When it comes to storing, retrieving and forgetting
information
Read the text below and answer the following question based on it.
How we learn things shapes our memory
Humans are constantly learning new things. This ability helps us to grow and adapt to new situations daily. But a new study suggests that different learning mechanisms actually shape how the brain stores memories.
As humans, we have not only survived, but thrived throughout time thanks to our ability to learn and adapt to new situations.
Learning itself is a complex process, and there are different types of learning mechanisms through which the brain stores new information and updates old information.
In general terms, there are two ways of learning that humans use to acquire new information in the long term.
One is by association, or through experience. This is when we learn new things incidentally, just because we happened to come across them, or because we are in a new environment that we are learning to navigate little by little.
The other one is learning by reinforcement. This is when we purposefully set out to learn new information — when we take a language course, for example.
A new study conducted by researchers from the Department of Experimental Psychology, the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, and the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences — all in Oxford, United Kingdom — indicates that different learning mechanisms have links to memories stored in different parts of the brain.
The researchers add that not only do we store information differently depending on how we acquire it, but that it may be more or less easy for us to lose or change this information for the same reason.
The researchers also explain that the findings indicate that the brain can store information learned through reinforcement for a long time, while other types of information remain more available for updates.
"We also learned that some of this knowledge is very persistent, and the brain does not forget about it even when it becomes irrelevant, while knowledge acquired through an alternative learning mechanism is more flexible and can more easily be changed to new knowledge," notes KleinFlügge.
When it comes to unlearning or forgetting information, the researchers also note that information acquired incidentally through associations is easier to discard than information acquired through goal-oriented learning.
Adaptado de: < https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326826.php> Acessado em 29 de outubro de 2019.
Gabarito comentado
Resposta correta: B
Tema central: a questão pede que você identifique a ideia principal do texto sobre como o modo de aprendizagem (por associação/incidental vs. por reforço/intentional) influencia a armazenagem, recuperação e esquecimento da informação.
Resumo teórico (progressivo): o texto distingue dois mecanismos de aprendizagem: associational/incidentally (aprendemos sem intenção, via experiência) e reinforcement/goal‑oriented (aprendizado proposital). Pesquisas (citado: estudo de pesquisadores de Oxford e resumo em Medical News Today) mostram que esses modos são ligados a diferentes sistemas/memórias cerebrais, afetando quanto tempo algo é retido e quão fácil é modificá‑lo. Fontes gerais sobre memória e aprendizagem: Kandel et al., Principles of Neural Science; resumo jornalístico em Medical News Today (artigo original citado no enunciado).
Justificativa da alternativa B: o enunciado pergunta sobre armazenar, recuperar e esquecer informação. O texto afirma explicitamente que “we store information differently depending on how we acquire it” e que um tipo (reforço) é mais persistente, enquanto o outro (associação) é mais flexível e fácil de descartar. Logo, a ideia de que “our memory works based on how information was acquired” resume corretamente a conclusão do texto. Por isso B é a correta.
Análise das demais alternativas:
A – “it makes no difference whether we learned by reinforcement.” Errada: contradiz o texto que afirma diferenças claras entre os modos de aprendizagem.
C – “the incidental way of learning plays the same role as any other.” Errada: o texto diz que o aprendizado incidental é mais flexível e fácil de esquecer — portanto não desempenha o mesmo papel.
D – “both general ways of learning have similar outcomes in the end.” Errada: novamente contradiz a distinção sobre persistência vs. flexibilidade.
E – “human brains work better if not submitted to any process at all.” Errada e irrelevante: texto não sugere que ausência de processo seja melhor; fala sobre diferenças entre processos.
Dica de interpretação para provas: busque frases que expressem relações causais ou comparativas (“depending on”, “more persistent”, “easier to discard”) — elas costumam indicar a ideia central. Parafraseie mentalmente a conclusão e compare com as opções antes de escolher.
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