Chapter 8: Everyday Memories and Memory Errors

Question 1

Memory is fundamentally a _______ process.

how reliable is our memory

Answer 1

Heuristic (Mental shortcuts)

Question 2

What age are stable long-term memories formed by?

Answer 2

8

Question 3

Most memories among older people for events are between what ages?

Answer 3

between the ages of 10 and 30

Question 4

When does our Pre-Frontal Cortex mature at? Why is this important

Answer 4

early 20s

most our of major life events occur during this phase (college, marriage, children)

Question 5

Are all memories stored equally well?

Answer 5

no

Question 6

What may the reason for the following events to be stored more easily than others?

• Graduation
• Marriage/starting a relationship
• Birth of a child

Answer 6

Emotions

Question 7

Why are emotional memories remembered better in the brain

Answer 7

increased amygdala activation enhances memory consolidation

Question 8

What are flashbulb memories

Answer 8

• Cases of extreme amygdala activation

- Memory for highly charged events

Question 9

What are 3 examples of flashbulb memories

Answer 9

1. JFK assassination (1963)
2. Space shuttle challenger disaster (1986)
3. 9/11 attacks (2001)

Question 10

During flashbulb memories, people tend to distinctly remember what? (3)

Answer 10

1. Where they were
2. what they felt
3. what they were doing

Question 11

Are flashbulb memories reliable? Why?

Answer 11

not really

• most of this information changes significantly over time.
• Disconnect between what is remembered vs actual experience
• memories change in response to subsequent information (news, talking to others)

Question 12

Are normal memories also susceptible to changes over time like flashbulb memories ?

Answer 12

yes
details of the actual memory reduce over time
- everyday memories are less confident than flashbulb

Question 13

How does metacognition relate to memories changing over time

Answer 13

confidence has little to do with accuracy of memory

- we are more confident in our memory than we should be

Question 14

Why is it easier to remember someone after meeting them vs seeing a picture?

Answer 14

Meeting a person involves activation of multiple modalities

• Visual (how they look)
• Auditory (how they sound)
• Somatosensory (how they shake hands)
• Olfactory (how they smell)

Question 15

Why may we end up remembering things very differently from how they actually happened? (2)

Answer 15

• Memory is a constructive process affected by actual experience and additional influences (Discussions, News, Expectations, hopes, predictions (sleep))
• We are constantly updating our memory with new information (reconsolidation)

Question 16

Suggestive questioning shows what about memory

Answer 16

• Memory is a constructive process affected by actual experience and additional influences

Question 17

Are eyewitness testimonies trustworthy? why (3)

Answer 17

not always

• faulty assumptions
• misidentification due to familiarity (source monitoring error)
  - Example: Incorrectly recalling a conversation that occurred in a dream as reality.
• false memories

Question 18

What is source monitoring error

Answer 18

familiarity causing misidentification

Question 19

What are 4 ways to increase reliability of eyewitness testimony

Answer 19

• Isolate the eyewitness, don’t allow them to talk to anyone or follow the news
• Allow them to describe the context and events as fully as possible with minimal questioning
• Avoid suggestive questioning
• do not give feedback

Question 20

Which kinds of memories are most susceptible to errors

Answer 20

episodic and autobiographical

Question 21

What is Alzheimers disease

Answer 21

a progressive degeneration condition

• Starts with mild memory problems, lapses of attention, difficulties in language and communication
• Eventually become completely dependent on others, lose almost all memories, and fail to recognize close relatives

Question 22

Evidence in the brain for Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 22

Senile plaques

neurofibrillary tangles

Question 23

What are senile plaques

Answer 23

Deposits of beta-amyloid protein that accumulate in intercellular space

Question 24

what are neurofibrillary tangles

Answer 24

Twisted protein fibers found within the neurons

Esp. hippocampus

Question 25

Plaques and Tangles in the brain result in what? why?

Answer 25

significant neuronal death

• plaques: interfere with neuronal communication
• tangles: block transportation of essential molecules within cells

Question 26

What is the final brain result in Alzheimers disease

Answer 26

• significant loss of neurons (especially in hippocampus)
• larger ventricles
• shrinking of the brain

Question 27

Why do memory errors occur (3)

Answer 27

1. memory is a heuristic process
2. attentional capacity is limited (especially in highly emotional situations)
3. Injuries or illness can affect areas of the brain involved in memory (PFC and HPC)

Question 28

Why arent all memories created equal

Answer 28

• Semantic more robust than episodic

- Implicit memories > explicit memories

Question 29

Understanding memory mechanisms has significant implications for what

Answer 29

1. Legal cases (eyewitness testimony)
2. Treating mental illnesses (PTSD and reconsolidation)
3. Understanding ourselves