Chapter 8: Memory Flashcards
Memory
active system that receives, stores, organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves) information
Steps of remembering
- Incoming information is held for a second by
sensory memory. - Information selected by attention is transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory.
- If it is transferred to long-term memory, it
becomes relatively permanent.
Sensory Memory
Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few seconds; the first stage of memory
Icon
A fleeting mental image or visual representation
Echo
After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of the sound in the auditory system
Selective Attention
Focusing (voluntarily) on a selected portion of sensory input
Short term memory
holds small amounts of information briefly
– Very sensitive to interruption or interference
Phonetically
Storing information by sound;
how most things are stored in STM by sound
Digit span
Test of attention and short-term memory; string of numbers is recalled forward or backward
– Typically part of intelligence tests
Magic Number 7 (Plus or Minus 2)
STM is limited to holding seven (plus or minus two) information bits at once
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system
Chunking
organizing items into a familiar, manageable unit (acronyms)
Maintenance Rehearsal
Repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM
Elaborative Rehearsal
Links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM
– Good way to transfer STM information into LTM
Long-term memory
Storing information relatively permanently
– The more you know, the easier it becomes to
add new information to memory.
Typically, information is stored on basis of
meaning and importance
– If you make an error in LTM, it will probably be related to meaning
If you can link information in STM to knowledge you have already store in LTM,
it gains meaning and makes it easier to remember.
encoding failure
when a memory was never formed in the first place
retrieval cues
Any stimulus associated with a memory; usually
enhances retrieval of a memory
• Memories are held in storage by a web of
associations.
• These associations are like anchors that help retrieve
memory.
State-Dependent Learning
When memory retrieval is influenced by body state; if your body state is the same at the time of learning AND the time of retrieval, retrievals will be improved
Context effects
Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something can prime your memory retrieval.
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event
Eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories when questioned about the event.
Constructive Processing
Re-organizing or updating long-term memories on basis of logic, reasoning, or adding new information
Flashbulb Memories
Memories created during times of personal tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant events that are especially vivid
• Most often formed when an event is surprising, important, or emotional.
• Includes both positive and negative events
• Great confidence is placed in them even though they may be inaccurate
Procedural
Long-term memories of conditioned responses and learned skills
Declarative
LTM section that contains factual information
Semantic Memory
Impersonal facts and
everyday knowledge
Episodic Memory
Personal experiences linked with specific times and places
Ebbinghaus (1885)
tested his own memory at various times after learning.
Nonsense Syllables
Meaningless three-letter words (fej, quf) that test learning and forgetting
Curve of Forgetting
Graph that shows the amount of memorized information remembered after varying lengths of time
Repression
Unconsciously pushing painful, embarrassing or threatening memories out of awareness/consciousness
Suppression
Consciously putting something painful or threatening out of mind or trying to keep it from entering awareness
Interference
Tendency for new memories to impair retrieval of older memories, and vice versa
Retroactive Interference
Tendency for new memories to interfere with retrieval of old memories
Proactive Interference
Prior learning inhibits (interferes) with recall of later learning
