Forgetting and Memory Construction - (Module 33) Flashcards
Context Effects
Being in the same context/location you were when encoding a memory helps you retrieve the memory better.
Mood-congruent Memory
Recalling experiences that evoke the same emotions as one’s current mood (or state of consciousness).
(State-Dependent Memory)
Remembering things better when high, drunk, depressed
Serial position effect (Recency and Primacy)
On a list remembering/recall is…
Recency - better for last items
Primacy - better for first items
Poor for middle items
Amnesia
Severe memory loss.
Retrograde Amnesia
Inability to remember significant past events, head injury.
Anterograde Amnesia (H.M.)
Inability to form new memories, related to hippocampus damage (HM CASE).
Encoding Failure
Original information was not encoding correctly the first time from not paying attention.
To avoid this we are encouraged to use effortful processing.
Retrieval Failure (Tip of the tongue)
If cues present during encoding are missing, memory cannot be retrieved.
When you know the word, but not the exact one so you say words that are similar to it.
Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve
Most forgetting happens right after learning something; initial plunge then levels off and slowly declines until completely forgotten.
2/3 of memory disappears without meaningful (semantic) encoding.
Proactive Interference
Disruptive effect of old info on recall of NEW information.
Retroactive Interference
Disruptive effect of new learning on recall of OLD information.
Repression
Freudian term;
Defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.
Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer’s Experiment
People remember things differently depending on the language used to describe an event.
Ex. The speed of the car was different for ppl based on the wording of the questions
Misinformation Effect
Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.
In the Loftus and Palmer Experiment some participants added broken glass to their memory of the car accident.
