4: Retrieval Process Flashcards
define: retrieval
a progression from one or more retrieval cues to a target memory trace from associative connections
define: activation level
The internal state of a memory reflecting its levels of excitement, determines the accessibility of the item
define: spreading activation
The automatic transition of ‘energy’ from one memory to related items via association. Proportional to strength of connection
define: pattern completion
the process by which spreading activation from a set of cues leading to the reinstatement of energy. Takes place in the hippocampus
What are the 7 factors determining retrieval success?
attention to cues
relevance of cues
cure-target strength
number of cues
target strength
retrieval strategy
retrieval mode
what are the 3 encoding specifity principles?
Cues are most useful if:
Present at encoding
Encoded with the target
Similar to the original cue available at encoding
What part of the brain is impaired in amnesiacs and used for explicit memory tests.
Hippocampus
what do implicit/indirect memory tasks test?
Measure the unconscious influence of experience without asking the subject to recall the past
give an example of a stem completion task
fill in the missing letters with a word that fits AP___
give an example of a fragment completion memory test
fill in the letter to make a word: A_P_E
give an example of a conceptual fluency task
name as many birds as you can
what are the 3 types of implicit memory task
stem completion
fragment completion
conceptual fluency
what are the 4 types of cue
spatio-temporal/ environmental
mood
physiological
cognitive
what is a spatiotemporal cue?
location and time cues during an event
what is a mood cue?
emotional state similar to during the memory
what is a physiological cue?
physical or pharmacological state similar to the event (eg tired, drunk)
what is a cognitive cue
collection of concepts one has thought about the event
What pharmacological states have been found to improve recall if present at retrieval and encoding
Drunk, Stoned, Caffeinated, Exercising or at rest
- this state dependency disappears under recognition tests
define: mood dependant memory
sorting of memory when mood at retrieval is the same as encoding
define: mood congruent memory
when you can match an emotion to a specific memory
How do cognitive feature/tasks influence memory?
Retrieval is better if the same cognitive features/ tasks are involved. Memory facilitated when cognitive context at encoding matches retrieval
How does language at encoding effect recall?
Memories are easier to access when retrieval takes place in the same language mode as they were encoded.
what does does “memory is reconstructive” mean?
Retrieved memories are not entirely intact. “Figure out” some aspects of the recalled experience. Reconstructive memory: inferential aspect of memory.
What is signal detection theory?
Looking at memory and false memories by seeing if people correctly identify stimuli they’ve seen before and reject unfamiliar stimuli
How is signal detection theory useful?
It allows us to quantify how familiar memories and stimuli are.
define: response criterion
Items that surpass a familiarity score from signal detection theory are judged old. It can be more liberal or strict. Works as a cut off point for familiar vs unfamiliar stimuli.
How do dual process theory and signal detection theory clash?
SDT cannot account for all recognition memory
phenomena.
§ Word frequency effect: Low frequency words are better recognised (although high frequency words are better recalled!).
§ SDT incorrectly predicts low-frequency words should be less familiar
What two types of memory/processes is recognition based on?
familiarity & recollection
what is familiarity in retrieval?
A sense of memory without being able to remember contextual information
what characterises familiarity in retrieval?
Described by signal detection
Faster and more automatic
what is recollection in retrieval?
Retrieving contextual details about a stimulus - like cued recall
what characterises recollection in retrieval?
slower and more attention demanding
