Lecture 7 - Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
The persistence of learning over time through the storage and removal of info and skills
How do you know if memory is functioning?
Recall, recognition, and relearning
What is recall?
Analogous to “fill-in-the-blanks”, retrieving info previously learned and unconsciously stored
What is recognition?
A form of “multiple choice”, identifying which stimuli matches the stored info
What is relearning?
A measure of how much less work it takes to learn info studied before, even if not recalling having seen the info before
What are the stages of how memory works?
Encoding, storage, and retrieval
What is encoding?
The info gets into our brains in a way that allows it to be stored
What is storage?
Info that is held in a way that allows it to later be retrieved
What is retrieval?
Reactivating and recalling info and producing it in a form similar to what was encoded
What is the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model?
A model of memory formation
What are the three memory storage systems in the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model?
The sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM)
What happens in the sensory register (SR)?
Stimuli are recorded by our senses and held briefly
What happens in short-term memory (STM)?
Some info is processes and encoded through rehearsal
What happens in long-term memory (LTM)?
Info moves in and can be retrieved later
What is automatic processing?
Some info goes straight from sensory experience into long-term memory
What is working memory?
Info is held, not just to rehearse, but to process and integrate into long-term memory with new info coming from sensory memory
What did George Miller claim about short-term memory?
We can hold from 5 - 9 info bits
How much can the average person free from distraction remember?
7 digits, 6 letters, or five words
What is effortful processing strategy?
A way to encode info into memory to keep from decaying and making it easier to retrieve
What is chunking?
Organizing data into manageable units
What is an mnemonic?
A memory trick that connects info to existing memory strengths such as memory or structure
What are peg word systems?
A technique of visually associating new words with an existing list that is memorized along with numbers
What is massed practice?
Cramming info all at once
What is the testing effect?
Distributed practice includes testing to learn and retain more
What is the generation effect?
Experiments to either generate Bird-R_ or given Bird-Robin
What is deep/semantic processing?
Memorizing by focusing on the actual meanings of words
What is shallow processing?
Memorizing the appearance or sounds of words
What is the self-reference effect?
Relating material to ourselves, which aids encoding and retention
Does long-term memory storage ever get full?
No, it gets more elaborately rewired
What did Karl Lashley discover about memory?
Rats who learned a maze were able to retain parts of that memory
What is the serial position effect?
The tendency, when learning info in a long list, to more likely recall first items and last items
What is the primacy effect?
The cognitive bias to remember the first piece of information they encounter
What is the recency effect?
The cognitive bias to remember the last piece of information they encounter
What are explicit/declarative memories?
Facts and experiences that we consciously know and recall, acquired through effortful processing
What are implicit memories?
Memories we are not fully aware of and don’t declare, acquired through automatic processing
What did the case of Henry Molaison reveal?
The brain and 2 track mind
What part of Henry Molaison’s brain was removed?
The hippocampus
What happened to Henry Molaison after his surgery?
His seizures ended but he was unable to form new explicit memories
What is anterograde amnesia?
The inability to form new long-term explicit memories
What is retrograde amnesia?
The inability to retrieve past memories
What did Tulving’s model indicate?
Mental health and inner security may comes from the relationship between semantic memory and episodic memory
What part of the brain increases memory-forming activities and engages frontal lobes to tag memories as important?
The amygdala
What are the three parts of memory’s web of associations?
Conceptual, contextual, and emotional
What is priming?
When the thread of associations is triggered to bring us to a concept
What is context-dependent memory?
A memory that is more easily retrieved when in the same context as when the memory is formed
What is a state-dependent memory?
A memory that is tied to the emotional state that the memory was formed in
What is mood-congruent memory?
The tendency to selectively recall details that are consistent with one’s current mood
What are memory errors?
When a memory is altered every time it is recalled and altered again when reconsolidating
What is the misinformation effect?
When an episodic memory is less accurately recalled because of post-event information
Who were the original researchers of the misinformation effect?
Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer
What are implanted memories?
When a false memory is told enough that the person believes it is real
What is source amnesia/misattribution?
Forgetting where a memory came from and attributing the source to own experience
