Deck 6: Memory Codes

Question 1

The levels-of-processing model, proposed by Craik and Lockhart, assumes that the rate of forgetting is determined by

A)whether the item is in STM or LTM.
C)the coding of an item.
B)the number of times an item is rehearsed.
D)All of these

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Noice's (1991) study of actors reveals that

A)actors have exceptional STM.
B)actors have exceptional LTM.
C)actors use rote rehearsal almost exclusively.
D)actors use an analysis of their character and their relationships with other characters to memorize their lines.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to Craik and Lockhart, the reason rehearsal often results in learning is that

A)rehearsal automatically results in learning.
B)an acoustic code is created.
C)the meaning of the material is usually considered.
D)maintenance rehearsal causes learning.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Why did Craik and Lockhart question the distinction between Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory?

A)The capacity of STM can be increased if the items are meaningfully related words.
B)There is evidence that STM is not only phonemic, but also is sensitive to semantic and visual representations.
C)Decay rates vary considerably depending on the nature of the information being learned.
D)All of these

Question 5

A memory code is

A)a way of protecting the contents of Long-Term Memory from decomposition.
B)a way of increasing processing capacity by grouping items into larger units and representing them in arbitrary symbols.
C)a representation for storing items in memory, such as the sound of a word that represents an object or action, or a visual image of that object or action.
D)a way of increasing processing speed by 'packing' multiple units of information so they can be processed simultaneously.

Question 6

Which one of the incidental learning groups in the Hyde and Jenkins experiment recalled as many words as the recall group (who knew they were in a learning experiment)?

A)subjects who indicated whether a word contained the letter 'e'
B)subjects who judged the pleasantness of the words
C)subjects who estimated the number of letters in a word
D)None of these

Question 7

In many memory studies, instead of asking a participant to learn things, they are asked to make judgments about those things.

A)Orienting tasks are important to control the kinds of memory codes formed.
B)Orienting tasks are important to understand the auditory-memory span.
C)Judging tasks are important to understand the underlying assumptions individuals make with regards to the research.
D)Judging tasks are important to prevent experimenter expectancy effects.

Question 8

Orienting tasks are often used in memory studies because

A)they help focus subjects on the experimental task.
B)they help control the memory code formed by the subject.
C)they improve the subjects' memory.
D)they improve attention.

Question 9

Which of the following is not true with regard to levels of processing?

A)Physical feature analysis yields codes subject to quick decay.
B)Physical feature analysis yields codes that are resistant to decay.
C)Semantic analysis yields codes that are resistant to decay.
D)None of these

Question 10

The phonemic level of processing is encouraged by asking people whether a word

A)is printed in upper- or lower-case letters.
C)belongs to a specified category.
B)rhymes with another word.
D)fits into a specified sentence.

Question 11

Elaboration is easiest at which level of processing?

A)structural
C)semantic
B)phonemic
D)all are equal

Question 12

In the Craik and Tulving (1975) study where the time spent processing the information was varied, the results indicate

A)time spent processing was just as important as level of processing in predicting subsequent recall.
B)time spent processing was linearly related to recall.
C)time spent processing was less predictive of recall than level of processing.
D)time spent processing cannot be varied independently of level of processing.

Question 13

Patient PV, who had an impaired STM, was unable to learn any responses in a paired-associates task when she had to rely entirely on

A)semantic codes.
C)visual codes.
B)phonemic codes.
D)All of these

Question 14

The results of Craik and Tulving's experiments supported the prediction that retention would progressively decrease as levels of processing changed from the ____ to the ____ to the ____ level.

A)structural; phonemic; semantic
C)phonemic; semantic; structural
B)semantic; phonemic; structural
D)structural; semantic; phonemic

Question 15

According to the levels-of-processing theory, preliminary processing is

A)phonemic.
C)structural.
B)goal-directed.
D)semantic.

Question 16

What were the major criticisms of Levels of Processing theory?

A)The data did not support the majority of its predictions outside the laboratory setting.
B)It was counterintuitive and incompatible with the majority view that information processing is a linear sequence of transformations between input and output.
C)Any result could be explained 'after-the-fact' by saying, "So, they must have used different levels of processing" without independently measuring the levels of processing the subjects actually used.
D)It did not lend itself to computer simulations, and so it could not be independently verified.

