keep this one in mind – it is much better to make your own study
materials than to share another person’s. This is why as a teacher I hesitate
to provide study guides with details. They actually don’t help that much
(especially if they make it less likely you will make your own).
5. Students beware! Research shows that ___________ does not improve reading
comprehension because it does not encourage elaborative processing of the
material
a.
b.
c.
d.
Organization
Highlighting
Making up your own questions about the material
Feedback
The correct answer is B. Highlighting is extremely popular, so it is surprising
to people that it doesn’t help, at least with comprehension (it might help you
find things later— that wasn’t tested). All of the others DO encourage
elaborative processing (and therefore retention) of the material.
Memory and Cognition
Chapter 7
3
6. Hebb’s idea of long-term potentiation, which provides a physiological
mechanism for the long-term storage of memories, includes the idea of
a.
b.
c.
d.
An increase in the size of cell bodies of neurons
Enhanced firing in the neurons
Larger electrical impulses in the synapse
The growth of new dendrites in neurons
The correct answer is B. If you got this one wrong you might want to review
the material from Chapter 2 in addition to rereading the section on Hebbian
learning in Chapter 7. Only B is consistent with how neurons work.
7. ________ transforms new memories from a fragile state, in which they can be
disrupted, to a more permanent state, in which they are resistant to
disruption
a. Amnesia
b. Encoding specificity
c. Cued-recall
d. Consolidation
The correct answer is D. You should know all of these vocabulary terms. Take
a moment to practice.
8. Lourdes and Kim have been studying for two hours for their chemistry exam.
Both girls are tired of studying. Lourdes decides to watch a two-hour action
movie on DVD, while Kim decides to go to bed. What would you predict about
their performance on the chemistry exam?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Lourdes performs better because of reactivation
Kim performs better because of reactivation
Lourdes performs better because of encoding specificity
Kim performs better because of encoding specificity
The correct answer is B. Consolidation is the process that makes memory
become more stable, and it involves reactivation. Reactivation happens
during sleep, as you dream, so Kim (who slept) will do better.
9. According to the multiple trace hypothesis, the hippocampus is involved in
retrieval of
a. Remote episodic memories
b. Remote semantic memories
c. Remote procedural memories
d. State-dependent memories
The correct answer is A. Be careful though, the “remote” part is controversial.
The hippocampus is most closely associated with very recent memories.
10. Define state-dependent learning and encoding specificity. Then, explain two
ways a student might apply these principles to enhance her learning in
college courses. Explain why these suggestions for learning are likely to be
successful, based on research findings.
State-dependent learning and encoding specificity both say that people will
do best if the conditions of learning and the conditions of testing match.
State-dependent learning is about the physical state of the person and
encoding specificity is about the context or situation. A student could use
these principles by taking the test at the same time of day as they usually do
assignments (for mood, hunger, sleep, etc.) and/or in the same place (for
context). It’s likely to work because in list-learning experiments when the
testing and training conditions matched (training and testing under water
and training and testing on land) people did better than when testing and
training mismatched (training under water and testing on land or training on
land and testing under water).