Chapter 7: Human Memory (3) Flashcards
Define conceptual hierarchy.
A conceptual hierarchy is a collection of concepts, ideas,events that share common properties and is arranged in a multi-level structure.
Define schema.
A schema is a mental framework that helps individuals organize, process, and store information about their environment.
(a person who has never seen a chair but has seen dogs may interpret the chair to be some sort of tetrapod)
What are semantic networks?
Much knowledge seems to be organized into less systematic frameworks, called semantic networks.
.A semantic network consists of nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related concepts
The length of each pathway represents the degree of association between the two concepts. Explain.
Shorter pathways imply stronger associations.
According to Collins and Loftus (1975), when people think about a word, their thoughts naturally go to related words. These theorists call this process ______________.
Spreading Activation.
They assume that activation spreads out along the pathways of the semantic network surrounding the word.
Define tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.
The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon—the temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it’s just out of reach
What are retrieval cues?
Retrieval cues—stimuli that help gain access to memories.
Define the misinformation effect.
The misinformation effect occurs when participants’ recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading post-event information.
The misinformation effect is the tendency for information received after an event to interfere with one’s memory of the original happenings.
What is the reason for the misinformation effect?
The misinformation effect appears to be due, in part, to the unreliability of source monitoring—the process of making inferences about the origins of memories
When does a source monitoring error occur?
A source-monitoring error occurs when
a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source.
Who was the first person to conduct scientific studies of forgetting?
Hermann Ebbinghaus. Ebbinghaus studied only one subject—
himself.
What’s a forgetting curve and what did Ebbinghaus conclude from his experiments?
A forgetting curve, graphs retention and forgetting over time.
Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve shows a precipitous drop in retention during the first few hours after the nonsense syllables were memorized.
Thus, he concluded that most forgetting occurs very rapidly after learning something.
What were the problems with Ebbinghaus’ experiment?
- One problem was that he was working
with such meaningless material. When participants memorize more meaningful material, such as prose or poetry, forgetting curves aren’t nearly as steep. - Also, different methods of measuring forgetting yield varied estimates of how quickly people forget
Define retention.
Measures of forgetting inevitably measure retention as well. Retention
refers to the proportion of material retained. (remembered).
What are the 3 principle methods used to measure forgetting?
The three principal methods used
to measure forgetting are recall, recognition, and relearning
