memory Flashcards
what is memory?
The ability to store,retain and recall information
why is memory necessary?
to learn, have a sense of self, conversation and to have friends
Selective memory
memory is selective as there is to much information for any system to take in
who introduced the theory to process information?
Atkinson and Shiffin in 1971
what was the theory?
information processing theory is in 3 separate memory stores: sensory,short term and long term
sensory memory
has high capacity but low duration, information from the sense is held in sensory memory register (3 types)
echoic (sound)
lasts about 2 seconds
iconic (visual)
last about 0.3 seconds
haptic (touch)
lasts about 2 seconds
encoding
the process of converting the information coming into sensory memory into a form of suitable for storage in STM or LTM. if attention is paid to the information it will be stored
automatic encoding
information relating to your location in space and time is easily remembered eg. i remember where my bedroom is
effortful encoding
requires a conscious effort by concentration and mental effort. it will require rehearsal, writing down information or association with old information eg. knowing your class schedule for the day
storage
the process of retaining information in memory until it is needed
retrieval
the process of locating and recovering information from storage using recognition or recall
recognition
involve correctly identifying previously learned information from a list of possible alternatives
recall
requires remembering information with very few cues at all, recognition is easier than recall eg. extended response questionnaire
short term memory
often called working memory for mental arithmetic, recipes etc.
working memory
It holds new information in place so the brain can work with it briefly and connect it with other information
what does short term memory do?
receives and encodes new information from sensory memory and also receives information from the long term memory for temporary use
short term memory also…
holds all the information of which a person is consciously aware
encoded STM
information is transferred from sensory memory to the STM if attention to it occurs
effective recall time in STM
between 6 to 20 seconds
What did George miller do?
in 1956 introduced the magic number capacity of STM is 7+/- 2 bits of information
maintenance rehearsal
the repetition of information in a rote way but not changing it. As there is no extra meaning added, the information is just maintained in STM and is less likely to be passed to LTM
elaborative rehearsal
combining new and old information together to help storage and retrieval. It requires more effort and extra meaning is added to the information. More likely to be stored in LTM
what happens to new information?
new information can replace old if there is too much to remember
Chuncking of information
by grouping the items together allows form than 7 +/-2 bits of information to be remembered eg. abcdefghijklmno can be grouped as 5 items instead of 15 abcde fghij klmno
Long term memory
stores large amounts of memory for a limitless amount of time. two types: procedural and declarative
procedural memory (implicit or automatic)
how to carry out certain actions eg. how to make a cake
declarative memory (explicit)
facts and events that can recall. it is divided into semantic and episodic
semantic (LTM)
general and specific knowledge you accumulate through your life eg. 7 colours in a rainbow
episodic
personal experiences eg. the time i sprained my ankle jumping down 14 steps in one jump
how is information stored in LTM?
seems to be organised perhaps as clustered or associated information
clustering
organising items into related groups during recall eg. animals such as monkey, giraffe and tiger
association
some items are logically connected eg. black and blue, white and black, black hair
what is semantic networks?
another way that information might be organised in LTM. It makes the info systematic and meaningful
semantic networks
made up from nods that represent concepts. these nodes are joined by pathways that link to associated concepts
Relationship between STM & LTM
many psychologists believe that STM and LTM are separate systems and that time is needed for information to pass from STM and LTM so that it can be consolidated in LTM, serial position effect and memories of brain damaged humans are evidence of this
Serial position effect
items at the beginning of the list are remembered well (primacy effect where items have had time to be stored in LTM), as are the items at the end of the list (recency effect where items are stored in STM) items in the middle are least able to be recalled.
brain damage and memory
people with brain damage tot he temporal lobe, particularly the hippocampus and amygdala have shown psychologists more about the association between STM and LTM
eye witness testimony
often thought to be perfect memory but memory is inaccurate as it is a snapshot and is changeable
factors decreasing the accuracy of eye witness testimony
witness,events,time,feedback,expectations, publicity about a case
witness factors
fear,stress/chronic stress, age and gender
event factors
lighting conditions, the duration of the event, speed and distance involved and the presence or absence of violence
time
the longer the retention interval, the more likely the memory will be inaccurate as it will be changed by new information
feedback
people who identify a suspect from a police line up or a group pf photos are far more confident of their choices when given feedback. They become less sure when given negative feedback
expectations
studies have shown that it is essential for the interviewer to take the suspect out of the line up to see how accurate their memory is as they expect the suspect to be in the line up
publicity about a case
can result in a photo biased identification as the people have seen a photo of the suspect in the media
forgetting
the inability to retrieve information that has been stored in memory
the forgetting curve
Hermann Ebbinghaus between 1850-1909 produced the forgetting curve which shows a large decrease in facts retained in the first 24 hours and a more gradual drop after that
biological causes of forgetting
brain damage can be caused by a stroke, long term alcoholism, malnutrition, surgery. It can cause amnesia
organic amnesia
memory loss or forgetting due to biological or physiological causes
anterograde amnesia
cannot make new memories since the trigger event
retrograde amnesia
cannot remember events in the past
psychological causes of forgetting
person related factors such as failure of retrieval cues or memories interfering with other memories
context dependent cues
sometimes the setting or environment in which the memory is formed is the cue to remember eg. now i am at my friends house, i can remember it happened here
state dependent cues
the physical or psychological state that a person is in when a memory is formed may act as a state dependent cue. eg. now i am really sad, i can remember the last time i was sad
motivated forgetting
a process where trauma/humiliating event is suppressed by placing a barrier on retrieval cues
retroactive interference
cannot recall the old information because of interference by new information. eg. calling your ex-boyfriend by your new boyfriends name
proactive interference
cannot recall the new information because of interference of the old information eg. recalling a new phone number but interfering with the old phone number
what is use for improving memory?
mnemonic devices
Rhymes
ends of lines sound the same
acronyms
AFL,SACE
acrostics
using the first letter of each word eg. never eat soggy weetbix
narrative chaining
using the actual words o string a sentence together
method of loci
the association of a place with an item to remember eg. school bell is a place where the characteristics of STM
