Question 1

The textbook describes four cognitive functions that involve the central executive. Provide an example of an everyday task demonstrating each of these functions, and explain how each example involves the central executive.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The textbook describes four cognitive functions that...

Question 2

According to Earl Miller, what is the key contribution of the prefrontal cortex to working memory? How did he test this hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Earl Miller, what is the...

Question 3

Which component of working memory would be responsible for remembering the locations of objects?

Accepted Answer

A)  the phonological loop 
B)  the visuospatial sketchpad 
C)  the iconic memory 
D)  the central executive

Question 4

Which part of the brain seems to be critical for working memory and executive control?

Accepted Answer

A)  the cerebellum 
B)  the thalamus 
C)  the prefrontal cortex 
D)  the hippocampus

Question 5

In a task requiring monkeys to move their gaze to the former position of a visual cue, it was found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex fired during:

Accepted Answer

A)  presentation of the visual cue. 
B)  the monkey's response. 
C)  the delay between presentation of the cue and the response. 
D)  All of the answers are correct.

Question 6

If one is driving to a friend's house, one's specific goal of turning the steering wheel at a given moment is mainly relying on the _____ areas of the frontal lobes.

Accepted Answer

A)  medial 
B)  anterior 
C)  lateral 
D)  posterior

Question 7

According to the findings of George Miller, the capacity of short-term memory is about _____ items.

Accepted Answer

A)  three 
B)  seven 
C)  fifteen 
D)  five

Question 8

Provide an example of an automatic process and an attentional process.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Provide an example of an automatic process...

Question 9

Which part of the brain seems to be involved in encoding and retrieval?

Accepted Answer

A)  the orbital prefrontal cortex 
B)  the medial prefrontal cortex 
C)  the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex 
D)  the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 10

Which type of memory is NOT considered to be a transient memory?

Accepted Answer

A)  sensory 
B)  iconic 
C)  long-term 
D)  short-term

Question 11

The metaphor of memory as a computer compares RAM with _____ memory and a hard drive with _____ memory.

Accepted Answer

A)  long-term; working 
B)  working; long-term 
C)  sensory; iconic 
D)  short-term; long-term

Question 12

Research suggests that phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad processes take place in the _____ prefrontal cortex, while central executive functions take place in the _____ prefrontal cortex.

Accepted Answer

A)  ventrolateral; dorsolateral 
B)  dorsolateral; ventrolateral 
C)  orbital; ventrolateral 
D)  ventrolateral; orbital

Question 13

In the delayed nonmatch-to-sample task, the subjects must select the stimulus that is:

Accepted Answer

A)  the same color and shape as the one they remember. 
B)  different from the one they remember. 
C)  the most similar to the one they remember. 
D)  the same size as the one they remember.

Question 14

It is often easier to remember words if one can also picture them in their minds. This is because one is using one's:

Accepted Answer

A)  verbal memory store. 
B)  visuospatial memory store. 
C)  central executive. 
D)  verbal and visuospatial memory stores.

Question 15

Suppose one's roommate asks him to pick up five items at the grocery store, but he has no place to write the items down. He keeps repeating the items over and over in his mind until he can get a pencil and piece of paper to write them down. In this example, he would be relying primarily on his _____ memory.

Accepted Answer

A)  sensory 
B)  long-term 
C)  short-term 
D)  iconic

Question 16

Permanent or near permanent storage of memory that last beyond a period of conscious attention is known as:

Accepted Answer

A)  sensory memory. 
B)  long-term memory. 
C)  cognitive control. 
D)  short-term memory.

Question 17

In his studies of visual sensory memory, George Sperling found that participants could remember more items from an array if:

Accepted Answer

A)  there was a 1-minute delay between presentation of the array and recall. 
B)  a tone was played at the very start of each trial to catch their attention. 
C)  after the array disappeared, a tone was played to indicate which row to recall. 
D)  they were instructed to recall all of the items, rather than just a specific row.

Question 18

The existence of perseveration in patients with frontal-lobe damage provides evidence for the involvement of executive-control processes in:

Accepted Answer

A)  the updating of working memory. 
B)  setting goals and planning. 
C)  stimulus selection and response inhibition. 
D)  task switching.

Question 19

Describe the working-memory impairments experienced by a person with schizophrenia. Which brain areas appear to be involved?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the working-memory impairments experienced by a...

Question 20

Which action is NOT a problem for patients with frontal-lobe damage?

Accepted Answer

A)  the N-back task 
B)  a digit-span task 
C)  planning and organizing 
D)  skill learning

Exam 9: Working Memory and Cognitive Control