Chapter 6 Flashcards
Memory is the ability to ____ and ____ information over time
store; retrieve
What are the three key functions of memory?
1) encoding
2) storage
3) retrieval
What is encoding?
The process of transforming what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory
What is storage?
the process of maintaining information in memory over time
What is retrieval?
the process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored
How do we make memories?
combine info already in our brains w/new information from senses; CONSTRUCTED, not recorded
What is semantic encoding?
process of relating new info in a meaningful way to knowledge that is already stored in memory
Where in the brain do semantic judgements take place?
frontal lobe (lower left) temporal lobe (inner left)
Describe experiment w/semantic memorization
Participants given list of words, diff. ways to memorize i.e. rhyme, capital letters, meaning; the group who thought a/b words’ meaning remembered them more often
What is visual imagery encoding?
the process of storing new info by converting it into mental pictures
Why is visual imagery encoding so effective?
gives you both visual and verbal placeholders for an item; also it relates to other info in your head
Where is visual imagery encoding in brain?
occipital lobe (shows that ppl enlist visual system)
What is organizational coding? Who used it in experiment?
process of categorizing info according to the relationships among a series of items; servers in restaurant
Where in brain is active during organizational coding?
upper left frontal lobe
Evolutionary perspective is encoding?
Survival and planning encoding more effective b/c of natural selection
What is sensory memory?
a type of storage that holds sensory info for a few seconds or less
Describe experiments with sensory memory
12 letters in 3 rows flashed on screen quickly, ppl asked to recall them and couldnt; either they couldnt encode them all or they did encode them and just forgot; researchers discovered the latter was true because right after letters flashed they randomly played high, med, or low tone to correspond to row and ppl got it right; showed that sensory mem like afterimage of flashlight
What is iconic memory? What type of memory is it?
fast-decaying store of visual info; sensory
What is echoic memory? What type of memory is it? example?
fast-decaying store of auditory info; sensory i.e. when you replay words in ur head that someone just said
What is short-term memory?
holds nonsensory info for more than a few seconds but less than a minute
How do we get something into short-term memory?
we need to attend to it; attention is key
Rehearsal is the process of keeping info in _____ _____ memory by mentally ______ it
short-term; repeating
What is the serial position effect?
the first few and last few items in a series are more likely to be recalled than the items in the middle
What is the primacy effect?
enhanced recall of the first few items b/c they have more rehearsal
What is the recency effect?
enhanced recall of the last few items; can result from rehearsing items that are still in short-term storage
How many meaningful items can short-term memory hold?
seven
What is chunking?
combining small pieces of info into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term memory
What is working memory?
active maintenance of info in short-term storage
Working memory includes two subsystems that store and manipulate info; what are they?
1) visuo-spatial sketchpad (visual images)
2) phonological loop (verbal info)
What does the episodic buffer do in working memory?
integrates visual and verbal info from the subsystems into a multidimensional code
What coordinates the subsystems and the episodic buffer in working memory?
central executive
Long-term memory is a type of storage that holds info for ____, ____, ____, or _____
hours; days; weeks; years
T/F Long-term memory has known capacity limits
FALSE
Studies of HM showed that ____ ____ is critical for putting new info in long-term
hippocampal region