Episodic Memory Flashcards
Describe the original multistore model of memory:
Sensory stores —–attention—-> STM —-rehearsal—-> LTM
sensory store loses memory by decay
STM by displacement
LTM by interference
What are the criticisms of the original multistore model?
- Sensory store, STM and LTM are not unitary. They do not operate in a single uniform fashion, but have subcomponents.
- Over-emphasis of structural aspects of memory, rather than processes.
- STM is not the gateway to LTM: STM uses LTM (topdown knowledge), rehearsal may not be crucial to learning, impairment of STM does not lead to impairment of LTM
How is the LTM divided?
LTM: declarative memory (factual information) and procedural memory (actions, perceptual and motor skills)
declarative memory is made of semantic memory and episodic memory
- Semantic memory: general knowledge about the world, concepts, langauge
- Episodic memory: dated recollection of events, includes autobiographical memory
What are the main memory processes
Encoding: transformation of input into a suitable format (i.e. black marks on a page transformed into words which are then mapped onto your long term knowledge of vocabulary)
Retrieval: getting information out of storage (trying to recover what you have in your stored memory)
Describe Craik & Lockhart’s levels-of-processing framework
- A stimulus may be processed via a continuum of progressively deeper processing
visual –> phonological –> semantic - retention is a function of the depth (level) of processing
i.e. more likely to retain a stimuli if it is processed semantically, rather than visually
Describe the experiment of the ‘levels-of-processing framework’
Study phase: incidental encoding instruction (subjects aren’t told about an upcoming memory test) with orienting tasks to manipulate the type of encoding used
Visual = does the word have capital letters?
Phonemic = does the word rhyme with ___
Semantic = is it a synonym of ____
Test phase: memory test
What kind of note-taking is best for encoding?
Manipulation is the type of notetaking (laptop vs longhand)
Prediction that note taking on paper would encourage generative note taking (summarizing, paraphrasing, concept mapping = deeper processing) compared to nongenerative note taking (verbatim copying)
Findings: laptop notetaking didn’t differ from long hand when asked ‘factual’ questions
But longhand was better in conceptual questions
What are the limitations of levels-of-processing?
- SPREAD OF PROCESSING: the response type makes a difference (if the response is ‘yes’, there is deeper processing than if the response is ‘no’)
- words can be rejected without meaning being elaborated (elaboration makes the item more distinctive) - Non-verbal stimuli: for nonverbal stimuli, the levels of processing had less effect, compared to the verbal stimuli (doors vs menus)
What are the varieties of memory tests?
Free recall - recall studied items in any order
Serial recall - recall studied items in order
Cued recall - what word did you study was paired with ___
Forced-choice recognition - which of these two words did you study?
Yes/no recognition - did you study ___?
Recognition vs Recall?
Typically recognition is easier than recall BUT
1. study phase = learn a list of weekly associated cue-target pairs
2. were given strong associates of target words and asked to generate associates (not a memory test)
3. were asked to recognise (circle) target words that were presented earlier
4. were asked to recall target words given cues from stage 1 (cued recall)
i.e. recognition (stage 3) was worse than recall (stage 4)
Encoding and context
Different types of context matching effects different types of memory tests differently.
Recall tests: context match and context mismatch make a different to learning recall memory test (context match was far better)
Recognition tests: learning words on land was better than learning words underwater
What is implicit retrieval?
Implicit memory tests do not make explicit reference to the study episode. (This is not the same as incidental which refer to the time of encoding)
Examples = picture identification, word fragment completion test, and word stem completion test
Implicit memory (repetition priming)
Refers to facilitation (better performance) as a result of prior exposure, i.e. more able to complete the word fragment when the word has been presented previously in the study.
Amnesiac patients show repetition priming in implicit memory tests, even though they perform poorly on explicit memory tests.
Discuss Amnesia
Causes = Korsakoff’s disease, alzheimer’s disease, encephalitis, stroke, closed head injury, surgical removal of hippocampus/limbic system (Patient HM)
Types / symptoms:
- retrograde amnesia (can’t remember past events)
- anterograde amnesia (inability to retain new facts, intact STM, can learn new skills, show repetition priming in implicit memory tests)
Explanation of amnesia = memory binding –> recollection is recognition memory based on assessment of memory strength
- Korsakoffs were unable to discriminate between an image shown on day 1 or day 2, but they were able to identify if they had never been shown that image before –> i.e. intact identification of familiarity, impairment of recollection of context)
Binding of item and context model
Perirhinal cortex - receives ‘what’ information needed for familiarity judgements
Parahippocampal cortex - receives ‘where’ information
Hippocampus binds ‘what’ and ‘where’ information
