Deck 8: Information-Processing Theory

Question 1

The sensory register

A) holds up to seven bits of information for a brief time period.
B) registers stimuli very briefly while we decide if they will be processed further.
C) is essentially the same as working memory.
D) registers sense impressions in more or less permanent form.

Answer 1

registers stimuli very briefly while we decide if they will be processed further.

Question 2

Repeating the punch line of a joke over and over to yourself while trying to find pencil and paper to write it down is an example of

A) rote rehearsal.
B) elaborative rehearsal.
C) maintenance rehearsal.
D) chunking.

Answer 2

maintenance rehearsal.

Question 3

After information is attended to, it moves into working memory, which has the capacity to hold __________ bits of __________ information for about twenty seconds.

A) ten; organized
B) four; encoded
C) seven; unrelated
D) eleven; recognized

Answer 3

seven; unrelated

Question 4

Information already stored in long-term memory

A) creates pathways to the sensory register.
B) allows short-term memory to be bypassed in information processing.
C) influences what we attend to and find meaningful.
D) allows us to memorize automatically what is in the sensory register.

Question 5

As you read this question, you will choose an answer that you decide is correct by relating the question to information already stored in your long-term memory. The mental process taking place as you do this can best be explained by which of the following concepts?

A) attention
B) chunking
C) rehearsal
D) recognition

Question 6

Research has shown that the attention span of school-age children

A) is inherently limited to short periods of time and small amounts of information.
B) is related to their intelligence.
C) can be increased up to the age of seven, but not thereafter.
D) can be increased with practice at any age.

Question 7

The information-processing approach to analyzing cognitive functioning stresses all but which one of the following?

A) attention
B) retrieval
C) reinforcement
D) storage

Question 8

Long-term memory (LTM) refers to information

A) learned decades ago rather than last week.
B) that is permanently stored and available for possible retrieval.
C) that is no longer retrievable.
D) learned in the form of long lists.

Question 9

Remembering an important date in history because it is the same date as your father's birthday is an effective type of learning because

A) the date is firmly established in short-term memory.
B) the new information is associated with something you already know.
C) it is a type of maintenance rehearsal that enhances learning.
D) this kind of chunking always makes memorizing dates easier.

Question 10

Which of the following represents the proper sequence of cognitive processes that occur as we process information?

A) attention, recognition, transformation, storage, retrieval
B) perception, attention, recognition, transformation, retrieval
C) attention, transformation, recognition, storage, retrieval
D) perception, attention, recognition, storage, retrieval

Question 11

The process of recognition is best described as one that involves

A) storing information for a few seconds for possible processing.
B) perception and attention.
C) relating stimulus information to information stored in long-term memory.
D) focusing on that part of a stimulus array that is of most interest.

Question 12

Ms. Jeffone, a middle school teacher, reminds her students to prepare well for the upcoming essay exam because it will cover a lot of material. In response, one of her students retorts, "Why bother! We'll forget all of the information over time, anyway." On the basis of current evidence, an appropriate response to this student's assertion would be

A) "I agree. No matter how hard we try, we really do forget most of what we learn."
B) "I disagree. We can remember a lot of what we learn if we master the new information and take an active role in our own learning."
C) "I disagree. Learning does not decay over time if you frequently review the material."
D) "I agree. However, it will be easier to relearn this material later if you memorize it now."

Question 13

Why does organizing the digits 1-9-7-6-1-5-8-8 into the dates 1976 and 1588 make learning the series of digits easier?

A) It provides cues and reduces the number of chunks to be learned.
B) It eliminates the need to devise mnemonic devices.
C) It increases the chunking capacity of long-term memory.
D) It makes use of both maintenance and elaborative rehearsal.

Question 14

Information held in long-term memory has the effect of

A) influencing what we selectively perceive and find meaningful.
B) allowing us to automatically memorize what is in the sensory register.
C) creating pathways to the sensory register.
D) allowing short-term memory to be bypassed in information processing.

Question 15

Some psychologists believe that information in long-term memory (LTM) is organized in terms of schemata. Schemata can be defined as

A) concrete analogies of abstraction concepts.
B) emotional representations of information.
C) abstract structures of information.
D) simplistic representations of ideas.

Question 16

Having a French storyteller come into your French class to tell a story will probably

A) enhance learning if this is a typical instructional activity.
B) enhance learning since unusual events often command a student's attention.
C) have no facilitating effect on students' learning French.
D) detract from the lesson because students will be too distracted to learn.

Question 17

A student who is taking a course in educational psychology for the first time scans through the information-processing theory chapter and notes the word metacognition, which is unfamiliar. This student's selective focusing on the term metacognition is known as

A) retrieval.
B) elaborative rehearsal.
C) attention.
D) discriminant encoding.

