Lecture 5 Flashcards
What is memory?
the ability to store and retrieve information over time
What is encoding?
transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory
What is storage?
maintaining information in memory over time
What is retrieval?
bring to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored
What does remembering depend on?*
how we combine old and new information
What are the tree types encoding?*
elaborative, visual, and organizational
What is elaborative encoding?
the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory
What is the semantic judgement?*
the best elaborative method of encoding -> search for meaning
What is visual encoding?
the process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures
What is organizational encoding?
the act of categorizing information by noticing the relationships among a series of items
What does organizational encoding improve?
recall
What is memory storage?*
the process of maintaining information in memory over time
What are the three types of memory storage?
sensory, short-term/working memory, and long-term
What is the process of the three box model?
Sensory input -> sensory memory (unattended information is lost) -> short term memory (unrehearsed information is lost) -> long-term memory (some information may be lost over time)
- sensory to short-term is attention
- short-term to long-term is encoding
- long-term to short-term is retrieval
- short-term to short-term is maintenance rehearsal
What is the recency/primacy effect
When you listen to a list of 20 words and try to remember them and determine the patterns in the recall
Serial Position Effect
when people try to recall a list of similar items immediately after learning it, they tend to remember the first and last words the best but forget the ones in the middle
What is sensory memory store?
the place in which sensory memory is kept for a few seconds or less
What is iconic memory?
visual memory
What is echoic memory?
auditory memory
What is short-term memory store?
a place where non-sensory information is kept for more than a few seconds but less than a minute
What is working memory?
STM+LTM information used to interpret/manipulate/process
How many bits of information can you hold at once?
7
For short-term memory, what are the two ways information can move?
to long-term memory or decay and lost forever
What is rehearsal?
the review or practice of material
Where is rehearsal held?
in short-term memory and can help move from short-term memory to long-term memory
What is chunking?
combining larger pieces of information into smaller chunks to hold on to them (chunking numbers together to remember a large list of numbers)
What is long-term memory store?
a place in which information can be held for minutes to decades
What is the capacity for long-term memory?
unlimited
What can long term memory storage used to process?
sensory info and STM
What is the biological mechanism of LTM?
sending neurotransmitters across the synapse of two communicating neurons changes the synapse by strengthening the connection (makes communication easier next time)
What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?
long lasting increase in strength of synaptic responsiveness; thought to be a biological mechanism of LTM
What are the contents of long-term memory?
explicit memory and implicit memory
What is explicit memory?
constantly retrieving past knowledge or experiences
What is a common phrase associated with explicit memory?
“I remember”
What are the two sub-memories of explicit memory?
semantic and episodic
What is semantic memory?
independent of context (general knowledge or fact)
What is episodic memory?
set in time and place (own memory, own experience)
What is implicit memory?
the influence of past experiences on later behavior and performance, even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are remembering them
What are the two sub-memories of implicit memory?
priming memory and procedural memory
What is priming?
noticing things that have always been there
What is procedural memory?
knowing how to do things like ride a bike or drive a car
Multiple Forms of LTM Pyramid
long-term memory -> explicit (conscious recall) -> semantic (facts and knowledge) and episodic (experienced events) and implicit (without conscious recall) -> procedural (motor and cognitive skills) and priming (enhanced identification)
What are the two types of memory loss?
anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia
What is anterograde amnesia?
inability to transport information from short-term memory to long-term memory
Who had anterograde amnesia?
HM
What is retrograde amnesia?
inability to retrieve information that was acquired before the incident (in our long-term memory)
What is retrieval?
bring to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored
What is retrieval cue?
external information that is associated with stored information and helps bring it to mind
What is the situation regarding a hint?
sometimes need a hint to remember the question on a test that is in your photographic memory
What is the encoding specificity principle?
a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in which information was initially encoded
What is an example of encoding specificity principle?
sitting in the same seat on a test day or alcoholics at a bar
What is state-dependent retrieval?
the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval
What are the 7 memory failures?
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, bias, persistence, memory misattribution, suggestibility
What’s transience?
forgetting what occurs with the passage of time and fills the mind with what probably happened
What is absentmindedness?
a lapse in attention the results in memory failure (divided attention)
What is an example of absentmindedness?
forgetting car keys before leaving the door
What is prospective memory?
remembering to do things in the future (putting things down on a planner)
What is blocking?
a failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying produce it (tip-of-the-tongue and can usually get it with a hint)
What is bias?
distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences
How many different types of biases are there?
3 (consistency, change, and egocentric)
What is consistency bias?
view ourselves as consistent people with consistent views and opinions
What was the study for consistency bias?
took a whole bunch of people and asked them questions about controversial topics then tracked them down almost a decade later and say that their opinion is the same
What is change bias?
exaggerating the difference between what we feel and believe now and what we felt and believed in the past
What is study done for change bias?
Couples were asked the strength of their relationship from the beginning and present of the relationship. Most of couples said that their strength increased over time but the magnitude/number each year was the same.
What is egocentric bias?
exaggerating the change between the past and the present to make ourselves seem better
What is an example of egocentric bias?
remembering the As made in high school but forgetting about the Ds
What is persistence?
the intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget (often traumatic or disturbing and could come back in nightmares)
What are flashbulb memories?
detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events (remember being in the living room when hearing about Kobe’s death)
What is source memory?
recall of when, where, and how information was acquired
What is memory misattribution?
assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source (in the case of the OKC bombing where the rental man mixed up the date of the rental to the police and they were looking for the wrong person)
What’s suggestibility?
the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal reflections