Question 17

The principal factor that influences the effectiveness of elaboration is

A)how precise the elaboration is.
B)whether you expect a recall test.
C)whether you generate the elaboration yourself.
D)the amount of elaboration.

Question 18

Subjects in the Craik and Watkins experiment were required to maintain a word in STM in order to report the last word on a list that began with a specified letter. The results indicated that the amount of rehearsal

A)influences retrieval from LTM, suggesting that semantic processing occurred.
B)influenced retrieval from LTM, suggesting that semantic processing did not occur.
C)did not influence retrieval from LTM, suggesting that semantic processing occurred.
D)did not influence retrieval from LTM, suggesting that semantic processing did not occur.

Question 19

An orienting task is

A)a way of finding one's bearings in memorizing the solutions to mazes.
B)a series of graduated practice trials that allow the subject to get the feel of a new memory task.
C)a task that originated in Eastern cultures which clears the mind and increases memory performance.
D)a task used to try to control the kind(s) of memory encoding processes the subject applies while encoding new information.

Question 20

The structural level of processing is encouraged by asking people whether a word

A)is printed in upper- or lower-case letters.
C)is pleasant or unpleasant.
B)rhymes with another word.
D)fits into a specified sentence.

Question 21

According to Stein and Bransford's results on how elaboration influences recall, which sentence should provide the best retrieval cue for the word 'worried'?

A)The worried man read the article.
B)The worried man read the article in Time Magazine.
C)The worried man read the article about the approaching storm.
D)The worried man read the article about the weather.

Question 22

Flashbulb memories are characterized by

A)better memory.
C)Both a and b
B)greater confidence in the memory.
D)Neither a nor b

Question 23

Memories of important events that caused an emotional reaction are called

A)flashbulb memories.
C)repressed memories.
B)autobiographical memories.
D)bipolar memories.

Question 24

Which of the following is an example of mood dependent memory? People who are in a sad mood at the time of recall should

A)recall more sad events than happy events.
B)recall more happy events than sad events.
C)recall more if they were in a sad mood when they learned the material.
D)recall more if they were in a happy mood when they learned the material.

Question 25

Transfer-appropriate processing proposes that encoding the material should depend on

A)how the material is used.
C)the age of the learner.
B)when the material is used.
D)the sex of the learner.

Question 26

The encoding specificity principle states that

A)encoding and retrieval conditions independently determine memory performance.
B)the effectiveness of a cue depends on how distinctive it is.
C)the deeper the level of encoding, the better the resultant memory performance.
D)the effectiveness of a retrieval cue depends upon the nature of the initial encoding.

Question 27

Tulving believes that

A)the number of intervening items increases their association.
B)active rehearsal hinders recall.
C)recall is mediated by the deep structure.
D)retrieval cues must be specific to encoding cues.

Question 28

Psychologists have linked levels of processing to distinctiveness by arguing that

A)semantic codes are more distinctive than phonemic codes.
B)phonemic codes are more distinctive than structural codes.
C)phonemic codes are more distinctive than semantic codes.
D)structural codes are more distinctive than phonemic codes.

Question 29

Which kind of distinctiveness is created by flashbulb memories?

A)primary distinctiveness
C)emotional distinctiveness
B)secondary distinctiveness
D)processing distinctiveness

Question 30

Which word has the most orthographic distinctiveness?

A)the spoken word afghan
C)the written word afghan
B)the spoken word airway
D)the written word airway

Question 31

Schmidt questions whether an adequate explanation of memory is provided by

A)emotional distinctiveness.
C)primary distinctiveness.
B)secondary distinctiveness.
D)processing distinctiveness.

Question 32

Encoding specificity is to ____ as transfer-appropriate processing is to ____.

A)retrieval strategies; encoding strategies
C)fact-oriented; problem oriented
B)encoding strategies; retrieval strategies
D)problem oriented; fact-oriented

Question 33

Which finding describes the results of an experiment involving memory for unfamiliar faces, constructed from Identi-Kits?

