Memory Flashcards
Processes of memory
- encoding
- storage
- retrieval
Encoding
Changing information into a form that can be stored in the brain
Types of encoding
- visual
- acoustic
- semantic
Visual encoding
Stored as mental imagery
Acoustic encoding
Stored through inner voice or ear
Semantic encoding
Stored as knowledge and meanings
Storage
Holding information in memory through rehearsal or not, can be stored for life, can be retrieved
Types of memories
- episodic
- semantic
- procedural
Episodic memories
Memories of personal experiences
Semantic memories
Memories of meaning of knowledge
Procedural memories
Memories of unconscious motor skills, can’t easily be put to words
Retrieval
Transferring info from LTM to STM to be used
Types of retrieval
- recall
- recognition
- relearning
Recall
Retrieving information by searching our memory for it
Types of recall
- free
- cued
Free recall
Recalling without options/cues
Cued recall
Recalling after being given a clue/stimuli
Recognition
Identifying something previously learnt from given options
Re-learning
Being exposed to something we have learnt previously but have since forgotten, often doesn’t take as long to re-learn
MSM CREATORS
Atkinson and Shiffrin
MSM DATE
1968
MSM PARTS
- sensory memory store
- short term memory store
- long term memory store
MSM SMS
- info from 5 senses
- capacity - large
- duration - half second
- transfers info to STM through attention
MSM STM
- encoding - mainly acoustic
- capacity - 5-9 chunks of info
- duration - 30 seconds
- info transferred to LTM through rehearsal
- info lost by forgetting
MSM LTM
- encoding - semantic
- capacity - potentially unlimited
- duration - potentially infinite
- info lost through forgetting/decay
MSM STRENGTH
- supporting evidence
- Murdock showed separate STM + LTM stores with primacy + recency effects, rehearsed to LTM, still in STM
- showed different stores, more validity
MSM WEAKNESSES
- doesn’t mention 2 types of rehearsal
- maintenance- verbally repeating to keep in STM, elaborative- giving meaning to transfer to LTM, states all info needs maintenance rehearsal to go to LTM
- too simplistic, overstates importance of maintenance rehearsal
+ - doesn’t explain why info goes to LTM without rehearsal
- episodic memories of significant personal experiences don’t need rehearsal to go into LTM
- suggests all memories need rehearsal to go to LTM, less validity
Serial position curve study DATE
1962
Serial position curve study AIM
- see if position of word on list affects recall
- see if there are separate STM, LTM stores
Serial position curve study METHOD
- 103 psych students
- read list of 10-40 4 letter words on audio tape
- made to recall immediately
Serial position curve study RESULTS
- words from start and end remembered
- words from middle forgotten
Serial position curve study CONCLUSION
- primacy effect -words from start rehearsed to LTM
- recency effect - words from end still in STM, middle in neither so forgotten, supports hypothesis
Serial position curve study STRENGTH
- lab study, controlled conditions, can trust results
- controlled IV, EVs, standardised procedures so can be replicated + verified, word familiarity and speed controlled
- results have more validity, EVs didn’t impact DV
Serial position curve study WEAKNESSES
- artificial task
- recalling words on list is a small part of what we use our memories for everyday
- reduces ecological validity and application
+ - weak sample
- all students of similar age studying psychology course, may have been able to determine aim of study and display demand characteristics
- results can’t be generalised to people across different backgrounds
Theory of reconstructive memory DATE
1932
Theory of reconstructive memory PARTS
- active process
- memory is inaccurate
- social and cultural expectations
- effort after meaning
Theory of reconstructive memory ACTIVE PROCESS
- memory doesn’t recall like a videotape
- when encoding memory, actively try to make sense of it and give it meaning to store it
Theory of reconstructive memory MEMORY IS INACCURATE
- everyone records memory of an event differently
- remember fragments of info and piece them back together to recall a memory
- everyone will recall a memory slightly differently each time
Theory of reconstructive memory SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS
- how fragments are recombined influenced with social and cultural expectations
- WOTG - canoes to boats, seal hunting to fishing
Theory of reconstructive memory EFFORT AFTER MEANING
Focus on meaning of events and make mental effort after to interpret into familiar terms
Theory of reconstructive memory STRENGTHS
- supported by Bartlett’s own study
- WOTG study demonstrated how people use social and cultural schemas when recalling
- increases validity, though must acknowledge potential researcher bias
+ - real-world application
- explains problems with eyewitness testimonies in court by suggesting why memory isn’t always accurate, further demonstrated by Loftus and Palmer
- increases ecological usefulness
Theory of reconstructive memory WEAKNESS
- not all memories reconstructed
- in WOTG study Ps remembered ‘something black came out of his mouth’ as it was distinctive
- some memories are accurate, opposes theory
WOTG study DATE
1932
WOTG study AIM
- see how Ps reconstruct memory when recalling culturally unfamiliar story
WOTG study METHOD
- British Cambridge University Ps
- Ps told native American folk WOTG story on audio tape, made to recall after 15 minutes-10 years
- serial recall - Ps recalling story to each other
- repeated recall, same P recalling story multiple times over time
WOTG study RESULTS
- Ps shortened, omitted, rationalised, changed to fit culture/schema
- ‘canoes to boats’
- remembered distinctive phrases - ‘something black came out his mouth’
WOTG study CONCLUSION
- knowledge of social situations used to reconstruct
- story altered to improve meaning
WOTG study STRENGTH
- more meaningful way of testing recall
- used story not artificial task like remembering list of words, more reflects real life as we retell stories often and some are passed down by word of mouth, however story was unusual
- overall mostly increased ecological validity
WOTG study WEAKNESSES
- experiment lacks control
- no standardised procedures, Ps not told importance of accurate recall (other studies found better recall when told)
- suggests memory can be more accurate than Bartlett suggested, findings less valid
+ - Bartlett’s beliefs may have influenced results
- analysed results himself, results may be biased to support theory
- can’t trust results as there may be experimenter bias, less validity
Schema
Packet of information in our brain that helps us understand things in the world
Processes of a schema
- accommodation
- assimilation
Accommodation
New schema
Assimilation
Adapting schema
Factors affecting accuracy of memory
- interference
- context
- false memories
Interference
2 similar memories getting mixed up, resulting in 1 not being remembered
Types of interference
- proactive
- retroactive
Proactive interference
- old info interfering with new
- can’t remember new info, only old
Retroactive interference
- new info interfering
- remember old info only new
False memories
Remembering things that haven’t actually happened
How does context affect memory
Memories are encoded with things around us creating associations between memories and the context
