Chapter 5

Question 1

Primary memory

Answer 1

A memory system proposed by William James; thought to be the area where information is initially stored so that it is available for consciousness, attention, and general use.

Question 2

Secondary memory

Answer 2

A memory system proposed by William James; thought to be the long term storage area for memories.

Question 3

Modal model of memory

Answer 3

A memory model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), consisting of sensory memory; short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Question 4

Iconic and echoic sensory memory

Answer 4

The visual and auditory sensory memory systems, respectively. Sensory memory has the ability to register a large amount of information, although it typically delays quickly; iconic memory has an upper limit of one second; echoic memory has a limit of two seconds.

Question 5

Decay

Answer 5

The term used to refer to the time course of forgetting.

Question 6

Short-term memory

Answer 6

The second major component of the modal model of memory. It receives information form both sensory and long-term memory and can register a large quantity of information, but most of that information fades from memory fast unless it is given attention and rehearsed.

Question 7

Rehearsal

Answer 7

The process through with information in short-term memory is maintained.

Question 8

Consolidation

Answer 8

The process through which memory traces are stabilized to form long-term memories.

Question 9

Chunking

Answer 9

A strategy used to increase the capacity of STM by arranging elements in groups (chunks) that can be more easily remembered.

Question 10

Long-term memory

Answer 10

Information that is stored long-term and brought back to short-term memory for immediate usage. Lots of divisions including declarative or explicit (episodic & semantic) and non-declarative or implicit (procedural and perceptual representation system).

Question 11

Working memory

Answer 11

The system that allows for the temporary storage and manipulation of information required for various cognitive activities. The tool-bench of memory; where you work with things.

Question 12

Central executive

Answer 12

The component of working memory that coordinates information from the three subsystems. (Fluid system)

Question 13

Phonological loop

Answer 13

Temporary store of linguistic information in working memory. (Fluid system)

Question 14

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 14

Temporary store of non-linguistic or visual information in working memory. (Fluid system)

Question 15

Episodic buffer

Answer 15

The mechanism that moves information to and from long-term memory. (Fluid system)

Question 16

Fluid systems

Answer 16

Cognitive processes that manipulate and handle information and are themselves unchanged by learning.

Question 17

Crystallized systems

Answer 17

Cognitive systems that accumulate long-term knowledge, like visual semantic, episodic long-term memory, and language.

Question 18

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)

Answer 18

An important function of working memory, in particular the central executive. Acts to monitor and control alternative courses of action.

Question 19

Declarative memory

Answer 19

One of two major divisions of memory, also known as explicit memory; the memory system that contains knowledge that can be stated.

Question 20

Episodic memory

Answer 20

The subdivision of declarative memory concerned with personal experience. The part of long-term memory that deteriorates in older people as they age. There is a clear distinction between episodic and semantic memory as proved in experiments… one can be damaged and the other can stay intact.

Question 21

Semantic memory

Answer 21

The subdivision of declarative memory concerned with general knowledge (eg. facts, words, and concepts). There is a clear distinction between episodic and semantic memory as proved in experiments… one can be damaged and the other can stay intact.

Question 22

Recency bias vs. primacy bias

Answer 22

A tendency to recall experiences from the recent past versus a tendency to recall experiences from the relatively distant past.

Question 23

Non-declarative memory

Answer 23

The other major division of memory, also known as implicit memory; the memory system associated with behaviour that does not require conscious thought.

Question 24

Method of opposition

Answer 24

Pits conscious (explicit) and unconscious (implicit) tendencies against one another. Completing word stems with words from a list people had seen earlier vs. completing word stems without using words from the previously seen list. Those with divided attention used words from the list just as much when they weren’t trying to as well as when they were trying to.

Question 25

Fame judgment task

Answer 25

Showing participants lists of non-famous names, and then showing them a mix of non-famous and famous names and asking them to identify who is famous on the new list. People with divided attention had implicit memories of names from the first list and said more of those non-famous names were actually famous even though they weren’t.

Question 26

Perceptual representation system (PRS)

Answer 26

A memory system containing very specific representations of events that is hypothesized to be responsible for priming effects. A sub-division of implicit or non-declarative memory.

Question 27

Priming

Answer 27

The unconscious process through which recognition of a particular time is facilitated by previous exposure to an identical or related item.

Question 28

Prime

Answer 28

The item that is presented first in a priming experiment. Later response times to this or related items are generally faster.

Question 29

Probe or target

Answer 29

The second item presented in a priming experiment; may be identical, related, or unrelated to the prime.