Question 18

You call the post office for a ZIP code that you need, just after you looked up the phone number. Unfortunately, you dial the wrong number. You attempt to dial again, only to discover that you've forgotten the phone number. From an information-processing standpoint, how can this be explained?

A) Information in long-term memory was not properly stored.
B) Information in working memory began to disappear after twenty seconds or so.
C) Information in the sensory register was not sufficiently attended to.
D) Information in short-term memory was improperly encoded.

Question 19

A student who finds himself relating a lecturer's statement that molecular structure is of a crystalline nature to a recollection of looking at crystals through a microscope is engaging in

A) chunking.
B) metacognition.
C) elaborative rehearsal.
D) maintenance rehearsal.

Question 20

A critical control process that needs to take place during the sensory register stage of the information-processing model is known as

A) perception.
B) chunking.
C) recognition.
D) selective attention.

Question 21

Describe the capacity of and the duration of information in long-term memory.

Question 22

Bringing a juggling clown into your eighth-grade classroom to aid you in teaching some elementary physics concepts

A) probably won't work, since students will be too excited to learn.
B) will work if the clown has a good command of physics.
C) may work well, since unpredictable changes or unusual events often command a child's attention.
D) will probably have no effect on whether students learn the physics concepts.

Question 23

Describe the basic function of maintenance rehearsal and provide an example of this process.

Question 24

Insight into one's learning processes seems to

A) decrease with age.
B) increase with age.
C) change very little over the life span.
D) be related to success in math or science classes.

Question 25

Define elaborative rehearsal and provide an example of this process.

Question 26

How is information organized in long-term memory?

Question 27

How does past experience influence the information currently being processed?

Question 28

Describe the nature and purpose of the sensory register.

Question 29

Describe the capacity of and the duration of information in short-term memory.

Question 30

Describe how organization aids learning.

Question 31

Briefly describe the role that recognition plays in information processing.

Question 32

Describe techniques that help teachers capture and maintain their students' attention.

Question 33

Sonya, a student in an educational psychology course, is studying for an exam, and it is very late at night. She suddenly realizes that she has not comprehended the paragraph that she has just read. Which concept refers to the ability that allowed Sonya to recognize her failure to comprehend?

A) perceptual intervention
B) metacognitive processing
C) metaphysical inference
D) cognitive flexibility

Question 34

Describe the impact of attention on information in the sensory register.

Question 35

If you were required to help your students learn the capitals of all fifty states, the best approach to follow would be to

A) have them work at the task for an hour every Monday morning.
B) divide the states into groups of five and have them study a group during fifteen-minute periods spread out through the week.
C) organize the states into geographic areas and have students learn all the capitals in one part of the country before going on to those in the next.
D) put a map on the wall and have students put pins in each state as they memorize each capital.

Question 36

Describe the sequence of cognitive processes that occur as people process information.

Question 37

Mr. Torres is looking to purchase computer software that students will find engaging and that will allow them to work collbaboratively in small groups. Which of the following types of programs best meets this description?

A) drill-and-practice
B) tutorial
C) integrated learning system
D) virtual environments

Question 38

When, in order to explain some complicated geometric concepts, you ask your students to imagine a flagpole and its shadow, you are employing _______________ as a means of helping them understand the concept.

A) metacognition
B) mnemonics
C) maintenance rehearsal
D) a concrete analogy

Question 39

Under what condition is meaningful learning most likely to occur?

Question 40

The serial position effect is most likely to operate for which of the following types of material?

A) a list of spelling words
B) an algebraic formula
C) a geometric proof
D) a biological concept

Question 41

Explain the relative merits of distributed versus massed practice.

Question 42

Explain the importance of the sensory register in the information-processing model for duration, sequence, control processes, sensory receptors, and status of information not processed.

Question 43

What is the relationship between age and insight into one's own learning processes?

Question 44

Discuss the differences between short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) in terms of its position in the information-processing sequence, storage capacity, duration, control processes, and organization.

Question 45

Explain how analogies can make abstract information more meaningful to your students.

Question 46

Tell whether it is possible to improve a student's attention span and defend your answer.

Question 47

Describe the nature and significance of the serial position effect.

Question 48

If you decided to use computer-based instruction in your classroom with the goals of producing a high level of student engagement and meaningful learning, explain why virtual environments would be a good choice.

Question 49

Describe metacognition briefly and provide an example of metacognitive processing.

Question 50

Discuss how computer-based technology can be used to strengthen students' ability to process information. Then summarize the effect of multimedia, hypermedia, and virtual environment programs on learning and metacognition.

Question 51

Explain what metacognition is. What educational implications does this concept have?