chapter 8

Question 1

Define memory.

Answer 1

Memory is an information processing system; therefore, we often compare it to a computer. Memory is the set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time

Question 2

Questions for the study of memory.

Answer 2

• How do we process and store information?
• Are there different types of memory?
• How do we retrieve memories?
• Why do we forget?

Question 3

Name the three functions that shows how memory functions.

Answer 3

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

Question 4

Define each.

Answer 4

1. Encoding involves the input of information into the memory
   system.
2. Storage is the retention of the encoded information.
3. Retrieval, is getting the information out of memory and back into
   awareness.

Question 5

When the brain receives information from the environment what does it do with it?

Answer 5

• Labels/codes it.
• Organizes it with other similar information.
• Connects new concepts to
  existing concepts.

Question 6

What are the two types of processing for encoding?

Answer 6

-Automatic processing is usually done without any conscious awareness. (ex. what did you eat for lunch today)
-Effortful processing: required a lot of work and attention on your part in order to encode that information (ex. material to know for a test)

Question 7

What are the different types of encoding?

Answer 7

1. Semantic encoding – encoding of words and their meanings.
2. Visual encoding – encoding of images.
3. Acoustic encoding – encoding of sounds.

Question 8

Define the self-reference effect.

Answer 8

Self-reference effect – the tendency for an individual to have
better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison
to material that has less personal relevance.

Question 9

Define storage.

Answer 9

Storage is the creation of a permanent record of information.

Question 10

Define the Baddeley and Hitch model of storage.

Answer 10

Baddeley and Hitch proposed a model of storage where short-term memory has different forms depending on the type of information received.

3 short-term systems:
1. Visuospatial sketchpad (ex. building, landmarks)
2. Episodic buffer (ex. potholes)
3. Phonological loop. (ex. directions from passenger or waze)

According to the model, a central executive supervises the flow of information between the systems.

Question 11

Define the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of storage.

Answer 11

• Information passes through three distinct stages in order for it to be stored in long-term memory. (Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory, and finally Long-Term Memory)
• Based on the belief that memories are processed the same way that a computer processes information.

Question 12

Define sensory memory

Answer 12

Storage of brief sensory events, such as sights,
sounds, and tastes.
- First step of processing stimuli from the environment.
- If the information is not important, it is discarded.
- If the information is valuable then it moves into our short-term
memory.

Question 13

Define the stroop effect.

Answer 13

The Stroop test can be used to measure a person’s selective attention capacity and skills, processing speed, and alongside other tests to evaluate overall executive processing abilities. (colour words with different colours on them) - semantic vs sensory (semantic is much faster)

Question 14

Define short-term memory.

Answer 14

a temporary storage system
that processes incoming sensory memory.
- Lasts about 20 seconds.
- Capacity is usually about 7 items +/-2 (discovered by George Miller).
Short-term memories are either discarded or stored in long-term
memory.

Question 15

Define memory consolidation.

Answer 15

Transfer of STM to long-term memory.

Question 16

Define rehearsal.

Answer 16

The conscious repetition of information to be
remembered. (e.g. chunking)

Question 17

Define long-term memory.

Answer 17

LTM is the continuous storage of
information.
It has no limit and is like the
information you store on the
hard drive of a computer.

Question 18

What are the two components of long-term memory?

Answer 18

Explicit and implicit

Question 19

Define explicit (declarative) memory. + talk about the two types

Answer 19

memories of facts and events we
can consciously remember and recall/declare

1. Semantic – knowledge about words, concepts and language.
2. Episodic – information about events we have personally
   experienced.
   e.g. high school graduation
   semantic: date
   episodic: how it felt being there/getting diploma

Question 20

Define implicit memory.

Answer 20

Memories that are not part of our consciousness.
- Formed through behaviours.

Question 21

Define implicit procedural memory.

Answer 21

stores information about how to do things.
- Skills and actions.
- E.g. how to ride a bike, tie your shoe laces, drive. (sticks the most = muscle memory)

Question 22

Define retrieval.

Answer 22

The act of getting information out of memory storage and back into
conscious awareness.

Question 23

What are the three ways to retrieve information?

Answer 23

1. Recall – being able to access information without cues.
   - Used for an essay test.
2. Recognition – being able to identify information that you have previously learned
   after encountering it again.
   - Used for a multiple-choice test.
3. Relearning – Learning information that you previously learned.
   - After learning Spanish in high school, you might forget how to speak it if you do not
   use it. However, if you try to relearn it, you will learn it quicker than the first time.

