Deck 7: Episodic and Semantic Memory: Memory for Events and for Facts

Question 1

Describe the case of H.M. Explain how he acquired his memory problems, and discuss the types of deficits he experienced and the functions of his brain that were spared.

Answer 1

Grading criteria: Acquiring memory problems: He had his temporal lobes removed at age 27 in order to treat severe epilepsy. Deficits: severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia (give examples). Spared: intelligence, ability to learn new skill memories.

Question 2

Declarative memory:

A) includes both semantic and episodic memory.
B) is the same as implicit memory.
C) is not consciously accessible.
D) includes semantic memory but not episodic memory.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Give an example of an episodic memory related to the experience of driving a car.

Answer 3

Grading criteria: Examples may include: remembering being in an accident, remembering one's first driving lesson, remembering getting a speeding ticket, and so forth. Answer must be specific enough to demonstrate an understanding of the distinction between episodic and semantic memory.

Question 4

Knowing that the speed limit on a highway is 65 kmph is an example of _____ memory.

A) nondeclarative
B) implicit
C) semantic
D) episodic

Question 5

Remembering that one received a B in one's last math test is an example of _____ memory.

A) nondeclarative
B) implicit
C) semantic
D) episodic

Question 6

Damage to the diencephalon can lead to:

A) retrograde amnesia, but not anterograde amnesia.
B) difficulty determining what information to store.
C) anterograde amnesia and confabulation.
D) difficulty remembering one's identity.

Question 7

The finding that scrub jays can remember what type of food they stored in different locations as well as how long ago it was stored demonstrates that scrub jays may have _____ memory.

A) an episodic
B) a semantic
C) declarative
D) nondeclarative

Question 8

The findings regarding the effect of electroconvulsive shock on memory have been used to support the idea that:

A) information is remembered best when it can be related to prior knowledge.
B) memory is best when the encoding and retrieval contexts are the same.
C) memories have a consolidation period.
D) memory is better when more cues are present.

Question 9

Which statement is TRUE regarding episodic and semantic memory?

A) Semantic memory has autobiographical content, while episodic memory does not.
B) Episodic memory is acquired in a single exposure, while semantic memory usually requires multiple exposures.
C) Semantic memory is accessible to conscious recall, while episodic memory is not.
D) Episodic memory can be communicated in a format other than that in which it was acquired, while semantic memory cannot be communicated in a different format.

Question 10

Describe the effect of repeated exposure on semantic memory and on episodic memory.

Question 11

Give an example of a semantic memory related to the experience of playing a sport.

Question 12

Tanya remembers that her favorite celebrity is going to have twins, but she can't recall where she heard this bit of gossip. This is an example of:

A) proactive interference.
B) retroactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) false memory.

Question 13

If one studies for a psychology test, then studies for a biology test, one's memory for the biology material can make it harder to remember the psychology material. This is an example of:

A) false memory.
B) transfer-appropriate processing.
C) proactive interference.
D) retroactive interference.

Question 14

According to the textbook, what are the two similarities between episodic and semantic memory? Describe each one.

Question 15

Francis has no memory for what he did today, although he can remember his childhood well. Which type of amnesia is Francis suffering from?

A) source
B) infantile
C) anterograde
D) retrograde

Question 16

Transient global amnesia:

A) is one of the rarest forms of amnesia.
B) is psychological in nature.
C) usually lasts a few hours or days.
D) involves forgetting one's identity.

Question 17

Which principle was demonstrated by Godden and Baddeley's finding that divers remembered material best if they learned and were tested in the same environment?

A) interference
B) transfer-appropriate processing
C) consolidation
D) false memory

Question 18

Which brain area is involved in determining which information has to be stored?

A) hippocampus
B) frontal cortex
C) diencephalon
D) basal forebrain

Question 19

Which statement is TRUE regarding the level of processing idea?

A) One remembers information better when one thinks about its meaning than when one focuses on more superficial characteristics.
B) It is clear how to determine whether information is processed deeply.
C) One remembers information best when it is presented multiple times.
D) There does not seem to be any difference in brain activity during "deep" versus "superficial" processing of information.

Question 20

Which brain area is involved in forming new episodic and semantic memories?

A) hippocampus
B) frontal cortex
C) diencephalon
D) basal forebrain

Question 21

What is functional amnesia? Describe two specific types.

Question 22

According to Endel Tulving, which type of memory stores specific autobiographical events?

