Memory Flashcards
1
Q
What is memory?
A
Memory is any system (human, animal or machine) that encodes, stores and retrieves information
2
Q
________ refers to the term for any system that encodes, stores and retrieves information
A
Memory
3
Q
The cognitive perspective says that our ________ can affect our mental health
A
cognitions
4
Q
Human memory is an _________ system that takes in information, discards certain details and organizes the rest into meaningful patterns
A
Interpretive
5
Q
Our memories represent our unique __________ of events rather than being accurate or objective representations of the events themselves
A
perceptions
6
Q
We don’t technically retrieve memories, we _______ them
A
reconstruct
7
Q
We make the most complete and accurate memory records for: (5 items)
A
- information on which we have focused our attention
- Information in which we are interested
- Information that arouses us emotionally
- Information that connects with previous experience
- Information that we rehearse
8
Q
What is the information-processing model?
A
A cognitive understanding of memory, emphasising how information is changed when it is encoded, stored and retrieved
9
Q
The information-processing model emphasises that memory is _________
A
functional
10
Q
What are the 3 basic functions of memory?
A
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
11
Q
What is encoding?
A
Receiving information from the senses and modifying it to fit the preferred format for the memory system
12
Q
What are the steps to encoding?
A
- Select a stimulus event
- Identify the distinctive features of that input
13
Q
What is elaboration?
A
A process to attempt to connect a new concept with existing information in memory
14
Q
__________ experiences are even more likely to lodge in memory without any effort to encode them
A
Emotionally charged
15
Q
What is one way of elaboration?
A
Link new material to personal, concrete examples
16
Q
What is storage?
A
Process involving organising and storing information, and the retention of encoded material over time
17
Q
What is retrieval?
A
The process of locating and recovering information from memory
18
Q
What is eidetic imagery?
A
An especially clear and persistent form of memory that is quite rare
Sometimes known as photographic memory
19
Q
What are the differences between eidetic image and a photographic image?
A
A photographic image renders everything in minute detail, while an eidetic image portrays the most interesting and meaningful parts of the scene more accurately
Eidetic images are subject to the same kind of distortions found in “normal memories”
20
Q
What are the differences between eidetic memories and “normal” memories?
A
Eidetic memories are as vivid as the original experience, while “normal” memories are unclear
Eidetic images are visualised as being “outside the head” while “normal” memories are visualised in the “mind’s eye”
21
Q
An eidetic image can last for several _____ or _____
A
minutes; days
22
Q
Up to ____ percent of children show some eidetic ability
A
5
23
Q
Eidetic imagery appears most commonly in _____ and only rarely in _____
A
children; adults
24
Q
Eidetic memories fade from memories if you _________ it
A
describe
25
What is the psychological term for "photographic memory"?
Eidetic memory
26
The ________ nature of eidetic memory seems to be interfered with by ________ descriptions
visual; verbal
27
What is a major objection to the "video recorder" model of human memory?
Unlike a video recorder, which makes an accurate and detailed record, memory stores an interpretation of experiences
28
What are the 3 memory stages, in order of processing?
1. Sensory memory
2. Working memory
3. Long-term memory
29
Who developed the three-stage model of memory?
Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin
30
What is sensory memory?
The stage of memory that preserves brief sensory impressions of stimuli
31
How long does sensory memory hold sensory information for?
A few seconds
Specifically 1/4 second to a few seconds
32
What is working memory?
The stage of memory that preserves recently perceived events or experiences for less than a minute without rehearsal
33
The working memory selectively takes information from sensory registers and ___________ with items already in long-term storage
makes connections
34
Working memory holds information for up to ____ to ___________
20 to 30 seconds
35
What was the original name of working memory?
Short-term memory
36
What is long-term memory?
The stage of memory that receives information from working memory and stores material organised according to meaning
37
What is the function of sensory memory?
Briefly holds information awaiting entry into working memory
38
What is the capacity of sensory memory, according to Sperling's study?
