US High School Psychology Practice Exam

Which of the following statements about long-term memory is true?

1. Long-term memory is what we attend to at any given moment

2. Short-term memory can hold more information than long-term memory

3. Words in short-term memory are coded verbally

4. No single part of the brain is solely responsible for memory

The correct answer is: No single part of the brain is solely responsible for memory

The statement indicating that no single part of the brain is solely responsible for memory is accurate because memory is a complex process that involves multiple regions of the brain working together. Various types of memory, such as declarative and procedural memory, are managed by different brain structures; for instance, the hippocampus plays a crucial role in forming new memories, while the amygdala is involved in emotional memories. This distributed nature of memory representation across different neural networks underscores the collaborative effort of the brain's regions. In contrast, the other statements present misunderstandings about memory processes. Long-term memory is distinct from what we attend to because it encompasses the storage of information over extended periods, while attention relates more to immediate processing and awareness. Additionally, short-term memory has a limited capacity, which is significantly smaller than the vast capacities of long-term memory. Lastly, while short-term memory does involve verbal coding to some extent, long-term memory can include other modalities, such as visual and spatial processing, making this statement incomplete.