Chapter 7 - Memory Flashcards
What is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia?
Retrograde amnesia - cannot remember memories before the brain trauma, but can make new ones
Anterograde amnesia - can remember memories before the brain trauma, but you cannot make new ones (eg. HM)
Look at the chart in Figure 7.4. We’ll discuss those memory systems in class, but this is a useful chart for understanding how different memory systems/types are organized.
IF YOU HAVE TIME, DRAW CHART!
Explain the dual-coding hypothesis.
- more likely to remember something that can be visually and verbally reinforced compared to just visually
What is a schema? How have memory researchers demonstrated that we use schemas?
Schemas provide structures for how we understand and perceive the world.
ex: grocery shopping, we know what to expect when we go grocery shopping because of schemas
Why do researchers now prefer the term “working memory” to “short-term memory?”
Short-term memory made this step of memory seem static but actually short-term memory (working memory) ACTIVELY retains and manipulates multiple pieces of temporary information from different sources
How have researchers attempted to demonstrate that working memory is distinct from long-term memory? How do serial position effect findings shed light on this question?
Serial position effect - people have a better time remembering what was at the beginning and end of a list then what was in the middle. Shows that STM and LTM are different because people use their LTM to remember things in the beginning of a list (primacy effect) and they use their STM to remember things at the end of a list (recency effect).
What is consolidation?
The gradual process of memory storage in the brain.
What is long-term potentiation? How would a researcher know if LTP had occurred? In basic terms, how is the NMDA receptor involved in LTP?
“Neurons that fire together, wire together”
Learning/memory results from strengthening the synaptic connections between neurons that fire together.
- The NMDA receptor is involved in LTP because it increases the neurons responsitivity to glutamate released by the presynaptic neuron and IT PRODUCES MORE SYNAPSES BETWEEN NEURONS
- LTP leads to an increase in the NMDA, so that is how researchers would know LTP occurred
- The more efficient to NMDA, the more LTP, better long-term memory
Are flashbulb memories more accurate than other memories? Explain.
Flashbulb memories - when you have a very vivid memory of a surprising or emotionally arousing event. (covid, 9/11, capitol riot)
These memories are not always accurate. People are likely to misremember some aspects of the event but tend to repeat the same story, which increases their confidence.
What is reconsolidation? What do scientists believe the two main functions of reconsolidation are?
Reconsolidation - restoring memory after retrieval
Functions: memory strengthening, memory updating
What is the encoding specificity principle? How does it relate to findings of context-dependent and state-dependent memory?
Encoding Specificity Principle - when you encode a memory, you are also encoding surrounding stimuli, and these stimuli can trigger the memory.
Context-Dependent:
State-Dependent:
What is prospective memory?
“Remembering to remember” (remembering future events)
Explain the “modal model” of memory (i.e., the three stage model). Distinguish between sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. What are the two major types of sensory memory?
Sensory Memory: memory that lasts for a split second that you may not be aware even occurs but it traces to your nervous system.
- Echoic: auditory sensory memory
- Iconic: visual sensory memory
Short-Term Memory: limited capacity, 20-30 seconds, Magic 7 (supported anymore because it varies by person)
Long-Term Memory: permanent-ish, includes memory that is there that you forgot was there
What is chunking? What is a mnemonic?
chunking - breaking down info into meaningful units
eg. NBC CNN ABC
Distinguish between the following types of memory or memory systems: explicit (episodic and semantic), implicit.
