Chapter 7
Memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is Memory?
Human memory is an
information processing
system that works
constructively to encode,
store, and retrieve
information
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is Memory?
Memory –
Any system – human, animal, or machine
– that encodes, stores, and retrieves
information
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Why is choosing the right penny so difficult?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
It’s difficult because. . .
1. We haven’t encoded that info.
2. We haven’t stored that info.
3. Therefore, we cannot retrieve it easily.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is pseudoforgetting?
Pseudoforgetting (false forgetting) is a
failure to encode the information
You didn’t forget; you just never cared
enough to pay attention!
(pseudo = false)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
3 basic tasks of memory
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The way I see it!!
Encoding
Putting info in the
brain
Storage
Retrieval
Elaboration –
trying to understand it
Making it meaningful to
you
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The way I see it!!
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Keeping the info
in the brain
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The way I see it!!
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Getting stuff
out of your
brain
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Now, use computer
terminology to
describe the
processes of memory!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Review
Getting information into the brain is called
_____; getting information out of
memory is called ______.
a. storage; retrieval
b. Encoding; storage
c. Encoding; retrieval
d. Storage; encoding
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Let’s talk about
encoding.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Now let’s try
something.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Can you remember this?
GBX IYU CSE GWE LIY
TRN
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
It’s tough. You might remember the
structure (all capital letters).
That’s structural encoding.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Try this
Pain
Crane Sane Layne
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Phonemic Encoding
That was easier because they all rhymed.
Remembering sounds is easier than
remembering structure.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Acoustic encoding –
Conversion of information to sound
patterns in working memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Acoustic encoding
What are the parts of the human
body?
Think of a song!!!!!!!!!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Can you remember all 50 states?
Make up a song.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Acoustic encoding
I remember Rick’s name because it sounds
like he acts on a daily basis.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Semantic encoding
“Semantic” means meaning. We
remember stuff that has meaning better
than their structure and sounds.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Try this.
Apples are grown in Washington.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Levels of Encoding
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Review
The word “big” is flashed on the screen. A
mental picture of the word big represents a
______ code; the definition “large in size”
represents a ______ code; “sounds like pig”
represents a _______ code.
a. structural; phonemic; semantic
b. Phonemic; semantic; structural
c. Structural; semantic; phonemic
d. Phonemic; structural; semantic
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is serial
positioning effect?
Imagine a grocery list: milk, eggs,
butter, bread, celery, chocolate, Big
Red, Beans, chips.
We most likely will remember the first
few items and the last few.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Encoding: Serial Position Effect
Percent
age of
words
recalled
90
80
Serial Position
Effect-tendency
to recall best
the last items in
a list
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
2
3
4 5 6 7 8
Position of
word in list
9
10 11 12
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How can we use this
as students?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Encoding is effective when
You pay attention. “Selective attention” If you don’t pay
attention, your sensory memory will hear blah, blah.
You have to pay attention to get info into your
working memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Effective Encoding
We encode what we are interested in. This
is called self-referent encoding.
Can you remember my phone number?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Self referent encoding
We remember information that is
personally relevant.
I’ll give you money if you
remember something.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Dual Encoding
Dual encoding (learning) involves
combining different levels of processing.
Combine Semantic with phonemic with
structural processing when you learn
and study.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
A common way of dual
encoding is
Mnemonics
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Mnemonics (encoding)
Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units
like horizontal organization--1776149218121941
often occurs automatically
use of acronyms
HOMES--Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
PEMDAS - ?????
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Chunking
Can you remember this number?
19039848557
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Method of loci?
Aristotle talked about this. You have a
grocery list: hot dogs, cat food, tomatoes,
bananas, Dr. Pepper.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Method of loci?
Now imagine you are arriving home in the
driveway you see hot dogs all over the
driveway, INSIDE the garage your cat is eating
its food, you see tomatoes spattered on the
door, you hang your coat but see banannas
hanging in the closet, you go to the sink and
see Dr. Pepper face down in the sink.
What’s cool about the method of loci is you
remember the items in a specific order.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Eggs, strawberries, ravioli, chocolate, beef.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Encoding Specificity Principle
What are context dependent effects:
information learned in a particular context is
better recalled if recall takes place in the
same context
ex: mood congruence
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Godden & Baddeley (1975)
Memory experiment with deep-sea divers
Deep-sea divers learned words either on land or underwater
They then recalled the words either on land or underwater
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Mood Congruence
Easier to remember
happy memories in a
happy state and sad
memories in a sad
state.
