Lesson 2.1.1

2.1.1 Working memory model Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 2

20 questions

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Lesson 2.1.1, Working memory model: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 2: Cognitive psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which component of the working memory model is described as the central controller that allocates attention and coordinates the other components?

    • The central executive
    • The phonological loop
    • The episodic buffer
    • The visuospatial sketchpad

  2. Which two slave systems did Baddeley and Hitch (1974) propose in the working memory model?

    • The articulatory store and the long-term store
    • The sensory register and the short-term store
    • The semantic store and the episodic store
    • The phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad

  3. What does the phonological loop store and process?

    • Long-term facts and general knowledge, such as the name of the capital of France
    • Visual images and spatial layouts, such as the position of objects in a room
    • Emotional memories and personal experiences, such as an event from a birthday party
    • Verbal and acoustic information, such as spoken or written words that are rehearsed

  4. The word-length effect is evidence for which component of the working memory model?

    • The visuospatial sketchpad, since recall is worse for shapes that take longer to visualise in the mind
    • The episodic buffer, since recall is worse when the material is not linked to a long-term memory
    • The phonological loop, since recall is worse for longer words that take more time to rehearse
    • The central executive, since recall is worse when the participant is given a secondary task to perform

  5. What is the role of the visuospatial sketchpad?

    • To transfer information to long-term memory directly without any intermediate storage at all
    • To store the meaning of words and general knowledge, such as the definition of a common noun
    • To rehearse spoken words in a silent inner voice, such as repeating a phone number to oneself
    • To hold and manipulate visual and spatial information, such as mental images of objects and layouts

  6. Which component was added to the working memory model by Baddeley in 2000?

    • The semantic store, which holds meaning and general knowledge in a form that is separate from words
    • The sensory register, which holds sensory information for a fraction of a second before attention is applied
    • The episodic buffer, which integrates information from the slave systems and long-term memory into episodes
    • The articulatory suppression, which is a task that prevents rehearsal by requiring the participant to repeat sounds

  7. A participant is asked to repeat 'the, the, the' while trying to remember a list of words. Which technique is being disrupted?

    • Articulatory suppression, which disrupts the rehearsal process in the phonological loop
    • Semantic suppression, which disrupts the semantic store by asking the participant to define the words
    • Visual suppression, which disrupts the visuospatial sketchpad by requiring a spatial task to be performed
    • Central suppression, which disrupts the episodic buffer by asking the participant to recall unrelated events

  8. A participant performs a visual task while trying to remember a list of spoken digits. Which prediction does the working memory model make?

    • Severe interference, because both tasks use the same slave system, the phonological loop, at the same time
    • No effect at all, because the central executive does not allocate any resources to any task in the model
    • Severe interference, because the episodic buffer is overloaded by any combination of two tasks presented at once
    • Little interference, because the visual task uses the visuospatial sketchpad while the digits use the phonological loop

  9. Why did Baddeley and Hitch propose the central executive?

    • To explain how neurons transmit signals across synapses using neurotransmitters released into the cleft
    • To explain how attention is controlled and how information is coordinated between slave systems
    • To explain how light enters the eye and is converted into electrical signals in the retina for vision
    • To explain how hormones such as testosterone change behaviour in men and women across the life span

  10. What is a limitation of the working memory model as an explanation of memory?

    • The model explains all memory functions, so no other memory model is needed in any psychological account
    • The central executive has been precisely measured in every study, so its role is fully understood already
    • The model has never been tested in an experiment, so it has no empirical support for its components
    • The central executive is poorly specified, so it is hard to test directly in research

  11. Which evaluation point is most relevant to the working memory model's use of dual-task studies?

    • Dual-task studies show that the phonological loop is unnecessary, since tasks never interfere with each other
    • Dual-task studies provide support for separate slave systems, since interference is greatest when tasks share a system
    • Dual-task studies prove that the central executive does not exist, since no task ever requires attention control
    • Dual-task studies show that all memory is stored in a single unified store, with no separate components at all

  12. Which of these is a strength of the working memory model?

    • It explains why some tasks interfere with each other more than others, supported by dual-task evidence
    • It explains how all memory is reconstructed from schemas, with no role for any short-term components
    • It explains how long-term memory is stored in the brain using the chemistry of neurotransmitters alone
    • It explains how people forget information over decades of disuse with no link to rehearsal at all

  13. A researcher finds that recall of a word list drops when participants repeat 'the' out loud. What does this suggest?

    • The visuospatial sketchpad was overloaded, since participants were forced to imagine the word as a picture
    • The phonological loop depends on articulatory rehearsal, which the repeated sound interrupted
    • The episodic buffer was disabled, since the participants could not link the words with their past experiences
    • The semantic store was damaged, since the participants could no longer access the meanings of the words

  14. Which statement about the phonological loop's capacity is consistent with the model?

    • Its capacity is limited, and recall is affected by how long it takes to say each item
    • Its capacity is unlimited, since verbal information can be stored in the loop for as long as needed
    • Its capacity is the same for visual and verbal items, since both use the same rehearsal process in the model
    • Its capacity depends only on the age of the participant and not on the length of the items to be recalled

  15. A driver is navigating a route by listening to spoken directions while reading a map. Which two components are most involved?

    • The central executive alone for both tasks, since the executive handles all information in the model
    • The sensory register for the spoken directions and the long-term store for the map information
    • The phonological loop for the spoken directions and the visuospatial sketchpad for the map
    • The episodic buffer for the spoken directions and the semantic store for the map information

  16. What is the central executive's role in the working memory model?

    • It holds verbal information in a loop of sound, so that it can be repeated silently for a short period
    • It directs attention, selects strategies and coordinates the work of the slave systems
    • It transfers information directly into long-term memory, bypassing any short-term storage in the model
    • It holds visual images for a short time, so that they can be recalled once the task is completed

  17. Which description best matches the episodic buffer in the revised working memory model?

    • A store that holds only visual information for a fraction of a second before it decays from the system
    • A store that holds only verbal information and never links it with any other type of information in memory
    • A limited-capacity store that integrates information from the slave systems and long-term memory into a single episode
    • A store that holds general knowledge about the meanings of words, separate from any personal experience

  18. Which of these is a criticism of the working memory model for not explaining some memory effects?

    • It explains too much about memory, so it leaves no gaps and no evidence that could contradict it at all
    • It is entirely based on animal research, so its claims cannot be applied to human memory in any setting
    • It does not fully explain how the central executive works, so some memory processes remain unclear
    • It has been refuted by every study ever conducted, so it is no longer considered in the field of memory

  19. Which of these is a true statement about the working memory model?

    • It proposes that short-term memory is a single store with a fixed capacity of exactly seven items
    • It proposes that short-term memory is the same as long-term memory, with only a difference in time
    • It proposes that short-term memory has no capacity limit, since information can be held indefinitely
    • It proposes that short-term memory is a set of interacting components, not a single store

  20. Which slave system is most involved in holding visual imagery, such as a mental picture of a map?

    • The sensory register
    • The episodic buffer
    • The phonological loop
    • The visuospatial sketchpad

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