Deck 14: Exceptional Memory, Mnemonics, and Expertise

Question 1

The method of loci is ________.

A) a mnemonic for memorizing very long numbers
B) a method for rapid forgetting
C) a mnemonic that involves repeated rehearsals in different physical locations
D) a mnemonic that involves visualizing to-be-remembered images at different mental locations along a well-known path

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The performance of memory athletes is the result of ________.

A) generalized superior talent from the very beginning
B) learning a mnemonic skill and practising it
C) much higher digit span even in everyday life
D) being more able to remember a list of random items than anyone else

Answer 2

B

Question 3

"Natural memory" for the method of loci is ________.

A) memory before starting to use the method of loci
B) the mnemonic result of the method of loci
C) memory that is the product of art and can be naturally strengthened by training
D) memory that is embedded in our minds and cannot be strengthened

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to the method of loci, backgrounds should themselves have ________.

A) as many features of interest as possible and images should also be highly detailed and unique and should contain as much information as possible
B) few features of interest while images, unlike backgrounds, should be highly detailed and unique and should contain as much information as possible
C) few features of interest and images, much like backgrounds, should display as little information as possible
D) as many features of interest as possible while images should display as little information as possible

Question 5

A memory palace is ________.

A) a modern research centre specialized with memory
B) in ancient times, the temple where people worshipped the goddess of memory
C) in ancient times, the special building in which scholars practised their mnemonic skills
D) an imagined location used in the method of loci

Question 6

The method of loci can be used without any other mnemonic devices if the to-be-remembered material is easy to visualize but, when the material involves ________, a memorizer must employ a system that converts ________ that can be placed in a memory palace.

A) an emotion; this into a number
B) a piece of music; this into a number
C) digits; the number into an image
D) digits; the number into a special and easy to remember number

Question 7

The major system for memorizing long numbers involves creating ________.

A) easy-to-remember numbers based on specific phonemes associated with each digit
B) emotions based on specific phonemes associated with each digit
C) images based on specific phonemes associated with each digit
D) actions based on specific phonemes associated with each digit

Question 8

The person-object-action (PAO) system for memorizing long numbers involves ________.

A) developing complex images associated with pairs of digits ahead of time
B) creating complex actions based on specific phonemes associated with each digit
C) developing complex emotions based on specific phonemes associated with each digit
D) creating easy-to-remember numbers based on specific phonemes associated with each digit

Question 9

The ________ associates digits with distinct phonemes. The phonemes can then be combined with vowels to form words.

A) person-object-action system
B) major system
C) method of loci
D) model of skill acquisition proposed by Fitts and Posner (1967)

Question 10

The major system is rarely if ever used by present-day memory athletes. The PAO system is preferred because ________ and there is no awkward translation step.

A) it avoids using highly unusual (and therefore difficult to remember) numbers
B) it uses highly unusual (and therefore highly memorable) sounds
C) it avoids using highly unusual (and therefore difficult to remember) images
D) it uses highly unusual (and therefore highly memorable) images

Question 11

Noice (1992) recruited stage actors, provided them with a script, and asked them to record their thought process. First, ________. Second, ________.

A) all the actors reported trying to learn the script by rote memorization immediately; all of the actors reported that they avoided understanding the motivations of the different characters
B) none of the actors reported trying to learn the script by rote memorization; all of the actors reported that they avoided understanding the motivations of the different characters
C) all the actors reported trying to learn the script by rote memorization immediately; all of the actors reported that they read the script many times to understand the motivations of the different characters
D) none of the actors reported trying to learn the script by rote memorization; all of the actors reported that they read the script many times to understand the motivations of the different characters

Question 12

According to skilled memory theory by Chase and Ericsson (1981), exceptional memory can develop in any individual when three principles are followed. The principles proposed in their theory do not include ________.

A) the encoding principle
B) the retrieval-structure principle
C) the non-interference principle
D) the speed-up principle

Question 13

Maguire et al. (2000) studied the brains of highly experienced taxi drivers who know the location of 25,000 London streets and more than 1000 landmarks and found that the ________ of experienced taxi drivers were significantly larger than normal controls.

A) posterior hippocampal regions
B) anterior hippocampal regions
C) occipital cortical areas
D) prefrontal cortical areas

Question 14

Maguire et al. (2003) found, when comparing superior memorizers with controls, ________.

A) a significant difference in reasoning skills, in visual memory scores and in working/long-term verbal memory
B) no difference in reasoning skills and in visual memory scores, but they differed in working/long-term verbal memory
C) no difference in reasoning skills, in visual memory scores and in working/long-term verbal memory
D) a significant difference in reasoning skills and in visual memory scores, but they did not differ in working/long-term verbal memory

Question 15

Maguire et al. (2003) compared brain activity during the encoding of visual stimuli of digits, faces, or snowflakes. When they analyzed the fMRI data, they found that superior memorizers (SMs) had increased activity ________ where performance of the SMs was the same as performance of controls.

A) in the occipital cortex and anterior hippocampus, even during the snowflake task
B) in the medial parietal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, and right posterior hippocampus, even during the snowflake task
C) in the occipital cortex and anterior hippocampus, but only during the snowflake task
D) in the medial parietal cortex, retrosplenial cortex, and right posterior hippocampus, but only during the snowflake task

Question 16

One reason the method of loci works is because people are extremely good at remembering ________.

