Memory Flashcards
What is attention? What effect does it have on encoding?
selective focus on certain input, increases encoding
What effect does divided attention have on encoding? What about other tasks?
undermines encoding and can have a negative affect of the performance of other tasks
What does the levels of processing theory propose?
deeper levels of processing result in more durable memory
What is elaboration? What effect does it have on encoding?
linking a stimulus to other information, enhances it
What does dual coding theory state?
visual imagery may facilitate memory by providing two memories instead of one
What are the three memory stores?
long term memory (LTM)
short term memory (STM)
sensory memory
Recall is often guided by? What is this demonstrated by?
partial information, tip of the tongue phenomenon
What is the misinformation effect?
occurs when details of an event is changed by misleading post event information
What is source monitoring?
process of making inferences about the origin of memories
How long does sensory memory preserve information?
preserves memory in its original sensory form for a short amount of time, fraction of a second
How long can short term memory store unrehearsed information?
10-20 seconds
What is the capacity of short term memory?
used to be 7 +-2 but not believed to be 4 +-1
What is working memory capacity?
refers to someone’s ability to hold and manipulate information in conscious attention
What is the capacity of long term memory and how long is it stored?
unlimited, indefinitely
What is a conceptual hierarchy?
multilevel classification system based on common properties among items
What is a schema?
organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event
What is a semantic network?
consists of nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related concepts
Why do we forget?
ineffective encoding, can be adaptive by making it easier to remember important information
How can retention be assessed?
recall measure, recognition measure, or a relearning measure
What does decay theory propose?
memory traces fade with time, decay in LTM is hard to demonstrate
What does interference theory propose?
people forget information because of competition from other material
Are memories recovered spontaneously more reliable than memories recovered in therapy?
usually yes
What is retrograde amnesia?
people forget memory of things prior to getting amnesia
What is anterograde amnesia?
people who forget events that happen after getting amnesia
What parts of the brain play a major role in memory?
hippocampus and broader medial temporal lobe
What do memory traces consist of?
localized neural circuits
What does declarative memory handle?
recall of factual information like names, dates, events, and ideas
What does nondeclarative memory handle?
recall of actions, skills, and operation
What is encoding? What is storage? What is retrieval?
Involves forming a memory code, involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time, involves recovering information from memory stores
What is the cocktail party phenomenon? What does this suggest?
People hear there name mentioned in conversation they were not paying attention to
Attention involves late selection base on meaning of input
What are people really doing when they are multitasking?
Switching their full attention back and forth not splitting it
What type of encoding is involved in shallow processing? Example of question that would cause this type of processing?
Structural encoding which emphasizes the physical structure of the stimulus
Is the world written in capital letters
What type of encoding is involved in intermediate processing? Example of question that would cause this type of processing?
Phonemic encoding which emphasizes what a word sounds like
Does the word rhyme with weight
What type of encoding is involved in deep processing? Example of question that would cause this type of processing?
Semantic encoding which emphasizes the meaning of verbal input
Would the world fit in this sentence
What is self referent encoding?
Deciding how or whether information is personally relevant, enhances recall
What is iconic vs echoic memory?
Brief memory based on visual input or auditory input from sensory memory
What is rehearsal?
The process of repetitively verbalizing or thinking about the information
What is a chunk? Example?
Group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit
When remembering student card I broke up number into 219-549-856
What are the components of working memory?
Phonological loop, used when recitation is used to temporarily remember a phone number
Visuospatial sketch pad, allows people to temporarily hold and manipulate visual images
Central executive, controls deployment of attention also coordinates the other components
Episodic buffer, temporary limitless capacity store that serves as a link between working memory and LTM
What are flashbulb memories?
Unusually video and detailed recollections of momentous events
What is retroactive interference?
New info makes it hard to remember old info
What is proactive interference?
Old info makes it hard to remember new info
What is repression in Freudian theory?
Keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in The subconscious
What is the serial position effect?
When participants have better call for items at the beginning and end of a list
What is the link method?
Forming a mental image of items to be remember in a way that links them together
What is the method of loci?
Involves taking an imaginary walk along a familiar path where images of items are associated with certain located
What is hindsight bias?
Tendency to mound our interpretation of the past to fit how events turned out
What is the difference between implicit and explicit memory?
Implicit is automatic and requires no effort explicit requires effort and is not automatic
What helps us remember?
Deeper encoding, self referent encoding, imagery, mnemonics, chunking, time and spacing, hierarchy
What parts of HM memory were intact or impaired?
Impaired episodic and explicit (couldn’t form new memories)
Intact semantic and procedural memory (couldn’t remembering doing a task but he still got better at it)
What is episodic vs semantic memory?
Episodic is recollections of personal experiences and semantic is general knowledg
