Long-Term Memory Flashcards
Whats the classic way of categorising long-term memory?
Declarative Memory
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
This distinction isnt as clear is at seems, they influence each other
Nondeclarative Memory
Procedural Memory
Priming
Simple classic conditioning
Habituation sensitization
- Is consciousness the only way to distinguish different kinds of LTM?
- Different LTM memories stored in different parts of the brain
There is evidence that there is more overlap
Mnemonic device
A method to help remembering things
- Use of visual imagery and memorized locations
To help with recall
Why is mnemonics effective?
- Gives structure to learning
- Offer different types of associations
- Providing cues for retrieval of info
- Needs to be done correctly
Amnesia
Loss of memory capacities caused by brain damage or illness
Retrograde amnesia
Loss of memory before onset of amnesia
- Can form new memories
- Uncommon
Anterograde amnesi
Unable to form new LT memories after onset of amnesia
Korsakoff amnesia syndrome
- Retrograde and anterograde amnesia
- STM functions relatively intact
- Ability to learn motoric skills
- Caused by chronic alcohol abuse
- No clear onset
Episodic memory
Concrete events in a specific context, often time-specific
- Last June, I saw a street performer sing in Stockholm
Who is patient K.C?
- Motorcycle accident
- Cant remember events
- Semantic memory intact
Semantic dementia patiens
- Loss of semantic memory
- Intact episodic memory
What determines how well we remember new information?
- How the information is processed
- Distinctiveness
- Relevance
- Emotions
Helps to decide what we find important, effects can be seen on fMRIs
Often more distinct than others - Organization
- Survival
Why do we forget information from LTM?
- Decay
- Inference
- Failure to retrieve info du to effective context cues not available
Atkinsons & Shiffrin’s Memory Model - LTM
- Rehearsal of info in STM
Deliberate or practicing - Helps store information permanently into memory
- Repeating information gives a memory trace
Craik & Lockhart Depth of Processing*
- There are different types of analysis
- All info get analysed to a degree
- Shallow analysis - Physical analysis
Hearing words while daydreaming - Deep analysis of the stimulus - Semantic analysis
Intentional
Context matters
What are the two kinds of rehearsal?
Maintenance rehearsal
- Only repetition, simple and easily forgotten
Elaborative rehearsal
- More complex, meaning of info, helps store something permanently
A bit of a circular argument
How can we test depths of processing?*
Manipulation of level of processing followed by unexpected memory test
1. Series of words and task
2. Surprise recognition
- Easier questions the more shallow the analysis - Structure vs Sentence
- Use of RT
- Results are in line with the idea that deeper processing results in better memory performance
Explicit recognition
Was this word presented during the study phase?
Implicit recognition
Suboptimal word presentation: What word is presented now?
How can we remember things better?
By putting more mental effort to the task
- By generating the information yourself
- By enacting the information
Actors do it - cues that helps them remember their lines
Embodied cogntition
The body and the mind influences the memory
What are some challenges to depth of processing theory?
- Possible to define specific levels and ahead of time?
