memory Flashcards
where are different types of memories stored?
across different interconnected brain regions
where are explicit memories stored? (episodic, semantic) (three answers - H N A)
hippocampus
neocortex
amygdala
where are implicit memories stored? (motor) (two answers - BG C)
basal ganglia
cerbellum
where are short term working memories stored? (PC)
prefrontal cortex
What are two things that make up memory?
encoding
retrieval
what are the differences between free recall and recognition?
the amount of cues that can help memory retrieval
recall:
fewer cues
recognition:
more cues
what is easier - recognition or free recall?
recognition - it has more cues that increase spreading activation
what is free recall?
when a participant reads a list of items and recall them in any order
what is recognition?
sense of familiarity to an item
how many stages are there in free recall?
two - select item from memory
- familar decision (was the word there or not) (STM)
how many stages are there in recognition?
one - familiarity decision (LTM)
what are two main factors that impact recall ( A M )
attention
motivation
when does attention affect memory recall?
encoding phase
why does attention affect memory recall?
if a person’s attention is on other or multiple tasks, the encoding stage gets weaker - harder to recall
how does motivation impact memory recall?
allows people to remember information quicker and clearer
what are other factors that can impact recall?
interference
serial recall effect
gender
trauma
what two effects make up the serial position effect?
regency effect - participants recall the most recent words
primary effect - LTM has encoded the first words
what is retrieval?
recovering target memory based on a cue that brings it to awareness
“memories can be retrieved through _____ cues”
different
“when did you last have peas?”/”what did you have for dinner last night?”/”I had peas for dinner last night”
what is retrieval strongly dependent on?
spreading activation theory
what can impact cues for retrieval? (three answers)
- cues may have not had enough attention
- relevance of cues
- number of cues
what did fernandes & moscovitch (2000) say about divided attention?
retrieving words under divided attention affects recall, especially when the task is similar
what is divided attention?
multitasking
what is the working memory model? (baddeley & hitch, 1974)
transfers info to and from STM & LTM
splits primary memory into multiple components (3 parts)
what are the three parts of working memory?
- central executive = controls transference of info from 2 buffers:
- phonological loop
- visuospatial sketchpad
what is the central executive?
controls the flow of information to the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad
does the central executive hold memories?
no - coordinates how info is used
what is the phonological loop?
stores spoken and written content
what are the two components of the phonological loop?
- phonological store: holds inputs for a few seconds and acts as an ‘inner ear’ and holds information in a speech-based form
spoken words enter the store directly
written words are converted into an articulatory code then enters the store - articulatory rehearsal processes: keep items to prevent them from decaying and acts like an ‘inner voice’ and rehearses information from the phonological store
active process to keep items ‘in the loop’ (continuous as long as info is need).
what is the visuospatial sketchpad?
holds visual and spatial info - form a picture in your mind
what else is the visuospatial sketchpad known as?
the mind’s eye
what buffer was added by baddeley?
the episodic buffer
what does the episodic buffer do? (three answers)
acts as an auxiliary store
stores diverse info
connects all the LTM
what did baddeley found out later on?
working memory can hold more than expected (long sentences)
what are the two types of long term memory?
explicit (conscious)
implicit (unconscious)
what are the two types of explicit LTM? (E S)
episodic - personal experiences
semantic - knowledge/ facts/ numbers/ concepts
what are the three types of implicit LTM? (P P C)
priming - change to stimulus
procedural memory - skills e.g. note typing
conditioning - pairing a stimulus with neutral stimulus
what is the evidence that supports the two different types?
- patients with brain damage:
‘KC’ - motorbike accident -> damaged hippocampus
- lost episodic memory / semantic is okay
italy case - illness -> loss of semantic memory / episodic is okay
- brain imaging:
participants spoke about personal experiences and facts -> brain showed division in MRI
how can semantic memory be enhanced?
episodic memory -> better recall of facts if they are personal
how is semantic memory organised?
hierarchical network model:
info is stored in hierarchical nodes
what is the spreading activation theory of memory? (anderson, 1983)
cognitive units form an interconnected network and retrieval is due to spreading activation throughout the network
what is autobiographical memory?
a person’s personal semantic info (when they were born) and personal episodic info (unique events)
what is encoding in LTM?
process of getting information into LTM
what is the difference between maintenance & elaborative rehearsal?
elaborative -
what does encoding influence?
retrieval
what is the generation effect?
