Chapter 7 Flashcards
Encoding
the process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM
Retrieval
bringing information into consciousness by transferring it from LTM to working memory
Maintenance rehearsal
repeating information over and over without any consideration of meaning or making connections with other information; results in little or no encoding into LTM
Elaborative rehearsal
forming meaningful associations between new information and other information
Levels of processing theory
memory depends on the depth of processing that an item receives, either shallow or deep
Shallow processing
little attention to meaning and focus on physical features resulting in poor memory
Deep processing
close attention to meaning and elaborative rehearsal resulting in better memory
Craik and Tulving findings on level of processing
deeper processing (fill in the blanks and rhyming conditions) during encoding is associated with better memory compared to shallow coding (physical features)
Paired-associate learning
a list of words are presented and participants are tasked to recall the word paired with the first word when it is presented later on
Findings on visual imagery during encoding (Bower and Winzenz)
words were more likely to be remembered when participants used visual imagery to form a relationship between the paired words rather than repetition
Self-reference effect
memory is better when you are asked to relate a word to yourself
Findings on the self-reference effect during encoding (Leshikar)
participants’ memory was better for the self condition (indicating whether the adjective described them) compared to the common condition (indicating whether the adjective was commonly used)
Generation effect
generating material yourself, rather than passively receiving it, enhances learning and retention
Findings on the generation effect during encoding (Slameka & Graf)
participants in the generate condition, who had to generate the second word based on the first word and the word stem, recalled more pairs than those in the read condition
Retrieval cue
a word or other stimulus that has an association with information stored in memory, facilitating recall; significantly more effective when self-generated
Findings on organization during encoding (Bower)
memory was better when participants encoded words when they were organized by category (e.g. trees or mind maps) compared to when they were randomized
Findings on survival processing during encoding (Nairne)
having participants assess the relevance of words to their survival resulted in better memory than other elaborative encoding procedure
Testing effect (Karpicke & Roediger)
enhanced performance in remembering English-Swahili word pairs due to retrieval practice through repeated testing
Types of elaborative encoding
visual imagery, self-reference effect, generation effect, organization, survival processing, and testing effect
2 benefits of self-testing
it indicates what you know and increases your ability to remember what you know later on
Spacing effect
taking breaks between study sessions is more advantageous than studying for a long period of time
How does rereading material create an illusion of learning?
rereading results in greater fluency or ease of reading but doesn’t result in better memory for the material
Familiarity effect
rereading causes material to become familiar and increases our tendency to interpret this as an indication that we know the material
3 ways to match conditions at retrieval to conditions at encoding
encoding specificity, state-dependent learning, transfer-appropriate processing
Encoding specificity
we encode information along with its context; retrieval is better when the testing environment is similar to the encoding environment
State-dependent learning
retrieval is better when a person’s internal state (mood or awareness) matches their internal state during encoding
Transfer-appropriate processing
retrieval is better if the same cognitive tasks are involved during both encoding and retrieval
Consolidation
the process that transforms new memories from a fragile state, in which they can be disrupted, to a more permanent state
2 types of consolidation
synaptic consolidation and systems consolidation, which occur simultaneously
Synaptic consolidation
structural changes at synapses that take place over minutes or hours
Systems consolidation
gradual reorganization of neural circuits within the brain that take place over months or years
Long-term potentiation
strengthening of synaptic transmission or enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation due to structural changes at the synapse
Standard model of consolidation
the hippocampus encodes new memories and forms connections with higher cortical areas, which eventually weaken once the cortical representations are formed
Reactivation
the hippocampus replays neural activity associated with a memory (pre-consolidation) then sends this information to the cortex
Retrograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occured before the injury or onset of amnesia
Graded amnesia
amnesia tends to be more severe for events that happened just before the injury than for earlier events
Multiple trace model of consolidation
the hippocampus remains in active communication with cortical areas both early in consolidation and as memories become remote
Why does going to sleep shortly after learning enhance memory?
sleep eliminates environmental stimuli that might interfere with consolidation and consolidation appears to be enhanced during sleep (particularly for important memories)
Reconsolidation
reactivated memories become fragile and require consolidation again
Temporal context model
old contexts can become associated with new memories without changing the content of existing memories
