Index No ............................................... .

SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

(All rights reserved)

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS 202112022

LEVEL 300: B.A/B.Sc. PSYCHOLOGY

INSTITUTE OF CONTINUING AND DISTANCE EDUCATION

PSYC332: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY I 3 CREDITS

INSTRUCTIONS:

ANSWER QUESTION TWO (2) QUESTIONS FROM SECTION A).

SECTIONS BAND C MUST BE ANSWERED ON THE QUESTION PAPER.

TIME ALLOWED: 2Yz HOURS

SECTION A

1. Critically evaluate the evidence for the separability of the storage systems in memory.

2. Why do we forget?

3. (a) What factors explain retrieval of information from Short-term and the Long-term
memories.
(b) Why should the processes be different for the two memory systems?

4. Evaluate the evidence for the accuracy of eyewitness and earwitness testimonies. Can
they be improved?

SECTIONB
Dr. B. Amponsah Page 1 of12
Index No .......................... ,..................... . SUPPLEMENT ARY
(Write Boldly)

Answer all Questions by Marking or Circling the Correct Answers

\

1. Cognitive psychology arose most directly from:

a. Endel Tulving
b. Dust bowl elnpiricism
c. Freudian theory
d. The information-processing approach to psychology
e. 'Herman Ebbinghaus
2. If you are trying to memorize a passage, but the text is blurred, you will first experience
difficulty in which memory process?
a. Retrieval
b. Chunking
c. Encoding
d. Storage
e. Articulatory suppression
3. Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed the so-called _ _ _ model of memory in 1968, which
assumed multiple memory structures.
a. Modular
b. Modal
c. Factorial
d. Bidirectional
e. Computational
4. Which of the following memory systems was proposed as a temporary store for visual images
in order to integrate them, creating apparent motion?
a. Short-term
b. Iconic
c. Emotive
d. Sketchpad
e. Echoic
5. After Sperling (1960) briet1y presented participants with a matrix of letters, a tone was
emitted in order to:
a. Prevent participants from verbally rehearsing the letters
b. Avoid the problem of forgetting during report
c. Tell the participant that s/he made a recall error
d. Fill the acoustic store
e. Examine whether auditory memory disrupts visual memory
6. Sperling (1960) found that if a bright field is presented before and after the letters, memory'
for the letters is worse if:
a. The participant is warned in advance of the flash
b. The contours of the letters in each row are similar
c. The letters are reported in writing rather than vocally
d. The participant repeats a word over and over again subvocally
e. The letters and the flash are presented to the same eye
7. Sperling (1 960) and others found that a visual store full of a mix of letters and digits could

Dr. B. Ampol1sah Page 2 0/12

Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

NOT be effectively probed by asking them to recall only the:

a. Stimuli presented in red
b. Larger stinluli
c. Upside-down stimuli
d. Digits from the stimuli
e. Stimuli underlined with a bar
8. The primacy advantage refers to the recall benefit seen for:
a. The loudest sounds presented in a study list
b. Itelns that are primed by a related cue
c. Odd digits presented in a sequence
d. Visual stimuli occurring early in a study list
e. Any item presented in the dominant field of vision
9. The process of rehearsal is thought to:
a. Explain the recency effect
b. Distract participants from retrieval
c. Facilitate the transfer from the temporary perceptual store
d. Provide the mental workspace for symbolic manipulation
e. Maintain items in the short-term store
10. The process Tu\ving calls "mental time travel" is required for which of the following types of
Inemory?
a. Fantasy
b. Semantic
c. Episodic
d. Implicit
e. Motor
11. Implicit memories are unlike explicit memories in that implicit memories are:
a. Part of the short-term store
b. Declarative
c. Reflected through performance
d. General knowledge about the world and society
e. Typically impaired in amnesiacs
12. Renlembering to do things in the future is most appropriately termed _ _ _ _ memory.
a. Prospective
b. Foregoing
c. Perspective
d. Advanced
e. Foremost
13. Studying the abilities and disabilities of human patients with organic brain dmnage is an
example of research.
a. Neuroimaging
b. Electrophysiological
c. Disease-related
d. Neuropsychological
14. Primary difference between encoding specificity and associative strength theory of cue