Teasdale & Russell
(1983): subjects study
positive or negative
words in normal state.
Test in positive or
negative induced
states.
 mood primes certain
memory contents
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
State-dependent recall
Does physical state matter?
Eich et al. (1975): study while smoking
normal or marijuana cigarette. Test
words under same or different physical
condition
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Encoding summary
Encoding is most effective when we can
see it, hear it, touch it, and
UNDERSTAND it. Also, it’s most
effective when we combine those
elements. Encoding is best when we
care.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is spacing effect?
Memory is better for repeated information if repetitions
occur spaced over time than if they occur massed,
one after another. No cramming!
Why? 1.Spacing distributed practice (instead of
massed practice) reduces retroactive and proactive
interference.
2.REM sleep helps memory. So study Tuesday, sleep,
study Wednesday, sleep. You’ll do better.
3.Distributed practice may cause you to encode it in
different ways and in different moods.
Melton&&Bacon
Schulman,
Copyright © Allyn
20071970
If a subject is asked to remember this list of
numbers in 10 seconds: 48, 31, 45, 76, 97,
84, 26, 12, 67, which numbers will she most
likely remember?
a. 84, 45
b. 48, 67
c. 12, 31
d. 97, 76
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Now let’s talk about storage
Each of the three memory
stages encodes and stores
memories in a different way,
but they work together to
transform sensory experience
into a lasting record that has a
pattern of meaning
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What are the Three Stages of Memory?
Sensory
Memory
Working
Memory
(STM)
Long-term
Memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The First Stage: Sensory Memory
On the next slide, you will see a
series of letters for one second
Try to remember as many letters
as you can
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
DJB
XHG
C LY
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The First Stage: Sensory Memory
How many can you recall?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
DJB
XHG
C LY
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The First Stage: Sensory Memory
Sensory Memory has a large capacity, very
short duration, allows quick/online
commerce with environment.
It registers sensations coming into our
"system" from the environment, allowing
us to pick up on all the rich stimuli "out
there." There are many "types" of
sensory memories, corresponding to our
different senses, as in eyes, hears, touch,
taste, etc.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Sensory memory
Sensory memory lasts no more than 2
seconds. The precise length of
different types of sensory memories
differs (e.g., visual sensory memory is
shorter than auditory).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory traces fade fairly
rapidly. We simply lose the
information UNLESS we do something
further with it.
Did you remember when I clapped
earlier?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The First Stage: Sensory Memory
Psychologists believe that, in this stage,
memory images take the form of nerve
impulses
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Three Stages of Memory
Sensory
Memory
Working
Memory
STM
Long-term
Memory
Preserves recently
perceived events or
experiences for less
than a minute without
rehearsal.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Second Stage: Working Memory
Alan Baddeley’s model
of Working memory
(STM) consists of
• A central executive
• A phonological loop
• The sketchpad
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is Atkinson – Shiffrin
model of memory storage?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Short Term Memory (working)
STM can hold unrehearsed information up
to 20 seconds.
STM can hold 7 items +/- 2, according to
some theories.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
TWANBACBSCPR
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Encoding and Storage
in Working Memory (STM)
Chunking –
Organizing pieces of information into a
smaller number of meaningful units
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Okay, earlier we talked
about chunking as a
means of encoding
(understanding).
Now we will mention it as a means
of Short-term storage.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Chunking
Can you remember this number?
19039848557
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Chunking
How about this one?
1-903-984-8557
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Maintenance rehearsal –
Process in which information is repeated
or reviewed to keep it from fading while in
working memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Maintenance Rehearsal
JLo says, “My phone
Number is 469-2595968”
You then repeat it to
yourself until you can
write it down
somewhere.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Elaborative rehearsal –
Process in which information is actively reviewed and related to
information already in LTM
Example: Suppose you had to know the following definition of the term
"norm" for your sociology class: norms are standards of desirable
behavior that people are supposed to follow in their interactions with
others.
If you were to use rote rehearsal, you would repeat this definition over
and over many times. If, however, you were to use elaborative rehearsal,
you would expand on the above definition by adding additional
information and associating it with information already in your memory.
