Chapter 8 Flashcards
what is the story of HM?
- H.M. was 27 years old in 1953 when he had most of his hippocampus and surrounding brain tissue removed
- operation was successful, but he could no longer form new memories
- However, H.M. could learn new tasks but showed improvement on mirror-trace task over trials but yet no memory of doing the task
memory
processes that allow us to record and retrieve experiences and information
3 behaviours that show evidence of memory
1.) recall - retrieve previously stored information
2.) recognition - identify which stimulus, out of a bunch of choices, match your stored information
3.) relearning - compare rates of learning information on successive occasions to the first occasion
3 basic processes of memory
encoding –> storage –> retrieval
encoding
getting information in by translating it into a neural code that your brain can process
storage
retaining the same information over time
retrieval
getting information back out of storage when we want to use it
what is the Atkinson-Shiffrin model?
- believed that STM could be transferred to LTM if the information was processed and learned fast enough
- LTM has a limitless capacity and is capable of lasting a lifetime.
working memory
- limited capacity to hold information temporarily (short term)
- integrates info from LTM with new info from sensory memory
- stores information and actively processes it
- supports problem solving and planning
automatic processing
when some information unconsciously and with no effort goes straight from sensory experience to long term memory
sensory memory
- information picked up by our senses and enters
sensory memory - sensory memory is the initial information processor that selects what details to pay attention to and send to working memory for rehearsal and further processing
ways to process information in working memory
- auditory rehearsal (phonological loop)
- executive function
- visuospatial “sketchpad”
how is information represented in short term/working memory?
- images (visual)
- sounds (phonological)
- meaning (semantic)
- physical action (motor)
capacity of short term/working memory
- the magic number is 7 (+/- 2)
- adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory; idea was put forward by Miller (1956)
how can you increase the capacity of short term/working memory?
- chunking!
- combining individual items tinto large units of meaning
duration of short term/working memory?
- shelf life of 20 seconds for information
- rapidly lost unless we actively do something with it
- maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal
two types of rehearsal for working memory
maintenance rehearsal - simple repetition
elaborative rehearsal - focus on meaning and using memory aid (more effective)
long term memory
- library of durable, long lasting memories
- storage capacity unlimited and can endure for a lifetime
what is the serial position curve?
- is a “U”-shaped learning curve
- normally obtained while recalling a list of words due to the greater accuracy of recall of words from the beginning (primary effect) and end of the list (recency effect) than words from the middle of the list
primacy effect
- an individual’s tendency to better remember the first piece of information they encounter than the information they receive later on
- information stored to LTM
recency effect
- items, ideas, or arguments that came last are remembered more clearly than those that came first
- information is still in short-term memory
explicit memory
- facts and experiences that we can consciously know and recall
- acquired through effortful processing (studying, rehearsing, thinking etc.)
implicit memory
- memories of which we are not fully aware
- acquired through automatic processing (no awareness that memory is being formed)
types of implicit memory
- procedural memory = knowing how to ride a bike
- conditioned associations = taste aversions
- info about space = being able to imagine a room after walking through it
- info about time = able to re-enact sequences
- info about number = aware you’ve 3 police officers on the way to work
effortful processing
information is processed with effort and consciously by the person
automatic processing
- unintentional and requiring minimal attention
3 levels of processing
→ structural: is the word in capitals?
→ phonological: does the word rhyme with course?
→ semantic: does the word fit in the sentence?