12 or more items
12-16 specifically
39
Who did the study to determine the capacity of sensory memory?
Sperling
40
We have a separate ________ for each sense
sensory register
41
What is the sensory register for vision?
Iconic memory
42
What is the sensory register for hearing?
Echoic memory
43
What is the sensory register for touch?
Tactile sensory memory
44
What is the sensory register for smell?
Olfactory sensory memory
45
What is the sensory register for taste?
Gustatory sensory memory
46
Images in sensory memory have ____ meaning attached to them
no
47
In sensory memory, memory images take the form of __________ in the _________ and the __________ to the brain
neural activity; sense organs; sensory pathways
48
What are the functions of working memory? (3)
1. Involved in control of attention
2. Attaches meaning to stimulation
3. Makes associations among ideas and events
49
What is the capacity of working memory, as suggested by George Miller?
7 chunks of information, plus minus 2
50
Who suggested the magic number of the capacity of working memory?
George Miller
51
Research finds we only process about ____ percent of incoming sensory information when our working memory is occupied
50
52
Working memory has the ________ capacity of the three memory stages
smallest
53
Which memory stage has the smallest capacity?
Working
54
What is a chunk?
Any pattern or meaningful unit of information
55
What is chunking?
Organising pieces of information into a smaller number of meaningful units (or chunks)
56
What is the purpose of chunking?
To free up space in working memory
57
What are 2 strategies that are useful in dealing with the limits of working memory?
1. Chunk
2. Rehearse
58
What are the 2 major types of rehearsal?
1. Maintenance rehearsal
2. Elaborative rehearsal
59
What is maintenance rehearsal?
A working-memory process in which information is merely repeated or reviewed to keep it from fading while in working memory
Involves no active elaboration
60
What is elaborative rehearsal?
A working-memory process in which information is consciously reviewed and actively related to information already in long-term memory
61
What are the 4 activities that working memory engages in, according to Allen Baddeley?
1. The central executive
2. The phonological loop
3. The sketchpad
4. Episodic buffer
62
What happens in the central executive?
The central executive directs our attention to important input from both sensory and long-term memory and interfaces with the brain's voluntary response system
63
What is acoustic encoding?
The conversion of information, especially semantic information, to sound patterns in working memory
64
What happens in the phonological loop?
Working memory converts the words we encounter into the sounds they describe and maintains the verbal patterns in an acoustic (sound) form as they are processed
65
What is a possible memory error created by acoustic encoding?
Confusions of letters that have similar sounds
66
What happens in the sketchpad?
The sketchpad encodes visual images and mental representations of objects in space
67
The sketchpad requires coordination among several brain systems, including the _______ and ________ lobes
frontal; occipital
68
What happens in the episodic buffer?
The episodic buffer binds the various pieces of information in working memory into a coherent episode
69
What is the levels-of-processing theory?
It says that information that is more thoroughly connected to meaningful items in long-term memory will be remembered better
70
Who was the levels-of-processing theory proposed by?
Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart
71
What theory did Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart propose about the working memory?
The levels-of-processing theory
72
Which part of the brain is activated by working memory?
Frontal cortex
73
In long-term memory, words and concepts are encoded by their ________
meanings
74
What is the capacity of long-term memory?
Unlimited
75
What are the 2 components of long-term memory?
1. Procedural
2. Declarative
76
What is procedural memory?
A division of LTM that stores memories for how things are done
77
What is declarative memory?
A division of LTM that stores explicit information
78
What is another name for declarative memory?
Fact memory
79
What are 2 major subdivisions of declarative memory?
1. Semantic
2. Episodic
80
What is episodic memory?
A subdivision of declarative memory that stores personal events or "episodes"
81
Episodic memory also stores ________ to identify when the event occurred,
and ________ that indicates where it took place
temporal coding; context coding
82
Episodic memory stores temporal coding to identify _____ the event occurred and context coding to indicate _____ it occurred
when; where
83
Episodic memory acts as your _________
autobiographical memory
84
What is semantic memory?
