Chapter Review Short Answer Solutions

Chapter Review Short Answer Solutions Nelson Psychology 2005 Chapter 7 pg 238 1. Discuss three differences between visual sensory memory and auditory sensory memory - Visual sensory memory processes visual information, whilst auditory memory processes auditory information. - Visual sensory memory holds information for ~1/3 of a second, whilst auditory memory can hold information for 3-4 seconds 2. Briefly outline the three stages involved in processing information into memory - Encoding: forming a memory code. Information from the senses needs to be converted into a format that the brain can understand and retain - Storage: the retention of information over time. - Retrieval: recovery of information from memory stores 3. In reference to memory, explain what is meant by encoding - Encoding in memory is the process in which sensory information is converted into a form that the brain can understand - Humans tend to encode information either acoustically, visually or semantically. - Encoding can be automatic (unconscious encoding of incidental information such as time, place and frequency and of well learned information such as meaning of words) or effortful (encoding that requires attention and conscious effort) 4. Compare and contrast the terms maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. - maintenance rehearsal involves the simple repetition of information a number of times so that it can be held in STM for longer than the usual 18-20 seconds - Elaborative rehearsal involves the connection of new information in some meaningful way to information already stored in LTM or with other new information. Thereby increasing storage and retrieval chances. 5. Define the term chunking and explain it’s effect on STM capacity. - Chunking involves the grouping of separate bits of information together to form a single unit. - This enables us to hold more than the usual 7+/-2 bits of information, increasing capacity of STM - For example – rather than learning 1 -5-6-3-2-5-7-2-9 you group them into slightly larger numbers 156-325-729 6. Vlado was interested in the way his Yr12 VCE Psychology students retrieved information from memory. --rararara--- Name and describe the retrieval process used by Group A students, and that used by Group B students. - Group A was using recall, most likely free recall - Group B was using cued recall – the photo served as a cue to help them recall the name of the teacher - Not recognition – it would have been recognition if they had been given a list of the names of the teachers that had been teaching 7. Explain how an interruption to memory consolidation can lead to forgetting - consolidation theory proposed that in order for LTM to form, a physiological/physical/chemical change in the brain needs to occur. This changes take a finite amount of time to occur and if this process is interrupted, the memories will not be formed and hence forgotten. 8. On the first meeting of his scout group… rara… which names would Mr Badley most likely have recalled and why? - He would most likely be able to recall the ones he heard most recently (recency effect) followed by the ones he heard first (primacy effect). - According to the recency effect the names he heard at the end would still be held in STM and thus more likely to be recalled compared to names in the middle. - According to the primacy effect the names he heard at the start he would have been able to rehearse more effectively and thus he would have greater recall of these names than those in the middle. 9. Explain the difference between episodic memory and semantic memory. Use an example to illustrate your answer. - episodic and semantic memory are both subsets of declarative memory, a type of LTM - Episodic memories are generally records of personal experiences linked to specific times and places. E.g. where you were for your 16th birthday - Semantic memories, however, are impersonal knowledge about the world. E.g. facts about the capital of countries. 10. Briefly describe how LTMs are organised according to the semantic network model of organisation. - Information is stored and organised according to meaningful groupings. - Meaningful links connect nodes, which connect to other related nodes.

Chapter Review Short Answer Solutions Nelson Psychology 2005 Chapter 8 pg 276 1. What is a forgetting curve? Describe what it indicates about the normal rate of forgetting - The forgetting curve is a graph that shows the typical rate and amount of forgetting that occurs after varying amounts of time. - After the initial learning experience, Ebbinghaus found that approximately 50% of information is lost after about 1 hour - After approximately 8 hours, the amount of forgetting that occurs slows until no more forgetting occurs 2. Patients who suffer memory loss are often put into nursing homes… rara… Explain why most patients can still remember the words to old songs like ‘Waltzing Matilda’ but are unable to remember recent events or how to drive or cook. - Alzheimer’s Disease in a form of organic brain decay – resulting in confusion, loss of memory particularly episodic and semantic memories - Suffers can experience both retrograde and anterograde amnesia – hence they cannot remember recent events as they have difficulty forming new memories, and retrograde amnesia would impact their ability to recall previously learned information such as driving a car 3. One technique for improving memory involves the use of a well-learned sequence of events... Name this technique and explain you would use it to learn a shopping list consisting of 10 words. - Method of Loci - Memories a series of key locations –e.g. certain locations on a route to school - Assign an item of the shopping list to each location – visually e.g. door – egg  door with egg on it 4. Compare and contrast anterograde and retrograde amnesia. - Anterograde amnesia refers to loss of ability to form memories for events that occurred after the brain ingjury, whilst retrograde amnesia refers to memory loss of events that precede a head injury or other amnesia causing event 5. Quoc has been preparing himself for his final exams – rarara- Provide an explanation of the improvement in Quoc’s memory at home compared with his memory performance in the exam. In your answer identify and describe two types of cues that have probably influenced Quoc’s memory. - Context dependant cues that were present at Quoc’s desk whilst he was study acted as retrieval cues to aid in his memory retrieval when his mother tested him at home. - In the exam, these cues were not present and hence could not aid him 6. Explain how the use of imagery and mental associations helps to reduce forgetting. Illustrate your answer with an example. - Pictures are generally easier to remember than words, so turning information mental images can be helpful – especially when they are vivid and unusual or exaggerated. 7. What is meant by the term organic causes of forgetting? - Organic causes of forgetting refers to loss of memory caused by physiological damage or trauma to the brain. 8. Explain why Herman Ebbinghaus chose to use nonsense syllables rather than meaningful words when he carried out his tests of memory and forgetting’ - Nonsense syllables had no meaning – though they still had the structure of a real word. - This decreased the likelihood of an individual forming meaningful links to the words with meanings in LTM 9. Explain why careful encoding of information can reduce the tendency to forget. - If information is encoded properly, with many links to other relevant information in LTM, there are more retrieval cues available to aid in recall 10. Explain the role of mnemonics in storing and retrieving information. Illustrate with an example. - Mnemonic devices allow us to use information already stored in LTM making retrieval easier - They enhance the organisation and storage of information - They help to make meaningless information more memorable