A)People, initially shown undistorted faces, were more likely to recognize the undistorted faces than caricatures.
B)People, initially shown undistorted faces, were more likely to recognize caricatures than the undistorted faces.
C)People, initially shown caricatures, were more likely to recognize caricatures than undistorted faces.
D)People, initially shown caricatures, were more likely to recognize undistorted faces than caricatures.

Question 34

Which retrieval cue for the word 'Duck' should be least effective if the question in an orienting task was 'Rhymes with Truck'?

A)associated with Chicken
C)rhymes with Truck
B)rhymes with Luck
D)All should be equally effective.

Question 35

The finding that students generally do better on an exam when the exam format (multiple choice, essay) matches their expectations is an example of

A)elaboration.
C)transfer-appropriate processing.
B)levels-of-processing.
D)distinctiveness.

Question 36

Encoding specificity and transfer appropriate processing both emphasize

A)decisions at the encoding stage.
B)decisions at the retrieval stage.
C)the similarity between encoding and retrieval.
D)the dissimilarity between encoding and retrieval.

Question 37

Students who encoded words in a semantic orienting task by rating their pleasantness believed that

A)semantic retrieval cues would be more effective than phonemic retrieval cues.
B)phonemic retrieval cues would be more effective than semantic retrieval cues.
C)both cues would be equally effective.
D)neither cue would be effective.

Question 38

In an experiment by Adams, subjects were initially provided with information that would help them solve riddles. Which theoretical concept explains why problem-oriented acquisition of this information was better than fact-oriented acquisition?

A)elaboration
C)transfer-appropriate processing
B)levels-of-processing
D)distinctiveness

Question 39

The release from proactive interference can best be explained by

A)the levels of processing hypothesis.
C)the distinctiveness hypothesis.
B)the elaboration hypothesis.
D)the encoding specificity hypothesis.

Question 40

Encoding specificity suggests that

A)encoding is the only important aspect in subsequent memory.
B)retrieval context is the only important aspect in subsequent memory.
C)holding encoding conditions constant can still result in very different memory performance depending on retrieval cues.
D)None of these

Question 41

The best way to encode information under incidental conditions is by making up rhymes.

Question 42

Many people feel that events that are emotionally laden are better remembered. What does the evidence suggest to be the case? What are some of the implications of this research to the criminal justice system (e.g., eye-witness testimony)?

Question 43

How information is encoded into memory is not relevant to subsequent retrieval.

Question 44

Distinctiveness in information to be remembered interferes with subsequent recall of the information.

Question 45

Why does rehearsal not automatically cause learning? In light of this finding, explain what alternate method, according to Noice, professional actors use to learn their lines in lengthy scripts. Do you agree with Noice's conclusion? Explain why or why not.

Question 46

If you are in a bad mood when you study, the way to maximize your test performance is to be in a bad mood when you take the test.

Question 47

Reliance solely on rote rehearsal does not necessarily result in encoding information into LTM.

Question 48

What is the impact of distinctiveness on memory? What evidence is there to support this?

Question 49

Knowing what you now know about encoding specificity (including mood-dependent effects), design the optimal study strategy for yourself for the material in this course. Be creative in your response.

Question 50

Elaborateness in processing is superior to distinctiveness in processing with regards to encoding information into memory.

Question 51

What are the commonly accepted differences between the three stages of verbal memory (sensory store, STM, and LTM)?

Question 52

The concepts and research in elaboration and distinctiveness have modified the levels-of-processing theory. Discuss how these two concepts have impacted our understanding of encoding and retrieval.

Question 53

Students should create memory codes that are similar to how they will eventually use the material.

Question 54

Maintenance rehearsal is a good way of learning.

Question 55

Suppose that you are participating in a levels-of-processing study. Describe an example of your initial decision time and recognition performance for each of the following levels: structural coding, phonemic coding, and semantic coding. Explain the reasons for your performance.

Question 56

Retrieval cues that differ from the original context work best.

Question 57

Discuss encoding specificity and the evidence to support it.

Question 58

Recall is more accurate when the language of the questions matches the language of the instruction.

Question 59

What were the major criticisms of levels-of-processing theory, and what modifications were made to accommodate these criticisms?

Question 60

Describe in detail the levels-of-processing theory. How does it differ from the Atkinson-Shiffrin theory of memory?