Chapter 8 Flashcards
What is memory?
process that allow us to record and retrieve experiences and information
three basic processes:
encoding (translate into neural code)
storage (retain over time)
retrieval (access content, “pull back out”)
What is the 3 Stage Model of Memory?
does not correspond to specific brain areas
3 components: sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory
What is sensory memory?
briefly maintains perceptions
sensory “buffer” for transfer to STM
likely each sense has their own sensory memory
iconic (visual, fraction of a sec)
echoic (auditory, ~2+ sec)
illustrates that the time course for visual sensory memory is brief
What is Short Term Memory (STM)?
temporarily holds a limited amount of information
intact in amnestics
construct perceptual memory into meaningful info
memory codes: visual, phonological, semantic, motor
What is STM magic number?
retain 7 +/- 2 pieces of information in STM
numbers, letters, cities, etc.
What STM chunking?
organize material into meaningful groups
reduces the number of items needed to be remembered
What is STM Duration?
how long can information be retained in STM?
tested by giving a list of 3-letter syllables, and then asking participant to count backwards by 7 (in retention interval) to prevent rehearsal
brief duration (~20 seconds)
What is rehearsal?
extends duration of time items remain in STM
if stop and shift attention, info will be lost
maintenance rehearsal: repeat original stimuli (out loud or in head), visual and phonetic
elaborative rehearsal: link stimuli in meaningful ways, understand relationships
What are four components of STM?
- Phonological loop (auditory WM)
- Visuospatial sketchpad (store/manipulate images and spatial information)
- Episodic buffer (temporary storage for items from LTM)
- Central executive (control process which directs action)
What is long term memory (LTM)?
enduring information storage
life-learned facts, experiences and skills
unlimited capacity
What is the primacy effect?
items encoded into LTM
What is recency effect?
last few words still in STM, can be wiped out with a delay and no ability to rehearse
What is encoding?
if you don’t encode something, it won’t be remembered
role of attention: do not have a record of everything we experience
autonomic vs. effortful processing
unconscious vs. conscious
minimal vs. high attention
information about frequency, spatial location, sequence, and timing of events often encoded autonomically
What is depth of processing?
deeper processing increases likelihood of recall
What is maintenance processing?
rote repetition of information
not an optimal method
What is elaborative processing?
focuses on information’s meaning
organizing
understanding
applying to one’s life
resulting to already learned concepts
using imagery
What are Mnemonic Devices?
any type of memory aid
enhances encoding and recall
relies on internal mental strategies
can be applied to a variety of information
works best if you’ve already learned the knowledge
What is visual imagery?
dual coding theory
harder to remember words that lack a mental image
What are schemas?
mental framework
organized pattern of thought around the world
How is memory stored in associative networks?
nodes = major concepts
lines = connections between concepts, more connection within categories of shared associations
spreading activation: priming is the activation of one concept by another
What is the neural network?
nodes: information processing unit, groups of neurons encoding information units
distributed throughout the brain
activated in parallel
parallel distributed processing models: parallel activation of distributed networks encode different information
What are the different types of LTM?
all call upon long-term information you have, but each is different: some unique to you, some is general to everyone, some requires physical movement
declarative and procedural
What is episodic LTM?
episodic: personal experiences
semantic: general knowledge
What is procedural LTM?
non-declarative memory
reflected in skills and actions
some CC responses
What is explicit memory?
conscious memory retrieval
recognition: “target” stimuli are provided
recall: spontaneous memory retrival
What is implicit memory?
memory influences our behavior without conscious awareness
riding a bike, driving a car
priming tasks: identify a stimulus more easily if previously encountered
What is memory retrival?
reactivation of reconstruction of what is in memory storage
memory doesn’t always match the original event/fact
forgetting: memory present but inaccessible
retrieval cues: hints make recall easier, multiple self-generated cues best
What are Flashbulb Memories?
emotional memories so vivid that people recount in remarkable detail
seem to see pictures in our head
most likely to occur for distinctive events (positive or negative) that evoke strong emotions
high confidence in these memories, however accuracy does not relate to confidence
What is encoding specificity?
more likely to remember when conditions at time of initial learning and retrieval are the same
context dependent learning (external conditions)
state-dependent learning (internal conditions, can extend to mood, physiological or psychological state)
Why do we forget?
encoding failure: failing to transfer knowledge to LTM
decay of memory trace: thought that, with time and disuse, neural traces of memory disappeared, not supported by data
interference, retrieval failure, and tip-of-the-tongue
What is proactive inference?
material learned in the past interferes with recall of newer material
old phone number interferes with recalling new number
What is retroactive interferences?
new information interferes with old information
more similar, greater interference
What are case studies of anterograde amnesia?
could not recall any new memories
memory of past life intact
could acquire implicit memories, but no memory of training
damage to hippocampus impairs explicit but not implicit memory
What is memory deterioration?
memory loss is normal with aging
small and consistent reduction in cortical volume as we age
Alzheimer’s Disease: cause of 50% of dementia cases, increased risk with increased age, memory and language deterioration
What is infantile amnesia?
inability of adults to retrieve accurate memories before a certain age
What is prospective memory?
remembering to do something at a future date
event or time related
does not correspond to retrospective memory
worse in older adults: more distracted/less attention, outside of standard routine
What is memory distortion?
memory us a constructive (or reconstructive) process
piece together bits of information in ways that intuitively “makes sense”
often highly inaccurate
schemas can distinct memories
What are eyewitness testimony?
majority of wrongful conviction cases due to eyewitness misidentification
could be due to mis-information from police
change 1 word, change view of what happened
How do you find the engram of memory in the brain?
physical trace of memory in the brain
memory is not located in a single place
three approaches to find memory in brain: human lesion studies, nonhuman animal studies, brain-imaging studies
How are different brain areas involved in memory?
hippocampus: encoding station, convert STM to LTM
cerebral cortex: encoding information from sensory registers, stores semantic information
prefrontal cortex: involves WM, allocating attention
