memory Flashcards
What are the stages of information processing?
Input
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Output
What is input?
sensory information we receive from information
What is encoding?
turning sensory information into a form that he is used and stored by the brain
What is storage?
retention of memory in our memory system
What is retrieval?
Recall of stored memories
What is output?
Information we recall
How do we encode information?
Acoustic (hearing)
Visual (see)
Semantic (meaning of info)
What is the duration and capacity of short term memory?
Duration - 18 seconds
Capacity - 5-9 chunks of info
What is the duration and capacity of long term memory?
Duration - lifetime
Capacity - limitless
What is retrograde amnesia and it’s symptoms?
Causes a loss of memories before brain damage
Can forget who they are and where they come from
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to make and store any long term memories
How are schemas formed?
Through personal experiences
How do schemas influence memory?
Schemas cause us to change or ignore details when recalling them
What is the sensory register?
Our immediate memory of sensory information
What is the role of attention in memory?
If we pay attention to something, more likely to remember it
What is the role of rehearsal in memory?
Repeating short term memory over and over again helps it to hold in short term memory - transfers to long term memory
What are strengths of the multi store model?
Provides evidence for how amnesia damages memory
What are weaknesses of the multi store model?
Sometimes we remember stuff as they are more meaningful, not because we rehearse them
What ate strengths of Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory?
Real life applications - crime eyewitnesses
What are weaknesses of Bartlett’s theory of reconstructive memory?
His findings were subjective
What are omissions according to Bartlett?
Leave out unfamiliar, unpleasant things when remembering something
What are transformations according to Bartlett?
Details are changed to make them more familiar
What are familiarisation according to Bartlett?
Change unfamiliar details to align own schema
What are rationalisation according to Bartlett?
Add details to recall to give a reason that something may not have fitted with a schema
What was the aim of the war of the ghosts study?
- Whether memory affects schemas
- If memory affects people due to different cultures
What is some information on the participants about the war of the ghosts study?
- 20 participants (7 women, 13 men)
- Not told aim of study
What was the procedure of the war of the ghosts study?
- Read a story twice
- Repeated reproduction used 15 mins later (no specific interval)
What are key findings in war of the ghosts study?
- changed some words in the story (canoe became boats)
What were conclusions of war of the ghosts study?
- Omissions and transformation happens
- Details are fit to participants interests
What is a strength of war of the ghosts study?
Reliable as he replicated his procedure of various stories and pictures
What is a weakness of war of the ghosts study?
Didn’t use a standardised procedure when doing time intervals
What was the aim of Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
How long short term memory was
What is some information on the participants for the Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
1-24 participants from Indiana university
What was the procedure of the Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
- Trigram shown on screen then asked to count backwards in 3’s and 4’s and then recall trigram
- tested eight times with intervals of 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds
What were key findings in Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
- took an average of 2.83 seconds to begin recall of trigram once counting had stopped
- 3 seconds interval, 50% recalled trigrams accurately/dropped to 10% from 15 seconds onwards
What was the conclusion in Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
Information decays rapidly from short term memory
What is a strength in Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
Used standardised procedure (increased validity)
What is a weakness in Peterson and Peterson’s trigram study?
Trigram isn’t used in everyday life - lacks mundane realism
What means by reductionism?
Explaining something in a very basic manner
What means by holism?
Explaining something as a whole
