Chapter 5 - Memory

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

memory refers to the ability to store information. to consolidate it, and to retrieve it at a later point in time

Question 2

what are the 3 stages of memory and what what do they do?

Answer 2

Sensory memory: sensory memory is kept for a few seconds or less

Short-term memory: non-sensory information can enter STM where it is kept longer (less than a min). repetition can ensure that information is retained in STM (7 items +/-2)

Long-term memory: if information is retained long enough in STM, chances increase for storage in LTM. during recall, information is retrieved from LTM to STM (almost unlimited storage capacity)

Question 3

visual sensory memory

Answer 3

a fast decaying store of visual information

Question 4

auditory sensory memory (echoic memory)

Answer 4

a fast decaying store of auditory information

recency effect is larger for auditory than visual items

Question 5

chunking

Answer 5

combining small pieces of information into clusters to help hold information in STM

Question 6

working memory (Baddeley and Hitch)

Answer 6

STM is made up of operations and processes that enable us to work with information in STM. Active maintenance and manipulation of STM information is referred to as working memory.

Question 7

dual-task interference

Answer 7

performance on one task drops when a simultaneous task taps into the same system

can be explained by separate systems for verbal (phonological loop) and spatial (visuospatial sketchpad) information

Question 8

what are the 3 codes information is stored in?

Answer 8

verbal: semantic level
visual: mental images that are not easily translated into language (like faces)
motor: motor programs that underly activities such as speaking, walking, etc.

Question 9

the primary function of LTM is remembering which involved what 3 stages?

Answer 9

encoding: transforming information into an enduring memory
storage: maintaining memories over time
retrieval: brining stored information back into consciousness

Question 10

long-term memory: endcoding

Answer 10

use of schemas: mental models of the world that help us to encode information in a meaningful way for us

elaborative encoding: relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory

visual imagery encoding: storing new information by converting it to mental pictures

organizational encoding: categorizing items based on relationships between them

Question 11

Wilder Penfield

Answer 11

the first neurosurgeon who performed brain surgeries on patients with epilepsy. he discovered the motor and somatosensory cortex by stimulating awake patients brains with electrical currents

Question 12

Richard Semon

Answer 12

believed that memory is/are stored in a physical location somewhere in the brain, but never found the location

Question 13

Karl Lashley

Answer 13

studied the engram by removing parts of the brain in animals and subsequently examined whether they had forgotten earlier trained responses or whether learning became impaired.

Question 14

how are memories represented in the hippocampus?

Answer 14

changes in the synaptic connections between neurons. this long-term potentiation - a persistent strengthening of synapses on patterns of activity - has been convincingly demonstrated in the hippocampus

Question 15

how are memories stored?

Answer 15

memories are ‘stored’ as microscopic chemical changes at the connecting points between neurons in the brain

Question 16

long-term memory: retrieval

Answer 16

successful retrieval of memory often depends on the presence of an appropriate cue

retrieval is better then the individual is in the same state as during encoding

distinctive events are easier to remember

Question 17

Tulving and Thomson

Answer 17

a retrieval cue is most effective when it closely matches the original encoding context

Question 18

explicit memory

Answer 18

conscious/intentional retrieval of information
- semantic
- episodic

Question 19

implicit memory

Answer 19

past experiences influence later behavior even though people are not aware of remembering those past experiences
- procedural
- priming

Question 20

episodic memory

Answer 20

allows for ‘mental time travel’ and helps to construct cohesive narratives of our lives based on connecting past and present
- flashbulb memories: detailed recollections of when and where we received shocking news
- autobiographical memory: personal record of significant events in one’s life

emotional arousal increases memory for details

Question 21

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Answer 21

was the first to conduct experimental studies on memory: if something cannot be remembered, does it imply that the memory no longer exists, or that it cannot be found

Question 22

forgetting curve (rather universal)

Answer 22

memory declines rapidly right after learning, followed by a slower decline.

Question 23

interference

Answer 23

is an obstruction in the retrieval of a memory event that is stored in LTM. usually, one memory interferes with the other because they are similar.

Question 24

blocking and tip-of-the-tongue experiences

Answer 24

information cannot retrieved despite conscious effort

Question 25

is memory accurate?

Answer 25

memory is not always accurate. memory is a constructive process during which errors can occur.

false memories/recognitions are easily evoked if they fit into a certain scheme

Question 25

absentmindedness

Answer 25

a lapse in attention resulting in memory failure

Question 26

suggestibility (Loftus and Palmer - car crash study)

Answer 26

the tendency to incorporate misleading information into personal recollections

Question 27

Schacter’s 7 sins of memory

Answer 27

transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias and persistence

Question 28

retrograde amnesia

Answer 28

inability to remember events or experiences that took place prior to the event that caused amnesia

Question 29

anterograde amnesia

Answer 29

inability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia

Question 30

transient global amnesia

Answer 30

a sudden loss of memory with both an anterograde and retrograde component

Question 31

dissociative amnesia

Answer 31

memory loss of information about one’s life caused by a traumatic or stressful event. often problems are transient but not always.