Long and Short Term Memory

Question 1

Duration

Answer 1

LTM: relatively permanent
STM: seconds to minutes

Question 2

Storage Capacity

Answer 2

LTM: more or less infinite
STM: 7+/-2 chunks (organized packets of information

Question 3

Flow of Information in Memory

Answer 3

stimulus -> STM -> rehearsal -> LTM

Question 4

Two Kinds of Rehearsal

Answer 4

Maintenance: holds info in STM
Elaborative: moves info to LTM

Question 5

Serial Position Effect in Free Recall

Answer 5

Task: read 20 words at a time, recall in any order
1) primacy effect: early part of the list recalled better than middle (LTM)
2) recency effect: last part of list recalled better than middle (STM)
How to reduce primacy: present words faster
How to reduce recency: delay between 20th word and recall

Question 6

Psychological Code

Answer 6

1. STM: phonological; based on speech sounds
   confuse “boat” with “coat”
2. LTM: semantic; based on memory
   confuse “boat” with “ship”

Question 7

Neural Code

Answer 7

1. STM: dynamic; pattern of activity among a group of cells
2. LTM: structural; pattern of connection within a group of cells

Question 8

Trace Consolidation

Answer 8

What goes on during elaborative rehearsal; a memory trace changes from a dynamic to a structural pattern

Question 9

Amnesia

Answer 9

1. Interruption of consolidation process
2. Retrograde: events before trauma
3. Anterograde: events after trauma

Question 10

Forgetting

Answer 10

1. STM: displacement and/or decay
2. LTM: misplacement and/or retrieval failure
3. Proactive interference: old info affects new
4. Retroactive interference: new info affects old

Question 11

Working Memory

Answer 11

1. STM: limit on storage capacity is viewed instead as limit on processing capacity
2. Used in all processing information; mental calculation, reading, etc.

Question 12

Depth of Processing

Answer 12

1. Deeper and more meaningful processing leads to better memory
2. Connected to elaborative rehearsal: moves to LTM

Question 13

Craik and Tulving (1975) experiment

Answer 13

1. Participants shown 60 words
2. Asked to recall certain words based on questions; tests shallow, auditory, and semantic memory
3. Found that participants were able to recall better using semantic memory