Memory Study Guide Terms & Practice Short Answer Questions
Absentmindedness Memory focuses on meaning
Age and memory Memory span
Amnesia Method of Loci/Memory Palace
Anterograde amnesia Mnemonics
Attention Networks of associations
Bias Nodes
Blocking Perceptual memory
Change bias Persistence
Change blindness Phonological loop
Chunking Primacy effect
Collective memory bias Priming memory
Consistency bias Proactive interference
Consolidation Procedural memory
Context-dependent memory Prospective memory
Echoic memory Recency effect
Encoding Reconsolidation
Encoding specificity principle Retrieval
Episodic memory Retrieval cues
Explicit memory/declarative memory Retroactive interference
Eyewitness accuracy Retrograde Amnesia
False fame effect/study Savings in relearning
Flashbulb memories & how studied Schemas/mental representations of concepts
HM’s abilities Self-serving bias
How memories are strengthened Semantic memory
How much we can hold in each type of memory Sensory Memory
(and what the research studies that tested these Serial position effect
did/showed) Source Misattribution
How people become great at memory tasks Source misattribution/amnesia
Iconic memory Sperling’s research on memory
Implicit memory Spreading activation models
Importance of context/assumptions in memory State-dependent memory
Inattentional blindness Storage
Levels of processing model (maintenance rehearsal, Subvocal articulation
elaborative rehearsal, visual, acoustic, and semantic Suggestibility
judgments for memory) Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Loftus’ research studies on suggestibility, malleable Transience
memories, and purely false memories Visuospatial sketchpad
Long-term memory and studies testing it von Restorff effect
Long-term potentiation Working/Short-term memory
Memory
Memory Study Guide Terms & Practice Short Answer Questions
Good concepts to map/compare:
-Understanding how sensory memory, working (short-term) memory, and long-term memory lead to one
another and what they each do
-Being able to describe the 7 sins of memory
-Matching examples of different types of explicit and implicit memories
-Comparing encoding strategies to best improve memory (e.g., chunking)
Good short answer questions:
1. Suppose that your grandfather told you that you had a Disney themed second birthday party, but
you don’t remember it so you believe him. However, you later realize that he was thinking of your sister’s
second birthday party and not yours.
a) What type of memory as occurred? Episodic memory
b) What type of error is involved with this? Suggestibility
c) How can you prevent this type of error or correct for it later? Check source
2. Anna fondly remembers her 10th birthday party. She remembers the day vividly and constantly
thinks about it.
a.) What type of memory is this? Long term memory
b.) Is this an implicit or explicit memory? Why? Implicit because it requires a conscious effort and can be
verbally described
c.) Anna’s grandfather was also at the birthday party, but has lost memories of past events. What disease does
Anna’s grandfather suffer from? Retrograde amnesia
3. A. Michael Scott has read a long list of names during a conference at a local Paper Company. He is having
trouble remembering all the names but is able to remember some at the beginning of the list as well as the end
of the list. What is the term of his ability to remember the first of the list? Primacy effect What is the term for
his ability to remember the last of the list? Recency effect
B. Michael still has issues remembering one particular name from the list. To try to enter it into his Long-Term
Memory, Michael relies upon constantly repeating the name in his head. What is this termed called?
Maintenance rehearsal. When compared to other methods, how effective is this method in retaining
information? Elaborative is more effective in retaining information as it adds memory aids like mnemonic
devices
C. After the conference is over, Michael’s car has broken down in the parking lot. Luckily, Jim Halpert has an
extra bike in his trunk. Although Michael hasn’t ridden a bike in years, he is able to pedal all the way back to
his house. Explain what type of memory this is and if it Implicit or Explicit. This is procedural memory which
involves motor skills, habits, and other behaviors used to achieve goals. It is an explicit memory because it does
not require conscious attention.
