5 - Theories of Memory Flashcards
anterograde amnesia
the loss of the ability to craete new memories after the event that caused amnesia
who was HM?
- pt who suffered from severe seizures
- had bilateral medial temporal lobectomy - removed hippocampus and amygdala
- stopped seizures, but unable to form new memories
- could still develop procedural memory however
what is memory?
- mental capacity to store and later recall or recognise events that were previously experienced
what is the basic memory processes?
encoding - storage - retrieval
what are the 3 ways memory can be encoded?
acoustic
visual
semantic
what are the 2 ways memory can be stored?
LTM
STM
what are the 2 ways memory can be retrieved?
recall
recognition
recall
accessing information without cues
recognition
identifying information
draw the multi-store model of memory
how long does sensory information last?
0.1-0.5 sec
what does sensory memory hold?
accurate and complete representation
encoding of sensory memory is what?
sense-specific - there are different sensory memory stores for the different sensory modalities
what is the duration of STM?
seconds - minutes
what lobes are involved in STM?
sensory and parietal
what is the capacity of STM?
7+/-2
what is the duration of LTM?
potentially unlimited
what is the capacity of LTM?
possibly unlimited
what is essential for consolidation of LTM?
- hippocampus
- sleep
what is the encoding of LTM?
mainly semantic
what part of the brain is linked with emotional memories?
amygdala
what is the working memory model?
an elaboration of the idea of STM
draw the working memory model
what is the central executive?
- allocates limited attention resources to other components of WMM
- cognitive tasks like problem solving
what is the phonological loop?
- stores auditory information by silently rehearsing sounds/words in continuous loop
what is the articulatory process?
continuously rehearsing sounds/words in a loop - silent
what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
stores visual and spatial information
what is the episodic buffer?
- links info from all WMM units
- puts them in chronological order and links to semantic meaning
what does the levels of processing model state?
- the depth of processing leads to stronger memories
- elaborative rehearsal creates more extensive neuronal connections
what is superficial processing in the levels of processing model?
- structural processing (Appearing)
- phonemic processing (sound)
what is deep processing in the levels of processing model?
semantic processing
what are the two main types of LTM?
explicit
implicit
what are the explicit types of LTM?
declaritive - consciously recalled
* episodic
* semantic
what is episodic LTM?
an event related to you - holiday/first kiss
what is semantic LTM?
facts/general knowledge
what are the implicit types of LTM?
non-declarative - knowledge without awareness
* procedural
* priming
what is procedural LTM?
skills or actions (eg. driving)
what is priming with regards to LTM?
making associations - eg. bread + butter
what was Ebbinghaus’s memory experiment?
remembering a list of nonsense syllables - limited the affect of meaningful associations
what did Ebbinghaus conclude about memory?
recall was better with spaced repetition and active recall
what are the two theories of forgetting in STM?
- trace decay
- displacement
what is the trace theory of forgetting?
- forgettng in STM
- memories leave a trace in the brain
- fading occurs after 15-30s
impossible to test
what is the theory of displacement from STM?
- STM can only hold small info
- when it is ‘full’ new info displaces old info
what are the theories of forgetting in LTM?
interference theory
what is interference theory?
- memory can be disrupted/interfered with
- info in LTM may be confused with other info during encoding
what are the two theories about childhood amnesia?
freud - forgetting occurs due to traumatic events occuring in psychosexual development
more common - brain isn’t developed enough in childhood to recall memories
who studied false memories + eye witness testimony?
elizabeth loftus
what is source confusion?
memory of information as being obtained from one source when it was in fact obtained from another
what happens to performance if arousal is too high?
impaired performance because of strong anxiety
draw the arousal performance curve
how can the arousal performance curve relate to doctor’s advice?
memory is poorest at the end of consultation when anxiety is greatest
