Chapter 8 - Memory Flashcards
Memory - three processes
Encoding, storage, retrieval
Encoding
Getting information into short term memory
Storage
Retaitaining memories for future use
Retrieval
Recapturing memories when we need them
Information-Processing Model
Information passes through encoding, storage, and retrieval
Parallel Distributed-Processing Model
information in the brain is stored as a neural network
Iconic memory
what we see
Echoic memory
what we hear
What is working memory
Short term
How long can short term hold information
30 seconds
How much capacity can short term hold
5-9 items
What happens when we encode the information
it enters long-term and is stored forever
Connectionist Model
Memories are in a network in the brain (apple, seed, round, red, tree)
How to move things to long-term
pay attention and encode it
Automatic processing
remembering something without awareness and effort
Effortful processing
remembering something with conscious effort
Sensory memory
memory of detailed brief sensory images (flash a photo, car passing by)
Rehearsal
repeating information to make sure it is encoded
Working memory
short-term to store information relevant to the present
Long term memory
all information gathered (skills, people we know, past feeling)
Spaced practice effect
moving memories into long-term by rehearsing over time
Phonological
encoding based on sound
Visual
Encoding based on visuals (photographic memory)
Semantic
encoding based on meaning of info
Methods for effortful encoding
- Understanding
- Elaborate (explaining to someone)
- Mnemonic devices
- Chunking
- PQRST
- Schemas
PQRST Method
Preview, question, read, self-recite, test
Schemas
organizing new information into categories pre made from previous experience
What happens to memories in short term?
Either goes to long term or is lost forever
Memory span
max number of items that can be recalled in correct order
Explicit memory
memory we can consciously bring to mind (home address)
Implicit memory
memory we are not consciously aware of (motor skills
types of explicit memory
semantic, episodic
semantic memory
general knowledge of the world
episodic memory
personal episodes and pov
Serial position effect
more likely to remember events from the beginning and end of a list
Retrieval cues
words or sights that remind us of information we need to retrieve
Priming
a piece of information helps us retrieve other related memories
Encoding specificity principle
Original location or situation where we learned things
Context effects
we can remember things better where we first learned them
Recognition and recall
recognition tasks are easier to than recall tasks (mc vs short answer)
State dependent memory
you can remember things better when you are in the same state of mind where you learned it
Flashbulb memories
detailed memories connected to a emotionally significant event (9-11 or Covid)
Decay theory
memory traces fade overtime
Forgetting curve
we forget rapidly if not repeated
Interference
Forgetting is influenced by what happens before or after they take information
Proactive interference
old info interferes with new info
Retroactive interference
new info interferes with old info
Repression
process of wanting to forget something that could cause trauma
motivated forgetting
wanting to forget unpleasant, painful, or embarassing info
Imagination
memories can be distorted from our imagination
Source misattribution
remembering something but not where it came from
Misinformation
can lead to false memories
Pre-frontal cortex
important for short term memory
Hippocampus
important to transfer memories into long-term
Memory consolidation
process where memories stabilize in the brain
Potentiation
networks of cells firing together
Long term potential
repeated stimulation increases likelihood of cells responding to stimulation
Infantile amnesia
- memory before four years old
- we remember places and faces but not life events
- hippocampus develops slowly
When does memory decline begin
in our 20s
Prospective memory
ability to remember content for the future
Retrospective memory
ability to remember content from the past
Amnesic disorder
memory loss is the primary symptom
Anterograde amnesia
cannot form new memories
Retrograde amnesia
cannot remember things before amnesia (who am I)
Dementia
severe memory problem combined with loss of cognitive function such as abstract thinking or language
Alzheimer’s
most common form of dementia