A) episodic
B) semantic
C) implicit
D) nondeclarative

Question 23

What seems to be the role of the basal forebrain and diencephalon in episodic memory?

Question 24

Describe how episodic memory was demonstrated in either gorillas or scrub jays.

Question 25

Which statement is FALSE regarding semantic memory?

A) It can be communicated in a format other than that in which it was acquired.
B) It is consciously accessible.
C) It is tagged with spatial and temporal context.
D) It can be strengthened with repetition.

Question 26

Which statement is an example of an episodic memory?

A) One remembers the details of one's first date.
B) One remembers how to tie one's shoes.
C) One knows that birds fly.
D) One knows the name of one's state capital.

Question 27

How do free recall, cued recall, and recognition differ in terms of the number of memory cues available?

Question 28

Imagine one meets a lady at a party at a friend's house. One is unable to recall her name when one sees her on the street the next day. Yet one has no trouble recalling her name when one sees her again at a friend's house. How can transfer-appropriate processing explain this?

Question 29

According to Endel Tulving, which type of memory stores facts and general world knowledge?

A) episodic
B) semantic
C) implicit
D) nondeclarative

Question 30

Give an example of proactive interference occurring in everyday life.

Question 31

What is the difference between source monitoring error and false memory?

Question 32

Bransford and Johnson (1972) read an abstract passage aloud to participants, who then had to recall as much information as possible. Some participants were first informed of the topic described by the passage. How did the memory of these participants differ when compared with the memory of participants who were not informed beforehand? What does the result demonstrate about memory?

Question 33

Which statement is an example of semantic memory?

A) One remembers eating chicken last night for dinner.
B) One remembers learning how to ride a bicycle.
C) One remembers seeing the word "giraffe" in Chapter 7.
D) One knows that lemons have a sour taste.

Question 34

What seems to be the role of the hippocampus in episodic memory? Describe one study that demonstrated this role.

Question 35

Give an example of retroactive interference occurring in everyday life.

Question 36

One can remember what happened on one's first day of school by using _____ memory.

A) episodic
B) semantic
C) implicit
D) nondeclarative

Question 37

The famous patient known as H.M.:

A) continued to have severe and frequent epileptic seizures after his surgery.
B) suffered from severe anterograde amnesia.
C) lost several IQ points.
D) was able to recognize only those researchers who have been working with him for many years.

Question 38

Describe any one study that demonstrated false memories.

Question 39

Which statement demonstrates that some memories are accessible to conscious recollection?

A) One is able to describe what one's new house looks like, even if it is never described before.
B) One knows that one has the knowledge that the Earth is round.
C) People with amnesia are able to learn a new skill without realizing they have learned it.
D) One can read, even though one can't remember learning this skill.

Question 40

Explain why the shape of the typical forgetting curve implies that there is a consolidation period for memories.

Question 41

Which statement demonstrates that nonhuman animals may possess episodic memory?

A) Gorillas can learn to name fruits by using cards with pictures of the fruits on them.
B) Gorillas can remember which fruit they ate yesterday and who gave it to them.
C) Rats can learn that pressing a bar produces a food reward.
D) Rats can learn that pressing a bar will prevent them from receiving an electric shock.

Question 42

In a 1972 study, Bransford and Johnson read an abstract passage aloud to participants who then had to recall as much information as possible. Some participants were also shown a picture that was described by the passage either before or after they heard the passage read. Which group remembered the MOST information?

A) people who saw the picture after hearing the passage
B) people who saw the picture before hearing the passage
C) people who did not see any picture
D) people who drew their own picture while the passage was being read

Question 43

According to Tulving, animals cannot maintain episodic memories because animals:

A) are usually unable to remember where food is located.
B) cannot learn how to avoid electric shock.
C) do not have a sense of self.
D) have a keen sense of the passage of time.

Question 44

If one were shown a picture of graduation taken from a different vantage point from where one was seated, one would likely still be able to recognize the scene. This demonstrates that memories:

A) are consciously accessible.
B) are tagged with spatial and temporal context.
C) can be communicated flexibly.
D) can be acquired in a single exposure.

Question 45

The types of memories that are NOT always consciously accessible and are difficult to verbalize are called _____ memories.

