MEMORY Flashcards
What are the three basic processes of memory?
Encoding - acquiring information & transferring to memory
Storage - retention of memory
Retrieval - recovery of stored information
What are the three types of memory storage?
Sensory memory
Short term/working memory
Long term memory
What is sensory memory? What is its capacity? Duration?
Visual, touch, & acoustic
Very large capacity
Duration is 1 sec or less
What is short-term memory? What is its capacity? Duration?
Capacity - 7 “bits” of info (+/-2)
Duration ~30 seconds
What is chunking, and how does it assist with short-term memory? What are some examples of chunking?
Group info into “chunks”
Each chunk is now 1 bit
Ex: phone numbers → 3 bits instead 10
How does the model of working memory differ from that for short-term memory?
More complex, more active process of storage
Central executive - brain organizing things into types
Visuospatial sketch pad - visually or spatially oriented; looking at a map, remembering a route
Episodic buffer - event space things; what happened this morning at breakfast
Phonological - hearing based things
What is long-term memory? What is its capacity? Duration?
Duration & capacity probably unlimited
What does HSAM refer to?
Highly superior autobiographical memory
Very rare → people who can remember everything
How does the model of spreading activation explain long-term memory? The model of
Schemas?
Spreading activation - words that are associated with each other activate their associated words in memory
Schemas - sets of expectations about objects & situations; when you go out to eat you know the routine
How is rehearsal important to moving information from short-term to long-term memory?
Maintenance rehearsal - simple repetition; rote rehearsal → repeating grocery list to yourself
Elaborative rehearsal - link new material to known material →active process
What is the levels of processing / depth of processing model of long-term memory?
Depth of processing affects strength of memory
Structural (looks like) - is the word printed in all caps?
Phonemic (sounds like) - does the word sound the same as [comparison word]?
Semantic (meaning) - does the word mean the same thing as [comparison word]?
What is the difference between declarative and nondeclarative memory?
Declarative memory - explicit, conscious → you are consciously aware that you know this stuff
Nondeclarative memory - implicit, unconscious
First learning a skill = declarative
When skill becomes automatic = nondeclarative (driving a car)
What are specific types of declarative memory?
Semantic - general world knowledge (facts, concepts, meanings)
Episodic - observational info attached to specific life events
Autobiographical - blend of semantic & episodic (specifically applies to your life)
What are specific types of nondeclarative memory?
Procedural - how to carry out skilled movement
Classical conditioning - stimulus-response associations
Priming - exposure to a stimulus changes response to subsequent stimulus
What are some examples of context cues for retrieval of information from long-term memory?
Hearing the music of song to remember the lyrics
Hearing your native language to remember a memory from your childhood
What is the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon? What does it tell us about the retrieval process?
When you can almost remember something but not quite
Hints at gradual retrieval process
What is the serial position effect?
The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than those in the middle
How accurate is retrieval from long-term memory?
Reconstructive rather than literal
What do studies on eyewitness testimony tell us about the accuracy of memory?
Susceptibility to memory distortion (stop sign experiment)
How do memory processes interact with emotion? What are some examples of effects that illustrate this interaction?
Memory & emotion are strongly linked
Mood congruence effect - retrieve info more easily when same content as current emotional state
What is flashbulb memory?
Significant events strongly related to emotion, remember in detail
How does emotion influence memory for persons with PTSD?
Triggers
How do neurons respond to sensitization and habituation?
Sensitization - on repeated presentation of stimulus, you get more & more reactive to it → growing axon terminals
Habituation - on repeated presentation of stimulus, you start to ignore it → lose axon terminals
What is long-term potentiation?
On repeated stimulation of neural signals, the connection becomes more efficient