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 3 of12

Index No .............................................. .. . SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

effectiveness is role of:

a. Frequency of co-occurrence
b. Past co-occurrence
c. Poor retrieval cues
d. Complementary cues

15. The image that persists for about one-half second after being seen is a(n)
a. sensation.
b. echo.
c. icon.
d. illusion.
16. Cue-dependent (or context dependent) theories of memory suggest that you would do best
on your chemistry test if you could be tested
a. in the room where you studied.
b. in a chelnistry laboratory.
c. with a large group of chelnistry majors.
d. with students who share your interests.
17. The part of the brain that functions as a "switching station" between the STM and LTM is
the
a. hippocan1pus.
b. cerebral cortex.
c. RS.
d. engraln switching center.

18. A person with amnesia following hippocampus damage will typically

be unable to learn p.ew facts or recall recent events. However, the person
may be able to learn new skills, such as riding a bicycle, which is an
a. explicit memory. '
b. implicit memory.
c. iconic memory.
d. echoic memory.
19.The hippocampus plays an important role in some types of learning.
The hippocampus seems to function as a
a. temporary processing site for explicit memories.
b. temporary processing site for ilnplicit memories.
c. pennanent storage area for emotion-based memories.
d. permanent storage area for iconic and echoic memories.

20. To gain access to a melnory, we activate associations leading to that

memory. The associations may be specific odors, visual images, or
en1otions, which are all examples of

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 4 of12

 Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

a. relearning.
b. deja vu.
c. declarative memories.
d. retrieval cues.

21. In some instance, forgetting may be due to encoding failure. That is,
meaningless information may not be transferred from
a. the environment into sensory memory.
b. sensory memory into long-term memory.
c. long-term memory into short-term memory.
d. short-term Inemory into long-term Inemory.
22. Ebbinghaus found that about three days after a session of learning
nonsense syllables, he had forgotten much of what he had lealned.
Ebbinghaus' "forgetting curve" shows that after this initial decline, one's
memory for novel information tends to
a. increase slightly.
b. decrease noticeably.
c. decrease greatly.
d. level out.
23. Aspects of our memories are distributed to different parts of the brain.
Thus, while we may recognize a face in the crowd, we may not be able to
recall where we know the person frOln. This is called
a. the misinf01mation effect.
b. proactive interference.
c. source amnesia.
d. repression.

24. The fact that a bodily state that exists during learning can be a strong cue for later memory is
known as
a. eidetic imagery.
b. redintegration.
c. state-dependent learning.
d. the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

25. concentrates on the meaning of information you want to remember.

a. Dual men10ry
b. Elaborative rehearsal
c. Long-term memory
d. Maintenance rehearsal
Dr. B. AmpoJ1sah Page 50f12
Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENT ARY
(Write Boldly)

26. Transforming incoming information into a usable form is the stage of memory called
a. retrieval.
b. encoding.
c. storage.
d. organization.
27. Helen has a six-luonth "gap" in her memories of grade school. Her "gap" corresponds to the
period immediately after her father's death. Helen's memory loss is most likely accounted for
by
a. cue-dependent forgetting.
b. repression.
c. retroactive inhibition.
d. decay of memory traces.
28. Memories of historical facts are to _ _ _ _ _ mell1ory, as mell10ries of your breakfast this
luoming are to 111eluory.
a. episodic; procedural
b. procedural; seluantic
c. semantic; episodic
d. long-term; short-term
29. The storage capacity of long-term memory is best described as
a. a single item.
b. about seven itell1s.
c. about seven volumes.
d. liluitless.
30. The definition of 111emory is that it is an active system that receives, organizes, and
a. stores information.
b. decays information.
c. filters all incoming information.
d. discards old information.
31. Psychologists have concluded that long-term memories fall into the following two
categories:
a. fact memory and mnemonic memory.
b. procedural memory and fact memory.
c. semantic memory and fact memory.
d. semantic memory and redintegration memory.
32. Decay theories of memory loss seem to be most appropriate for
a. memory based on visual images.
b. long-term memory.
c. short-term memory and sensory memory.
d. muscular memory.
33. Essay questions tend to be luore difficult than multiple choice because with an essay
question,
a. there are more cues to still1ulate memory.
b. recall is required rather than recognition.
c. there is more proactive inhibition.
d. there is more interference possible.
34. The first step in placing information into memory storage is