Below, the meaning of the term is analyzed in greater detail and also
includes examples that connect the information to knowledge you may
already have in your memory system.
Norms often differ depending on the situation. Example: It's okay to tell
my problems to my parents or friends but not to strangers.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What parts of brain are involved in
memory?
The Prefrontal
Cortex--Site of
Working
Memory (STM)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The hippocampus is part of a network of regions in the
brain important for memory. Research suggests that the
mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, amygdala , and
hippocampus may work in concert to regulate which
information is consolidated in memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Flashbulb memories?
Memories we never
forget because of
the emotion
involved.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The capacity of STM (working memory) is
a. About 50, 000 words
b. Unlimited
c. About 25 stimuli
d. About 7 “chunks” of information
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Three Stages of Memory
Sensory
Memory
Working
Memory
Long-term
Memory
Stores material
organized
according to
meaning, also
called LTM
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Long-term memory
Declarative memory Procedural memory
Semantic memory
Includes memory
for:
language, facts
general knowledge
Episodic memory
Memory of life’s
Episodes like first
kiss
Includes memory
for:
motor skills,
operant and
classical
conditioning
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Third Stage:
Long-Term Memory
Procedural memory –
Division of LTM that stores memories for
how things are done
Declarative memory –
Division of LTM that stores explicit
information
(also known as fact memory)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Third Stage:
Long-Term Memory
Episodic memory –
Subdivision of declarative memory that
stores memories for personal events, or
“episodes”
Semantic memory –
Subdivision of declarative memory
that stores general knowledge,
including meanings of words and
concepts
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Long-term memory
Declarative memory Procedural memory
Semantic memory
Episodic memory
Includes memory
for:
language, facts
general knowledge
Includes memory
for:
events, personal
experiences
Includes memory
for:
motor skills,
operant and
classical
conditioning
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Your memory of how to brush your teeth is
contained in your ______ memory.
a. Declarative
b. Procedural
c. Structural
d. episodic
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Your knowledge that birds fly, that the sun
rises in the east, and that 2+2=4 is
contained in your ______ memory.
a. Structural
b. Procedural
c. Implicit
d. semantic
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Why do we forget?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Decay theory?
We simply forget over time.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Motivated forgetting
AKA “repression” We want to forget awful
things.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
3 types of amnesia?
Infantile amnesia – stuff we don’t remember as
babies
Anterograde amnesia –
Inability to form memories for new
information
Retrograde amnesia –
Inability to remember information
previously stored in memory
Note: procedural memory seems
unaffected!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Anterograde Amnesia
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Retrograde amnesia
Any soap opera where someone can’t
remember who they are, where they live,
etc.
Quarterbacks who can’t remember games
when they got concussions.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
HM: a case study
Bicycle accident at age 9
After accident: intractable epilepsy
Surgery in 1953: surgery at age 27
During surgery: bilateral damage to hippocampus
and mediotemporal lobes
Result: not able to form new memories/does not
know that he has disorder/thinks it is 1953: 27
yrs. old
Milner tests
tracing stars with mirrors
every day repeated
every day “new” to HM
but…he improved! (Long term perceptual motor
memories intact; no conscious recollection of activity)
Learning with no conscious memory
Two types: explicit and implicit (or declarative and non-declarative)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
HM: Amnesic
Severe epilepsy, treated with surgery to bilaterally
remove medial temporal lobes, including
hippocampus
Operation 9/1953, 27 years old
HIPPOCAMPUS
MEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBES
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
HM: Amnesic
Mirror tracing task, Milner, 1965
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
LTM
Consolidation –
The process by which short-term
memories are changed to long-term
memories
Our ultimate goal as students!!!!! We want
to remember this stuff on May 2!
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How do we consolidate?
Make it meaningful. Put notes in your own
words. Relate stuff to your own experience.
See it, smell it, taste it, touch it, sing it, make a
joke about it (preferably a dirty one).
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
If decay theory is correct:
a. Information can never be permanently lost
from long-term memory
b. Forgetting is simply a case of retrieval failure
c. The principal cause of forgetting should be
the passage of time
d. All of the above
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Many amnesiacs demonstrate _____
memory, even though their ______
memory is extremely impaired.
a. declarative; procedural
b. Conscious; unconscious
c. Implicit; explicit
d. Semantic; episodic
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
How Do We
Retrieve Memories?
