Ch 6 and 7 Memory and Cognition Flashcards
memory
active system receiving info from senses, puts info into usable form, organizes it, stores it away
basic memory process breakdown
encoding of neural info from sensory info; storage; retrieval
information-processing model
most comprehensive model; details encoding, storage, and retrieval as memory sequence
parallel distributed processing model
encoding, storage, and retrieval are simultaneous; related to artificial intelligence and connectionism
levels-of-processing model
we remember what we’ve thought about deeply, thought about meaning
iconic sensory memory
visual memory; can hold everything you can see at one time; memory doesn’t last long (1 sec); helps see surroundings as continuous
eidetic memory
can see something they just saw, again
photographic memory
not really, eidetic memory is rare; just means they have a good memory
echoic sensory memory
hearing memory; smaller capacity than visual; only hears what can be heard at one time; memory lasts longer than visual (4 secs)
Short-Term memory
if sensory information is deemed important to hold onto, it goes to STM; held 12-30 secs;
STM and selective attention
STM determines what is most important stimuli to store in the STM
Encoding of STM
is literally a talking or sound within your head
Capacity of STM
about 7 pieces of information, so if you chunk info, you can hold more STM
maintenance rehearsal
repeating something to remember it, info stays in STM until rehearsal stops
memory interference
when rehearsal is interrupted, or capacity is exceeded, can’t encode
Long-Term memory
when information is intended to be kept permanently; theoretically we have unlimited storage, so everything is stored but not always free to be retrieved
Encoding of LTM
as images, sounds, smells, tastes; BUT mostly stored as meaningful concepts; can be through maintenance rehearsal, but usually elaborative
elaborative rehearsal
transfer STM to LTM by connecting new info to existing and known info
Nondeclerative/Implicit LTM
skills and habits; procedural and gained through practice and experience; hard to consciously explain
Declerative/Explicit LTM
information that makes up knowledge; easily made conscious
Semantic Declerative LTM
anyone can know, knowledge of concepts, learned
Episodic Declerative LTM
personal history, autobiographical memory; updated and revised constantly so that unimportant things disappear (can’t remember everything that has happened to you)
Semantic network model
when learning something, info is stored near closely related things; we can access things simultaneously because of the parallel distributed processing model
prospective memory
remembering that we need to perform a task later
retrieval cues
stimuli to remember, the more cues associated to something, the easier to remember it; anything can be a cue
encoding specificity
association between surroundings and remembered info
context of encoding specificity
remember something better when you’re in a similar environment that the memory was formed in
state-dependence of encoding specificity
memories formed during a similar physiological/psychological state are easier to remember in that state; when you’re fighting a friend, you remember bad things about them
recall
memories prompted with no external cues (fill in the blank question)
recall failure
when you struggle to recall, but it feels like “its on the tip of your tongue”; can’t be pulled into the auditory STM to recall it
serial position effect
info at the beginning and end of a list/word is remembered better
primary effect
first things are remembered because there’s nothing in the STM already
recency effect
allows you to remember end because of what was just heard/seen is still in the STM
recognition
memories prompted with cues and matching the cues to what’s known in memory; easier than recall
visual recognition
is VERY accurate
false positive recognition
when you think you recognize something because of a similar stimulus
Automatic Encoding
some memories require no effort to be encoded; but the more time passes, the more the LTM has been modified, the more inaccuracies
constructive processing
each time something is recalled, a memory is rebuilt from encoder info and sometimes things are added or excluded
hindsight bias
people falsely believe that they would’ve predicted something before being told about it
misinformation bias
a retrieval issue, if given new information it will change the memory (eyewitness accounts)
false-memory syndrome
creation of false memories through suggestion by others (hypnosis); memories must be plausible…BUT through false positive feedback implausible things can be made plausible
forgetting
the ability to forget is necessary for sanity
Ebbingaus and Forgetting
made a curve of how long it takes to forget random nonsense syllables in a list
distributed practice
a better way to form memories, learning over time is better
Memory trace
physical change in brain when memory was formed
memory trace decay theory
if traces go unused, they decay; “use it or lose it” memory
interference theory
there’s too much information in the way of the memory so you can’t retrieve it
proactive interference
previously learned material interferes with new learning
retroactive interference
new material interferes with old learning material
memory and the brain changes
memory is a change in receptor sites, sensitivity of the synapse, and proteins in neurons
consolidation
brain changes over time to form a memory
hippocampus and memory
forms declerative LTMs only
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory from injury backwards; consolidation is interrupted; unfinished consolidation is lost
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory from the injury forwards; in dementia and concussions; symptoms include repetitiveness
Alzheimers and memory
type of dementia; anterograde amnesia at first and then retrograde; acetylcholine neurotransmitter
Infantile amnesia
early memories are implicit and nondeclerative only; not brought to consciousness easily; explicit memory doesn’t form until 2 yo
consolidation time period
can take seconds, minutes, days, months or years; that’s why amnesia of memories occurs for many time lengths
hyperthymesia
when someone remembers everything
tip of tongue phenomena
recall failure
Elizabeth Loftus
proved that eyewitness counts are wildly unreliable because of constructive processing
mood congruent memories
memories that are best remembered with context in similar mood states
motivated forgetting
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transience
natural decay of memories over time
absent-mindedness
lapse of attention leads to bad encoding or forgetting
blocking
some sort of interference causes temporary forgetting
misattribution
attribution of memories to incorrect sources, believing a memory
suggestibility
incorporation of incorrect information into memory due to leading questions and deception
persistence
memories that can’t be forgotten, drives you crazy
misinformation effect
incorporation of incorrect information into memory due to leading questions and deception
framing
how a question is worded to influence problem-solving
mnemonic device: method of loci
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mnemonic device: peg method
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LAD
schema for human language
grammar
rules of language
morphemes
units of meaning: count each unit of meaning plus one for the whole word
phonemes
units of sound
overregularization
over simplification of grammar rules
linguistic relativity hypothesis
language influences thought, Whorf’s hypothesis
hierarchical storage
superordinate, basic, subordinate
superordinate thinking
abstract concept
basic thinking
more specific example
subordinate thinking
most specific level of a concept
script thinking
a schema but for a familiar sequence
convergent thinking
one answer, all lines point to it
divergent thinking
starts at one point, comes up with many solutions
H.M.
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Clive Wearing
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Chomsky
language acquisition device, all people have ability to communicate using syntax
Whorf
language influences thought, linguistic determinism
mental set
tendency to solve a problem the way that has been successful
functional fixedness
fail to see an object for use in a different way than normal
representative heuristics
stereotyping mental shortcut
availability heuristics
estimating the probability of certain events
prototype
concept that embodies the definition of a concept
belief bias
preconceived beliefs lead to illogical reasoning
priming
activation of info by first anticipating learning and then relearning it
metacognition
process of thinking about how you think
semantics
homophones, rules to determine meaning of sentence
overextension
apply the same word to everything
