Week 7 Quiz

A server takes an order with no notepad, holds it while walking past three tables, and pulls it back up at the kitchen window. Which list names the three processes of memory in the order the server used them?

Select one.

• Encoding, then storage, then retrieval
• Storage, then encoding, then retrieval
• Retrieval, then encoding, then storage
• Encoding, then retrieval, and storage last

Miller (1956) called it "the magical number seven." What did he estimate as the span of short-term memory?

Select one.

• About 4 ± 1 hours of information
• About 20 ± 5 items, held for several hours
• About 7 ± 2 items
• An unlimited number of items

Holding a ten-digit phone number as single digits makes it 10 items. If you hold it instead as three groups of 3, 3, and 4 digits, how many chunks is it, and does that fit Cowan's (2010) working-memory estimate of about 4 ± 1 chunks?

Select one.

• 10 chunks, which is above the range
• 3 chunks, which is inside the range of 3 to 5
• 3 chunks, which is below the range
• 4 chunks, which sits exactly at the center of the range

Two students each study the same vocabulary for 90 minutes in total. One studies in a single 90-minute session the night before; the other studies in three 30-minute sessions on three different days. Which statement fits this week's research on encoding?

Select one.

• The single session wins, because the material is fresher when the test begins
• The two plans are equal, because the total study time is exactly the same in both of the plans
• Neither plan matters, because only rote repetition builds long-term memory
• The three spaced sessions should win for long-term retention (the spacing effect)

Riding a bike without being able to explain each movement is an example of procedural memory, a kind of implicit memory.

True or false.

• True
• False

Ebbinghaus (1885) measured memory as percent savings on relearning. His savings were 58.2% after 19 minutes, 44.2% after 63 minutes, 25.4% after 6 days, and 21.1% after 31 days. Which statement describes the shape of his forgetting curve?

Select one.

• Steep at first, then nearly level: more was lost in the first hour than in the final weeks
• Forgetting was slow at first and then sped up sharply toward the end of the month
• Forgetting happened at an even, steady rate from the first hour across the whole month
• Forgetting was complete by 31 days, so nothing of the original list remained at all by the end

After switching to a new phone number, a person keeps writing the old number on forms when trying to give the new one. Which kind of forgetting is this?

Select one.

• Retroactive interference, because newer learning is blocking older learning
• Proactive interference, because older learning is blocking newer learning
• Encoding failure, because the new number was never noticed at all
• The misinformation effect, because someone supplied a misleading number

Which statements about Loftus & Palmer (1974) are supported by the study? Select every statement that applies.

Select every option that applies.

• The verb in the question (such as smashed or contacted) was the independent variable
• "Smashed" produced a higher average speed estimate than "contacted": 40.8 mph versus 31.8 mph
• Because participants were randomly assigned to a verb, the study supports the claim that the wording changed what people later reported
• The speed estimate was the independent variable, and the verb was the dependent variable
• The students who felt most confident about broken glass were the ones whose memories were accurate

To control seizures, H.M. had much of the medial temporal lobe on both sides removed, including much of both hippocampi (Scoville & Milner, 1957). Afterward he could not form new declarative memories, but he kept most earlier memories and could still learn new motor skills. What does this pattern suggest?

Select one.

• The hippocampus stores every kind of memory a person has, from skills and habits to facts and personal events
• The surgery erased all of his memories from before the operation, along with his ability to learn any new skill
• The hippocampus is needed to form new explicit memories; motor-skill learning relies on structures such as the cerebellum
• The amygdala, not the hippocampus, is needed to form new declarative memories

Years after a cyclist nearly gets hit by a car, she still remembers the moment in sharp detail. Which brain structure is most associated with strengthening a memory that carries this kind of emotional weight?

Select one.

• The cerebellum, which coordinates movement and balance and supports learning motor skills
• The thalamus, which relays incoming sensory messages
• The occipital lobe, which processes vision
• The amygdala, which is central to fear and strengthens emotional memories