Chapter 6, pt.1

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

The ability to store and retrieve information over time.

Question 2

What are the three key functions of memory?

Answer 2

Encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Question 3

Define encoding.

Answer 3

The process of transforming what we perceive, think, or feel into a lasting memory.

Question 4

Define storage.

Answer 4

Maintaining information in memory over time.

Question 5

Define retrieval.

Answer 5

Bringing to mind information that was encoded and stored.

Question 6

What are the three main types of encoding?

Answer 6

Semantic encoding, visual imagery encoding, and organizational encoding.

Question 7

What is semantic encoding?

Answer 7

Relating new information meaningfully to knowledge already stored in memory.

Question 8

Which brain regions are active during semantic encoding?

Answer 8

The inner part of the left temporal lobe and the lower left part of the frontal lobe.

Question 9

What is visual imagery encoding?

Answer 9

Storing new information by converting it into mental pictures.

Question 10

Why is visual imagery encoding effective?

Answer 10

It links new info to existing memory and creates both verbal and visual representations.

Question 11

Which lobe is active during visual imagery encoding?

Answer 11

The occipital lobe.

Question 12

What is organizational encoding?

Answer 12

Categorizing information according to relationships among items.

Question 13

Which brain region is involved in organizational encoding?

Answer 13

The upper surface of the left frontal lobe.

Question 14

What are mnemonics?

Answer 14

Encoding strategies that improve later retrieval.

Question 15

What did studies on survival encoding find?

Answer 15

Information related to survival is remembered better than other kinds.

Question 16

Why is survival-related encoding so effective?

Answer 16

It combines semantic, visual, and organizational encoding and encourages planning.

Question 17

What perspective explains survival encoding?

Answer 17

The evolutionary perspective—memory evolved to aid survival.

Question 18

What are the three types of memory storage?

Answer 18

Sensory, short-term (working), and long-term memory.

Question 19

What does sensory storage do?

Answer 19

Holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.

Question 20

What is iconic memory?

Answer 20

A fast-decaying store of visual information.

Question 21

What is echoic memory?

Answer 21

A fast-decaying store of auditory information.

Question 22

What does the iconic memory test show?

Answer 22

That we briefly store an entire image, but it fades too quickly to recall fully.

Question 23

What is short-term memory (STM)?

Answer 23

Storage that holds nonsensory info for more than a few seconds but less than a minute.

Question 24

What is working memory?

Answer 24

The active maintenance and manipulation of information in short-term storage.

Question 25

What is the duration and capacity of STM?

Answer 25

15–20 seconds; about 7 ± 2 items (5–9 items).

Question 26

What is chunking?

Answer 26

Combining small pieces of information into larger, meaningful units.

Question 27

What is the serial position effect?

Answer 27

The tendency to recall the first and last items in a series better than the middle ones.

Question 28

What is the primacy effect?

Answer 28

Enhanced recall of the first few items due to long-term transfer.

Question 29

What is the recency effect?

Answer 29

Enhanced recall of the last few items still in short-term storage.

Question 30

Have serial position effects been observed in animals?

Answer 30

Yes—rhesus monkeys showed primacy and recency in a picture recall task.

Question 31

What are the main components of the working memory model?

Answer 31

Central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and episodic buffer.

Question 32

What does the central executive do?

Answer 32

Allocates data to subsystems and decides what information receives attention.

Question 33

What does the episodic buffer do?

Answer 33

Integrates visual and verbal information into a unified representation.

Question 34

What brain region is associated with the central executive?

Answer 34

The frontal lobe (and basal ganglia involvement).

Question 35

What is long-term memory (LTM)?

Answer 35

Memory that holds information for hours, days, or years; unlimited capacity.

Question 36

What did patient H.M. teach us about memory?

Answer 36

The hippocampus is crucial for transferring new information into long-term storage.

Question 37

What is anterograde amnesia?

Answer 37

Inability to form new long-term memories.

Question 38

What is retrograde amnesia?

Answer 38

Inability to retrieve memories formed before an injury or surgery.

Question 39

What is the hippocampus’s role as an index?

Answer 39

It links various elements of a memory (sights, sounds, emotions) into a single coherent representation.

Question 40

When is the hippocampus most critical?

Answer 40

When a memory is first formed; becomes less important as it ages.