Question 30

Lexical decision task (LDT)

Answer 30

A task requiring participants to determine whether a presented string of letters is a word or not. This is where we see the effects of priming, if a related word has been shown to the person earlier, they will recognize the other word much faster.

Question 31

Procedural memory

Answer 31

The memory system concerned with knowing how to do things.

Question 32

Tacit knowledge

Answer 32

Knowing how to do something without being able to say exactly what it is that you know, like reading or riding a bike.

Question 33

Butcher-on-the-bus phenomenon

Answer 33

The feeling of knowing a person without being able to remember the circumstances of any previous meeting or anything else about him or her, like seeing your butcher on the bus and not recognizing them at all.

Question 34

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Answer 34

Knowing that you know something without quite being able to recall it. You can recall the definition, the first and last letters, and lots of related words but cannot recall the actual word.

Question 35

Spreading activation

Answer 35

The idea that activation of the paths that make up a semantic network spreads from the node at which the search begins. Activation spreads from the node at which the search began, to all the nodes linked to that starter, to all the nodes linked to each of those nodes, and so on. That’s why semantically related words can be recognized faster, like sunset-sunrise vs. sunset-ambulance.

Question 36

Involuntary semantic memory (“mind popping”)

Answer 36

A semantic memory that pops into your mind without episodic context.

Question 37

Excitatory and inhibitory connections

Answer 37

Connections that either enhance or diminish the associations between the units that make up a neural network. Part of the connectionist model of memory.

Question 38

Connectionist model of memory

Answer 38

Memory is made up of neuron-like units representing each of the properties of an experience, and they are connected to other neuron-like units. Every time one property is activated, all the units to which it’s connected with be activated. In order to accurately recall previous experiences, the system needs to excite some connections and inhibit others.

Question 39

Associative deficit hypothesis

Answer 39

The hypothesis that older adults have a deficiency in creating and retrieving links between single pieces of information. They could associate names or faces by themselves, but putting together names and faces was a struggle for them. They couldn’t connect them very well. But older people can still recall and learn implicit memories just as well.

Question 40

Korsakoff’s syndrome

Answer 40

A form of amnesia affecting the ability to form new memories, attributed to thiamine deficiency and often (though not exclusively) seen in chronic alcoholics.

Question 41

Disconnection syndrome

Answer 41

Amnesic patients may be able to acquire new information and yet not be aware that learning has taken place.

Question 42

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 42

A memory disorder, beginning with a decline in episodic memory in aged people. It also impairs semantic memory as well and doesn’t just damage recall but the actual memories themselves.

Question 43

Prospective memory

Answer 43

The intention to remember to do something at some future time.

Question 44

Errorless learning

Answer 44

Participants in a learning situation are taught in such a way that they never have the opportunity to make errors.

Question 45

Method of vanishing cues

Answer 45

A way of teaching amnesic patients the meaning of computer commands by presenting them with definitions of the commands and fragments of the command’s names. Additional levels are presented until the patient guesses the word. Then letters are progressively removed until the patient is able to give the name of the command when presented with its definition.

Question 46

Clive Wearing

Answer 46

Clive Wearing has horrible anterograde and retrograde amnesia: he has a seven second memory and essentially only has short-term memory. He was struck by a virus called encephalitis and it destroyed his hippocampus and he can’t remember past seven seconds. He can play the piano and conduct an orchestra but can barely remember his wife or his children. Yet he still has numbers embedded in his memory from his childhood. He was very angry at first when he got the virus but that anger has subsided over the years.

Question 47

Anterograde vs. retrograde amnesia

Answer 47

Anterograde amnesia: can’t make any new memories after the accident. Retrograde: can’t remember before the accident.

Question 48

Hyperthymesia

Answer 48

Hyperthymesia is very rare… less than 100 people in the world who have it. That is autobiographical memory and they remember every little thing from their lives. Marilu Henner has it and she can remember everything. This means her memory is incredible and never loses a memory. But it is not eidetic memory or photographic memory! She has total recall of every day of her life. It’s like a Google search and it just focuses in on the specific memory they’re looking for. The year just unfolds like a timeline and they can zero in on which day and memory they need… Marilu loves it.
But Jill Price looks at it like a curse it drives her crazy. They can remember historical events and instant recall of everything they have done on every day of their lives. They all have a tendency to be highly organized and tend to be a little obsessive in certain things.
The caudate nucleus is seven times bigger than normal in them.

Question 49

Dissociation

Answer 49

One memory system has no effect on the other.