A) strings of meaningful words
B) strings of meaningful dates,
C) spatial and visual information
D) explicit memories
E) e.g. important dates, ages etc.

Question 17

One reason the method of loci works is the ________.

A) private nature of images used allows people to make images highly memorable by making them humorous, salacious, or disgusting
B) fact that it has been refined over the ages
C) highly competitive nature of the games in which it is used
D) fact that it is typically used by people with genetic predisposition to strong memory

Question 18

In addition to maximizing the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses of long-term memory, mnemonics also work by ________.

A) increasing working-memory load
B) reducing working-memory load
C) reducing long-term memory load
D) reducing attentional load

Question 19

The testing effect refers to the finding that ________ produces better retention than ________ for an equivalent amount of time.

A) re-reading the same information; repeated memory retrieval
B) repeated memory retrieval; re-reading the same information
C) repeated memory retrieval; sleeping
D) sleeping; repeated memory retrieval

Question 20

According to Karpicke and Roediger's (2008) study on the testing effect, participants who practised retrieving word pairs recalled ________ than participants who did not practise. Further, participants who were given extra time to study the word pairs ________.

A) significantly more; did not perform better
B) significantly less; did not perform better
C) significantly more; performed even better
D) significantly less; performed even better

Question 21

The results from Pyc and Rawson (2009) suggest that it is best to have ________ between exposure and retrieval practice and that maximal benefits result from approximately ________ retrieval practices.

A) a shorter delay; fifty
B) a longer delay; fifty
C) a shorter delay; seven
D) a longer delay; seven

Question 22

According to Marsh et al. (2007), feedback is argued to be particularly important following ________.

A) multiple-choice tests because these rely mostly on implicit memory, such as familiarity and priming
B) true-false tests because the individual has been exposed to incorrect responses and when an incorrect response is chosen, it is often repeated on subsequent tests
C) multiple-choice tests because the individual has been exposed to incorrect responses and when an incorrect response is chosen, it is often repeated on subsequent tests
D) short-answer tests because the incorrect responses are often repeated on subsequent tests

Question 23

The spacing effect is ________.

A) a phenomenon where material is forgotten more quickly if there are intervening items between two presentations of the material than when the material is presented back to back
B) a phenomenon where material is better recalled if there are intervening items between two presentations of the material than when the material is presented back to back
C) the observation that the spatial context provides cues for remembering events
D) the observation that spatial memory tend to be stronger than other types of memory

Question 24

Butler (2010) found that testing ________.

A) benefits retrieval except when the testing contexts are very different
B) benefits retrieval even when the testing contexts are very different
C) harms retrieval even when the testing contexts are very different
D) harms retrieval except when the testing contexts are very different

Question 25

Little and Bjork (2012) suggest that completing ________ may benefit students more than ________.

A) short-answer quizzes; self-administered
B) self-grading quizzes; instructor-administered quizzes
C) multiple-choice quizzes; short-answer quizzes
D) true-or-false quizzes; multiple-choice quizzes

Question 26

The model of skill acquisition by Fitt and Posner does not include ________.

A) using mnemonics to encode portions of the skill to be learned
B) some parts of skills done automatically
C) thinking about every aspect of skill
D) skills performed automatically

Question 27

Ericsson et al. (1993) suggest that what separates experts from non-experts in a given field is that experts ________.

A) receive a lot of rewards during their training
B) engage in spaced training, which involves carefully planned periods of rest
C) engage in deliberate practice, which involves consciously avoiding the autonomous stage when performing a skill, and that this practice leads to better memory for details in that field
D) engage in massed practice, which involves quickly reaching the autonomous stage when performing a skill, and that this practice leads to better memory for details in that field

Question 28

In Ericsson et al. (1993), there are three components to deliberate practice. These components do not include ________.

A) to study other experts
B) to receive substantial rewards at each step
C) to study previous mistakes
D) to set goals and try to overcome them

Question 29

Hambrick et al. (2014) argue that in addition to what proposed by Ericsson, at least four factors are strong predictors of expertise. These factors do not include ________.

A) age
B) deliberate practice
C) intelligence
D) willpower

Question 30

Hill and Schneider (2006) found that activation in ________ decreased as participants became better able to perform the motor tracking task, while activity in the motor regions stayed about the same, indicating that the motor regions were able to support the task more or less independently after sufficient practice.

A) the posterior parietal complex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
B) the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and the ventral ACC/medial prefrontal cortex
C) the angular gyrus and the medial temporal cortex
D) the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and the medial temporal cortex

Question 31

What is the method of loci?

Question 32

What are two methods to memorize digits?

Question 33

What memorization techniques can actors use to memorize their scripts?

Question 34

What are testing effects? What are its implications for students?

Question 35

What is the importance of feedback for enhancing the testing effect?

Question 36

From a memory perspective what do Olympic athletes, virtuoso violinists, world class chess players, and memory athletes have in common?

Question 37

According to Fitts and Posner, what are the three stages that individuals go through when developing a skill? Briefly describe each.

Question 38

What is a default mode network (DMN)?

Question 39

How did people memorize complex information throughout history?

Question 40

Why do mnemonics work?

Question 41

Based on the work of Anders Ericsson and his group, design and defend from possible objections a training program for either a violin player of a soccer player.