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PYC3703 EXAM PACK PAST PAPERS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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Question Answer May – June 20191. 3
2. 1
3. 3 There are 3 common operations of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Each operation
represents a stage in
memory processing.
∅ Encoding: transform sensory data into a form of mental representation.
∅ Storage: keep encoded information in memory.
∅ Retrieval: pull out or use information stored in memory.
Retrieval The process of remembering information that has been stored in long-term
memory.
4. 2 Self-image hypothesis The idea that memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s
self-image or life identity is being formed. This is one of the explanations for the
reminiscence bump. The self-image hypothesis , proposed by Clare Rathbone and coworkers (2008),
proposes that memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s self-image or life identity is being
formed.
5. 3
6. 3 ∅ The phonological loop briefly holds inner speech for verbal comprehension and acoustic
rehearsal. We use the phonological loop for a number of everyday tasks, including sounding out new
and difficult words and solving word problems. The amount of information that can be manipulated
within the phonological loop is limited, and the information decays after about 2 seconds. There are
two critical components of this loop:
⊕ Phonological storage holds information in memory.
⊕ Subvocal rehearsal is used to put the information into memory in the first place. When subvocal
rehearsal is inhibited, the new information is not stored (articulatory suppression). Articulatory
suppression is more pronounced when the information is presented visually versus aurally.
7. 2 In that paper, Miller presented the idea that there are limits to the human’s ability to process
information—that the information processing of the human mind is limited to about seven items (for
example, the length of a telephone number).
8. The first step toward correcting the problem of inaccurate eyewitness testimony was
to recognize that the problem exists. This has been achieved, largely through the
efforts of memory researchers and attorneys and investigators for unjustly convicted
people. The next step is to propose specific solutions. Two problem areas for which
cognitive psychologists have made suggestions are lineup procedures and interviewing
procedures.
LINEUP PROCEDURES Lineups are notorious for producing mistaken identifications.
Here are some of the recommendations that have been made:
Recommendation 1: When asking a witness to pick the perpetrator from a lineup, inform the
witness that the perpetrator may not be in the particular lineup he or she is viewing . As we have
seen from the results of a number of studies, witnesses will usually pick a person from a
lineup even when the perpetrator is not present. When a witness assumes the perpetrator
is in the lineup, this increases the chances that an innocent person who looks similar to the
perpetrator will be selected. In one experiment, telling subjects that the perpetrator may
not be present in a lineup caused a 42 percent decrease in false identifications of innocent
people (Malpass & Devine, 1981).
Recommendation 2: When constructing a lineup, use “fillers” who are similar to the suspect.
Police investigators are reluctant to increase the similarity of people in lineups because
they are afraid this will decrease the chances of identifying the suspect. However, when
R. C. L. Lindsay and Gary Wells (1980) had subjects view a tape of a crime scene and then
tested them using high-similarity and low-similarity lineups, they obtained the results
shown in Figure 8.20 . When the perpetrator was in the lineup, increasing similarity did
decrease identification of the perpetrator, from 0.71 to 0.58 ( Figure 8.20a ). But when the
perpetrator was not in the lineup, increasing similarity caused a large decrease in incorrect
identification of an innocent person, from 0.70 to 0.31 ( Figure 8.20b ). Thus, increasing
similarity does result in missed identification of some guilty suspects, but substantially
reduces the erroneous identification of innocent people, especially when the perpetrator is
, not in the lineup (also see Charman et al., 2011).
9. 2 Endel Tulving theorised that there is a principle of ‘encoding specificity’ and that the ease with
which information can be retrieved is closely linked to the similarity between the encoding and
retrieval contexts. The principle states that the closer the match between the retrieval and
encoding contexts or situations, the easier the memory will be to retrieve. Conversely, the
further apart or more distinct these two contexts are, the more difficult it will be to retrieve the
memory. The underlying theoretical assumption is that the encoding context provides ‘cues’ (i.e.
additional visual, auditory, smelling or even tasting stimuli) that facilitate memory retrieval, and
further that the more distinct the encoding and retrieval contexts, the less cues are available,
and hence the more difficult it becomes to access the memory (CP, p. 239).
10. 3 According to the constructive approach to memory, originally proposed by Bartlett based
on his “War of the Ghosts” experiment, what people report as memories are constructed
based on what actually happened plus additional factors such as the persons knowledge,
experiences, and expectations.
We have seen that we remember certain things better than others because of their special
significance or because of when they happened in our lives. But we have also seen
that what people remember may not match what actually happened. When people report
memories for past events, they may not only omit things but also distort or change things
that happened, and in some cases even report things that never happened at all.
These characteristics of memory reflect the constructive nature of memory —what people
report as memories are constructed based on what actually happened plus additional
factors, such as the person’s knowledge, experiences, and expectations. This approach to
memory is called “constructive” because the mind constructs memories based on a number
of sources of information. One of the first studies to suggest that memory is constructive
was the “War of the Ghosts” experiment conducted by British psychologist Fredrick
Bartlett before World War I and published in 1932.
