Chapter-10-Memory Flashcards
Memory
Ability to recall past events in a reconstructed way. Allows for retention and retrieval.
What are the 3 Key Processes of Information Processing?
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding can be… (2)
Automatic or controlled.
What is encoding?
Organization of sensory information to be used by the nervous system.
What is storage?
The process of maintaining information within the stores of the brain.
What are the 3 Stages of Storage?
- Sensory Memory
- Short-term Working Memory
- Long-term Memory
What is sensory memory?
A mechanism that encodes and briefly stores stimulus which can be auditory, visual, or tactile.
What is short-term memory?
Active process that holds information.
How much was it originally thought that humans could in short-term memory hold and who did study on this?
Miller. 7 items give or take 2.
How can one maintain memories in their short-term memory?
Through repetitive processing of information (rehearsal)
What is elaborative rehearsal?
Repetition and analysis of information in order to keep more information in short-term memory.
What is Chunking?
Grouping information in ways that expand short-term memory.
What is long-term memory?
Memory systems that are involved in the long-term storage of information. Permanent with unlimited capacity.
How is long term memory generally organized?
Semantic maps and categories.
What are the two types of long-term memory?
- Procedural (Implicit)
2. Declarative (Explicit)
What are two types of declarative memories?
- Semantic (general)
2. Episodic (personal)
What is an procedural memory?
The ability to remember how to perform an acquired skill, not linked to a point in time and can be retained from early age.
What is declarative memory?
Ability to remember and verbalize information.
What is episodic memory affected by?
Confabulation.
What is source misattribution?
Inability to distinguish an actual memory of event from information you have learned about that event.
What is confabulation?
Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you/ belief that you remember something that didn’t actually happen to you.
What can cause confabulation? (4)
- Repetitive retelling/rehearing of a story.
- Story is detailed
- Easy to imagine
- Focuses on emotional reactions of event.
What is retrieval?
Process by which information is recovered by memory.
What are 3 measures of retrieval?
- Recall
- Recognition
- Relearning
What are recall tasks?
Participants are asked to remember previously presented information.
What are 3 widely used recall tasks?
- Free Recall (any order)
- Serial Recall (same order as presented)
- Paired Associate (cue to recall second half of pair)
What is the serial-position effect?
The tendency for recall of first and last items of a list to surpass the recall of items in the middle of a list.
What are the 3 Key Processes of Information Processing?
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding can be… (2)
Automatic or controlled.
What is encoding?
Organization of sensory information to be used by the nervous system.
What is storage?
The process of maintaining information within the stores of the brain.
What is an procedural memory?
The ability to remember how to perform an acquired skill, not linked to a point in time and can be retained from early age.
What is declarative memory?
Ability to remember and verbalize information.
What is Cue-dependent forgetting?
The inability to remember something without a cue to remind you of that information.
What is source misattribution?
Inability to distinguish an actual memory of event from information you have learned about that event.
What is confabulation?
Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you/ belief that you remember something that didn’t actually happen to you.
What can cause confabulation? (4)
- Repetitive retelling/rehearing of a story.
- Story is detailed
- Easy to imagine
- Focuses on emotional reactions of event.
What are recall tasks?
Participants are asked to remember previously presented information.
What are 3 widely used recall tasks?
- Free Recall (any order)
- Serial Recall (same order as presented)
- Paired Associate (cue to recall second half of pair)
What is the serial-position effect?
The tendency for recall of first and last items of a list to surpass the recall of items in the middle of a list.
What are recognition tasks?
Particpants are asked to recognize relevant information (e.g. MC tests)
What is relearning?
Repeated attempts to better learning information that in already partially in memory (shorter time = improved memory)
What is the encoding specificity principle?
Effectiveness of retrieval cue depends on how well it matches with original encoded memory.
What is state-dependent learning?
Information learned in a particular state is best remembered in that same state (drug use, traumatic experiences, time of day)
What is long-term potentiation?
Long-lasting increase in strength of synaptic responsiveness. Reflects Hebbian learning ideas; may involve glutamate.
What is consolidation?
The process by which synaptic changes associated with recently stored memories become durable and stable –> memory becomes more reliable.
Which part of the brain is linked to STM tasks?
Frontal Lobe.
Which part of the brain is linked to LTM tasks?
Hippocampus.
What part of the brain is used when encoding words and pictures?
Prefrontal cortex and areas adjacent to the hippocampus.
What part of the brain are procedural memories linked to?
Changes in the cerebellum.
What part of the brain is involved in the formation of LTM?
Cerebral cortex.
What are some things that may enhance memory?
The combination of epinephrine and glucose.Moderate levels of stress hormone (too much impairs memory but a small amount released by adrenal gland is good.)
What are 5 Things that account for why we forget?
- Decay
- Replacement
- Interference
- Cue-dependent Forgetting
- Amnesia
What is decay theory?
Information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed.
What is replacement?
New information can wipe out old information (stop-sign study)
What are 2 types of interference?
- Retroactive interference
2. Proactive interference
What is retroactive interference?
When recently learned information interferes with the ability to remember similar material that was already stored.
What is Proactive interference?
When previously learned information interferes with ability to remember similar, more recent information.
What is Cue-dependent forgetting?
The inability to remember something without a cue to remind you of that information.
What are 2 types of amnesia?
Psychogenic amnesia and Traumatic amnesia.
What is psychogenic amnesia?
Loss of personal identity associated with psychological causes (short-term memory loss)
What is traumatic amnesia?
Loss of memory involving the burying of specific traumatic events, usually lasts a long period of time. Involves repression.
What is repression?
The selective involuntary pushing of threatening or upsetting information into the unconscious. This is controversial.
why is repression controversial?
Because individuals are more likely to remember traumatic events and its is hard to distinguish from other forms of forgetting.
What is childhood amnesia?
Inability to remember things from first few years of life.
What explains infantile amnesia (3)?
- Brain development (prefrontal cortex)
- Cognitive development (lacking sense of self)
- Social Development (focus on routine of experiences and not distinctive experiences)
What are narratives?
Something we compose, simplify, and use to make sense of our lives.
What is a flashbulb memory?
Ability to vividly recall circumstances in which a person heard about a dramatic event. (9/11)
What is extraordinary memory?
Ability to remember many things at once, can be improved with practice.
How can one improve their own memory?
- Rehearsal
- Active Learning
- Personal Meaning
- Distribute practice
- Avoiding interference
- Chunking
- Mnemonics- imagery
