Learning and Memory Flashcards
Why are learning and memory important?
- 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
What are the two main ways deficits in memory can present?
- Temporary to permanent
- Mild to severe
What was the main discovery of Miller in 1956?
the capacity of short term memory was 7 chunks of info (+/- 2)
What was the main discovery of Peterson and Peterson in 1959?
Memory lasts 18 seconds or less if not reheresed
What are the 3 main steps in the Multi-Step Model of Memory?
- Information goes into a sensory store; most of which is lost/decayed
- Useful information ⇒ short term memory store, where info can sit for a limited period of time (minutes, hours)
- Rehersed information is transferred to the long term memory store
Draw a diagram illustrating the Multi-Store Model of Memory
Who is responsible for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
Define Rehersal
the process of actively using, attending to or analysing information which supported transfer of info into long term shortage
Define retrival
process of actively getting some information out of long-term store to use in the here and now
What are the 3 components of each type of memory store?
- how long they keep the information; duration
- type of information they took/encoded
- how much infromation was stored; capacity
What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the sensory store?
- 1/4-1/2 of a second
- all sensory experience
- sense specific
What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the short term memory?
- 0-18 seconds
- 7 +/- 2
- mainly auditory
What is the capacity, duration and encoding of the long term memory
- unlimited
- unlimited
- semantic
What did Galnzer and Curtis show?
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
Draw a diagram showing the effects of primacy and regency?
What does primacy refer to?
Long term memory
What does regency refer to?
Short term memory
How are primacy and regency affected in Alzhimer’s Disease?
loss of primacy effect due to deterioration of the rehersal paths that places information in the long term memory store
Who is responsible for the Level of Processing Model and what is understood by this model?
- 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
Where does most memory processing occur?
outside conscious awareness
What are the two different types of processing?
- shallow way: sound or appearance
- deep way: elaborate when rehearsing the information, thinking about its meaning
What did Craig and Tulving establish in 1975?
shallow infor is likely to be forgotten and deeper processed material will be recalled
What did Baddeley and Hitch develop in 1974?
working model of memory
What does the working model of memory involve?
- 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
What are flashbulb memories?
vivid and highly detailed snapshots created often (but not necessarily) at times of shock or trauma
What type of memories are flashbulb memories?
long lasting memories of surprising, emotionally arousing news. Physiological arousal levels are important in memory function
What do flashbulb memories trigger the recall of?
- 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
What are flashbulb memories not affected by?
Aging
What explains forgetting?
The interface theory
When does interference occur?
interference occurs when learning of something new causes one to forget older material due to displacement
Define proactive interfernce
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)
What is retroactive interference?
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)
Describe the supervisory attention system
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)
What type of memory is used for remembering facts?
EPISODIC MEMORY
What type of memory is used for remembering “how we do things” automatically
PROCEDURAL MEMORY
What is the pre-frontal cortex involved in?
involved in attention, SMT and is implied in retention of LTM
What are the medial and temporal lobes involved in?
conscious learning and ‘episodic memory’
What is the function of the hippocampus in memory?
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.
What is the function of the amygdala in memory?
performs a primary role in the processing and memory of emotional reactions and social and sexual behaviour, as well as regulating smell.
What is the function of the basal ganglia in memory?
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.