Dr. B. Ampol1sah Page 60f12

Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

a. mnemonic memory.
b. short-tem1 n1emory.
c. sensory memory.
d. rehearsal.
35. An intelligence test for adults frequently has a general knowledge section which tests for
a. episodic Inemory.
b. echoic memory.
c. procedural memory.
d. semantic memory.
36. Recoding, chunking, and rehearsal are especially important for the improvement of
a. short-tern1 memory efficiency.
b. eidetic in1agery.
c. sensory memory.
d. long-term memory traces.

37. The improvement of memory to truly exceptional levels involves

a. learning techniques for organizing or "chunking" information.
b. replacing memory based on meaning with memory that utilizes images.
c. improvements in short-term memory.
d. improvements in the neural substrates of memory through drugs and
nutrition.
38. Working memory is associated with which of the following?
a. sensory memory
b. short-term n1elnory
c. long-tern1 memory
d. integrated memory
39. _____ detennines what information moves from sensory melnory to short-term
n1emory.
a. Encoding failure
b. Selective attention
c. Repression
d. Eidetic encoding
40. Students often aSSUlne that because they can answer all the study questions once, they have
sufficiently prepared for a test. This mistaken attitude overlooks the importance of
_____ for improving melnory.
a. Overlearning
b. spaced practice
c. recitation
d. organization
41. Eidetic imagery is found more often in
a. children than in adults.
b. adults than in children.
c. men than in women.
d. women than in men.
42. A Inail clerk has to rearrange Inailboxes in a student dormitory and for a few days has
difficulty sorting the mail. This illustrates
a. retroactive interference.

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 7 of 12

Index No .............................................. .. SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

b. proactive interference.
c. relearning.
d. memory decay.
43. primarily keeps melTIories active in short-term memory.
a. Dual melTIOry
b. Elaborative rehearsal
c. Long-term memory
d. Maintenance rehearsal

44. Which of the following determines what information moves from sensory memory to short'-
term melTIOry?
a. consolidation
b. an engran1
c. working memory
d. selective attention
45. When students who go to graduate school have to brush up on a foreign language they
learned before, they find it easier the second time arolmd. This illustrates
a. rehearsal.
b. recall.
c. redintegration.
d. relearning.
46. Organizing information into larger units as a way of improving the efficiency of short-term
memory is called
a. chunking. .
b. categorization.
c. verbal labelling.
d. sYlubolization.
47. Which of the following is true of short-term memory?
a. It has an unlimited storage capacity.
b. It deals with information for longer periods of time, usually for at least 30
minutes.
c. It is seriously affected by any interruption or interference.
d. Once information is placed in STM, it is permanently stored.
48. Information is remembered without explicit cues or stimuli, often verbatim in
a. recall.
b. recognition.
c. relearning.
d. redintegration.
49. State dependent learning is a term which refers to the fact that
a. bodily states can be a strong cue for later memory.
b. learning and memory can be increased with the use of dnlgs.
c. happy people have better memories.
d. adults lose any eidetic memory as they grow older.
50. Remembering the first and last items of a list better than items in the middle is due to
a. the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.
b. redintegration.

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 8 0/12

Index No .............................................. .. SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

c. the serial position effect.

d. the pseudo-memory effect.
51. Which of the following can help to create false memories?
a. hypnosis
b. age regression
c. suggestion
d. all of the above
52. Consolidation refers to the
a. time taken for short-term memory to be complete.
b. ability to see relationships between objects or events.
c. process whereby memory storage is speeded by the use of
electroconvulsive shock treatment.
d. forming of a long-term menl0ry.

