Chapter 6

Question 1

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 1

vivid, detailed recollections of significant events, often associated with strong emotional experiences.

Question 2

What is the Now Print! theory proposed by Livingston (1967)?

Answer 2

suggests that significant experiences are immediately preserved in long-term memory, akin to making a photocopy, and are resistant to change.

Question 3

What is the reappearance hypothesis according to Neisser?

Answer 3

The reappearance hypothesis, proposed by Neisser, suggested that the same memory could reappear unchanged multiple times, a concept he later rejected.

Question 4

Describe the analogy used to explain memory traces according to Neisser.

Answer 4

Neisser likened memory traces to a mystic writing pad toy, where old messages are retained even after being erased. Over time, these fragments accumulate and overlap, making them increasingly difficult to read.

Question 5

What is the trace theory of memory?

Answer 5

suggests that memory traces are permanent and complete copies of past events. Remembering is likened to re-experiencing the past, similar to how a video recording can be preserved and replayed indefinitely.

Question 6

According to Bartlett, what is a schema?

Answer 6

an active mass of organized past reactions that guides behavior and memory

Question 7

Describe the method of repeated reproduction used by Bartlett.

Answer 7

a participant is given a story to read and is asked to reproduce it at various intervals. This helps in studying how memory of the story changes over time.

Question 8

What are the four processes typically associated with schema-based theories of memory?

Answer 8

selection (selecting relevant info)
abstraction (abstracting the meaning)
interpretation (interpreting it based on existing knowledge)
integration (integrating it into a coherent whole

Question 9

How does reconstruction play a role in memory according to schema-based theories?

Answer 9

helps in filling in gaps and creating a coherent narrative from fragmented memories.

Question 10

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 10

the hypothesis that misleading post-event information can become integrated with the original memory of the event, leading to memory distortion.

Question 11

What are false memories?

Answer 11

memories of events that did not actually occur or memories that are distorted by misleading post-event information.

Question 12

What is the source monitoring framework?

Answer 12

the theory that some errors of memory are caused by mistaken identification of the memory’s source.

Question 13

What is encoding specificity?

Answer 13

the principle that a cue is more likely to lead to the recall of a particular item if the cue was initially encoded along with that item.

Question 14

What is context-dependent learning?

Answer 14

the idea that we are most likely to recall something we have learned if the environment in which that information was encoded is replicated during retrieval.

Question 15

What is mood-dependent recall?

Answer 15

the hypothesis that mood congruence between learning and recall sessions should facilitate recall.

Question 16

What is mood congruence?

Answer 16

the idea that mood might cause selective learning of affective material.

Question 17

Question: What is childhood amnesia?

Answer 17

the general inability to retrieve episodic memories from before the age of about 3.

Question 18

What is Galton’s number?

Answer 18

the number of autobiographical episodes available to participants from the preceding 20 years, as calculated by Crovitz, Schiffman, and Apter (1991): 224.

Question 19

What is the Memory Bump?

Answer 19

an increase in the number of memories between ages 10 and 30, showing a distinct peak in autobiographical memory recall during that period.

Question 20

What is the Proust effect?

Answer 20

the power of odors to serve as autobiographical memory cues, often evoking memories from early childhood that may not be accessible through verbal cues.

Question 21

What are autobiographically consequential experiences (ACEs)?

Answer 21

pivotal life events, typically occurring between ages 18 and 35, that shape a person’s identity and contribute significantly to autobiographical memory.

Question 22

What is a life script?

Answer 22

a cultural narrative prescribing the age norms for important life events, influencing the formation of autobiographical memories and contributing to the memory bump phenomenon.

Question 23

What is the significance of distinctiveness in memory?

Answer 23

Distinctiveness refers to the precision with which an item is encoded and plays a crucial role in memory retention. More distinctively encoded information tends to be remembered better.

Question 24

What is the difference between shallow and deep processing?

Answer 24

Shallow processing focuses on the physical characteristics of stimuli

Deep processing involves analyzing the semantic meaning and connections of the information, leading to better comprehension and retention.

Question 25

What is elaboration in memory?

Answer 25

involves enriching information by relating it to other knowledge, contributing to deeper processing and enhancing memory retention.