A) episodic
B) explicit
C) declarative
D) nondeclarative

Question 46

According to Tulving and other researchers the ability to maintain episodic memories requires the ability to:

A) remember how to escape an unpleasant situation such as avoiding shock.
B) remember spatial layout such as in a maze.
C) express knowledge in a nonverbal way.
D) perform "mental time-travel" to relive and review past experiences.

Question 47

Which statement explains the relationship between episodic and semantic memory?

A) Episodic memory grows out of semantic memory.
B) Semantic memory grows out of episodic memory.
C) Episodic and semantic memories are interdependent.
D) All of the statements are correct.

Question 48

H.M. could learn to read mirror-reversed text. This is an example of:

A) implicit memory.
B) explicit memory.
C) declarative memory.
D) metamemory.

Question 49

Which statement is TRUE regarding episodic memory?

A) It can be communicated in a format other than that in which it was acquired.
B) It involves memories for factual, rather than autobiographical, information.
C) It is independent of spatial and temporal context.
D) Several exposures to the information are necessary in order to record episodic memory.

Question 50

Mere exposure to visual details on coins:

A) increased memory for the details.
B) decreased memory for the details.
C) had no impact on memory for the details.
D) increased the perceived value of the coins.

Question 51

One difference between episodic and semantic memory is that episodic memory _____, while semantic memory _____.

A) is part of declarative memory; is part of nondeclarative memory
B) does not have autobiographical content; has autobiographical content
C) is acquired in a single exposure; usually requires several exposures
D) is part of explicit memory; is part of implicit memory

Question 52

Which statement demonstrates Tulving's idea about when episodic and semantic memories develop?

A) One must go on a picnic before one can learn what a picnic is.
B) One must know what a picnic is before one can remember going on a picnic.
C) One learns what a picnic is at the same time as one experiences going on a picnic.
D) One can remember going on a picnic without having to know what a picnic is.

Question 53

One knows that cows produce milk. If this knowledge has grown out of one's repeated experiences observing cows being milked, this would suggest that:

A) episodic memory grows out of semantic memory.
B) semantic memory grows out of episodic memory.
C) episodic memories are learned in a single exposure.
D) semantic memories are learned in a single exposure.

Question 54

If one has recently attended several parties, one may have a hard time remembering the details of the events that occurred at any one particular party. That person's difficulty demonstrates that a(n) _____ memory can be _____ by exposure to similar information.

A) semantic; weakened
B) semantic; strengthened
C) episodic; weakened
D) episodic; strengthened

Question 55

According to the findings of Bransford and Johnson regarding the effects of context on memory, one will remember material from the course lectures BEST if he:

A) studies it immediately after the lecture.
B) draws pictures of the lecture material.
C) reads the assigned chapter before attending the lecture.
D) processes the material at a deep level.

Question 56

Episodic memories are _____ memories, and semantic memories are _____ memories.

A) declarative; nondeclarative
B) nondeclarative; declarative
C) nondeclarative; nondeclarative
D) declarative; declarative

Question 57

Tulving proposed that:

A) episodic memory grows out of semantic memory.
B) semantic memory grows out of episodic memory.
C) episodic and semantic memories arise at the same time.
D) whether episodic or semantic memory comes first depends on the age at which the memory is acquired.

Question 58

In a 1972 study, Bransford and Johnson read an abstract passage aloud to participants who then had to recall as much information as possible. Some participants were also shown a picture that was described by the passage either before or after they heard the passage read. The results of this study demonstrated that memory is better when the information:

A) can be interpreted in the context of things one already knows.
B) is presented multiple times.
C) is presented as a verbal description rather than as a picture.
D) is presented as a picture rather than as a verbal description.

Question 59

When the BBC played an announcement 25 times a day for several weeks, listeners' memories for the announcement _____, demonstrating that mere exposure to information _____.

A) improved; does not improve memory
B) did not improve; improves memory
C) improved; improves memory
D) did not improve; does not improve memory

Question 60

Evidence suggests that nonhuman animals probably have:

A) episodic but not semantic memory.
B) semantic but not episodic memory.
C) semantic and episodic memory.
D) neither semantic nor episodic memory.

Question 61

Which of these states that the more deeply one analyzes information, the more likely one is to encode the information in memory and subsequently remember it later?

A) transfer-appropriate processing
B) cryptomnesia
C) levels of processing
D) consolidation period

Question 62

_____ states that retrieval is MORE likely if the cues available at recall are similar to those that were available at encoding.

