Question 1

The chapter on working memory discussed several studies about individual differences in working memory.Which of the following students provides the best information about how working memory is related to academic skills?

Accepted Answer

A)  Samantha: "People who have an unusually large capacity in their episodic buffer are likely to earn poor grades in school."
B)  Aroona: "People who are especially skilled on a task that uses the central executive are likely to score high in reading comprehension."
C)  Sanjay: "The research failed to support Baddeley's model; most academic tasks require the equal participation of all four components of working memory."
D)  James: "The research failed to support Baddeley's model; there is no relationship between central-executive skills and a wide variety of other measures that should be related to the central executive and a wide variety of academic skills." B

Question 2

Suppose that you have been studying some terms related to your course in biopsychology.After you have been studying for about 15 minutes,you find that you are having more trouble learning and remembering new terms.This problem is an example of

Accepted Answer

A)  the episodic buffer.
B)  the chunking phenomenon.
C)  subvocalization.
D)  proactive interference. D

Question 3

Suppose that you are listening to an announcer read the names of the winners in an athletic event.You recall the last four names accurately,but you can't recall the names that appeared earlier in the list.This phenomenon is called as

Accepted Answer

A)  the primacy effect.
B)  proactive interference.
C)  chunking.
D)  the recency effect. D

Question 4

Suppose that you are trying to improve your pronunciation of French by listening to French popular songs.You try to imitate the French pronunciation at the same time that you translate the words into English.According to Baddeley's model,

Accepted Answer

A)  you can manage both tasks simultaneously without a decrease in accuracy.
B)  you'll probably have a difficult time on these tasks,because both tasks involve the phonological loop.
C)  you'll probably have a difficult time,because the pronunciation involves the visuospatial sketchpad,and the translation involves the phonological loop.
D)  you will have an easy time if you ignore the central executive,but a difficult time if you use the central executive.

Question 5

Suppose that you are having trouble recalling the information for a question about Baddeley's theory because the information about Atkinson and Shiffrin's theory (which you learned earlier)keeps interfering.This phenomenon is called

Accepted Answer

A)  proactive interference.
B)  the recency effect.
C)  the primacy effect.
D)  chunking.

Question 6

Based on Chapter 4's discussion of depression and working memory,a clinical psychologist should know that people with depression

Accepted Answer

A)  have trouble on a wide variety of tasks involving the central executive.
B)  seldom report any cognitive problems.
C)  have much more trouble on tasks involving the visuospatial sketchpad than on tasks involving the phonological loop.
D)  have trouble when the phonological loop is involved in two simultaneous tasks.

Question 7

Which of the following students' statements best characterizes Baddeley's view of working memory?

Accepted Answer

A)  Sam: "Working memory has four separate components,each with its own specialized kind of cognitive activity."
B)  Lois: "Working memory consists of two components,short-term working memory and long-term working memory."
C)  Kyung: "Working memory is an activated state of the more general long-term memory store."
D)  Manuel: "Current research shows that there really is no important difference between working memory and long-term memory."

Question 8

According to the introduction of Chapter 4,one important function of working memory is

Accepted Answer

A)  to provide a template that makes it easier to recognize objects.
B)  to store knowledge about a wide variety of topics.
C)  to provide a large storage space for all your current sights,sounds,and other perceptual experiences.
D)  to coordinate your current mental activities.

Question 9

Chapter 4 discusses neuroscience research on the central executive.According to this discussion,the central executive

Accepted Answer

A)  is primarily controlled by brain structures located below the cortex.
B)  is primarily controlled by brain structures at the back of the cortex.
C)  is primarily controlled by portions of the frontal lobe.
D)  apparently does not have a consistent connection with any part of the brain,at least according to the current research.

Question 10

In the working-memory model,which of the following cognitive activities would the central executive be most likely to perform?

Accepted Answer

A)  Representing the information from a geometry problem
B)  Deciding which items on a list should be remembered and which should be forgotten.
C)  Actively transferring the information from working memory into sensory memory
D)  Listening to a series of words in random order.

