Chapter 7 Flashcards
Memory is
The retention of information and experiences over time
The three processes involved in memory
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding
The first step in the memory process. Gets information into storage
Storage
Retaining information over time
Retrieval
Taking information out of storage
Encoding requires?
Attention. But the attention must be selective
Memory is negatively influenced by?
Divided attention
Theory of levels processing / Levels of processing
Information is processed from shallow (sensory or physical features)
To intermediate (labels are attached to stimuli)
To deep (meaning of the stimuli and their associations with other stimuli are processed)
Deeper processing produces?
Better memory
Elaboration
Deeper processing when we make connections between new information and old
What can improve memory?
Using imagery, or mental pictures, as a context for information
Atkinson-Shiffrin theory
Describes memory as a three stage process: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long term memory
Sensory memory
Holds perceptions of the world for only an instance
Short term memory
This is information from sensory memory that is attended to and passed on to be short-term memory. Limited capacity and retains information for 30 seconds.
Can last longer if strategies are used
Working memory is a combination of?
Short term memory and attention
Long term memory
A relatively permanent type of memory that holds huge amounts of information for a long time
Long-term memory has two main components
Explicit and implicit memory
Explicit memory (Declarative)
The conscious recollection of information such as specific facts or events
Implicit memory (Nondeclarative)
Affects behavior through prior experiences that are not consciously recollected
Explicit memory has two dimensions
Episodic memory and semantic memory
Implicit memory is multidimensional
Includes systems for procedural memory, priming, and classical conditioning
Memories are not?
Stored in single locations of the brain
Memories are considered as?
Networks of neurons that represent pathways and that are activated when we remember
The areas of the brain that are active when we remember?
Depends on what we are remembering
Serial position effect
The tendency to recall items at the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle items
Primacy effect
Tendency to recall items at the beginning of the list better than the middle item
Recency effect
Tendency to remember the items at the end of the list better than the middle items
Retrieval is easier when?
Effective cues are present
Another factor in effective retrieval is the nature of the retrieval task
Encoding specificity principle
Information present at the time of encoding in learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue
Tip-of-the-tounge phenomenon
When we cannot pull something out of memory
Autobiographical memory
A person’s recollections of his or her life experiences
Autobiographical memory has three levels
Life time periods, general events, event-specific knowledge
Emotional memories may be
Vivid and enduring
Memory for personal trauma is
More accurate than memory for ordinary events but is subject to distortion and inaccuracy
Personal trauma can cause individuals to?
Repress emotionally laden information so that it is not accessible to consciousness
Repression
Forgetting a particularly troubling experience because it would be too upsetting to remeber
Eyewitness testimony
May contain errors due to memory decay or bias
Information can be attended to through?
Divided attention and sustained attention
Divided attention
Trying to pay attention to more than one thing
Sustained attention
Paying attention to something for a longer period of time
Levels of processing
Indicates how deeply you are processing the information you are attending
Episodic memory
Memory that stores your life memories. Like an autobiographical
Semantic memory
Memory that includes knowledge. (Studying for a test)
Priming (Implicit)
The activation of information stored in memory to help remember new information better
Memory is organized through?
Schema
Schema
Preexisting mental concepts that help organize and interpret information from experience
Ex: A script is a schema for an event that provides information about what to expect and how to act
Parallel distributed processing
Brain connections and neural networks work together to process each memory
Flashbulb memory
An emotionally charged memory, often recalled vividly
Motivated forgetting
Forgetting something very painful or fear-invoking because it is too unpleasant to remember
Interference theory
People forget because other information gets in the way
Proactive interference
Occurs when new information is disrupted by previously stored information
Retroactive interference
New information disrupts previously stored information
Decay theory
When you learn something a memory trace is created but over time and disuse it disintegrates
Retrospective memory
Remembering information from the past
Prospective memory
Remembering something that is going to happen in the future
Amnesia
The loss of memory
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to retain new information in memory
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to remember some past memories but not new experiences
Ways to improve short-term memory
Chunking and Rehearsal
False memories
Failure to distinguish real memories from self-generated thoughts. A memory can be false even when we are confident it is vivid and clear
Emotional memories consist of
Flashbulb memories, traumatic events, and repressed memories
Study tips
- Give undivided attention
- Process deeply
- Make associations
- Use Imagery
- Use Chunking
- Encode early and often