53. Which of the following would be an example of short-term memory?

a. remembering the letters of the alphabet
b. looking up a phone number and remembering it while you dial
c. remembering your name
d. remembering how to ride a bicycle
54. According to the interference theory of forgetting,
a. memory capacity is limited so that when new information is brought in,
older memories must be removed.
b. new learning can inhibit the retrieval of stored memory, and vice-versa.
c. forgetting is directly related to the complexity and meaningfulness of the
incoming information.
d. cues present at the time of learning interfere with memory retrieval.
55. Which of the following is true of rehearsal of infonnation?
a. Rehearsal is an aid to maintaining information in sensory memory.
b. After 45 seconds without rehearsal, information is gone from STM.
c. Rehearsal interferes with chunking and recoding of information in STM.
d. Rehearsal aids the transfer of infonnation from STM to LTM.
56. The "magic number" represents the average number of "bits" of information
that Sholt-term memory can usually handle.
a. three
b. SIX
c. Seven
d. nine
57. _ _ _ _ _ memory is that part of long-term memory containing factual information.
a. Episodic
b. Selnantic
c. Declarative
d. Procedural
58. Evolutionary explanations for the efficiency of memory argue
a. it is important to retrieve all past memories.
b. total recall would paralyze us mentally.
c. past episodic memories are highly accurate and detailed.

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 9 of12

Index No ........••....................•................. SUPPLEMENT ARY
(Write Boldly)

d. environmental experiences are recalled with the highest degree of

accuracy.
59. The kind of memory that lasts for only a second or two is
a. long-term memory.
b. short-term memory.
c. eidetic memory.
d. sensory memory.
60. When new learning disrupts the ability to recall past, stored information, _ _ _ _ _ has
been said to occur.
a. proactive interference
b. disinhibition
c. retrograde an1nesia
d. retroactive interference

SECTION C
FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE APPROPRIATE TERMS

1. An organized cluster of knowledge that people use to understand and interpret

SCHEMAS
information is ................................................. .

2. CONTEXT EFFECT Tendency to recover information lnore easily when the

. .................................

retrieval occurs in the same setting as the original learning of the information.

FLASHBULBULB MEMORY Recall of very specific images or details surrounding a vivid,

3. . ........................

rare, or significant personal event.

CUED
4. .. ........ RECALL
~ ........... , ......... Test of long-term memory that involves relnembering an

item of inforn1ation in response to a retrieval cue.

MOOD CONGRUENCE
5. . ............................... Encoding specificity phenomenon in which a given mood

tends to evoke Inemories that are consistent with that mood.

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 10 0/12

Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENTARY
(Write Boldly)

ENCODING SPECIFICITY
6. . ................................... Principle that when the conditions of information

retrieval are similar to the conditions of information encoding, retrieval is more likely

to be successful.
SUPPRESSION
7. .. ............................. Motivated forgetting that occurs consciously.

8. ..INTERFERENCE THEORYThe theory that forgetting caused by one memory

..............................

competing with or replacing another.

HERMAN EBBINGHAUS
9. . .............................. Gennan psychologist who originated the scientific study of

forgetting and plotted the first forgetting curve, which describes the basic pattern of

forgetting learned information over tilne.

SCHEMA
10 ............................... Organized cluster of infonnation about a particular topic.

ELIZABETH LOFTUS
11 .................................... Alnerican psychologist who has conducted extensive

research on the memory distortions that can occur in eyewitness testimony.

MISINFORMATION EFFECT Menlory distortion phenomenon in which a person's

12 ....................................

existing memories can be altered if the person is exposed to misleading information.

ABSENTMINDEDNESS Memory failure that occurs when attention is divided and
13 .................................

the relevant information is not encoded.

REPRESSION
14 ................................. Motivated forgetting that occurs unconsciously.
PROSPECTIVE MEMORY . ... Remembering to do something in the future.
15. ..................................
KARL LASHLEY
16 ..................................... American physiological psychologist who attempted to

find the specific brain location of particular memories.

MEMORY TRACE
17 ................................... The brain changes associated with a particular stored

memory.

MEMORY CONSOLIDATION The gradual, physical process of converting new long-

18 ......................................

term Inelnories to stable, enduring long-term memory codes.

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 11 of 12

Index No ............................................... . SUPPLEMENT ARY
(Write Boldly)

What type of interference occurs in the following situations: Write your answer in the
dotted box. Questions 19 and 20.

Memorizing Phase Test Phase Type of Interference

PROACTIVE
19. Learn A first; later learn B TestA ...............................

RETROACTIVE
20. Learn A first; later learn B Test B ...............................

Dr. B. Amponsah Page 12 0[12