Learning and Long Term Memory Flashcards
What is long-term memory
It is the archive of information about past events and knowledge learned
Works closely with working memory
Can be from a few moments ago to as far back as one can remember
What is intentional learning?
The deliberate and conscious purposeful learning where the information is retained e.g learning a new language
What is incidental learning?
Learning that is unplanned, it develops while engaging in a task or activity, involves a degree of consciousness e.g learning layout of a new house, learning face of person, tutors incidentally learning where students sit in a room
What is explicit learning? out
Learning achieved with full conscious awareness of what has been learned e.g maths formulas, studying for an exam
What is implicit learning? in
Learning that has no conscious awareness of what is being learned e.g brushing teeth, typing on a keyboard, singing a familiar song
How is implicit learning assessed?
Serial Reaction Time Task - stimulus appears in complex repeating sequences and participant is unaware of this = they learn it unconsciously. (faster reaction times across trials)
If new novel sequence = slower RT
What were Reber 1993 major 5 differences explicit and implicit learning?
- Robustness - implicit unaffected by disorders
- Age independence - implicit learning less influenced by age
- Low variability -
- IQ independence - implicit less effected
- Commonality of process
What is involved in shallow processing?
- Little attention to the meaning
- Focus more on the physical features
- Results in poor memory
Memory, according to the Craik and Lockhart 1972 level of processing theory depends on?
how information is encoded
What is involved in Deep processing?
- Close attention is paid to the meaning
- Semantic anaysis
- Results in better memory
What is the Word-fragment task?
Participants were asked to look at words or read a passage and then later asked to complete a set of words with missing letters. If words read earlier performance was better in filling in missing letters
Good performance when word had been read, however no deep-level processing = Implicit learning
What is the two systems of long-term memory?
- Declarative Memory - Able to recall memories
- Non-declarative Memory - Unable to recall memory but can express through performance
What are the two components of Non-declarative memory?
Procedural memory and Other forms of implicit memory
What is procedural memory?
Memory from motor skills associated with a particular procedure. No memory of where we learned it but can perform procedures without being consciously aware of it e.g unlocking a door,
What are the three components of declarative memory?
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
- Autobiographical memory
What is episodic memory?
Memories of past events that have happened. Remembering the what, where, when
Is episodic memory susceptible to errors and illusions?
Yes
What is semantic memory?
Everything we know such as facts, general knowledge, concepts, and language
Conscious awareness at the time of learning but forgetting that occurs towards the end is known as….
Retrospective problem
Do patients with amnesia have difficulties with implicit or explicit learning?
More problems with explicit learning
Craik & Tulving (1975) Recognition performance at encoding involved 3 components….SID
- Shallow grapheme task: decide if word is upper or lowercase
- Intermediate grapheme task: decide whether each word rhymes with a target word
- Deep semantic: decide whether each word fits a sentence containing a blank
Challis et a.,1996 asked if levels of ……….. was limited to ………. learning
- Processing
- Explicit
Is semantic information intertwined with episodic memory?
Sometimes - but still two separate systems
Evidence of this in people with amnesia
In amnesia which memory system is impaired?
Episodic memory but semantic memory intact
James remembers language and the years of all the wars but forgot all his birthday parties. What memory system is impaired?
Episodic memory but semantic memory intact
What is amnesia?
Severe problems with memory caused by brain damage
Does a personality shift occur in amnesia?
Yes can occur
What memory system is impaired in amnesia? And does this impair learning?
Episodic memory, and yes can impair learning
What is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia?
Retrograde amnesia is impaired memory of events that occurred before the brain injury, whereas anterograde amnesia is the impaired learning of new information learned after the brain injury
Is semantic memory needed to recall episodic memory?
Yes
Does eye movement provide an implicit measure of a person’s knowledge about their scene?
yes but patients with amnesia lacked this
What are the two mechanisms of why we forget?
- Decay - over time we lose information
- Interference - where new information is interfering with old information
What is meant by encoding specificity by Thomson & Tulving?
Recall of information or memories is better when the retrieval context matches the encoding context. Mismatch = forgetting
What are the two types of interference?
- Proactive interference
- Retroactive interference
What is proactive interference? old -ve new
where old learning interferes with new learning
e.g Tay is unable to call someone by a nickname (new) as use to their first name (old)
What is retroactive interference? new -ve old
New learning that interferes with old learning
What can be done to minimise proactive interference?
e.g learn new song but unable to recall older learned songs
- Tell participants they can forget the first learned list
- Test knowledge in the first list
- Mentally walk through childhood home and describe the details
What is the difference between recall and recognition?
Recall is when you are asked to remember a detail or an event whereas recognition is easier as memory cues are present
What is marginal knowledge?
Knowledge that is unavailable for un-cued retrieval but accessible when a memory cue is presented
A process that occurs when a previously formed memory trace is reactivated and undated is known as?
Reconsolidation
Are new or old memories more susceptible to interference and forgetting?
New memories more susceptible according to consolidation theory
What is consolidation?
the process involved in establishing recently acquired information as a set of long-term memories. Newly formed memories that are still being consolidated are fragile.
True or False? New information must be passed to a consolidated into LTM in order to be lasting?
True
What are the two major phases of consolidation?
- First phase across hours (short) - involving the hippocampus
- Second Phase over longer period (typically sleep) - hippocampus and neocortex interact
Does the reconsolidation of memories place memories back into a fragile state?
yes - therefore can be altered
What were the results of Walker’s finger-tapping task regarding reconsolidation?
Memory of first sequence fragile again and performance worse
Mismebering is the reactivation of a memory trace that has previously been consolidated leaving that trace fragile again. True or False?
True
What is a term used to portray hindsight bias?
I knew it
What is hindsight bias?
The tendency for people to exaggerate how accurately they would have predicted some event in advance after they know what actually happened
When misleading information is given to an eyewitness after the event of the memory is known as?
Post-event misinformation effect ,
