Exam 3 memory Flashcards
What is memory
persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
Why is memory important
crucial for survival . We need to recall what we learn.
Without memory, you would no longer have a sense of self
How do we measure memory
Recall, recognition, and relearning
recall
Retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time.
recognition
Identifying items previously learned.
relearning
Learning something more quickly when you encounter it a second or later time.
What is a memory model and why are they useful?
Using something we know about as an analogy for how memory and cognition work.
they help us organize and communicate our theories.
Information-processing model
memory functions like a computer
Connectionism information-processing model
memory is the product of interconnected networks of information
What is Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Three-Stage Information Processing Model of memory and how does it work?
Its when you see something it gets put into sensory memory and if youyr paying attention it goes to short term memory and if you encode it it becomes long term memory
What are the three stages of Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Three-Stage Information Processing Model and three forms of memory
Sensory memory, short term memory, and long term meomoru
encode, store, and retrieve
encode
putting information into memory
store
retaining information over time.
retrieve
get the information back out.
sensory memory
very brief impressions of sensory information.
working/short-term memories
short-lived, temporary memories
long-term memory
long-term, unlimited storage.
What is sensory memory, and what are characteristics of this type of memory?
This is a very brief recording of your sensory input.
It has a large capacity , but a very short duration.
Has :
Iconic memory: picture-image.
Echoic memory: sound.
Haptic memory: touch.
What is short-term/working memory, and what are characteristics of this type of memory
It’s the small amount of information that you can actively hold in your mind for executing cognitive tasks
If someone tells you a phone number, this is where you actively rehearse the numbers until you can write it down.
Short term memory has a limited capacity that depends on what you’re trying to remember (± 2).
(7 numbers, 6 letters, 5 words)
Chunking
Organization of items into familiar, manageable units ; often occurs automatically
Helps with remembering
Mnemonics
Memory aids, especially techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Helps with remembering
Hierarchies
Organization of items into a few broad categories that are divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts
Helps with remembering
What is the spacing effect
Encoding is more effective when it is spread over time .
Massed practice: Produces speedy short-term learning and feelings of confidence.
Distributed practice: Produces better long-term recall .
Testing effect
Retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced effect.
Testing improves learning and memory .
Testing strengthes our memory from the harmful effects of stress.
What is the self-reference effect, and how does it aid memory?
When you are more likly to remember information because you make it meaning ful or can relate it to yourself.
What is meant by a dual-track memory?
You can remember something because of conscious focus or unconscious processing.
What are characteristics of an explicit memory
declarative memories) of conscious facts and experiences encoded through conscious, effortful processing.
How do semantic and episodic memories differ?
In explicit memory, the Semantic memories are the meories of facts knowledge and lanuage while Episodic memory is the memory of events
What is memory consolidation?
The creation of semantic and episodic memories in the brain
What are the characteristics of an implicit memory?
(nondeclarative memories) memory for skills and abilities that bypass the conscious encoding track.
include procedural, priming, classical conditioning
Procedural memory:
how to perform tasks or skills.
Priming
exposure to a stimulus that increases the quickness of a response.
Classical conditioning:
simple learned associations
What is a flashbulb memory, and what part of the brain is involved in creating one?
are highly detailed, vivid memories of an unusually important event or hearing news of such an event.
happenes if you have a strong emotional reaction during an event or learning about an event, your amygdala can kick into action
How does the connectionism information-processing model characterize memory?
Memories are stored in vast webs of information
Memories are linked to ideas similar or associated with the memory.
Activating related information can activate the memory.
priming
either seeing or hearing a concept which causes activation of related concepts in your memory.
Something in your environment may happen that will cue the memory (a location, a person, an associated smell).
Context-dependent memory,
your memory improves when you retrieve memories in the same place you encoded them.
State-dependent memory
A condition in which memory for a past event is improved when the person is in the same biological or psychological state as when the memory was initially formed .
(if anxious while studing you will remember better if axious for the test)
serial position effect
Includes the primacy effect and the recency effect
primacy effect
You’re more likely to remember the first items in a list.
These items have the most time to be encoded into long-term memory.
Recency effect:
You’re more likely to remember the last items in a list.
These items are likely in short-term or working memory.
This effect will not occur if there’s a delay before attempted retrieval.
Why is it good that we forget things?
Most of what we forget is useless information.
If we remembered everything, it easily overwhelm us.
What is anterograde amnesia
When you can’t form new explicit memories
what did H.M. teach us about the two types of memories?
Patients with anterograde amnesia can form new implicit memories
What is encoding failures,
People often fail to create a long-term memory of an event.
Mostly due to if your paying attention
storage decay
Your brain’s neural pathways that form memories (memory traces) simply degrade over time.
the initial loss of memories is rapid , but it levels out over time.
proactive interference
Older memories make it more difficult to remember new information
retroactive interference
New learning disrupts memory for older information.
What is repression, and why is it unlikely that repressed memories exist?
When something bad happens and we force ourselves to forget it,
due to the release of stress hormones, traumatic events are much more likely to be remembered than forgotten
reconsolidation
when you recall something, you’re constructing a memory that can be changed when it’s stored again.
misinformation effect
post-event information can bias memory for an event.
imagination effect
Repeatedly imagining fake actions and events can create false memories.
source amnesia
it’s easy to forget where, when, or how we learned information.
What causes Déjà vu?
Normally, we experience a feeling of familiarity (thanks to temporal lobe processing) before we consciously remember details (thanks to hippocampus and frontal lobe processing). When these functions (and brain regions) are out of sync, we may experience a feeling of familiarity without conscious recall.
