Shamar is driving three hours away from his hometown to a testing center where he will take a standardized test that includes remembering facts on American politics and famous legal cases, and responding to scenarios of legal violations. If he scores high enough, he will be able to get into the law school he has chosen. At the testing center, he notices that the light above his cubicle flickers at 15-second intervals. Explain how each of the following concepts help Shamar as he takes his test.

• State dependent memory
• Mnemonics
• Selective attention

Explain how Shamar's score could benefit from being placed on a normal curve.

Shamar also has to an essay describing the reasons he wants to attend law school. He must write about his entire educational career from elementary school to the present. When he is done, he needs to print his essay and drop it off with the law school's secretary. Explain how each of the following concepts affect Shamar in the process of submitting his essay.

• Prospective memory
• Recency effect
• Hippocampus