Psychology Degree Cognitive Processes and Memory 3

Question 1

The 'tip-of-the-tongue' (TOT) state is best explained as a failure of:

Accepted Answer

Retrieval

Answer

TOT states occur when information is stored in long-term memory but retrieval cues are temporarily insufficient to access it fully.

Question 2

George Miller's classic research on working memory capacity suggested that people can hold approximately how many chunks of information at once?

Accepted Answer

7 ± 2

Answer

Miller (1956) famously described working memory capacity as 'the magical number seven, plus or minus two.'

Question 3

In Endel Tulving's framework, memory for personally experienced events tied to specific times and places is called:

Accepted Answer

Episodic memory

Answer

Episodic memory is the autobiographical memory system that records personally experienced events with their temporal and spatial context.

Question 4

The 'encoding specificity principle' (Tulving & Thomson, 1973) predicts that recall will be best when:

Accepted Answer

Retrieval cues match conditions present at encoding

Answer

Memory retrieval is maximized when the cues available at retrieval match the context present when the memory was originally encoded.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of proactive interference?

Accepted Answer

Old Spanish vocabulary interferes with learning new French vocabulary

Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information disrupts the learning or recall of new information.

Psychology Degree Practice Test