Chapter 1

Question 1

Memory is?

Answer 1

Crucial for daily life. Not a simple system

Question 2

Theories are?

Answer 2

Like maps. They summarize our knowledge. Help us understand what is known.

Question 3

A good theory has these two properties:

Answer 3

1) Help us ask new questions.

2) Find more about the topic we’re mapping.

Question 4

The nature of theories depend on:

Answer 4

The questions we want to answer

Question 5

Reductionism assumes what?

Answer 5

Assumes that the aim of science is to reduce explanations to the level below:
Sosc–> Cog–>Physio–>Biochem–>Physics

Question 6

Purely philosophical approaches:

Answer 6

Are not reliable for discerning how our minds work because:

a) People experience things differently
b) We’re only consciously aware of a very small portion of our mental life

Question 7

Psychophysics attempts to:

Answer 7

Map the relationships between physical stimuli (i.e brightness & loudness) onto their perceived magnitude

Question 8

Herman Ebbinghaus

Answer 8

1) Published first classic book on the science of memory.
2) Demonstrated that it is possible to study memory experimentally
3) Series of experiments on himself, for 2 years, in the same room, same time of day & rapid rate of presentation of nonsense syllables and consonant-vowel-consonant items.
Why? to avoid assigning meaning to stimuli
4) Father of the Verbal Learning approach.

Question 9

Verbal Learning Approach by Ebbinghaus:

Answer 9

1) Plots relationships between the conditions of learning & amount learned.
2) Relies on learning lists of nonsense syllables
3) Led to the publication of the Journal of Memory & Language

Question 10

Gestalt Psychology:

Answer 10

1) Using the study of perception to understand memory.
2) Emphasizing the active role of the learner (rememberer) in organizing material.
3) Internal representations > observable stimuli
4) The approach was represented by Mandler & Tulving

Question 11

Bartlett proposed which theory?

Answer 11

1) “Effort after meaning”
2) Study of complex materials such as folk tales instead of meaningless material to understand memory
3) Study of memory errors based on learner’s cultural assumptions
4) Coined the term “Schema”

Question 12

Schemas:

Answer 12

Explain how knowledge of the world is structured & how it influences the way information is stored & recalled.

Question 13

Kenneth Craik:

Answer 13

1) Proposed the idea of representing theories as models–> allow us to make predictions & test them
2) Use analog computers to tackle practical problems

Question 14

The computer analogy of memory states:

Answer 14

Human memory is composed of one or more storage systems.

1) Capacity to encode information
2) Capacity to store them
3) Capacity to retrieve them

Question 15

Describe the Information-Processing Approach of memory:

Answer 15

Assumes that info comes from the environment–> then processed by sensory memory systems (the link between perception & memory)–> stored in temporary ST system–> registered in LTM

Question 16

What are some objections to the Information-Processing Approach?

Answer 16

1) Memory store lacks movement, we should be concerned with processes
2) Certain memory tasks are different but have underlying similarities: involve common processes
3) Information doesn’t simply flow from the environment to LTM. It goes both ways.

Question 17

Describe Neisser’s Iconic memory and Echoic memory:

Answer 17

• Refers to the brief storage of visual or auditory info.
• Info is read off from the retina & some of it goes into a more durable ST visual store.
• Iconic memory gives us a continuous & realistic visual experience
• Example of sprinklers. The perceptual system stores visual info long enough to bridge static images, integrating one with the next so it leaves a trail.

Question 18

Describe Sperling’s Stimulus Array experiment:

Answer 18

• 12 letters presented in rows of 4. Asked to recall a specific row by cueing them with pre-assigned high, medium, low tone.
• Since subjects didn’t know which tone will be cued (which row they must recall) it is representative of the whole array & estimates total capacity of memory store (4 or 5 items remembered)
• Bright light led to poorer performance –> interfered with memory

Question 19

Describe Micheal Turvey’s Masking experiment:

Answer 19

• 2 separate types of masking operate at different stages
  -Brightness masking–> memory gets disrupted, the closer masking is to the stimulus presentation (in terms of time) & the brighter it is.
• Operates at the peripheral retinal level since it only occurs when mask & stimulus are presented at the same eye.
  Pattern masking–>memory gets disrupted when mask has same features as the stimuli (e,g jumbled letters)
  -Operates at the later stage of visual processing (after info has been combined into single precept) since memory still gets disrupted even when mask is presented in one eye and stimuli at another eye.

Question 20

Forward masking versus Backward masking:

Answer 20

• Perception & storage is influenced by events occurring immediately before stimulus presentation (forward)
• Perception & storage is influenced by events occurring immediately after stimulus presentation (backward; more common)

Question 21

What is auditory recency effect?

Answer 21

• Last 1-2 items that are spoken out loud are much more likely to be correct than ones in the middle.
• Advantage can be removed by introducing another spoken item between presentation & recall.

Question 22

Crowder & Morton’s auditory suffix experiment:

Answer 22

• Visual or non-speech auditory suffixes (i.e buzzer) does not interrupt performance but a spoken suffix does despite its meaning.
• The basis of the auditory recency effect is a pre-categorical acoustic store

Question 23

What is Short Term Memory? (STM)

Answer 23

• Temporary storage of small amounts of material over brief delays.
• Verbal rehearsal is useful for keeping info in STM

Question 24

What is Working Memory?

Answer 24

• Temporary maintenance & manipulation of information in a mental workspace.
• Helpful in performing complex tasks as it helps us “keep things in mind”
• Draws from both ST & LT memory & is linked to attention.

Question 25

What are the components of LTM as proposed by Squire?

Answer 25

LTM–>Explicit/Declarative (Intentional retrireval; Episodic: personal events & Semantic: facts) + Implicit/Non-declaritive ( Retrieval through performance; Conditioning skills; Priming)

Question 26

Describe semantic memory:

Answer 26

• Part of explicit memory in LTM
• Involved in the retrieval of facts, accumulative knowledge of the world.
• Extends to sensory attributes (e,g taste & colour) and dictates our behaviour e.g in a supermarket

Question 27

Describe episodic memory:

Answer 27

• Part of explicit memory in LTM
• Capacity to acquire & retrieve memories for particular events.
• Most disrupted component of memory in amnesiacs

Question 28

Mental time travel by Tulving:

Answer 28

Episodic memory allows us to relive events & use that information to plan for future events i.e writing a condolence letter

Question 29

What example could imply that semantic & episodic memory interact?

Answer 29

I know the capital of Spain is Madrid (factual knowledge) because I’ve seen in many times on news-reels (knowledge of previous events)

-This is why amnesiacs also have difficulty building new semantic information.

Question 30

What aspects of memory is retained in amnesiac patients?

Answer 30

• Can learn motor skills (keep a pen in contact to moving light source)
• Can be classically conditioned to blink in anticipation to tone followed by a puff of air to the eye
• Can guess a word they had seen earlier if given the first few letters due to priming, indicating that information was stored even though they did not remember seeing the words earlier