Ch. 8 - Memory Flashcards
encoding
the input of information into the memory system (labels/codes it, organizes it with other similar information, connects new concepts to exisiting concepts)
automatic processing
encoding of details like time, soace, frequency, and the meaning of words (remembering WHEN you last studied)
effortful processing
encoding of details that takes time and effort (WHAT u last studied)
types of enconding
semantic, visual, acoustic
semantic encoding
encoding of words and their meanings (attatching meaning to information amkes it easier to recall later)
visual encoding
encoding of images (concrete (car, dog, book) and abstract (level, truth, value))
acoustic encoding
encoding of sounds
storage
the creation of permanent record of information
sensory memory
storage of brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds, and tastes (stored for a few seconds, if info is not important, it is discarded)
short-term memory
a temporary stroage system that processes incoming sensory memory (lasts about 20 seconds)
memory consolidation
transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory
rehearsal
the conscious repetition of information to be remebered
long-term memory
the continous storage of information, has no limit
explicit (declarative) memory
memories of facts and events we can consciously remeber and recall/declare (semantic, episodic)
semantic explicit memories
knowledge about words, concepts, and language (knowing the president)
episodic explicit memories
information about events we have personally expeirenced (remembering 5th birthday party)
implicit memory
memories that are not part of our consciousness (formed through behaviors)
procedural
stores information about how to do things (how to ride a bike, tie your shoes, drive)
retrieval
the act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness (knwoing how to drive, performing job responsibilities)
recall
being able to access information without cues (used for an essay test)
recognition
being able to identify infromation that you have previously learned after encountering it again (used for a multiple choice test)
relearning
learning information that you previously learned (relearning spanish after forgetting it may not take long)
parts of the brain involved in memory
amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum, prefrontal cortex
amygdala
-involved in fear and fear memories (memory storage is influenced by stress hormones)
-processes emotional information important in encoding memories at a deeper level and memory consolidation
hippocampus
-associated with explicit memory, recognition memory, and spatial memory
-projects information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them with other memories
-involved in memory consolidation
cerebellum
-plays a role in processing procedrual memories, such as how to play the piano and classical conditioning
- damage prevents classical conditioning such as an eye-blink in response to a puff of air
prefrontal cortex
- involved in remembering semantic tasks
- PET scan shows activation i the left inferior prefrontal coretex when completing tasks
- encoding associated with left frontal activity
- retrieval of info associated with right frontal region
flashbulb memory
a record of an atypical and unusal event that has very strong emotional associations (depends on cultural reference and personal investment)
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory (partical or complete) for events that occured prior to the trauma
anterograde amnesia
inability to remember new information after point of trauma (caused by brain trama, hippocampus)
infantile amnesia
inability to recollect early episodic memories
self-referencing effect
people’s tendency to better remember info when that info has been linked to the self than when it has not been linked to the self
Schacter’s 7 sins of memory
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence
transience
accessibility of memory decreeases over time (memory chanes slightly every time its remembered)
absentmindedness
forgetting caused by lapses in attention (misplaces your keys)
blocking
accessibility of information is temporarily blocked (tip-of-the-tongue)
misattribution
source of memory is confused (telling someone about something when they informed you in the first place)
suggestibility
false memories (memory changes due to leading question)
bias
memories distorted by current belief system (when personal feelings about a situation change the memory)
persistence
inability to forget undesirable memories (remembering embarassing or hurtful moments)
Loftus Study results
when asked leading questioned about an event, the memory of the event may be altered
Ebbinghaus’s study results
studied the process of memorization
shows how quickly memory for new information decays (50% after 20 mins, 70% after 24 hours)
stereotypical bias
involves racial and gender biases
egocentric bias
involves enchacing our memories of the past
hindsight bias
the tendency to think an outcome was inevitable after the fact
proactive interference
old information hinders recall of new information (learn locker combo —> memory of old locker interfers with new locker combo)
retroactive interference
new information hinders recall of old information (learn new email –> interfers with recall of old email)
chunking
organizing information into manageable bits or chunks
elaborative reheral
technique in which you think about the meaning of new information and its relation to knwledge already stored in your memory
mnemonic devices
memory aids that help us organize information for encoding (e.g., ROY G BIV)
