Chapter 6 Memory Flashcards
Encoding
The process of transforming what we perceive into an enduring memory
Storage
The process of maintaining info in memory over time
Retrieval
The process of bringing to mind info that has been previously encoded and stored
How are memories made
Memories made by combining info we already have in our brains with new info from our senses.
Memories are constructed, not recorded.
Semantic encoding
The process of relating new info in a meaningful way to knowledge already known
Semantic, rhyme, and case judgements.
Semantic: Think about the meaning of the world.
Rhyme: What rhymes with the word
Case: look at the appearance of the word. (Capital or lowercase?
Visual imagery encoding
The processor storing new by turning it into mental pictures
Why is visual imagery encoding effective?
- You connect incoming info with stuff you already know.
- Two different triggers for the memory, the visual one and the verbal one.
Organizational judgements
Process of categorizing info according to the relationship between the items.
Sensory memory
A type of storage that holds sensory info for a few seconds or less
Iconic memory
Fast decaying store of visual info
Echoing memory
Fast decaying store of auditory info
Short-term memory
Holds nonsensory info for more for a few seconds but less than a minute
Rehersal
The process of keeping info in short-term memory by mentally repeating it
Serial position effect
I’m a series, the first few and last few things are most likely to be remembered
Enhanced recall of the first few items is called the…
Primacy effect
Enhanced recall of the last few items is called the…
Recency effect
How is the recency effect disrupted?
Interrupting rehearsal (having people count backwards by 3)
Chunking
Combining small pieces of info into larger clusters/chunks that are more easily held in short term memory
Working memory
Active matinence of info in short term storage
Long-term memory
Type of storage that holds info for hours, days, weeks, or years
Damage to the temporal lobes and hippocampus can cause
Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
Can’t move short term memory to long term
Retrograde amnesia
Can’t remember stuff from before the injury l
Consolidation
The process by which memories become stable in the brain
Reconsolidation
Memories can be valuable when recalled, requiring them to be consolidated again
Retrieval cue
External info that is associated with stored info and helps recall it
Encoding specificity principle
A retrieval cue can be effective qhen it helps re-create how the info was originally encoded
(Being in the same classroom for a test)
State-dependent retrieval
Info is better recalled when person is in sake state during encoding
(Emotions or sobriety)
Explicit memory
The act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past memories
Implicit memory
The influence of past experiences on later behaviors even without an effort to remember them.
Given list including STORE. Later asked to fill in STO___, will likely say STORE and not STORK.
Procedural memory
The gradual acquisition of a skill as a result of practice or “knowing how” to do things.
A kind of implicit memory
Learning a skill, you remember how but can’t really explain how to do it
Priming
Enhanced ability to think of something due to previous exposure to that thing.
Lines that make a shape from a certain angle. You’ll see it quicker if you’ve seen it before, even from a really long time ago.
Two types of explicit memory
Semantic memory
Episodic memory
Semantic memory
A network of facts that make up our understanding of the world
Episodic memory
Personal experiences that take place at a certain time and place
Like a TV “episode”
Important to imagination. Remix episodic memories for something new.
Transience
Forgetting memories with the passage of time
Qualities of memories lower over time, how do we compensate?
Remember what usually happens and try to reconstruct or guess from there.
Retroactive interference
Later learning impairs memory for earlier memories
Proactive interference
Earlier learning impairs memory for info acquired later
Blocking
Failure to retrieve memory that is avaliable in your memory even if you’re trying.
“On the tip of your tongue”
Prospective memory
Remembering to do something in the future
Memory misattribution
Assigning a memory or idea to the wrong sourc
Source memory
Recall of when, where, and how info was acquired
Flashbulb memories
Detailed memories of where and when you heard about shocking events
Ex. People remembering when they learned about 911
Brain and memory: Hippocampus
Encoding station
Short term > long term
Brain and memory: Cerebral Cortex
Encoding info from sensory registers.
Store semantic info.
Brain and memory: Thalamus
Role unclear but damage caused retrograde and anterograde amnesia
Brain and memory: Amygdala
Emotional aspects of memory
Brain and memory: Cerebellum
Procedural memory