Question 11

Baddeley's current model of working memory includes a feature called the episodic buffer.According to Baddeley's description,the episodic buffer

Accepted Answer

A)  contains material that has not yet reached our conscious awareness.
B)  has a smaller capacity than any of the other components of working memory.
C)  briefly holds material from the phonological loop,the visuospatial sketchpad,and long-term memory.
D)  stores our very earliest memories from early childhood,which have an important effect on other components of working memory.

Question 12

Solange is trying to recall her friend's new zip code,which is 14454.She remembers it by saying,"My birthday is September 14th; my father is 45 years old,and my nephew is 4 years old." Apparently,Solange

Accepted Answer

A)  has arranged her friend's zip code so that it can best be stored in the phonological loop.
B)  has arranged her friend's zip code so that it can best be stored in the visuospatial sketchpad.
C)  has created chunks out of the zip code.
D)  is trying to avoid acoustic confusions.

Question 13

Baddeley chose the metaphor of a "workbench" to represent his model of working memory because

Accepted Answer

A)  his model was straightforward,just like all the components of an actual workbench.
B)  his model emphasizes the spatial components of working memory,and a workbench emphasizes spatial projects,rather than verbal projects.
C)  rehearsal is important in memory,and rehearsal is also important when you think about projects that would require a workbench.
D)  working memory focuses on a wide variety of projects,and a workbench can also handle a wide variety of projects.

Question 14

What is the current status of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory?

Accepted Answer

A)  Almost all of the recent research supports the model.
B)  Only the concept of sensory memory is still of interest to researchers.
C)  The theory has been completely abandoned,because there is no research support for the distinction between short-term memory and long-term memory.
D)  Some studies support the distinction between short-term memory and long-term memory,but other studies suggest that these two forms of memory are actually similar

Question 15

Researchers in neuroscience,over the past two decades,have spent a great deal of time working on the

Accepted Answer

A)  executive attention network.
B)  central executive processor.
C)  phonological loop.
D)  visuospatial sketch pad.

Question 16

Suppose that you are trying to perfect your accent in Spanish.Your teacher just pronounced the word "ferrocarril," and you are trying to keep the "rolling r" sound in your memory long enough to pronounce it yourself.In Baddeley's model,you are most likely to use your

Accepted Answer

A)  visuospatial sketchpad.
B)  long-term memory.
C)  central executive.
D)  phonological loop.

Question 17

Suppose that you have been watching a figure skating competition.You close your eyes and you try to remember how the last skater performed her final jump,then glided to the center of the rink and finished with a spin.The component of your working memory that is now most active is

Accepted Answer

A)  the phonological loop.
B)  the visuospatial sketchpad.
C)  the episodic buffer.
D)  the central executive

Question 18

You will have difficulty reading your textbook if you are simultaneously singing the words to your favorite song.How would Baddeley explain this phenomenon?

Accepted Answer

A)  The words from the textbook and the words from the song will interfere with each other in the phonological loop.
B)  The visuospatial sketchpad is overcrowded,because both of these tasks have a strong visual component.
C)  The central executive cannot handle two verbal tasks at the same time.
D)  The singing prevents the words in your textbook from passing directly from semantic memory into long-term memory.

Question 19

Compared to the earlier view of short-term memory,the current view of working memory

Accepted Answer

A)  argues that memory is much more fragile.
B)  proposes that working memory is simply an early stage of long-term memory.
C)  states that information is continuously being manipulated and changed.
D)  suggests that the Atkinson-Shiffrin model should be supplemented by at least five additional kinds of brief memory.

Question 20

George Miller's (1956)classic article,on the magical number seven,introduced the concept of a chunk.According to Miller's terminology,a chunk

Accepted Answer

A)  should be measured in terms of the number of items that can be spoken within a 30-second interval.
B)  is the basic unit in short-term memory.
C)  is the portion of the brain in which short-term memories are stored.
D)  is the maximum limit of your short-term memory.

Exam 4: Working Memory