Chapter 7 Flashcards by Talia Aguilar

What is the definition of memory?

the retention of information

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What did psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus do in the field of memory?

He tested his own memory by teaching himself nonsense words and lists of syllables to see how long after he could remember them for.

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What was Ebbinghaus able to determine?

He was able to determine that it took longer to memorize longer lists of words and how much longer it took

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What is free recall?

It is to produce a response that requires memory without any references or prompts. It usually underestimates your actual knowledge. ex. trying to name everyone in your second-grade class just from memory

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What is cued recall?

It is when a cue is provided to prompt recall. ex-trying to remember everyone in your second-grade class while looking at a class photo

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What is recognition?

When someone chooses the correct item out of multiple options. ex multiple choice tests

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What is the saving/ relearning method?

It compared the speed of learning something the first to relearning the same material. ex you cannot pick out the names of your second-grade classmates, but you could relearn them faster than a list of random people you don’t know

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What is explicit memory?

It is when someone states an answer as a result of memory includes free, cued, recognition and savings are all ways to test explicit memory

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What is implicit memory?

It is when an experience influences someone’s behaviror weather, they are aware of it or not

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What is the effect of priming on behavior?

It is when you hear or see something that increases the chances of you doing it yourself

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What are procedural memories?

It is how to do something. ex. riding a bike

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What are declarative memories?

Memories we can state in words. ex what letter in the alphabet to the left of k

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Concept check: Identify if each memory is free recall, recognition, cued recall, savings, or implicit.
A) you watch a horror movie about spiders in the basement. Hours later you feel hesitant to go to the basement and don’t know why
B) You scan a list of famous books to see how many you have read
C) You tell your parents about your favorite experiences this semester
D) You look at a map of the US and try to name as many states as you can
E) Although you thought you had forgotten what you learned in High School chemistry, you learn faster in college chemistry than you expected

A) Implicit
B) recognition
C) free recall
D) cued recall
E) Savings

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Concept Check: If you remember how to change a flat tire on the car, what kind of memory is that?

Procedural

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Concept check: why is it important to ask the witness about his/her level of confidence?

At a later time, the witness may feel more confident based on other information and result in an inaccurate report about the eyewitness identification was correct

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What is the information processing model?

It compares human memories to a computer in the sense that in both the information is processed, coded, and stored

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What is a sensory store?

The ability to remember things for a little longer if it involves the senses ex. a sound being paired with seeing a letter on a screen

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What is short term memory (STM)?

it is a temporary storage of a event that occurred recently

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What is a long-term memory (LTM)?

it is more long-term/permanent storage of events that

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What is sematic memory?

Memory of rules and facts ex. what you learn in school

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What is episodic memory?

memory of a certain event in your life ex. ninth birthday

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Concept check: Identify which is a semantic or episodic memory.
A) naming the planets of the solar system
B) describing what you wore to class yesterday
C) remembering your most recent illness
D) describing the periodic table in chemistry

A) sematic
B) episodic
C) episodic
D) semantic

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What is source amnesia?

you can remember the information via sematic memory, but you can’t remember the episodic memory of learning it

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What is Geoge Millers (1956) capacity of STM?

7 plus or minus 2

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What is chunking?

It is the process of grouping items to help with remembering them

How as chunking changed the capacity of STM?

Researchers now think that its four chunks rather than seven items

How long can you remember something in STM?

18 seconds

Concept check how does STM differ from LTM?

STM can get forgotten after around 18 seconds if not rehearsed. While LTM can last for much longer

Concept check is interference for forgetting in STM, LTM, or both?

Important for both

What is working memory?

It's information that is relevant to you right now and a form of STM

What is executive functioning?

What controls your ability to shift your attention. ex a nurse shifting attention from one patient to another

What is the n-back test?

a measure of someone's executive functioning ability

Concept check: Given that practice on a working memory task does not transfer to other tasks, what can we conclude about the correlation between the task and intelligence?

That it does not improve or have an effect on someone's intelligence.

TQ: Which method for testing memory can detect the weakest memory? A) Free recall B) Cued recall C) Recognition D) Savings

TQ: How does procedural memory differ from declarative memory? A) It extinguishes rapidly B) It develops despite using CU-UCS intervals C) It forms mainly during an early sensitive period D) It develops gradually

TQ: Without realizing it, you start using some the same words you read recently. What type of memory is this? A) Procedural B) Semantic C) Episodic D) Implicit

TQ: If you see a display of numbers for a quick second, why can you only name 4 or 5 of them? A) In that time, you can only see that much B) STM has a limited capacity C) Your sensory store fades within a second D) Your attention wanders

TQ: When the police ask a witness to identify a suspect from a lineup, what do they recommend? A) Use an array of suspects varying widely in their appearance B) Offer encouragement if someone identifies the person that the police suspect C) Ask for percent confidence answers instead of yes/no D) Encourage the witness to identify someone, if none seem exactly right

TQ: Which of the following is an example of a semantic memory? A) The numbers I just saw on the screen were 4, 9, 7, and 1 B) yesterday morning was hot and dry C) Wilhem Wundt founded the first psychological laboratory D) the last novel I read was left hand of darkness

TQ: What is a possible explanation for believing the false reports that you read several times online? A) Source amnesia B) Sensory store C) Procedural memory D) Executive functioning

TQ: On average, how long does info last in STM? A) Less than a second B) Whatever time is necessary to consolidate into LTM C) Less than 20 seconds unless its rehearsed D) Seven seconds plus or minus 2

Concept Check: Most people with PTSD have lower than normal levels of cortisol what would you predict about their memory?