Whether memories are
implicit or explicit, successful
retrieval depends on how
they were encoded and how
they are cued
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Retrieval Cues
Retrieval cues –
Stimuli that are used to bring a memory
to consciousness or into behavior
Example: hints that a teacher gives you
during a test without giving you the
answer.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Retrieval Cues
What is Priming? –
Technique for retrieving memories by
providing cues that stimulate a memory
without awareness of the connection
between the cue and the retrieved
memory. Giving hints to remember.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Priming
If you are presented with the following
words:
assassin, octopus, avocado, mystery,
sheriff, climate
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Priming
An hour later, you would easily be able to
identify which of the following words you
had previously seen:
twilight, assassin, dinosaur, mystery
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Priming
However, an hour later, you would also
have a much easier time filling in the
blanks of some of these words than
others:
ch_ _ _ _ nk
o _ t _ _ _ us
_ og _ y _ _ _
_ l _ m _ te
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Priming
While you did not actively try to remember
“octopus” and “climate” from the first list,
they were primed in the reading, which
made them easier to identify in this task
chipmunk
octopus
bogeyman
climate
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Name the Seven Dwarves
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Remembering off the
top of your head is
recall.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Now pick pick out the seven
dwarves.
Grouchy Gabby Fearful Sleepy
Smiley Jumpy Hopeful Shy
Droopy Dopey Sniffy Wishful
Puffy Dumpy Sneezy Pop
Grumpy Bashful Cheerful Teach
Snorty Nifty Happy Doc Wheezy
Stubby Poopy (this is recognition)
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Seven Dwarves
Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Doc and Bashful
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is Recall and Recognition?
Recall –
Technique for retrieving explicit memories in
which one must reproduce previously
presented information (fill in blank) remember
without priming
Recognition –
Technique for retrieving explicit memories in
which one must identify present stimuli as
having been previously presented (multiple
choice) remember with priming
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Other Factors Affecting Retrieval
Encoding specificity principle –
The more closely the retrieval clues
match the form in which the information
was encoded, the better the information
will be remembered
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Other Factors Affecting Retrieval
Mood congruent memory –
A memory process that selectively
retrieves memories that match one’s
mood
A good mood reminds you of good times.
A fight with your boyfriend reminds you of
something else he did to piss you off.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
TOT (tip of the tongue) phenomenon? –
The inability to recall a word, while
knowing that it is in memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is retroactive interference?
What is proactive interference?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Interference-learning French and Italian
simultaneously
Un
Uno
Deux
Due
Trois
Tre
Quatre
Quattro
cinq
cinque
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Why do we forget?
1. Decay theory
2. Repression
3. Amnesia
4. Pseudoforgetting
5. Misinformation effect
6. Interference
7. Lack of mood congruency
8. Bias
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Why Does Memory
Sometimes Fail Us?
Most of our memory
problems arise from
memory’s “seven sins” –
which are really by-products
of otherwise adaptive
features of human memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Memory’s
“Seven Sins”
Transience
AbsentMindedness
Misattribution
Suggestibility
Bias
Persistence
Blocking
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Transience
The impermanence of a long-term memory;
based on the idea that long-term
memories gradually fade in strength over
time
Forgetting curve –
A graph plotting the amount of retention and
forgetting over time for a certain batch of
material
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Percent retained
Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
5
10
15
Days
20
25
30
Recall decreases rapidly, then reaches a plateau,
after which little more is forgotten
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Absent-Mindedness
Forgetting caused by lapses in attention
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Blocking
Forgetting that occurs when an item in
memory cannot be accessed or retrieved
• Proactive interference
• Retroactive interference
• Serial position effect
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Misattribution
Memory fault that occurs when memories
are retrieved, but they are associated
with the wrong time, place, or person
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Suggestibility
Process of memory distortion as a result of
deliberate or inadvertent suggestion
Misinformation effect –
The distortion of memory by suggestion or
misinformation
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Factors Affecting the Accuracy of
Eyewitnesses:
Recollections are less influenced by
leading questions if possibility of memory
bias is forewarned
Passage of time leads to increase in
misremembering information (JFK
assassination)
Age of the witness matters
Confidence in memory is not a sign of
accuracy
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
What is repressed memory controversy?
