Forgetting & Remembering

Question 1

Forgetting

Answer 1

A failure to retrieve information that has previously been stored, or a failure to use information as it is required

Question 2

Retrieval failure

Answer 2

Inability to retrieve a piece of information

Question 3

Retrieval cues

Answer 3

Mental reminders (images, association, feelings, etc)

Question 4

What are the two types of retrieval cues?

Answer 4

Contextual cues and emotional cues

Question 5

Contextual cues

Answer 5

Cues used to trigger memories e.g a quiet well lit study area - increased retrieval in exam

Question 6

Emotional cues

Question 7

Decay

Answer 7

Simple fading away of memory over time

*more evident in STM, but does occur in LTM to a smaller extent

Question 8

Motivated forgetting

Answer 8

Inability to retrieve information because there is an advantage of not remembering

A self-protection and defence mechanism which enables individuals to cope with unwanted memories

Question 9

What are the two types of motivated forgetting?

Answer 9

Repression and supression

Question 10

Repression

Answer 10

An unconscious act, where individuals subconsciously push unpleasant thoughts and feelings out of conscious awareness

Question 11

Supression

Answer 11

A deliberate/conscious act, where individual uses conscious strategies and intentional context shifts

Question 12

Inteference

Answer 12

Results from retrieval difficulties due to competing, similar information being stored - information is not lost, but rather cannot be successfully accessed

Question 13

What are the two types of inteference?

Answer 13

Retroactive and proactive

Question 14

Retroactive inteference

Answer 14

Newly acquired information interferes with retrieval of previously learned (old) information

Question 15

Proactive interference

Answer 15

Previously learned (old) information interferes with acquiring/storing/retrieving new (more recent) information

Question 16

Remembering

Answer 16

Accessing stored information

Question 17

What are the three ways to remember?

Answer 17

Recall, recognition, relearning

Question 18

Recall

Answer 18

Accessing stored information from long-term memory

Question 19

What are the types of recall?

Answer 19

Free, serial, and cued

Question 20

Free recall

Answer 20

Responses can be in any order, no hints or prompts given.

Question 21

Serial recall

Answer 21

Responses must be in the order they were learnt/presented, with no hints or prompts given

Question 22

Cued recall

Answer 22

Hints or prompts provided (retrieval cues)

Question 23

Recognition

Answer 23

The ability to identify correct information from a number of alternatives - unconscious process

Question 24

Relearning

Answer 24

Learning something a second time, which occurs faster (than the first time)

Question 25

Who created the levels of processing model?

Answer 25

Craik and Lockhart (1972)

Question 26

What is the levels of processing theory?

Answer 26

The theory focuses on the depth of processing involved in memory - the deeper the processing of information, the easier it is to recall

Processing of information creates a ‘memory trace’

Question 27

What are the two levels of processing?

Answer 27

Shallow and deep

Question 28

Shallow processing

Answer 28

Encoding involving physical properties of stimulus

1. Structural: encoding based on appearance
2. Phonemic: encoding based on sound/auditory information

Question 29

Deep processing

Answer 29

Encoding that is meaning-based - creates a more durable memory trace

1. Semantic: processing the meaning of a word
2. Elaboration: processing involves a meaningful analysis of information (linking new knowledge with existing knowledge e.g personal experiences)