A subdivision of declarative memory that stores general knowledge, including the meanings of words and concepts
85
What is childhood amnesia?
The inability to remember events during the first two or three years of life
86
Babies have a _______ and _______ memory, but limited ________ memory ability
semantic; procedural; episodic
87
What are some causes of childhood amnesia? (3)
1. Rudimentary language skills (for verbal encoding of memories)
2. Lack of a sense of self (necessary for a reference point but doesn't develop until about age 2)
3. Lack of complex schemas older children and adults use to help them remember
88
What is the engram?
The physical/biological changes in the brain associated with a memory
89
What is another name for the engram?
Memory trace
90
What is anterograde amnesia?
The inability to form new memories
91
What is retrograde amnesia?
The inability to remember information previously stored in memory
92
The _____ and ______ are crucial to laying down new declarative memories
hippocampus; amygdala
93
The hippocampus is implicated in ________ disease, which involves loss of ability to make new declarative memories
Alzheimer's
94
The _____ processes memories that have strong emotional associations
amygdala
95
What role does the amygdala play in memory?
It processes memories that have strong emotional associations
96
Why are emotional associations important in memory?
They aid us in quick access and retrieval
97
Declarative memories are stored throughout the _______
cerebral cortex
98
The cerebral cortex stores _________ memories
declarative
99
Procedural memories are stored in the ________ and the _________
cerebellum; motor cortex
100
The cerebellum and the motor cortex store __________ memories
procedural
101
What is memory consolidation?
The process by which short-term memories become long-term memories over a period of time
102
Memory consolidation occurs with the help of the _________
hippocampus
103
What role does the hippocampus play in memory?
Memory consolidation
It binds relevant pieces of a memory together into a coherent memory
104
When positive emotions are involved, you tend to look at situations _______ and remember the __________
broadly; big picture
105
When negative emotions are involved, your focus of memories are ______
restricted
106
Emotion-related chemicals like ________ also enhance memory for emotion-laden experiences
epinephrine (adrenalin)
107
What is a flashbulb memory?
A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event
108
A ____________ is a good analogy for LTM
mental scaffold
The more associations you make in memory, the more information you can store there
109
The physical trace that is the biological basis of memory is known as an __________
engram/memory trace
110
People are more _______ about the accuracy of flashbulb memories than everyday memories
confident
111
What is the difference between flashbulb memories and personal emotional memories?
Flashbulb memories are publicly known, widely shared events. They are hence likely to be discussed widely and retold frequently and details are likely to become distorted
112
As information passes from one stage of the memory to the next, the information becomes more
meaningful and associated with other information in LTM
113
Successful retrieval depends on how they were _______ and how they are _______
encoded; cued
114
What is implicit memory?
A memory that was not deliberately learned or of which you have no conscious awareness
115
What is explicit memory?
A memory that has been processed with attention and can be consciously recalled
116
Who coined implicit and explicit memory?
Daniel Schacter
117
H. M.'s problem was primarily one of ______ memory
explicit
Skotko found that he could learn new semantic material through implicit channels
118
What is a retrieval cue?
Stimulus used to bring a memory to consciousness or to cue a behaviour by directing you to relevant information stored in LTM
119
The more ______ your web of associations, the ______ the chance of retrieving the information
extensive; greater
120
What is priming?
A technique for cuing implicit memories by providing cues that stimulate a memory without awareness of the connection between the cue and the retrieved memory
121
We are always aware of _________ whereas ________ may be incidentally learned
explicit; implicit
122
What does gist mean?
The sense or meaning, as contrasted with the exact details
123
What are ways to retrieve explicit memories? (2)
1. Meaningful organisation
- getting the gist of an event
2. Recall and Recognition
124
What is recall?
A retrieval method in which one must reproduce previously presented information with minimal retrieval cues
125
What is recognition?
A retrieval method in which one must identify present stimuli as having been previously presented
126
Recognition generally produces more memories than recall but is also more likely to produce ________
false positives/false memories
127
What is the encoding specificity principle?
