Episodic Memory

[MakeUrTimeCount]

The term "episodic memory" was
introduced by Tulving to refer to what he
considered a uniquely human capacity-
the ability to recollect specific past events,
to travel back into the past in one's own
mind-as distinct from the capacity simply
to use information acquired through past
experiences. Subsequently, Clayton et al.
developed criteria to test for episodic
memory in animals. According to these
criteria, episodic memories are not of
individual bits of information; they involve
multiple components of a single event
"bound" together. Clayton sought to
examine evidence of scrub jays' accurate
memory of "what," "where," and "when"
information and their binding of this infor-
mation. In the wild, these birds store food
for retrieval later during periods of food
scarcity. Clayton's experiment required
jays to remember the type, location, and
freshness of stored food based on a unique
learning event. Crickets were stored in one
location and peanuts in another. Jays
prefer crickets, but crickets degrade
more quickly. Clayton's birds switched
their preference from crickets to peanuts
once the food had been stored for a certain
length of time, showing that they retain
information about the what, the where,
and the when. Such experiments cannot,
however, reveal whether the birds were
reexperiencing the past when retrieving the
information. Clayton acknowledged this by
using the term "episodic-like" memory.
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The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. explain how the findings of a particular experiment have been interpreted and offer an alternative interpretation
B. describe a particular experiment and point out one of its limitations
C. present similarities between human memory and animal memory
D. point out a flaw in the argument that a certain capacity is uniquely human
E. account for the unexpected behavior of animal subjects in a particular experiment

I think, OA should be 'E', but some source says it is 'B'.
Let's discuss...

[VivianKerr]

Here is what stands out to me from this passage:

The term "episodic memory" was
introduced by Tulving to refer to what he
considered a uniquely human capacity-
the ability to recollect specific past events,
to travel back into the past in one's own
mind-as distinct from the capacity simply
to use information acquired through past
experiences. Subsequently, Clayton et al.
developed criteria to test for episodic
memory in animals.

According to these
criteria, episodic memories are not of
individual bits of information; they involve
multiple components of a single event
"bound" together. Clayton sought to
examine evidence of scrub jays' accurate
memory of "what," "where," and "when"
information and their binding of this infor-
mation. In the wild, these birds store food
for retrieval later during periods of food
scarcity. Clayton's experiment required
jays to remember the type, location, and
freshness of stored food based on a unique
learning event. Crickets were stored in one
location and peanuts in another. Jays
prefer crickets, but crickets degrade
more quickly. Clayton's birds switched
their preference from crickets to peanuts
once the food had been stored for a certain
length of time, showing that they retain
information about the what, the where,
and the when. Such experiments cannot,
however, reveal whether the birds were
re-experiencing the past when retrieving the
information. Clayton acknowledged this by
using the term "episodic-like" memory.

The passage is about Clayton and his experiment to figure out whether animals have episodic memory. The last sentence contains the final thought the author wants to leave us with: that for all the (+) things about Clayton's work, he was unable to definitely find out whether animals have true episodic memory, which could be considered a "limitation."

The behavior of the animals is too narrow -- the topic is not the results of the experiment, but the experiment itself.

[MakeUrTimeCount]

Sorry Viviam,
I selected E because:
Para 1: Speaks about some unique behaviour of humans (not expected in normal people) and an experiment is done for that.
Para 2: Just speaks about the experiment. Although the experiment depicts the same kind of behaviour, still the experiment fails to confirm its objective.

So I ended up with E.
on the other hand, option B says about Para 2 only (and ya, last line of para 1).

Please correct me, if I am wrong.

[ArunangsuSahu]

@Make your Time Count:

This wants to answer the Primary Purpose of the passage
3/4 the of the passage is about a the experiment of the episodic memory and at the end there is one limitation mentioned.

Just for an info: Human being is a part of greater animal

So (B) is the answer

[VivianKerr]

The experiment is conducted to test whether animals (not humans) have "episodic memory." The main topic is this concept and the specific experiment Clayton conducted to explore this concept.

There is no "unexpected behavior of animal subjects" -- what was "unexpected"? Additionally, that is too minor a point to be the "primary" purpose of the entire passage. The main idea must encompass the entire passage, not one part only.

The final sentence of any passage is very connected to the main idea, since the author will often summarize or restate his main idea in that sentence. It's the last thing he wishes to convey to the reader, so it is always something to take note of.

[[email protected]]

The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. explain how the findings of a particular experiment have been interpreted and offer an alternative interpretation
B. describe a particular experiment and point out one of its limitations
C. present similarities between human memory and animal memory
D. point out a flaw in the argument that a certain capacity is uniquely human
E. account for the unexpected behavior of animal subjects in a particular experiment


Hi Vivian,
I got confused between C and E in the above questtion...
I chose C in the end. Could you please tell me why C is wrong in the above option...

[gmatdriller]

I made a silly mistake in choosing B.
By using animals to verify an experiment relating to people does not confirm that
the scientist is comparing human beings to animals( or their memories).

The best option I think is B because Clayton sought to verify that "episodic-like"
theory is, in fact, valid for animals - though inconclusive in the sense that the
experiment cannot reveal whether the birds were re-experiencing the past when retrieving
the information.

In Tulving estimate, "episodic memory" refers to a human capacity to recall information
from the past as distinct from the capacity to use such information i.e only ability to
recall, but not the ability to use the information.
Clayton's experiment used birds to show that the birds could recall locations where either
crickets or peanuts; According to Clayton's experiment, the birds could remember such
locations, but it failed to show whether the birds were re-experiencing the past.

Is this not in line with Tulving's position?