4. Below there are 3 scenarios in which a sin of memory has occurred. Identify which sin has happened for each
of them and which form of the sin (if necessary).
a) Alex studies for his Biology final, then starts studying for his Psychology final. During his Psychology
final, he struggles to remember the material he studied. Blocking/Retrieval failure
b) Late at night, Alex has a hard time falling asleep because he keeps remembering embarrassing moments
from his years in high school. persistence
c) Alex reads an online analysis of a text for his Literature course. A few weeks later, while writing an essay
about that particular text, Alex mistakenly uses some of that analysis as his own. Misattribution- specifically
crytoamnesia
Memory Study Guide Terms & Practice Short Answer Questions
5. What are the three types of encoding? What do each of them mean? Visual, acoustic, and semantic Which
one is the easiest to learn from? Semantic How are memories maintained over time? storage List a memory of
yours and describe this process in detail.
6. Describe an example of how biases in memory have come up in your life? Saying that highschool was the
best time of my life and everything was perfect when in fact there were issues and I remember it better than it
actually was. Name how a bias can affect someone’s view or perception of something. Bias can affect
someone’s view of something because when a view changes a person can have bias and change memories to
think they always had that certain view when in reality then did not. What is a self-serving bias? Person taking
credit for positive events or outcomes. What is a consistency bias? That you opinions have always been that
way when in reality you might have felt differently in the past.
7. According to your book: a. list 7 sins of memory and describe a brief example of each from your own life.
Transience- forgetting over time
Blocking- inability to remember needed info
Absentmindedness- reduced memory due to failing to pay attention
Persistence- remembering things you want to forget
Misattribution- assigning a memory to the wrong source
Bias- influence of current knowledge on memory for past events
Suggestibility- altering a memory because of misleading information
b. which 4 are related to forgetting and remembering? Transience, blocking, absentmindedness, persistence c.
which 3 are distortions of memory misattribution, bias, suggestibility
8. What kind of memory is this? a) When you smell your mom’s perfume and think about her. episodic b)
When you forget what “love” means in tennis because you learned how to keep score in ping pong. Episodic c)
When you remember who the first president of the USA is. Sematic
9. Describe how people feel about flash bulb memories. Surprised, consequential, and or emotional Describe
what the research finds about flash bulb memories. Flash bulb memories are memories people have on
significant events like 9/11 where they remember distinctly when, where, what, why, who questions but that
after time goes on the flashbulb light memories decline unless they were more closely related in area to the
event like 9/11 and flash bulb doesn’t have the persistence issue just can be remembered well like episodic
memories of experience. What is a flash bulb memory of your own that may now have incorrect components
(and give an example of one)?
10. A) What kind of memory uses specific past events in your life? Episodic B)_Chunking__________ is the
act of grouping information together to make it easier to process. C)Memories triggered by doing a set pattern
of things is called_sensory memory__________
11. You have two friends. They both witness a robbery but from different perspectives. You have another friend
who simply heard about the robbery from home on tv with live footage. a.) A few years after the incident, you
ask one of your friends who witnessed the robbery what time it was of the day when he witnessed it. He
remembers it being 10 in the morning. The robbery took place at 1:30 in the afternoon. What type of memory
distortion is this? Transience/ misattribution
b.) A few years after the incident, you ask another one of your friends about how she currently feels about the
robbery. She says it was not that big of a deal and she was not scared at all. She also claims that he was justified
in robbing so that he could have food for his family. You recall that just after the incident, she was terrified and
apathetic toward the robber. What type of memory distortion is this? Bias
Memory Study Guide Terms & Practice Short Answer Questions
c.) A few years after the incident, you ask your third friend who heard about the robbery on tv about that day.
He is able to recall the entirety of his day vividly, describing exactly what he had been doing that day and where
he heard of the robbery. What type of memory is this, and is he likely to be highly accurate in his memories
from that day? Flash bulb memory and no probably not
12. Give examples from your own life of the following memories:
a. semantic memory: remembering who the first president is
b. episodic memory: remembering the smell of my grandmothers house
c. priming memory: remembering that pillows are associated with the priming idea of sleep
d. procedural memory: remembering how to ride a bike
e. perceptual memory: remembering what my mom looks like
f. Which of the 7 sins of memory are you most likely to engage in, and why do you think you do this one the
most? Absentmindedness because I get distracted in class