Which Example Best Illustrates Spreading Activation at Work

question 66

Multiple Choice

Which example best illustrates spreading activation at work?

• A) Your sensory registers allow you to perceive smooth motion when you move your head.
• B) You find it difficult to remember happy things when you are in a bad mood.
• C) You find it easy to relearn vocabulary words that you had once learned but forgot.
• D) You start thinking about cars, and that leads you to think about trucks and sport-utility vehicles.

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Definitions:

Frequency Theory

A theory about how sounds are transmitted and interpreted, stating that the frequency of auditory nerve impulses matches the frequency of the tone, enabling us to detect pitch.

Hertz

A unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), denoting one cycle per second.

Place Theory

A proposal about pitch perception stating that regions of the basilar membrane respond to particular sound frequencies, and the nervous system interprets the excitation from different basilar regions as different pitches.

Oval Window

A membrane-covered opening that leads from the middle ear to the cochlea of the inner ear, playing a crucial role in the process of hearing.