The idea that memory is encoded and stored with specific cues related to the context in which it was formed
The more closely the retrieval cues match the form in which the information was encoded, the better it will be remembered
128
What is mood-congruent memory?
A memory process that selectively retrieves memories that match one's mood
129
What is prospective memory?
The aspect of memory that enables one to remember to take some action in the future
(eg remembering an appointment)
130
What is continuous monitoring?
Trying to keep the intended action in mind
but can be easily derailed by distraction or habit
131
When people have to remember to deviate from their usual routine, they typically rely on ____________
continuous monitoring
132
How do we prevent being derailed during continuous monitoring?
1. Use a reliable prompt
2. Think of a specific cue you expect to encounter just before the required task
133
What is the tip-of-tongue (TOT) phenomenon?
The inability to recall a word, while knowing that it is in memory
134
What are some possible causes of the TOT phenomenon? (2)
1. Inadequate context cues
- not enough context to activate the schema associated with the word
2. Interference
- when another memory blocks access or retrieval
(weak match between retrieval cues and encoding of the word in LTM)
135
Give an example of a mood-congruent memory
Good examples involves situations in which people who are feeling a strong emotion or mood selectively remember experiences associated with the mood. Thus, during a physical exam, a depressed person might report more unpleasant physical symptoms than would a happy person
136
Give an example of a situation that would require prospective memory
Prospective memory involves having to remember to perform some action at a time in the future
Such as taking medicine tonight, stopping at the grocery store on the way home, or calling one's parents next Friday evening
137
What is another name for encoding specificity?
State-dependent retrieval
138
What are Daniel Schacter's 7 sins of memory?
1. Transience
2. Absent-mindedness
3. Blocking
4. Misattribution
5. Suggestibility
6. Bias
7. Unwanted persistence
139
Who termed the 7 sins of memory?
Daniel Schacter
140
The 7 sins of memory are ___________ and are consequences of some very useful features of human memory
naturally adaptive
141
What is transience?
The impermanence of a long-term memory
Transience is based on the idea that long-term memories gradually fade in strength over time
142
Who did the study on the forgetting curve?
Hermann Ebbinghaus
143
Ebbinghaus used the _________ method to trace memory over long periods of time
savings
144
Ebbinghaus discovered that for relatively meaningless material, we have a ____________ of memory followed by a ____________
rapid initial loss; declining rate of loss
145
What is the forgetting curve?
A graph plotting the amount of retention and forgetting over time for a certain batch of material, such as a list of nonsense syllables
The typical forgetting curve is steep at first, becoming flatter as time goes on
146
The forgetting curve captures the pattern of _________ by which we forget much of the verbal material we learn
transience
147
Current research uses brain scanning techniques like ______ and ______ to visualise diminishing brain activity that characterises forgetting
fMRI; PET
148
What is one common cause of transience?
Interference
When one item prevents us from forming a robust memory for another item
Occurs when you attempt to learn 2 conflicting things in succession
149
What 3 factors cause interference?
1. The more similar the two sets of material to be learned, the greater the likelihood of interference
2. Meaningless material is more vulnerable to interference than meaningful material
3. Emotional material can be an especially powerful cause of interference
150
What are the 2 main categories of interference?
1. Proactive interference
2. Retroactive interference
151
What is proactive interference?
A cause of forgetting by which previously stored information prevents learning and remembering new information
past -> now
"pro": forward
old memories act forward in time to block new learning
p for previous
152
What is retroactive interference?
A cause of forgetting by which newly learned information prevents retrieval of previously stored material
past <- now
"retro": backward
new material reaches backward to push old material out
r for (having trouble) recalling
153
What is the serial position effect?
A form of interference related to the sequence in which information is presented
Generally, items in the middle of the sequence are less well remembered than items presented first or last
154
What is the primacy effect?
The relative ease of remembering the first items in a series
155
What is the recency effect?