That due to the low cortisol levels, they have a harder time remembering information

What is the primacy effect?

It means you're more likely to remember something that happened first. ex. recalling the first couple items on a grocery list

What is the recency effect?

The ability to remember the final items ex. the last couple of items on the grocery list

Concept check: If you are studying vocabulary for a foreign language course, which words will you probably learn faster?

The words that were introduced first or last. As well as other words that stood out for any particular reason.

What is the depth of processing principle?

That you can better retrieve a memory when you form associations with it which usually helps it store better for LTM

Concept Check: Many of the students who read the assigned text chapters slowly get higher grades than students who didn't. Why?

Because doing so allowed the students to engage in the reading by forming more connections to the material. Which uses the depth of processing principle.

What are retrieval cues for memory?

Cues that help you retrieve information from your memory

What is the encoding specifity principle?

The associations that is formed when learning new information is what will be most useful for retrieving the information later

Concept Check: Suppose someone cannot remember what happened at a party last night. What steps might someone take to remember what happened?

Try to go back to where the party was at the same time with the same people

Concept Check: Why do instructors call upon students to answer questions about what they just learned?

To help students remember the information better.

Concept Check: Is the advice to spread out your study consistent with the encoding specify principle?

Yes, because it allows to reinforce those connections that were previously made while also being able to form more to strengthen the recall of the information

What is mnemonic device?

A memory device that is used to help people remember things ex. acronyms like ADPIE

What is the method of loci in terms of mnemonic devices?

It is when you associate places to help you memorize something. ex using your way to class to help you remember the functions of a cell

What does consolidation mean?

It's the process of converting STM to LTM

What does reconsolidation mean?

It means to modify episodic memories or build upon information from semantic ones

Concept Check: Suppose you tested a group of people for the memory of an event 1,5,10,15, and 20 days later to measure consolidation. What would be a better way to design that study?

An improvement to the formation of the study would be to have randomly assigned groups where one would only get tested after a day, and have the other get tested for multiple days afterward.

What is hypermnesia?

It is when you gain more memories over time

What is retrieval induced forgetting?

When you are asked a specific question about a larger idea/event/ topic you forget the other information about it as a whole. ex getting asked about a hike on a road trip which then makes it harder to recall other details about the trip as a whole

What is reconstruction?

When you try to retrieve a memory about an event you in part reconstruct it based on information that you know

Concept Check: Sometimes two people who shared the same experience months or years ago remember it differently. Why

They remember it differently based on their reconstruction of the memory.

Concept Check: In history books, it seems that one event led to another in a logical order, but in everyday life, events seem illogical, unconnected, and unpredictable. Why?

Because in reconstruction of events people over time tend to forget the odd or unusual things that happened meaning that they probably get left out.

What is hindsight bias?

When people tend to use information after the fact to shape what they had expected beforehand. ex people before the election saying which candidate they think they is going to win before changing their opinions after the fact

TQ: How does emotional arousal affect memory? A) It improves storage B) It interferes with storage C) It interferes with consolidation D) It has no effect

TQ: You remember words best if you think about them in what way? A) How could you use the times in a survival situation B) What stores sell each of them C) What was the first time you saw them D) What was the most recent time you saw each item

TQ: What is meant by "depth of processing in memory?" A) How strongly it affects the unconscious mind B) The number of times you repeated something C) The number of synaptic connections in the brain D) The number and variety of associations

TQ: Of the following, which is the best strategy for studying? A) Do all of your studying in the same location like the library B) Study at repeating times in various places and often test yourself C) Make a recording and listen to it while you sleep D) Repeat each word or concept until you can repeat it

TQ: What is the result of testing yourself on what you're trying to learn? A) It wastes time that you could've spent by rereading B) By increasing your frustration, it impairs learning and memory C) On average, it has no effect on strength of memory D) By forcing yourself to recall something it tests your memory

TQ: What happens when you try to describe something that you do not remember perfectly? A) You fill in the gaps with reasonable guesses B) Your account becomes more confusing and less coherent C) You describe mainly the most unusual or unlikely details D) You describe only what you saw and not what you heard

TQ: Children who fail to display " theory of mind" seem to assume that if they know something, everyone else would know that too. Which of the following phenomena is similar to that assumption? A) Encoding specificity principle B) Hypermnesia C) Hindsight bias D) Depth-of processing principle

What is proactive interference?

