Ch.6, Long Term Memory Flashcards
Serial position curve/ Primacy Effect
created by presenting a list of words to a participant, after the last word, participant writes down all the words they remember, indicates that memory is better for the first and last letters on a list
Recency Effect
better memory for stimuli presented at the end of a sequence
Coding
form in which stimuli are presented
Recognition memory
identification of a stimulus that was encountered earlier
Mental Time Travel
defining property of episodic memory is mental time travel, the experience of traveling back in time to reconnect with events that happened in the past
Personal Semantic Memories
Facts associated with personal experiences
Semanticization of remote memories
Loss of episodic detail for memories of long ago events
Implicit Memory
memories we aren’t aware of
Expert Induced Amnesia
well learned procedural memories do not require attention
Priming
presentation of one stimulus changes the way a person responds to another stimulus
Repetition Priming
Occurs when the test stimulus is the same or resembles the priming stimulus
Propaganda Effect
participants are more likely to rate statements they have read or heard before as being true
Long term memory
unlimited capacity, semantic coding (whatever we code at a semantic level is more likely to end up in long term memory), modest decay rate, VAST LIBRARY OF LASTING MEMORIES –we don’t know the extent of the capacity but it is massive and much longer and larger than short term (Some theories suggest unlimited capacity and unlimited duration: but there is not enough evidence to know)
Serial Position Curve: How Do We Know STM is Different from LTM TASK?
TASK: remember as many words as you can without writing them down
Serial Position Curve: recency VS PRIMACY effect, order in which words were presented (x axis is serial positon) (y axis is accurate recall): MOST PEOPLE REMEMBER THE MOST AT THE FIRST ITEMS ON THE LIST WHICH IS PRIMACY, SOMETIMES PEOPLE RECALL THE LAST ITEMS WHICH IS RECENCY ‘
When learning a long list of items, those that were near the beginning and near the end are remembered better than those in the middle
Primacy vs. Recency Effect/Conditions for Each
Primacy Effect: better memory for first items, DUE TO REHEARSAL, ALWAYS HAPPENS
Recency Effect: better memory for last few items, ONLY HAPPENS IF TESTED IMMEDIATELY, DUE TO LIMITED DURATION OF THE STM
Encoding, storage, retrieval
Encoding: input phase, taking in info, committing to memory, translating info into neural code that our brain can understand: can be visual, phonological semantic, SIMILAR TO CONCEPT OF NEURAL REPRESENTATION
Storage: retaining info over some period of time, can be any period of time (opening up the ‘computer file’ where the info is stored)
Retrieval: pulling info out of the storage
Maintenance vs elaborative rehearsal
Maintenance Rehearsal: repeating something over and over, maintains in STM, but not very effective for transfer LTM
Elaborative Rehearsal: elaborate on info or relate it something known; focusing on meaning of material, MUCH MORE SUPPORTED AND EFFECTIVE FOR TRANSFERRING INFO INTO LTM
Spacing Effect TESTING Study
Encoding Phase: some facts on each lesson were quizzed three times throughout each chapter, while other facts were not quizzed (single)
Testing Phase: memory recall was assessed on tests at the end of the year
RESULTS: distributed testing improved memory retrieval (the questions you keep getting again and again is more productive), ALWAYS BETTER FOR MEMORY TO BE RETESTED MORE REGULARY, LIKE CUMULATIVE EXAMS THAT KEEP ASKING YOU TO USE THE KNOWLEDGE
Spacing Effect Studying Techniques: massed vs distributed studying sessions impacts on memory retrieval (massed is cramming, distributed is studying regularly and getting tested at the end)
The more separate occasions for studying: the BETTER THE PERFORMANCE
RESULTS: distributed studying improves memory performance throughout the test
Depths of Processing, Craik and Lockhart’s Theory, and Study
the deeper the processing= better encoding = ELABORATIVE ENCODING
Craik and Tulving’s Task
G1: was the word written in uppercase or lowercase?
G2: does the word rhyme with this other word>
G3: given a new fill in the blank sentence for each word, and asked if the word that was shown would make sense in that sentence
G1 HAD THE MOST SUPERIFICAL PROCESSING, GROUP 2 IS MODERATELY SUPERFICIAL, VS GROUP 3 HAD THE DEEPEST PROCESSING BECAUSE THEY WERE ASKED ABOUT THE MEANING WHICH IS DEEPER SEMANTIC PROCESSING
Results: deeper processing during encoding leads to better recall; depth of processing is key to storage, repetition alone is not sufficient
Shallow Processing vs deep processing
focus more on physical features; involves little attention to meaning, happens automatically, maintenance rehearsal/ Deep Processing: focus more on meaning, relate it to something else you know, requires conscious effort, elaborative hearsal/semantic processing
TRANSFER APPROPRIATE PROCESSING
theory stating that memory performance is better when the cognitive processes engaged during retrieval match the cognitive processes that were engaged when the material was encoded.
conditions that led to the best memory recall performance were ones that showed the same font at encoding and testing phase
SHOWN THE SAME KIND OF FONT AT ENCODING AND THEN TESTING: LED TO THE BEST MEMORY PERFORMANCE
TULVING’S ENCODING SPECIFITY THEORY
Match between the cue used at encoding and the testing enahncves memory performance
TASK PARTICIPANTS TO READ PAIRS OF WORDS AND ASKED TO REMEMBER THE CAPITALIZED WORDS AT TESTING PHASE
A cue to remember something will help us remember it: context therefore helps us remember something
RESULTS: Greater overlap between encoding and testing= better recall
Mood Dependent Memory/ Mood-Congruent Memory, Encoding Specifity
Task: induced a positive or negative mood, participants then generated an autobiographical memory, induced in same different or neutral mood, participants asked to recall previously generated events
RESULTS: participants had better recall if in the same mood as generation of memories, participants performed worse if in a different mood
Depressive Mood Cycle Implications of mood dependent memories
during episodes of depression/negative mood/negative memory, memories retrieved will MATCH THE MOOD IN WHICH THEY WERE ENCODED IN, THEREFORE CREATES THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF NEGATIVE MOOD