The strength of memory for the most recent items
156
Serial position effect: the middle is exposed to a double dose of _______
interference
157
What is absent-mindedness (a sin of memory)?
Forgetting caused by lapses in attention
158
Retrieval failure caused by shifting your attention elsewhere can occur on the _________ end or during the original ________
retrieval; encoding
159
What is blocking? (a sin of memory)
Forgetting that occurs when an item in memory cannot be accessed or retrieved
Is caused by interference
160
One form of blocking is the ______ phenomenon
TOT
161
TOT phenomenon is a form of _______
blocking
162
What are other factors that could produce blocking?
1. Stress
- failure to sustain focus of attention
2. Distraction
3. Age
163
What is misattribution? (a sin of memory)
A memory fault that occurs when memories are retrieved but are associated with the wrong time, place or person
164
Misattribution stems from the _________ nature of LTM
reconstructive
165
What is suggestibility? (a sin of memory)
The process of memory distortion as the result of deliberate or inadvertent suggestion
166
Who did the studies on memory distortion and fabricated memories?
Loftus and Palmer
167
What is the misinformation effect?
The distortion of memory by suggestion or misinformation
168
Who was the psychologist with a fabricated memory?
Jean Piaget
169
Suggestion can occur with the following factors: (5)
1. Leading questions
2. The passage of substantial amounts of time
3. Repeated retrieval
4. The age of the witness
5. Unwarranted confidence
170
What is bias? (a sin of memoey)
The influence of personal beliefs, attitudes, and experiences on memory
171
What are 2 forms of bias?
1. Expectancy bias
2. Self-consistency bias
172
What is expectancy bias?
The unconscious tendency to remember events as being congruent with our expectations
173
What is self-consistency bias?
The commonly held idea that we are more consistent in our attitudes, opinions, and beliefs than we actually are
174
What is persistence? (a sin of memory)
A memory problem in which unwanted memories cannot be put out of mind
175
What is the adaptation of transience?
It prevents the memory system from being overwhelmed by information it no longer needs?
176
What is the adaptation of blocking?
It allows only the most relevant information, that is most strongly associated with present cues, to come to mind
177
What is the adaptation of absent-mindedness?
It allows us to shift our attention
178
What is the adaptation of misattributions, biases and suggestibility?
Allows our memory system to focus on meaning and discard details
179
What is the adaptation of persistence?
It allows our memory system to be responsive to emotional experiences, particularly those involving dangerous situations
180
What is a mnemonic strategy?
A technique for improving memory by making connections between new material and information already present in LTM
181
What is the meaning of "mnemonics"?
Remember (Greek)
182
What are 2 mnemonic strategies?
1. The method of loci
2. Natural language mediators
183
What is the method of loci?
A mnemonic technique that involves associated items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations
Devised by the Greeks
184
What is another name for the method of loci?
Roman room
185
What does "loci" mean?
place
(Greek)
186
_______ or ________ image combinations are usually easier to remember
bizarre; unconventional
187
________ is one of the most effective forms of encoding
Visual imagery
188
What is a natural language mediator?
A word associated with new information to be remembered
Eg rhymes in slogans, rhythmic musical jingles, acronyms
189
What is an acronym?
A word made up of initials
190
Use of mnemonics teaches us that memory is _____
flexible, personal and creative
191
Memory ultimately works by making ______
meaningful associations
192
What is the whole method?
The mnemonic strategy of first approaching the material to be learned "as a whole", forming an impression of the overall meaning of the material
The details are later associated with this overall impression
193
What is distributed learning?
A technique whereby the learner spaces learning sessions over time rather than trying to learn the material all in one study period
194
What is massed learning?
Learning all at once
195
What are the advantages of distributed learning compared to mass learning? (5)
1. avoids fatigue
2. higher efficiency
3. strengthens memories in the process of consolidation
4. increases understanding
5. longer retention of material
196
Interference is most likely under what conditions? (3)
1. When previously stored information prevents the learning of new material
2. When new material is similar to old knowledge
3. When information is low in meaning
