ch. 6 memory Flashcards
memory
mental processes that acquire, retain, and retrieve information
the 3 fundamental processes of memory
encoding, storage, and retrieval
encoding
transforming information so that it can be retained by the memory system
storage
retaining information in memory for later use
retrieval
recovering stored information to conscious awareness
stage model of memory
memory includes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory and information is transferred from one stage to another
sensory memory
stores a detailed record of a sensory experience for a few seconds (3 seconds), pays attention to only a few aspects of the environment
George Sperling
tested people’s sensory memory with flashing letters on a screen, concludes that visual sensory memory (iconic memory) holds a lot of information for half a second
visual sensory memory
iconic memory, can hold information for half a second
auditory sensory memory
echoic memory, can hold information for 3-4 seconds
short-term memory
transfers information from sensory memory and retrieves information from long-term memory to conscious, holds information for 20 seconds, aka working memory
maintenance rehearsal
information can be maintained in short-term memory when rehearsed (repeated)
short-term capacity
7 items
chunking
grouping related items into a single unit, can increase the amount of information held in short term memory, chunks are made using meaningful information from long-term memory
working memory
active, conscious manipulation of temporarily stored information, engages in problem-solving, reasoning, language comprehension, and mental comparisons
Alan Baddeley’s model of working memory
working memory consisted of the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and central executive
phonological loop
specialized for verbal material, tested by standard memory tasks
visuospatial sketchpad
specialized for visual material (remembering layouts)
central executive
controls attention, integrates information, and manages the activity of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
long-term memory
information storage over an extended period of time (20 seconds to a lifetime), limitless capacity
elaborative rehearsal
focuses on the meaning of information to encode and transfer it into long-term memory (elaborate new information in a meaningful way)
self-reference effect
applying information to yourself to increase memorization of new information
procedural memory
long-term memory of how to perform skills, operations, and actions, memories formed early in life and origin is usually lost
episodic memory
long-term memory of specific events
semantic memory
general knowledge of facts, names, definitions, and concepts, origin of information is usually lost
autobiographical memory
semantic memory that holds personal life history and sense of self
explicit memory
memory with awareness (declarative memories), information that can be consciously recollected, includes episodic and semantic information
implicit memory
memory without awareness (non-declarative memories), can’t be consciously recollected but still affects behavior and knowledge
shared reminiscing
the way a mother talks to their kid about past experiences, causes cultural differences in autobiographical memory
clustering
the organization of items into related groups
semantic network model
when a concept is activated in semantic memory, it can spread and activate other associations in the semantic network
retrieval
accessing stored information
retrieval cues
prompts that can trigger memory recall
retrieval cue failure
the inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate retrieval cues
tip-of-the-tongue experience
type of retrieval cue failure, the inability to get information you are sure is stored in your memory
recall
free recall, producing information without using retrieval cues (essay questions)
cued recall
remembering information in response to a retrieval cue (fill-in-the-blank)
recognition
identifying the correct information from possible choice (multiple choice)
serial position effect
the tendency to retrieve information more easily from the start and end of a sequence than items in the middle
primacy effect
easily recalling a list’s first items
recency effect
easily recalling a list’s final items
encoding specificity principle
the best way to increase information access is to recreate original learning conditions, more closely a retrieval cue is to learning conditions increases likelihood of retrieval
context effect
the tendency to remember information more easily in the same setting as the original learning environment
mood congruence
a given mood tends to evoke memories consistent with that mood
state-dependent learning
the tendency to remember information in the same physiological/biological learning conditions
flashbulb memory
recalling very specific details surrounding a significant, rare, or vivid event (like 9/11), distinguished from regular memories only by the increased confidence in the accuracy of flashbulb memories
forgetting
the inability to remember information that was previously available
Hermann Ebbinghaus
studied forgetting on himself by memorizing nonsense syllables
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
much of what we forget is lost very soon after learning, the amount of forgetting then levels off
encoding failure
forgetting because information was never encoded into long-term memory in the first place, lack of attention (absentmindedness) at the time of encoding leads to failure to accurately remember things
prospective memory
remembering to do something in the future, fails because of retrieval cue failure
decay theory
memories fade overtime when unused, forming memories creates a memory trace (structural/chemical change in the brain) that are eroded by metabolic processes, disproven by Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
deja vu experience
a brief, intense feeling of familiarity in a new situation, theorized to be caused by source amnesia or an encoding failure from inattentional blindness
interference theory
forgetting is caused by memories containing similar information competing with each other
retroactive interference
backward-acting, a new memory interferes with remembering an old memory
proactive interference
forward-acting, an old memory interferes with remembering a new memory
motivated forgetting
we are motivated to forget unpleasant or disturbing memories
suppression
motivated forgetting caused by a deliberate, conscious effort to forget information (avoid thinking about horrible news)
repression
motivated forgetting occurs unconsciously, distressing events are blocked from conscious awareness, basis of psychoanalysis
Elizabeth Loftus
famous for researching memory distortions
misinformation effect
information received after an event occurs can change the memory of that event
source confusion
the source of a memory is forgotten or attributed to the wrong source
false memory
a distorted recollection of something that didn’t actually happen but feels authentic
schemas
organized clusters of knowledge about particular topics, memory distortions are promoted when missing details are filled in with schema information
script
the typical sequence of actions at a common event
lost-in-the-mall-technique
pairing real events with pseudo-events can cause false memories
imagination inflation
vividly imagining an event can increase confidence that the event actually occurred in childhood, repeated imagining makes events seem more familiar
Karl Lashley
searched for the memory trace/engram (brain changes presumed to occur in forming long-term memories, concluded that memories are distributed
Richard F. Thompson
research discovered that simple memories are localized while complex, interrelated memories are distributed
Eric Kandel
studied the snail Aplysia and found that in conditioning, neuron function changes and structure changes
long-term potentiation
a lasting increase in synaptic strength
amnesia
severe memory loss from specific damaged brain areas
retrograde amnesia
backward-moving, unable to remember the past, especially recent episodic memories
anterograde amnesia
forward-moving, inability to form new memories
Henry Molaison
studied on for amnesia, removal of his hippocampus caused an inability to form explicit memories
dementia
symptoms including many diseases of a decrease in memory, reasoning, language, etc.
