According to a famous article by Miller (1956), short-term memory (or working memory)
has a capacity limitation of about:
a) 2 or 3 bits of information.
b) 7 ± 2 chunks of information.
c) 10 ± 2 meaningful items.
d) 15–20 energy chunks.
The first short-term memory experiments used backward counting by threes, or a similar
task, in order to:
a) ensure that a person is not able to rehearse during the delay.
b) ensure that sufficient decay has occurred during the delay.
c) expand the capacity of the short-term memory system.
d) provide the person with an easy way to chunk the information.
If people are presented a series of items (such as words), their percent recalled typically
shows a U-shaped function across serial positions. The recency effect seen in such data is
usually attributed to information that:
a) was transferred to long-term memory at the time of presentation.
b) remains in short-term memory at the time of recall.
c) was extremely well remembered because it was associated with earlier information in the series.
d) All of the above are correct.
The effects of proactive interference are decreased if:
a) you know more information at the beginning.
b) you keep studying the same list.
c) you learn different items from the same category.
d) you shift to a different category of items to learn.
On a short-term (working) memory task, release from proactive interference (PI) on the
final trial occurred when:
a) previous trials required a person to remember words from a different semantic category.
b) the final trial required a person to remember words from the same semantic category as on previous trials.
c) the capacity of short-term (working) memory on the final trial was greater than about seven items.
d) All of the above are correct.
Working memory is:
a) brief memory for information that a person is currently processing.
b) involved in coordinating a person’s cognitive activities.
c) a term that is now used more often instead of a similar term—short-term memory.
d) All of the above are correct.
The functioning of the phonological loop:
a) may give rise to acoustic confusions in working-memory tasks, especially when rehearsal is involved.
b) is related to a person’s “inner voice,” or his or her use of subvocalization to perform a task.
c) involves activation or information storage in the left hemisphere of the brain, including frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes.
d) All of the above are correct.
A driver who is listening to a football game on the radio and forming clear images of the
action may experience difficulty driving. This interference may be attributable to the limited
capacity of a working-memory component called the:
a) central executive.
b) visuospatial sketchpad.
c) episodic buffer.
d) phonological loop.
The part of the brain that is most strongly activated when a person performs visual and spatial tasks is the:
a) left cerebral hemisphere, especially the frontal and occipital lobes, but including the cerebellum.
b) right cerebral hemisphere, especially the frontal and parietal lobes, but including the occipital lobe.
c) cerebellum.
d) lateral hypothalamus.
In Baddeley’s (2000, 2006) working-memory model, the component that plays a major
role in attending to stimuli, planning one’s strategies, and coordinating one’s behavior is
the:
a) phonological loop.
b) visuospatial sketchpad.
c) episodic buffer.
d) central executive.
The region of the brain that it most strongly activated when a person works on tasks
that require the central-executive component of working memory is the:
a) frontal lobe.
b) temporal lobe.
c) parietal lobe.
d) occipital lobe.
Research reveals that scores on working-memory tasks are correlated with:
a) overall intelligence and grades in school
b) verbal fluency and reasoning ability.
c) reading ability.
d) All of the above are correct.
A researcher wants to study how people’s attention shifts when they see a visualstimulus in an unexpected portion of a screen that they are viewing; this attention shiftoccurs in just a fraction of a second. Which of the following techniques is this researchermost likely to use?
a) The neural-network approach
b) A positron emission tomography (PET) scan
c) The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique (fMRI)
d) The event-related potential technique (ERP)
Compared to people who are not depressed, people suffering from major depression:
a) have difficulty with some working memory tasks.
b) show a surprising increase in ability to concentrate on tasks.
c) show an increased span on short-term memory tasks.
d) All of the above are correct.
ADHD populations exhibit differences in working memory, relative to a control group, inwhich components of the working memory system:
a) phonological loop deficit.
b) central-executive functioning.
c) visuospatial sketchpad deficit.
d) All of the above are correct
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