Lecture 13: Cognition: Memory Flashcards
What is encoding?
Getting info into the memory
Forms a mental representation
What are the processes of memory?
Encoding - put into memory
Storage - hold memory
Retrieval - recover from memory
What are the levels of processing?
Incoming information proceeds at different levels
Deeper processing = longer lasting memory codes
What are the levels of encoding?
Structural = shallow Phonemic = intermediate Semantic = deep
What is storage?
Maintaining information in memory
E.g. Information storage in computers
What are the information processing theories?
Subdivide memory into different stores: sensory, short term and long term
What is short term memory?
Working memory
What is the relationship between short term and working memory?
Information goes from the sensory memory to working memory. When it moves to long term memory it can still be retrieved back to working memory
What is sensory memory?
A brief memory of a sensory experience
What are the different types of sensory memory?
Visual sensory memory (icon)
Auditory sensory memory (echo)
Others
Sensory memory occupies a large capacity, and lasts a very short duration
(0.5sec for icon, 1-2sec for echo)
What is short term memory?
Has a capacity limitation of 7 give or take 2 chunks
(A chunk is a meaningful unit, can be a single letter or group of letters, or group of words)
Duration of 20-30 seconds i,e, limited capacity and is affected by interference
Encoding tends to be acoustic, kind of like a maintenance rehearsal
What is long term memory?
Memory which has potentially long duration (can be decades) It has a huge capacity which includes Past experience and events Thoughts and feelings Skills and abilities Identity and sense of belief
What are the brain structures involved in memory?
Striatum, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, Brainstem Cerebellum Thalamus
What are the different memory systems?
Explicit memory: a deliberate attempt to remember
Implicit memory: exhibited on a task that does not require intentional remembering
Declarative memory: knowing that
Procedural memory: knowing how
What are the dimensions of long term memory?
Long term memory can be branched off into declarative memory (facts and events) and procedural memory (how to do things)
Declarative memory can be further branched off into episodic memory (specific personal experiences) and sematic memory (general knowledge)
What has research suggested? (Memory)
People store different types of memories
What is the encoding in long term memory like?
Tends to be semantic or episodic- i.e. Encoding is by meaning at a deeper level
Encoding can be acoustic or visual
Often enhanced by Elaborative rehearsal Visual imagery Self referenced encoding Encoding specificity
How can information in long term memory be retrieved?
Recall
Recognition
Reconstruction - piecing memory together from a few highlights, then filling in details based on what we think should have happened
What is the relationship between recognition vs, recall in retention
Over time recognition has a higher percentage of retention.
There is a dramatic drop in the percentage of retention with regards to recall
What factors affect the retrieval of long term memory?
Serial position
Environmental context/ state dependence
Stress and anxiety
Flashbulb memories
What is the serial position theory?
This is an effect, when an individual is read a list of words, and remembers the first few and last few words the best. The middle words are often forgotten.
Remembering the first words are known as the primary effect. The tendency to recall the recent words is called the recency effect
Murdock discovered that the first words were put into long term memory, while the last words were put into working memory
How does environmental context, or state dependence affect the ability to retrieve information from long term memory?
Context becomes encoded along with the material being remembered
Reinstating context often increases memory due to the recognition of context cues
Internal body states can be encoded with memories as memories are easier to retrieve when these body states are entered again.
What is the relationship between stress and memory?
Moderate stress reveals the highest memory performance
What are flashbulb memories?
These are emotionally driven memories which are strong, vivid, detail and usually visual. These are often memories of dramatic events
What is the rate of forgetting?
It is faster right after the initial learning
Rate of forgetting slows down for more meaningful material
What are possible causes of forgetting?
Failure to encode Decay Interference Retrieval failure Motivated forgetting
What is failure to encode?
Failing to effectively put material into long term memory
This is common in forgetting peoples names
What is decay? (Memory)
Memory trace tends to fade over time
What is interference? (Memory)
Confusion or entanglement of similar memories
Proactive interference: old memories interfere with the retention of new learning
Retroactive interference: new learning interferes with the retention of old memories
What is retrieval failure?
The inability to find the necessary memory cue for retrieval.
This is sometimes temporary
What is motivated forgetting?
Repression of memories, usually to avoid dealing with traumatic experiences.
What is amnesia?
The failure of memory over a prolonged period, caused by physical injury, disease, drug use, trauma.
What is retrograde amnesia?
A loss of memory of events preceding a trauma
What is anterograde amnesia?
loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma; sometimes in effect for events during and for a long time following the trauma
