Learning and Memory

Question 1

Why are learning and memory important?

Answer 1

• problems with learning and remembering are present in most illness
• understanding what might be wrong and how it might be helpful in supporting people manage problems

Question 2

What are the two main ways deficits in memory can present?

Answer 2

• Temporary to permanent
• Mild to severe

Question 3

What was the main discovery of Miller in 1956?

Answer 3

the capacity of short term memory was 7 chunks of info (+/- 2)

Question 4

What was the main discovery of Peterson and Peterson in 1959?

Answer 4

Memory lasts 18 seconds or less if not reheresed

Question 5

What are the 3 main steps in the Multi-Step Model of Memory?

Answer 5

1. Information goes into a sensory store; most of which is lost/decayed
2. Useful information ⇒ short term memory store, where info can sit for a limited period of time (minutes, hours)
3. Rehersed information is transferred to the long term memory store

Question 6

Draw a diagram illustrating the Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 6

Question 7

Who is responsible for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?

Answer 7

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Question 8

Define Rehersal

Answer 8

the process of actively using, attending to or analysing information which supported transfer of info into long term shortage

Question 9

Define retrival

Answer 9

process of actively getting some information out of long-term store to use in the here and now

Question 10

What are the 3 components of each type of memory store?

Answer 10

• how long they keep the information; duration
• type of information they took/encoded
• how much infromation was stored; capacity

Question 11

What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the sensory store?

Answer 11

• 1/4-1/2 of a second
• all sensory experience
• sense specific

Question 12

What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the short term memory?

Answer 12

• 0-18 seconds
• 7 +/- 2
• mainly auditory

Question 13

What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the long term memory

Answer 13

• unlimited
• unlimited
• semantic

Question 14

What did Galnzer and Curtis show?

Answer 14

showed that when participants are presented with a list of words, they tend to remember the first few and last few words and are more likely to forget those in the middle of the list i.e. serial position effect

Question 15

Draw a diagram showing the effects of primacy and regency?

Answer 15

Question 16

What does primacy refer to?

Answer 16

Long term memory

Question 17

What does regency refer to?

Answer 17

Short term memory

Question 18

How are primacy and regency affected in Alzhimer’s Disease?

Answer 18

loss of primacy effect due to deterioration of the rehersal paths that places information in the long term memory store

Question 19

Who is responsible for the Level of Processing Model and what is understood by this model?

Answer 19

• Craig and Lochart (1972)
• how well you remember something doesn’t matter what information store it is in, but on how the information has been processed

Question 20

Where does most memory processing occur?

Answer 20

outside conscious awareness

Question 21

What are the two different types of processing?

Answer 21

• shallow way: sound or appearance
• deep way: elaborate when rehearsing the information, thinking about its meaning

Question 22

What did Craig and Tulving establish in 1975?

Answer 22

shallow infor is likely to be forgotten and deeper processed material will be recalled

Question 23

What did Baddeley and Hitch develop in 1974?

Answer 23

working model of memory

Question 24

What does the working model of memory involve?

Answer 24

• They viewed the short-term memory (STM) store as being over-simplistic and proposed a working memory model, which replaced the STM
• The model of short-term memory had 2 components – a visuo-spatial sketchpad (the “inner eye”) and an articulatory-phonological loop (the “inner ear”), which processed different types of sensory info
• Both work independently of one another, but we co-ordinated, monitored and instructed by central executive

Question 25

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 25

vivid and highly detailed snapshots created often (but not necessarily) at times of shock or trauma

Question 26

What type of memories are flashbulb memories?

Answer 26

long lasting memories of surprising, emotionally arousing news. Physiological arousal levels are important in memory function

Question 27

What do flashbulb memories trigger the recall of?

Answer 27

• memories are self-referent most often; we recall the feelings, the sensations rather than aspects of the event itself
• We consider the memories to be ‘stuck’ at the sensory threat level, rather than processed into long term store normally. They are triggered by sensory info reminding or prompting recall

Question 28

What are flashbulb memories not affected by?

Answer 28

Aging

Question 29

What explains forgetting?

Answer 29

The interface theory

Question 30

When does interference occur?

Answer 30

interference occurs when learning of something new causes one to forget older material due to displacement

Question 31

Define proactive interfernce

Answer 31

Proactive interference is when something learned a time ago stops you remembering something new (you should open the door this way, but you keep doing it like you always have done)

Question 32

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 32

Retroactive interference occurs when something you have recently learned changes, or interferes with, something you remembered in times gone by (you start to open the door the new way and swear blind you always did it like this)

Question 33

Describe the supervisory attention system

Answer 33

Proposed (a bit like the central executive) there was something that controlled what we attended to in order to remember new things, and what was so ‘overlearned’ that we recalled how to do this or that without full conscious awareness (‘I could do that in my sleep’ sort of tasks)

Question 34

What type of memory is used for remembering facts?

Answer 34

EPISODIC MEMORY

Question 35

What type of memory is used for remembering “how we do things” automatically

Answer 35

PROCEDURAL MEMORY

Question 36

What is the pre-frontal cortex involved in?

Answer 36

involved in attention, SMT and is implied in retention of LTM

Question 37

What are the medial and temporal lobes involved in?

Answer 37

conscious learning and ‘episodic memory’

Question 38

What is the function of the hippocampus in memory?

Answer 38

is essential for the transference from short to long term memory, and for the control of spatial memory and behaviour. The hippocampus, unusually, can growing new neurons, although this ability is impaired by stress-related glucocorticoids.

Question 39

What is the function of the amygdala in memory?

Answer 39

performs a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions and social and sexual behaviour, as well as regulating smell.

Question 40

What is the function of the basal ganglia in memory?

Answer 40

sub-cortical system (inside the cerebral cortex) essential to memory function, particularly the striatum (or neostriatum) which is important in the formation and retrieval of procedural memory.