Elizabeth Loftus studied how false
memories are planted into people’s
minds.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Bias
An attitude, belief, emotion, or experience
that distorts memories
Expectancy bias –
A tendency to distort recalled events to
make them fit one’s expectations
Self-consistency bias –
Idea that we are more consistent than we
actually are
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Persistence
Memory problem in which unwanted
memories cannot be put out of mind
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Improving Everyday Memory
Engage in adequate rehearsal
Distribute practice and minimize
interference
Emphasize deep processing and
transfer-appropriate processing
Organize information
Encoding specificity – vary location of
studying
Use verbal mnemonics – narrative
stories
Use visual mnemonics – method of
Loci
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Let’s review.
1. The three stages of Atkinson-Shiffrin
process of memory are:
a) iconic, echoic, encoding
b) sensory, short term, long term
c) shallow, medium, and deep
processing
d) semantic, episodic, procedural
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
2. Which of the following examples best
illustrates episodic memory?
a) telling someone how to tie a shoe
b) answering correctly that the Battle
of Hastings was in 1066
c) knowing that the word for black in
French is noir
d) remembering that a clown was at
your fifth birthday party
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
When Sue memorized her shopping list, she got
to the store and forgot many items from the
middle of the list. This is due to the
a. Inappropriate encoding
b. Retrograde amnesia
c. Proactive interference
d. The serial-position effect
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
3. Doug wrote a grocery list of 10 items, but
leaves it at home. The list included in order:
peas, corn, squash, onions, apples, pears,
bananas, flour, milk, and eggs. If the law of
primacy holds, which of the following is Doug
most likely to remember when he gets to the
store?
a) peas, pears, eggs
b) banana, flour, peas
c) apples, pears, bananas
d) peas, corn, squash
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
4. Mnemonic devices
a) can only be used to remember
concrete words
b) have existed since ancient times
c) are generally ineffective and are
unnecessary in modern times
d) are the main element for improving
everyday memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
5. According to the levels of processing theory of
memory
a) we remember items that are repeated
again and again
b) maintenance rehearsal will encode items
into our long-term memory
c) deep processing involves elaborative
rehearsal, ensuring encoding into long-term
memory
d) input, output, and storage are the three
levels
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
6. Which of the following brain structures
plays a key role in transferring
information from short-term memory to
long-term memory?
a) hypothalamus
b) thalamus
c) hippocampus
d) frontal lobe
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
7. Dan was drunk, so his girlfriend convinced
him to get out of his car, and she drove him
home in her car. He could not remember
where his car was parked when he got up the
next morning, but after drinking some liquor,
Dan remembered where he left his car. This
phenomenon best illustrates:
a) the misinformation effect
b) mood-congruent memory
c) the framing effect
d) state-dependent memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
8. Which of the following terms is
synonymous with “motivated forgetting”?
a) regression
b) repression
c) sublimation
d) rationalization
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
9. A retrieval cue is
a) a brain structure stimulus used to
locate a particular memory
b) the same thing as an elaboration
encoding variable
c) a stimulus associated with a
memory that is used to locate that
memory
d) always based on the mood you
were in when a memory was first
encoded
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
10. Focusing awareness on a narrow
range of stimuli or events involves
a) encoding
b) attention
c) elaboration
d) clustering
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
11. If you were attempting to recall a
memory, the memory process you would
be using is
a) encoding
b) storage
c) retrieval
d) acquisition
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
12. A memory code that emphasizes the
meaning of the verbal input is called
a) a structural code
b) a phonemic code
c) a semantic code
d) an episodic code
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
13. Which level of processing should result
in the longest lasting memory codes?
a) structural encoding
b) mnemonic encoding
c) semantic encoding
d) phonemic encoding
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
14. Pseudoforgetting is viewed as a
function of
a) interference effects
b) lack of attention
c) hippocampal damage
d) insufficient retrieval cues
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
15. Overlearning material will
a) not improve retention
b) improve retention
c) improve retention for nonsense
syllables, but not much else
d) result in “burnout”
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Chapter 7 Answer Key
1. B
2. D
3. D
4. B
5. C
6. C
7. D
8. B
11. C
12. C
13. C
14. B
15. B
9. C
10. B
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007