Chapter 8 - Memory Flashcards
what is memory?
processes that allow us to record and retrieve experiences and information
what behaviours show evidence of memory?
recall
recognition
relearning
what is recall?
retrieve previously stored information
what is recognition?
identify which stimulus, out of a bunch of choices, matches your stored information
what is relearning?
compare rates of learning information on successive occasions to the first occasion
what are the processes involved in forming and using memory?
encoding
storage
retrieval
what is encoding?
getting information in by translating it into a neural code that your brain can process
what is storage?
retaining the information over time
what is retrieval?
getting information back out of storage when we want to use it
what is the Atkinson- Shiffrin model (1968)
first model of memory
assumes is a multistage process which info flows along 3 separate interacting memory stores
what is sensory memory?
briefly holds sensory information
- iconic memory
- echoic memory
what is iconic memory?
visual memory is less than a second
what is echoic memory?
auditory memory lasts roughly 5 seconds
what is the initial information processor?
selects what details to pay attention to
sends info on for further processing
what is the relationship between sensory memory and attention?
change blindness
what is change blindness?
failure to notice subtle changes in briefly presented stimuli unless attention is directed to those changes
what is short term memory?
temporarily holds a limited amount of information
represented in various forms, not corresponding to the form of the original stimulus
what is working memory?
a modification to the original model
- how we think of short-term memory
- mental work space
- multiple components to short term memory
what is a phonological loop?
repeating to self
what is an episodic buffer?
understanding the context, blending information
what is a visuospatial sketchpad?
understanding things
what is short term memory/ working memory capacity?
limited capacity system, most of us being able to hold about 7 items
info is rapidly lost unless actively do something with it
can increase capacity by chunking
what is chunking?
combining individual items into larger units of meaning
what is maintenance rehearsal?
simple repetition
what is elaborative rehearsal?
focus on meaning
what is long term memory?
durable stored memory
storage capacity unlimited
can endure for a lifetime
what are the 2 different types of long term memory?
declarative
nondeclarative
what is declarative memory?
facts and experiences that we can consciously know and recall
what are the 2 types of declarative memory?
episodic memory
sematic memory
what is episodic memory?
memory for personal experiences
what is sematic memory?
memory for factual knowledge
what is non declarative memory?
actions of behaviours that we can remember and preform without awareness
acquired through automatic processing
what is automatic processing?
no effort made to form memory
what are the 2 subtypes of non declarative memory?
procedural memory
classical conditioning
what is procedural memory?
motor memory for patterns of muscle movements
what is classical conditioning?
previously neural stimulus produces a response because it had been paired with a stimulus
how did the serial position curve prove evidence for memory?
presented with unrelated words
participant asked to recall as many as they can
look at memory as a function of each word’s position in the list
what are the 2 effects found in the serial position curve?
primary effect
recency effect
what is primary effect?
superior recall of early items on list
what is recency effect?
superior recall of last items on list
what are the 2 processes for encoding?
automatic processing
effortful processing
what is automatic processing?
unintentional and requiring minimal attention
- recalling what you did yesterday
what is effortful processing?
intentional and conscious
- studying
what are the three depths of processing?
structural
phonological
semantic
what is dual coding theory?
memory enhanced if use multiple memory codes
leads to deeper processing
leads to more retrieval that could be used later
what are mnemonic devices?
memory aids intended to improve memory for specific information
- acronyms
- fist letter technique
- peg word system
- method of loci
what is long term memory organized like?
web of associations
what is priming?
activation of one concept leads to activation of other related concepts
what is retrieval?
getting information in
what is a retrieval que?
any stimulus that leads to activation of information stored in LTM
what are three things that make retrieval better?
multiple retrieval cues
self-generated retrieval cues
match between conditions of encoding and retrieval
what is context dependent memory?
the context of where learning occurred can also become part of the memory and use as a retrieval cue
retrieve memory better in same placed it was made
what is state-dependent memory?
ability to retrieve is better when internal state at retrieval matches that at encoding
mood congruent recall
what is forgetting?
rapid loss of memory at first, then a more gradual decline
how do we forget?
brain damage
encoding
storage decay
retrieval failure
interference
motivated forgetting
what are 2 ways that brain damage effects forgetting?
retrograde amnesia
anterograde amnesia
what is retrograde amnesia?
the inability to retrieve memory of the past
can’t remember what happened before injury
what is anterograde amnesia?
the inability to form new long term explicit memories
implicit memory intact
can’t remember things before injury
what is encoding failure?
information never encoded in long term memory
what is decay of memory trace?
long term physical trace in nervous system fades away over time and with disuse
what is retrieval failure?
the memory is intact but the associations and links to the memory are decayed
building multiple associations and links at the time of encoding can help prevent retrieval failure
what is interference?
information forgotten because other items in LTM impair ability to retrieve it
what are 2 types of interference?
proactive interference
retroactive interference
what is proactive interference?
past material interferes with recall of newer material
what is retroactive interference?
new information with ability to recall older information
what is motivated forgetting?
choosing to forget or change our memories
based on the Freudian concept of repression
controversial
why is memory a constructive process?
memories are altered every time we recall
memories are altered again when we reconsolidate the memory
later information can alter earlier memories (retroactive interference)
what is the miss information effect?
distortion of memory by misleading post event information
what is implanted memories?
simply imagining an even can make it seem like a real memory
means we can’t tell how real a memory is by how real it feels
what are the 2 kinds of memory errors?
source monitoring error
reality monitoring
what is sourcing monitoring error?
when a memory is misattributed to another source
what is reality monitoring?
deciding whether a memory is based on external or internal sources
what are the 3 approaches to study where memories are formed in the brain?
human lesion studies
nonhuman animal lesion studies
brain imaging studies
where in the brain are memories formed?
hippocampus
cerebral cortex
thalamus
amygdala
cerebellum
basal ganglia
hippocampus and memory formation?
converts short term memory into long term
memory
memory consolidation
cerebral cortex and memory formation?
encoding information form sensory memory
- store explicit memories
prefrontal cortex
- involved in functions of working memory
deep processing increase activity in specific regions of left prefrontal cortex
thalamus and memory formation?
damage results in extensive anterograde and retrograde amnesia
amygdala and memory formation?
emotional aspects of memory
cerebellum and memory formation?
stores conditioned responses
basal ganglia and memory formation?
procedural memory
emotions and memory?
stored emotions especially stress can strengthen memory formation
what is flashbulb memories?
refers to emotionally intense events that become burned in as a very vivid memory
not necessarily accurate