11. 2 ⊗ At least two kinds of interference figure prominently in psychological theory and research:
retroactive interference and proactive interference.
⊗ Retroactive interference (or retroactive inhibition) occurs when newly acquired knowledge
impedes the recall of older material. This is caused by activity occurring after we learn something but
before we are asked to recall that thing.
⊗ Proactive interference (or proactive inhibition) occurs when material that was learned in the past
impedes the learning of new material.
⊗ Proactive as well as retroactive interference may play a role in short-term memory. The amount
of proactive interference generally climbs with increases in the length of time between when the
information is presented (and encoded) and when the information is retrieved.
RECAP:
→ Retroactive = NEW impedes OLD
→ Proactive = OLD impedes NEW
12. 1 ⊗ Subjective Expected Utility Theory:
∅ In making decisions, people will seek to maximize pleasure (positive utility) and to minimize pain
(negative utility).
∅ In doing so, however, each of us uses calculation of two things:
⊕ Subjective utility: a calculation based on the individual’s judged weightings of utility (value),
rather
than on objective criteria.
⊕ Subjective probability: a calculation based on the individual’s estimates of likelihood, rather than
, on objective statistical computations.
13. 3 The duration of visual sensory memory (iconic memory) is less than 1 second, and of
auditory sensory memory (echoic memory) is about 2–4 seconds.
Iconic memory Brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after a stimulus
is extinguished. This corresponds to the sensory memory stage of the modal model of memory.
14. 2
15. 1 Priming occurs when the presentation of one stimulus (the priming stimulus) changes
the way a person responds to another stimulus (the test stimulus). One type of priming,
repetition priming , occurs when the test stimulus is the same as or resembles the priming
stimulus. For example, seeing the word bird may cause you to respond more quickly to a
later presentation of the word bird than to a word you had not seen, even though you may
not remember seeing bird earlier. Repetition priming is called implicit memory because
the priming effect can occur even though subjects may not remember the original presen
tationof the priming stimuli.
16. 3
17. 2 The idea that the PF cortex is important for working memory is also supported by experiments that have
looked at how some neurons in the PF cortex are able to hold information after the original stimulus is no
longer present, continuing to respond during a brief delay. Shintaro Funahashi and coworkers (1989)
conducted an experiment in which they recorded from neurons in a monkey’s PF cortex while the monkey
carried out a delayedresponse task. The monkey first looked steadily at a fixation point, X, while a square
was flashed at one position on the screen ( Figure 5.24a ). In this example, the square was flashed in the
upper left corner (on other trials, the square was flashed at different positions on the screen). This causes
a small response in the neuron.
18. 3 Testbank Question 25
19. 1 Articulatory suppression Interference with operation of the phonological loop that occurs
when a person repeats an irrelevant word such as “the” while carrying out a task that
requires the phonological loop.
ARTICULATORY SUPPRESSION One way that the operation of the phonological loop has been
studied is by determining what happens when its operation is disrupted. This occurs when a person is
prevented from rehearsing items to be remembered by repeating an irrelevant sound, such as “the, the,
the …” (Baddeley, 2000b; Baddeley et al., 1984; Murray, 1968). This repetition of an irrelevant sound
results in a phenomenon called articulatory suppression, which reduces memory because speaking
interferes with rehearsal. The following demonstration, which is based on an experiment by Baddeley and
coworkers (1984), illustrates this effect of articulatory suppression.
20. 1 One practical outcome of research on reconsolidation is a possible treatment for posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), a condition that occurs when, following a traumatic experience, a person experiences “f
lashbacks” of the experience, often accompanied by extreme anxiety and physical symptoms. Clinical
psychologist Alain Brunet and coworkers (2008) tested the idea that reactivation of a memory followed by
reconsolidation can help alleviate these symptoms. The basic method involved is to reactivate the
person’s memory for the traumatic event and then administer the drug propranolol . This drug blocks
activation of stress hormone receptors in the amygdala, a part of the brain important for determining the
emotional components of memory.
21. 1
2. DEDUCTIVE REASONING
⊗ Reasoning is the process of drawing conclusions from principles and from evidence. In reasoning,
we move from what is already known to infer a new conclusion or to evaluate a proposed
conclusion.
2.1. WHAT IS DEDUCTIVE REASONING?
⊗ Deductive reasoning is the process of reasoning from one or more general statements regarding
what is known to reach a logically certain conclusion. It often involves reasoning from one or more
general statements regarding what is known to a specific application of the general statement.
Deductive reasoning is based on logical propositions.
⊗ A proposition is basically an assertion, which may be either true or false.
⊗ In a logical argument, premises are propositions about which arguments are made.
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