- Use of recognition tasks
Easier than recall - Some studies show that shallow analysis isnt as shallow as they claim
That info can stay in LTM
Distinctiviness
- Information distinct from other-to-be-learned information
Highlighting certain words
Isolating effect- better memory for info that is distinct - Encoding distinct from previous encoding
Irregular grapheme-phoneme correspondence
How you pronounce some words differently from how you spell it
Organization in storage
- Makes retrieval of information easier
- We tend to group units together, even when presented randomly
Not limited to just words - Works with rehearsal too
Visual Imagery
Mental picture
Paired-associate learning
Stimulus helps remembering the correct item
- Not an automatic process
Dual-coding hypothesis
Words + Image enters the memory twice
- An advantage
Relevance
Better memory for information that was relevant during encoding
- Better memory on standard recognition tests with semantic level of processing
- Better memory on rhyme recognition test with phonemic level of processing
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
Showed how much time he needed rehears the words he wanted to learn + how much time there has been
- Shows time saved each learning session
- Forgetting more with time
Savings score
The reduction of trials needed to relearn the words
Consolidation
The more permanent establishment of memories in the neural architecture
- A process
- Thinking of writing in clay, easy to write over when its not dry
- Older memories more robust
- Hippocampus to neocortex
Memory traces once consolidated
Tip-of-the tongue
A temporary retrieval failure
Decay and Sleep
Active delay happens mostly during sleep
- Cleaning up processes during sleep
- Removes memory traces in hippocampus
Encoding specify principle
More likely to retrieve info from memory if info that is available during retrieval matches the information stored in our memory
- Context gets stored in our memory too
Mood-dependant learning
Remembering things because of your mood
- Easier to remember happy memories when youre happy
State-dependant learning
Easier to remember info in the same state as you got it
- New info when drunk, easier to retrieve as drunk compared to sober
Retrieval cue
A useful prompt or reminder for the information to be retrieved
- Can be a hinder as well
Part-set cuing
Semantic Memory
Our general knowledge
Stored in form of concepts
Semantic Network
- All concepts that we ever learned are organized
- Each concept is represented by a node
- Related concepts are connected
- Activation from one concept leads to activation of related concepts
The Collins & Quillian model
Hierarchical Network
There is a hierarchy of concepts in semantic memory
- Its not flexible enough : added connections
Longer lines, more semantically close
- Assumption of its structure
- Assumption of the process of retrieving info
Spreading Activation
How to test the semantic network?*
- Sentence verification task
Yes or No - Use of RT
Shorter lines = Faster RT
Is there organization in semantic memory?
- Studies shows that there is
Quite complex - Influenced by many factors
Hierarchy
Interaction in the world
Relatedness
Embodied
Emotions
Perceptual symbols
Build on sensory and motor elements from experiences
How does knowledge affect memory retrieval?
- The amount shows difference in memory search and retrieval
- Easier to learn new things thats related to knowledge you already have
Smiths Feature Comparison Model*
- Focuses on semantic features of words
- There is a priority list
- Process of retrieval through comparison
True or false - Stage 1 is fast
- Stage 2 is longer, more deliberate thinking
Priming
Automatic process
Priming within trials*
Temporary activation of semantic network leads to facilitation of access to related concepts
Trial 1.
Lexical decision, are both strings words?
Trial 2.
Two unrelated words
Trial 3.
Two related words
Gives evidence for the structure of our semantic memory- Faster responses when words are semantically related than when unrelated
- Both semantic relatedness and expectation plays a role
- There is a hierarchy
Prime stimulus
A related word will come after - the target stimulus
Bird leads to wings
Reconstructive Memory
Construct memory from old knowledge with original material
- From Bartlett story
Whats the classic view of organization in semantic memory?
- Hierarchy
- Based of certain rules
What are the characteristics of human categories?
- Often loose and fuzzy
Graded memberships, even for clearly defined categories (whats a more odd number) - Central Tendency
Mental core/center with best member - Typicality
The degree of which we view something to be more typical of a specific category
Probabilistic theories on semantic organizing
- Based on our experiences
- Prototype
An average of our experiences of that specific unit in that category
Exemplar Theory
Assumption that each experience, instance or example of members in a specific category
- Use of reference frame
Explanation-based theories on semantic organizing
Structures we impose on the world to explain what we see
- May not be an objective representation
- Embodied cognition
Psychological essentialism
Treat members of a category as if they have underlying property or essence
- Problem solving
Schemas
Well-organized chunks of knowledge
- Vary in degree and complexity
- New info fitting in with the old
Scripts
Specific type of schema that capture the order in which events or actions occur
- Not many details, based partly on expectations and predictions
What evidence is there of scripts?
- Preknowledge helps when e are told about a person
- We remember atypical events during a normal day
Something unusual happening at the vets - How we judge situations afterwards
How we remember things
Procedural memory
Manifested in behaviour, not via conscious memories. Cognitive and sensorimotor habits and skills learned through repetition
- When learning motoric sequences
- Shallow forgetting curve
- Shown in profound amnesia
Typical loss of declarative memory but procedural knowledge or skills are intact
