Memory Flashcards
What is “memory”?
“Memory refers to the processes that allow us to record, store and later retrieve experiences and information”
What are the 3 stage of memory process?
Encoding > Storage > Retrieval
What does “encoding” means in memory?
“Encoding refers to getting information into the [memory] system by translating it into a neural
code that your brain processes”
Describe massed practice of encoding memory.
Massed is done in a big chunk
Chunking = combining individual items into larger units of meaning
Describe distributed practice of encoding memory.
Breaking down the big chunk of work into smaller chunks.
Describe maintenance vs elaborative rehearsal in remembering things.
Maintenance is learning things over and over again. Elaborative is trying to elaborate the memory, narrate and making stories out of it etc.
What are the 3 stages of processing in encoding memory?
Sensory, working, long term memory.
How long can you remember sensory memory? Under what condition does it lasts?
<1 sec, it’s about perception by senses. The senses register long enough to be linked and be further processed, it fades if not processed.
How long can you remember working memory?
<20 seconds
How many items can you normally remember under working memory?
7 items plus and minus 2
Short term memory is the component of ____________ memory.
Working
How many chunks of info (regardless of list length) can short term memory has the capacity to remember?
3-4
Working memory has two separate work spaces that can be active simultaneously or independently. What are they?
Phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.
Phonological loop = mental representations of sounds.
Visuospatial sketchpad = visual and spatial info
What is an episodic buffer in memory?
It provides a temporary storage space where info from long term memory and from the phonological and/or visuospatial subsystems can be integrated, manipulated and made available for conscious awareness
What is the central executive in memory?
It directs overall action.
What is an episodic memory?
The store of knowledge concerning personal experiences
How long can you remember long term memory?
Indefinite.
How can long term memory be accessed?
Via working memory.
Describe the “serial position effect” in long term memory.
It means the ability to recall an item is influenced by the item’s position in a series.
What is the “primary effect” of “serial position effect” in memory?
Superior recalling the earliest items.
What is the “recency effect” of “serial position effect” in memory?
Superior recalling of the most recent items
Why is encoding an imperfect process?
- We encode different things from the same sensory info
- We can’t notice/encode all sensory info
What are the 2 types of long-term memories?
Declarative/explicit recall and nondeclarative/implicit
Which of declarative and nondeclarative/procedural long-term memories require conscious recall?
Declarative: that involves factual knowledge
Which of declarative and nondeclarative long-term memories does not require conscious recall?
Nondeclarative
What are the 2 types of declarative/explicit long-term memories?
1) Semantic memory: Facts, general knowledge
2) Episodic memory: Personal experience
What are the 2 types of nondeclarative long-term memories?
1) Skills (motor and cognitive)
2) Classical conditioning effects
Two reasons of why we forget.
1) Decay: info just gradually disappears
2) Interference: memory impaired by other info
Describe the 2 ways memory can be impaired by other info.
1) Retroactive interference: Learning new info makes it harder to retrieve old info
2) Proactive interference: Old memories affect the retrieval of new memories
Describe Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve.
Forgetting happens rapidly at first then slows. It’s a highly consistent pattern.
Describe the retrieval problem called the tip-of-the-tongue state.
We cannot recall something but feel that we are on the verge of remembering it.
What does priming mean in memory?
The activation of one concept (or one unit of information) by another.
Memory works better in what kind of context of original learning (2 types of environments)
Physical and internal environments
What two types of memory do we retrieve from the internal environment? Describe them.
1) Mood congruent memory: tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood. When getting spitted by many words, when the subject was in a bad mood they tend to only remember the bad words.
2) State dependent memory: what is learned in one state can more easily be remembered when in the same state (more physiological, like when drunk/high)
The deeper we process the information, the better we can remember it. What are the 3 levels of processing the info, which one comes first and which one the last?
Semantic > phonemic > structural
What is the concept of “relearning” in memory?
Asking people to memorise something a second time will be faster if the material is still in their long-term memory.
The 2 ways to encode memory.
Effortful and automatic
Describe shallow processing in encoding memory?
- Processing only superficial characteristics of a piece of information
- Acoustic encoding: Encoding of sound
- Visual encoding: Encoding of picture images
Describe “deep processing” in encoding memory?
Semantic encoding: encoding of meaning, elaborative rehearsal (focus on meaning and expanding on it in some way)
Who is a key researcher who has explored the components of our working memory, including the visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop,
episodic buffer, and central executive?
Alan Baddley and colleagues.
What are the 2 errors when reconstructing memory?
Source monitoring error and misinformation effect.
Describe “source monitoring error” when reconstructing memory.
Attributing to the wrong source an event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (misattribution)
Describe the “misinformation effect” when reconstructing memory.
Information encountered after event can affect what is remembered about the event
Describe memory distortion.
Led by memory reconstruction, when people fill in memory gaps with plausible guesses and assumptions, often based on schemas; or imagining events that can create false memories.
Describe autobiographical memory.
Memory for the events we have experienced in our own lives, that helps us create coherent representation of
ourselves and our lives.
How can we study autobiographical memory?
- Retrospective surveys/interviews
- Diary studies
- Provide retrieval cues (e.g., words, photos)
What is a reminiscence bump in memory?
Memory is high for events occurred in adolescence and early adulthood (10-30y.o.) Bump occurs for happy and important memories.
What can be a factor that makes personal events easier to recall?
When it fit in the cultural life script.
Cultural differences can affect the types of memories of people. Describe what in the research do US participants recall vs Chinese participants recall?
US - more memories about personal significance (self-focus)
Chinese - more memories with a group or social orientation (collective-focus)
What can improve memory performance?
How accurately matching is between encoding and retrieval cue.
What is amnesia?
Loss of memory
Describe retrograde amnesia.
Inability to remember events
that occurred before a brain trauma.
Describe anterograde amnesia.
Inability to remember events that occur after the brain trauma (i.e., inability to transfer new information into long term memory) - cannot form new memories
What 2 ways we can improve retrieval of memories?
1) Mnemonic strategies
2) Distributed vs massed practice
What are the 3 main types of memory?
Episodic, semantic, procedural.
Procedural: reflected in skills and actions
Describe simulation heuristic.
Mental shortcut in making judgment/ simplified mental strategy
What is the method of loci?
A mnemonic technique in which the items to be remembered are converted into mental images and associated with specific positions or locations.