The old materials increase the forgetting of new materials because they of how similar they are to each other

What is retroactive interference?

It is when new materials increase the forgetting of old materials

Concept Check: Every year, you try to learn the names of all the other students in your class. Over the years you find that you struggle to learn the new ones more than you used to. Is this an example of retroactive or proactive interference?

Proactive because previous learning is affecting current learning

Concept Check: Remember the concept of spontaneous recovery in learning? Can you explain it in terms of proactive interference? (Hint: Original learning comes first, and extinction comes second. What would happen if the first interfered with the second?)

The original learning interferes with the extinction (that comes later), the result is spontaneous recovery.

What are recovered memories?

Memories that have been recovered from events that occurred years ago

What is the repression of a memory?

It when consciously retaining the memory becomes too painful to bear that it end up in the unconscious mind

What is the disassociation of a memory?

A memory that someone has but cannot recall

Is repression or disassociation real?

Not really, there has never been studies that have been able to prove it. People usually remember traumatic events and it is rare to forget unless it happened at an early age

Concept Check: Based on the material earlier in this chapter, why should we expect traumatic events to be remembered better than most other events?

Because memories with strong personal associations such as emotions will help the person remember the event better

What is a false memory?

Memory of an event that someone believes to be true

What is amnesia?

Loss of memory but not all memories

What part of HM's brain was removed to prevent seizures?

The hippocampus

What is anterograde amnesia?

When someone is no longer able to store long term memories

What is retrograde amnesia?

loss of memory for events that occurred before the trauma occurred

Concept Check: What did studies on HM teach us about memory?

That people can hold information for a while in short term memory without it going to long term memory. Showed that procedural memory is different from declarative memory especially episodic memory. It is also possible to retain old sematic memories without being able to gain new ones.

How is Korsakoff's syndrome caused?

It is caused by a deficiency of vitamin B which is usually caused by alcoholism

What are the effects of Korsakoff's syndrome?

Due to the reduction of neurons in the prefrontal cortex patients tend to become apathetic, have more confusion, and amnesia

What are confabulations?

It is a term used to describe when patients with prefrontal cortex damage try to answer questions with Confabulations to fill in the memories that they are missing

TQ: Although confabulation is a kind of false memory, how does it differ from the false memories discussed earlier in this discussion?

Rather than it being a false memory it is an attempt to fill in the gaps of memories that make an actual event.

What is Alzheimer's disease?

A condition that mainly affects those over 65 years of age. When someone suffers extreme memory loss, confusion, depression, disordered thinking, and impaired attention

What does early childhood amnesia mean?

It defines the phenomenon of many people who have few memories of their early childhood

Concept check: Why is an example of infantile amnesia in rodents important to understanding it in humans?

Because it proves some of the other theories about childhood amnesia wrong and demonstrate that it is due to rapid brain development in the hippocampus

TQ: How does proactive indifference differ from retroactive indifference? A) Proactive interference accelerates forgetting of only short-term memory B) Proactive interference accelerates forgetting of only implicit memories C) Proactive interference accelerates forgetting of what you learned earlier D) Proactive interference accelerates forgetting of what you learn later

TQ: Which of the following is an explanation for the recency effect in list learning? A) The formation of new neurons consolidates the final item on the list B) Hindsight bias does not impair the last item on the list C) Proactive interference does not impair the last item on the list D) Retroactive interference does not impair the last item on the list

TQ: What is true of most memories that people spontaneously recall after not remembering them in years? A) These memories evoke intense emotions B) These memories include little detail C) These memories are almost always fantasies D) Theses memories show up first in the person's dreams

TQ: Which of the following has been a heated debate among psychologists? A) Is it better to study all at once or in spread out the study sessions? B) How reliably can clinicians get someone to recover a lost memory? C) How important is interference as a basis of forgetting? D) Which types of memory does hippocampal damage impair?

TQ: Which of these was least impaired in HM and other similar patients? A) Formation of new long-term memories B) Episodic memory C) Procedural memory D) Ability to imagine future events

TQ: Which of the following is most characteristic of people with Korsakoff's syndrome? A) Retrograde amnesia without retrograde amnesia B) Loss of implicit memory C) Confabulations D) Inability to recognize faces

TQ: Immaturity of the hippocampus could impair memory formation. Why is this fact, at best, an incomplete explanation for infant amnesia? A) The rate of hippocampal maturation varies among species of animals B) The rate of hippocampal maturation varies among children C) Preschool children do form long-term memories D) Infant amnesia applies mostly to procedural memories

TQ: Studies on mice support which explanation for this infantile amnesia? A) Early memories are emotionally traumatic B) Hearing and vision develop gradually after birth C) Infants have not yet formed a sense of self D) New neurons facilitate learning but also forgetting