A) Consolidation period
B) Depth of processing
C) Transfer-appropriate processing
D) Proactive interference

Question 63

Suppose a person buys a new remote control for the television, and the person is having a hard time remembering where the buttons are because they are arranged differently than they were on the old remote control. This is an example of:

A) retroactive interference.
B) proactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) false memory.

Question 64

Many students consider multiple-choice exams to be easier than essay exams. This is because multiple-choice test items:

A) contain more memory cues than essay exams.
B) contain fewer memory cues than essay exams.
C) involve free recall rather than recognition.
D) involve free recall rather than cued recall.

Question 65

According to level of processing idea which decision would lead to the BEST memory for a word?

A) deciding whether the word contains the letter "e"
B) deciding how the word would sound when pronounced backwards
C) deciding whether the word rhymes with another word
D) deciding whether the word makes sense in a sentence

Question 66

Strategies for making information more memorable and easier to recall are known as:

A) declarative cues.
B) transient cues.
C) mnemonics.
D) Ribot gradients.

Question 67

According to the phenomenon of transfer-appropriate processing, if one encodes a list of words by thinking about whether they rhyme with other words, one will recall the list BEST if the test requires one to recognize words that:

A) start with the same letter as the words one learned.
B) rhyme with the words one learned.
C) are synonyms for the words one learned.
D) are antonyms for the words one learned.

Question 68

The research on how quickly people forget after having learned something has shown that:

A) material is forgotten at a fairly constant rate.
B) forgetting is most rapid during the first few days after learning.
C) forgetting is slow during the first few days after learning and gradually increases over time.
D) forgetting is rapid during the first few days after learning, then slows down, and eventually increases again.

Question 69

In the directed forgetting task, participants can typically:

A) forget all of the information they are instructed to forget.
B) forget much of the information they are instructed to forget.
C) recall less of the information they are instructed to remember.
D) recall all of the information they are instructed to forget.

Question 70

Which type of exam question is the BEST example of a free-recall question?

A) essay
B) multiple-choice
C) fill-in-the-blank
D) matching

Question 71

If one runs into a professor in the grocery store, one may be less likely to recognize her than when one sees her in a regular classroom. This demonstrates the phenomenon of:

A) transfer-appropriate processing.
B) proactive interference.
C) retroactive interference.
D) source amnesia.

Question 72

The phenomenon of transfer-appropriate processing effect suggests that:

A) deep processing is always the best way to remember things.
B) deep processing works only if the test requires attention to physical attributes of the stimuli.
C) shallow processing is always the best way to remember things.
D) the best way to remember something depends on the type of test that is used.

Question 73

People who have extraordinary memory abilities:

A) are also better at remembering everyday things such as where they left their keys.
B) do not use mnemonics to help them remember things.
C) have a larger hippocampus than people with ordinary memories.
D) show similar brain anatomy to people with ordinary memories.

Question 74

Suppose one meets two new people at a party. One has trouble remembering the name of the first person one met because the name of the second person keeps coming to mind instead. This is an example of:

A) retroactive interference.
B) proactive interference.
C) source amnesia.
D) false memory.

Question 75

Godden and Baddeley (1975) found that the divers who remembered the most were the ones who:

A) learned and were tested in different environments.
B) learned and were tested in the same environment.
C) learned underwater.
D) were tested underwater.

Question 76

What did Davachi et al. find when they used fMRI to examine brain activity during a levels-of-processing task?

A) Brain activation did not differ for tasks that involved different levels of processing.
B) There was differential brain activation for tasks that involved different levels of processing.
C) Brain activation depended more on how often the participants rehearsed the material than on how deeply it was processed.
D) The results were inconclusive.

Question 77

In the directed forgetting task, participants are asked to:

A) encode information at different levels.
B) recall a childhood event that they had forgotten about.
C) recall a list of words that are related to a "theme" word.
D) forget something that they've learned.

Question 78

Proactive interference is when:

A) one remembers a fact but attributes it to the wrong source.
B) one remembers something that never happened.
C) old information disrupts new learning.
D) new information disrupts old learning.

Question 79

When two memories overlap in content, the strength of either or both memories may be reduced. This is known as:

A) interference.
B) false memory.
C) source amnesia.
D) consolidation.

Question 80

The memory test that involves generating information from memory is called _____, while the memory test that involves picking the correct answer from a list of possible options is called _____.

A) free recall; cued recall
B) free recall; recognition
C) recognition; free recall
D) recognition; cued recall