memory

Question 1

stages of memory and information processing

Answer 1

input -> processing (encoding, storage, retrieval) -> output.

Question 2

input

Answer 2

for human memory, this refers to the sensory information we recieve from our environment.

Question 3

processing

Answer 3

the operations we perform on sensory information in the brain

Question 4

encoding

Answer 4

turning sensory information into an electrochemical memory trace that can be used and stored by the brain. types: acoustic, visual, and semantic.

Question 5

acoustic encoding

Answer 5

the process of storing sound in our memory system.

Question 6

visual encoding

Answer 6

the process of storing something that is seen in our memory system.

Question 7

semantic encoding

Answer 7

the process of storing the meaning of information in our memory system, rather than the sound of a word, we store the definition/meaning of that word.

Question 8

storage

Answer 8

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Question 9

retrieval

Answer 9

the recall of stored memories

Question 10

output

Answer 10

for memory, this refers to the information we recall; in a broader sense, output can refer to behavioural response.

Question 11

short-term memory

Answer 11

our initial memory store that is temporary and limited.

Question 12

long-term memory

Answer 12

a memory store that holds potentially limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime.

Question 13

duration

Answer 13

the length of time information can be stored in short-term and long-term memory.

Question 14

capacity

Answer 14

the amount of information that can be stored in short-term and long-term memory.

Question 15

duration and capacity of short-term memory

Answer 15

temporary store that lasts around 18 seconds without rehearsal. it can hold 7 +/- 2 chunks. through rehearsal, short-term memory can encode information acoustically, storing it for many minutes, and it can then be transferred to the long-term memory store.

Question 16

duration and capacity of long-term memory

Answer 16

it can last for minutes or up to an entire lifetime, and it can potentially hold an unlimited amount of information. encoding in this memory store is largely semantic, but can be visual or acoustic.

Question 17

displacement

Answer 17

when the short-term memory becomes ‘full’ and new information pushes out older information.

Question 18

interference

Answer 18

when new information overwrites older information in your long-term memory, for example when a new phone number takes the place of an old number in your memory.

Question 19

retroactive interference

Answer 19

information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information.

Question 20

proactive interference

Answer 20

information learned earlier interferes with information learned later.

Question 21

forgetting in short-term memory

Answer 21

displacement and decay.

Question 22

forgetting in long-term memory

Answer 22

decay, interference, and retrieval failure.

Question 23

the multi-store model of memory

Answer 23

the memory model that visualises memory as a system consisting of multiple memory stores through which a stream of data flows for processing.

Question 24

amnesia

Answer 24

memory loss, often through accident, disease or injury.

Question 25

anterograde amnesia

Answer 25

a memory condition that means new long-term memories cannot be made; this is typically caused by injury to the brain. they have an intact short-term memory but it seems that their ability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory is damaged.

Question 26

retrograde amnesia

Answer 26

a memory condition that affects recall of memories prior to an injury to the brain. this type of amnesia can be specific to one memory, such as the traumatic incident that caused the injury, or it can be limited to a specific time frame.

Question 27

bartlett’s (1932) theory of reconstructive memory

Answer 27

suggests that memories are not exact copies of an event but an interpretation - an active reconstruction. bartlett referred to this general knowledge as schemas.

Question 28

schema

Answer 28

a packet of knowledge about an event, person, or place that influences how we perceive and remember. they are unique to us and develop over time through our own experiences.

Question 29

how schemas influence memory

Answer 29

omissions, transformations, familiarisation, rationalisation.

Question 30

omissions

Answer 30

when we leave out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details when remembering something.

Question 31

transformations

Answer 31

when details are changed to make them more familiar and rational.

Question 32

active reconstruction

Answer 32

memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced, but an interpretation or reconstruction of events that are influenced by our schema (expectation) when we remember them again.

Question 33

familiarisation

Answer 33

when unfamiliar details are changed to align with our own schema.

Question 34

rationalisation

Answer 34

when we add details into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fitted with a schema.

Question 35

strengths of bartlett’s theory

Answer 35

it has real-world practical application and helps us understand why memory can become distorted. an eyewitness to a crime, for example, can misremember certain events, which may lead to the wrong person being prosecuted. to avoid this, police now use cognitive interviews. his methods to test memory apply to the real world, making his study ecologically valid.

Question 36

cognitive interview

Answer 36

a police interview designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not actively reconstruct their memory.

Question 37

ecological validity

Answer 37

the extent to which the findings still explain the behaviour in different situations.

Question 38

weaknesses of bartlett’s theory

Answer 38

bartlett developed his theory by reading through and analysing pictures and stories reproduced by participants. some may argue his interpretations were subjective and may differ from someone else’s. this is considered unscientific. he also didn’t go through scientific procedures and was more interested in each participant’s unique memories rather than the use of standardised procedures and controls. this may weaken the research used to form the theory.

Question 39

subjective

Answer 39

based on personal opinion or feelings.

Question 40

atkinson and shiffrin (1968) multi-store model of memory

Answer 40

a model of memory that identify three distinctly different stores in our memory system: the sensory register (or sensory memory), short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Question 41

sensory register

Answer 41

our immediate memory of sensory information. if we pay attention to some of this sensory memory it is transferred to our short term memory where we can process it further. if we do not pay attention to the information, it quickly decays.

Question 42

attention

Answer 42

focus on certain sensory information.

Question 43

types of sensory registers

Answer 43

iconic memory, echoic memory, gustatory (taste) sensory register, olfactory (smell) sensory register, and tactile (touch) sensory register.

Question 44

iconic memory

Answer 44

the sensory register for visual information that lasts for around 1 second before visual information decays.

Question 45

echoic memory

Answer 45

the sensory register for auditory information that lasts for a few seconds before sound information decays.

Question 46

modality free

Answer 46

not linked to a specific type of sensory information. short term memory can store different types of information from any of our senses, so it is described as modality free. long term memory is mainly organised semantically.

Question 47

strengths of the multi-store model of memory

Answer 47

there is a lot of evidence to support the idea of separate memory stores. cases of amnesia show how brain injury can damage long-term memory, while short-term memory stays intact. ben murdock (1962) conducted an experiment to provide evidence for the multi-store model of memory and discovered something called the serial position effect, which is the tendency to recall more words at the beginning and end of word list (primacy and recency). words in the middle of the list were recalled less because there had not been enough time to rehearse them into LTM before they were displaced from STM.

Question 48

primacy

Answer 48

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list.

Question 49

recency

Answer 49

tendency to remember words at the end of a list.

Question 50

weaknesses of the multi-store model of memory

Answer 50

it has been criticised for overstating the role of rehearsal as a means of transferring information into long-term storage. sometimes, we remember things just because they mean more to us. it is also unlikely that we only have one type of long-term memory. cases of amnesia patients demonstrate that whilst some long-term memories are damaged, other types remain intact. one such patient, clive wearing, suffered damage to the part of his memory that stored personal events, like going to university, but other parts of his memory were still intact, like his memory of how to play the piano.

Question 51

bartlett’s (1932) war of the ghosts

Answer 51

a study to test the nature of reconstructive memory using an unfamiliar story, looking at whether or not personal schemas influence what is remembered from the story

Question 52

procedure of bartlett’s war of the ghosts

Answer 52

participants were asked to read ‘the war of the ghosts’ twice and then asked to recall it. bartlett used both serial reproduction and repeated reproduction to test the recall of the story

Question 53

serial reproduction

Answer 53

a technique where participants retell something to another participant to form a chain; this is how folk stories are passed down through cultures.

Question 54

repeated reproduction

Answer 54

a technique where participants are asked to recall something again and again.