generating info yourself
what regulates the strength of a memory
emotional arousal
what are the different types of forgetting? (three answers - I M FC)
incidental
motivated
forgetting curve
what are the theories of forgetting? (5 answers)
- Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) - feeling that occurs when people are aware of knowing something and will remember it but aren’t able to retrieve it at that point in time
- motivated - strong desire to forget due to it being disturbing or upsetting (repression & suppression)
- decay theory - time causes memories to fade
- interference theory - other memories interfere with remembering (LTM)
- retrieval failure theory - info is distorted when we try to recall it
what is the forgetting curve?
the decrease in ability of the brain to retain memory over time from immediate learning -> 1 hour -> 1 day -> 1 week
what is consolidation in memory?
time-dependent process where memories are processed into LTM by structural/chemical changes in the nervous system
what are the chemical changes in consolidation? (2 answers)
synaptic consolidation - new memories take time to solidify because it requires structural changes (dudai, 2004)
systemic consolidation - hippocampus is responsible for new memories but it continually activates brain area involved in the initial experience until these areas are interlinked (sounds, sights, smells)
what is jost’s (1897) law of forgetting?
if 2 memories are of the same strength but different ages, the older will decay more slowly than the younger
why does interference?
cue is associated with multiple memories - ‘competitors’
what is retroactive interference? N
new memories interfere with older ones
e.g. can’t remember first trip to mcdonalds
what is proactive interference? O
older memories interfere with newer ones
e.g. writing an old address
what are memory errors?
incorrect recall, or complete loss, of information in the memory system for a specific detail and/or events
e.g. remembering events that never occurred, or remembering them differently from the way they actually happened.
what was brewer & treyens (1981)’s study on schematic knowledge on memory errors?
one group described the number of typical and strange objects in the “office”
one group described number of typical and strange objects in the “room”
office subjects = recalled more typical words
what are intrusion errors?
huge network interconnected nodes with different density of connections acting as “retrieval pathways”
what can additional pathways do in intrusion errors?
make it difficult to remember separate events
what is the deese-roediger-mcdermott (DRM) task of schematic knowledge?
read a list of words relating to sleep
don’t include sleep
people are just as likely to recall “sleep”
what does the DRM task show?
mechanisms are automatic
what is misinformation effect?
memories influenced by post-event info
what is the famous study on the misinformation effect? (L&P)
loftus & palmer (1974:
“how fast was the car going when it smashed/hit/bumped?”
= 40/38/34 mph
“did you see on smashed glass? yes or no?”
= more likely to see smashed glass when “smashed” = NO GLASS
what happens when there is a repeated exposure to misleading info?
more likely they are to believe that the misinformation was part of the original event
when does misleading info/questions affect the most?
a period of time AFTER the event
what are examples of misinformation?
misleading questions
what is eyewitness memory?
individual’s recollection of an event ( crime or accident) that they personally saw or experienced
what is weapon focus effect?
a witness will remember less about the crime or perpetrator when a weapon is present
when is the weapon focus effect larger?
when the weapon breaks cultural stereotypes
E.g. women holds a gun
what results in worse memory accuracy with a weapon?
when the weapon is unexpected (gun in a tennis court)
what other factors affect eyewitness memory? (4 answers)
confirmation bias - tendency of people to favour information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypotheses and undervalues evidence that could disprove it
own-age bias - children recognize children’s faces more accurately than adult faces, and adults recognize adult faces more accurately than children’s faces
race effect - able to process faces belonging to a group with identify (ingroup) than an outgroup
face recognition - recognise face but difficult to say from where
what is unconscious transference?
when an eyewitness to a crime misidentifies a familiar but innocent person from a police lineup - 3x more likely
what two police procedures affect eyewitness memory?
lineups
interviews
what affect does lineups have?
valentine et al (2003) -
314 lineups -> 40% identified suspect / 20% wrong / 40% didnt guess
2014 - 23 studies -
7,000 people from US/AUS/CA/EU
when a lineup administrator confirms the witness’s choice, it would significantly inflate the witness’ confidence
what affect does interviews have?
standard interview - yes or no/ closed questions
what is an interview technique that can help the accuracy of eyewitness memory?
cognitive interview
what are the four stages of the cognitive interview?
Stage 1: Reinstate the context
Stage 2: Recall events in reverse order
Stage 3: Report everything they can remember
Stage 4: Describe events from someone else’s point of view
how would a lab setting be better for testing eyewitness memory?
less stressful and less anxiety to watch a video than real-life events
participants are not victims
what is anterograde amnesia?
decreased ability to create new memories or retain new information
what is retrograde amnesia?
lack of ability to remember past memories
what are the causes of anterograde amnesia?
bilateral damage to temporal lobes or hippocampus
injury, damage, disease
-e.g. korsakoff syndrome (thiamine deficiency)
-thaimine helps brain cells produce energy -> can’t function
which amnesia is easier to test?
anterograde
