3.3

Question 1

what is memory

Answer 1

the capacity of the brain to encode info, store it, retain it and then retrieve it when needed

Question 2

explain encoding

Answer 2

information must be converted into a form that the brain can process and store

Question 3

explain storage

Answer 3

retaining the info over a period of time

Question 4

explain retention

Answer 4

the ability to recall or recognise what has been learned or experienced

Question 5

explain retrieval

Answer 5

recovery of the stored material from either the short-term or long-term memory

Question 6

what do memories include

Answer 6

past experiences, knowledge gained and thoughts had

Question 7

what are the 3 levels of memory

Answer 7

sensory, short term and long term

Question 8

how does info travel through the brain

Answer 8

it first passes through sensory memory and then enters STM. info is then either transferred to LTM or discarded.

Question 9

what does sensory memory do

Answer 9

retains all the visual and auditory input received for a few seconds

Question 10

is everything encoded into the stm

Answer 10

no only a select few

Question 11

what is the main type of info that enters the STM

Answer 11

visual or auditory images

Question 12

how many items can the stm hold

Answer 12

about 7

Question 13

how long can the stm hold info for

Answer 13

around 30 seconds

Question 14

how accurate is retrieval of items during this time

Answer 14

very accurate

Question 15

if items from stm aren’t transferred to ltm what happens to them

Answer 15

they are lost displacement or decay

Question 16

how can someone’s stm be measuredn

Answer 16

by finding out the number of ‘meaningless’ items that they can reproduce correctly and in order, immediately after seeing them or hearing them once

Question 17

how can memories be kept in the stm

Answer 17

by rehearsal

Question 18

what is the serial position effect

Answer 18

it is when you recall a series of objects and most items remembered are at the start (primary effect) or end (recency effect) of the sequence

Question 19

why does the primary effect occur

Answer 19

because there has been some time for rehearsal

Question 20

what is the recency effect due to

Answer 20

displacement or decay of the earlier objects

Question 21

what does chunking do

Answer 21

improve the capacity of the stm

Question 22

what is chunking

Answer 22

when you group items together to make a single item

eg 01698337598

 01698 337 598

Question 23

what can the stm do with data

Answer 23

process it and store it (to a limited extent)

Question 24

how can the stm perform simple cognitive tasks

Answer 24

because it can process data & store it to a limited extent

Question 25

how much capacity does the ltm have

Answer 25

unlimited

Question 26

how long can the ltm hold info for

Answer 26

a long time

Question 27

what is encoding

Answer 27

the conversion of one or more nerve impulses into a form that can be stored and retrieved later from the atom or ltm

Question 28

what promotes successful transfer of info from stm to ltm

Answer 28

• rehearsal
• organisation
• elaboration

Question 29

what is rehearsal

Answer 29

a shallow form of encoding. means revisiting and repeating info

Question 30

what is organisation

Answer 30

when info is organised into logical categories by linking with previous memories

Question 31

what is elaboration

Answer 31

when the meaning of the item is analysed. it’s regarded as a deeper form of encoding which leads to improved info retention

Question 32

what aids retrieval of into from the ltm

Answer 32

contextual clues

Question 33

what do context clues do

Answer 33

they relate to the time and place when the info was initially encoded into the ltm