Study Guide II (Fall 2008)

The study questions below constitute a subset of the information which is required for the second exam.  Two of these questions will appear as "short answer" questions on the exam (you can use up to one full page for each answer).  Many of the questions have multiple parts -- make sure you read and answer all parts of each question.   Be advised that advanced preparation will facilitate your performance on the exam.  Feel free to work with others on your answers (including the class message board).
  1. Describe the difference between selective and divided attention. Provide a description of how these two forms of attention are studied and provide a real-world example of each.

  2. An experimenter performs a dual-task attention experiment in which the processing priority is varied between the two tasks. The results show a linear tradeoff between performance on task A and performance on task B. What would this look like if we plotted performance using a Performance Operator Characteristic (POC) curve and what would this tell us about attention? Illustrate what would happen as subjects become more skilled in concurrently performing Task A and Task B.

  3. Describe the components of Baddeley's model of working memory. Provide a real-world example of how this model would explain the temporary storage and manipulation of information.

  4. Describe the procedure Brown and Peterson used to study forgetting in short term memory. What were their conclusions about the loss of information from short term memory? Waugh and Norman challenged the conclusions drawn from the Brown-Peterson paradigm. Describe Waugh and Norman procedure and discuss what their results implied about forgetting in short term memory.

  5. What are serial position effects? How are they obtained and what do they look like? Provide a description of how have researchers interpreted the primacy and recency effects and the experimental evidence used to support this interpretation.