Question 24

What is the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 24

The idea that a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in
which information was initially encoded.

Question 25

Differentiate state dependent retrieval and context dependent retireval.

Answer 25

• State dependent retrieval: Tendency for information to be better recalled when the
  person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval (how you feel)
• Context dependent retrieval: Tendency for information to be better recalled in the
  same context during encoding and retrieval (physical context - say room)

Question 26

Define transfer-appropriate processing.

Answer 26

Memory is likely to transfer from
one situation to another when the encoding and retrieval context
of the situations match

Question 27

Talk about Karl Lashley and engrams.

Answer 27

Looking for evidence of an engram – the group of neurons that serve
as the “physical representation of memory”.

Question 28

Define Lashley’s equipotential hypothesis.

Answer 28

If part of one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function. (plasticity, adaptive!)

Question 29

What is Eric Kandel’s point of view?

Answer 29

• Studied the synapse and its role
  in controlling the flow of
  information in the Aplysia
• Synaptic plasticity
• Habituation
• Sensitization

Question 30

What are the main parts of the brain involved with memory?

Answer 30

The amygdala, the hippocampus, the cerebellum, and the prefrontal cortex

Question 31

Describe the amygdala’s role in the brain.

Answer 31

• Involved in fear-based memories
• Processes emotional information important in
  encoding memories at a deeper level and memory
  consolidation.

Question 32

Describe the hippocampus’ role in the brain.

Answer 32

• Associated with explicit memory, recognition
  memory and spatial memory.
• Projects information to cortical regions that give
  memories meaning and connect them with other
  memories.
• Involved in memory consolidation.
• Damage leads to an inability to process new
  declarative memories.

Question 33

Talk about the hippocampus patient: H.M.

Answer 33

H. M., had both his left and right temporal lobes (hippocampi) removed in an attempt to help control the seizures he had been suffering from for years. As a result, his declarative memory was significantly affected, and he could not form new semantic knowledge. He lost the ability to form new memories, yet he could still remember information and events that had occurred prior to the surgery.

Question 34

Describe the cerebellum’s role in the brain.

Answer 34

• Plays a role in processing procedural memories, such as how to
  play the piano and classical conditioning.
• Damage prevents classical conditioning such as an eye-blink in
  response to a puff of air.

Question 35

Describe the prefrontal cortex’s role in the brain.

Answer 35

• Appears to be involved in remembering semantic tasks.
• PET scans show activation in the left inferior prefrontal cortex
  when completing semantic tasks.

Question 36

How do neurotransmitters play a role and which ones?

Answer 36

• Repeated neuron activity → increased neurotransmitters in the synapse →
  stronger synaptic connections. (This is how memory consolidation occurs).
• Epinephrine (emotional response)
• Dopamine (reward system)
• Serotonin (calm long-term)
• Glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitters)
• Acetylcholine (move, aroused=more aroused, more chances of remembering it)

Question 37

Define the arousal theory.

Answer 37

• Arousal Theory – strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories
  and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories.

Question 38

Define the flash bulb memory.

Answer 38

A record of an
atypical and unusual event that has very strong emotional associations.
Depending on the age and
awareness/interests of the person, certain flashbulb memories can act as generational reference points. (e.g. 9/11)

Question 39

Define amnesia.

Answer 39

the loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease,
physical trauma, or psychological trauma.

Question 40

What are the two common types of amnesia?

Answer 40

• Anterograde amnesia – inability to remember new information after
  point of trauma.
• Retrograde amnesia – loss of memory (partial or complete) for events
  that occurred prior to the trauma.

Question 41

Differentiate memory construction and reconstruction.

Answer 41

• Construction – formulation of new memories.
• Reconstruction – process of bringing up old memories.

Question 42

Define suggestibility.

Answer 42

• Suggestibility is the effects of misinformation from external sources that
  leads to the creation of false memories.
• Can cause people to claim to remember something that was only a
  suggestion someone made.
• Memories are fragile making them vulnerable to the power of suggestion.

Question 43

What is the transcience/storage decay?

Answer 43

Ebbinghaus (1885) Studied the process of memorization.
The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve shows how quickly memory for new information
decays.
- 50% after 20 minutes.
- 70% after 24 hours.