Lecture 11 Encoding, retrieval ad forgetting

Question 1

encoding and memory

Answer 1

we remember only what we have encoded; what we encode depends on who we are - our past experiences, knowledge, and needs all have a powerful influence on what we retain

Question 2

encoding

Answer 2

a procedure that transforms something a person sees, hears, thinks, or feels into a memory

rehearsal pushes info from STM into LTM

Question 3

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 3

type of rehearsal; little effort, mechanical; ineffective retrieval; it doesn’t matter how many times the item is rehearsed –> does not lead to better recall; repeated exposure does not lead to robust memories

Question 4

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 4

type of rehearsal; requires effort, difficult; effective retrieval

Question 5

levels of processing

Answer 5

The memory trace can be understood as a by-‐product of perceptual analysis and that trace persistence is a positive function of the depth to which the stimulus has been analyzed; orienting task

• deep processing: meaning
• shallow processing: surface characteristics

Question 6

deep processing

Answer 6

deep, semantic encoding –> is shirt a type of clothing? is shirt a type of insect?; leads to better memory; elaboration is critical

Question 7

shallow processing

Answer 7

shallow, nonsemantic encoding –> does shirt rhyme with flirt?

very shallow, nonsemantic encoding –> is shirt in lower case?

Question 8

experts

Answer 8

it takes ~10 years to become an expert; the knowledge base allows elaborative encoding

Question 9

principle of encoding specificity

Answer 9

retrieval of an item from memory is linked to the context at encoding; retrieval is better when the context is identical at study and test

Question 10

state-dependent learning

Answer 10

the importance of the perspective at time of encoding and at time of retrieval

• location (under water or on land)
• mood (happy or sad)

Question 11

Fisher & Craik (1997)

Answer 11

comparing semantic and phonemic cues; interactions between encoding and retrieval operations

study: make judgments about phrases and words
- semantic associations at learning: phrase = associated with sleet and word = hail (correct answer is yes)
- phonemic associations at learning: phrase = rhymes with pail and word = hail (correct answer is yes)

Question 12

interference

Answer 12

effect of memory delay; retroactive interference: new experience interferes with recall of old memory

Question 13

decay

Answer 13

effect of memory delay; diminution in the strength of connections among neurons that represent particular experiences

Question 14

consolidation

Answer 14

some memory becomes more resistant to forgetting as time passes; medial temporal lobe is important for this; sleep helps

short-term consolidation: seconds-minutes; interrupted by serious head injuries –> 30s after head injury: disoriented, correct recall of the event; 20 min later: gains orientation, no memory of the injury or the event
long-term consolidation: over periods of months, years, decades; retrograde amnesia –> retained distant past; head injury, electroconvulsive therapy –> lost memory for recent (1-2 years) events