Memory

Question 1

What are the 4 steps of memory formation?

Answer 1

Encoding, consolidation, storage, retrieval

Question 2

Encoding

Answer 2

Process of taking in sensory experience, can be automatic (little effort, difficult to retrieve/improve retrieval) or effortful (intentional effort required).

Question 3

Engram

Answer 3

Physical neuron pathway of storing memory (specifics of pathway are highly debated)

Question 4

Consolidation

Answer 4

Period of time where proteins are manufactured for establishing/stabilizing memories. Hippocampus allows us to do this. Consolidated memories are resistant to decay and interference. REM sleep helps with consolidation

Question 5

Targeted memory reactivation

Answer 5

Playing a sound during the day while learning a task, and then playing the same sound during sleep reactivated memory (happens during non REM sleep)

Question 6

Storage

Answer 6

Memories are put away and organized in ways that make it easier to recall
Heirarchies: memories are organized from most specific feature to most general
Associative network: Network of how experiences/concepts connect with each other
Node: one concept on an associative network

Question 7

Retrieval

Answer 7

Retrieving memories (long term memory to short term), ease of retrieval depends on how well the other steps went

Question 8

Different kinds of processing

Answer 8

Structural: encoding based on physical properties/appearance, shallowest level, leads to lowest memory retention
Phonemic: encoding the sound of a word/information, leads to better memory retention but still shallow
Semantic: encoding based on the meaning of a word/information, leads to best memory retention
Organizational: Grouping info, making it easier to remember, creates associations, improves recall

Question 9

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 9

People are more likely to recall memories if they are in the same environment they learned them in, improves encoding

Question 10

Dual coding theory

Answer 10

Human mind processes info through two systems: verbal and imagery,

Question 11

Self referential encoding

Answer 11

Memory technique involving focusing on new info that relates to oneself
Cocktail party phenomenon: ability to focus on one sound when surrounded by noise

Question 12

Motivation to remember

Answer 12

Motivation to remember things facilitates consolidation of memories

Question 13

Peg words

Answer 13

Mnemonic system involving associating words or numbers, often using rhymes, improves encoding

Question 14

Method of loci

Answer 14

Mnemonic device involving visualizing information

Question 15

Chunking

Answer 15

Individual parts of info are bound together to make a more meaningful whole in your memory

Question 16

Spacing/testing effect

Answer 16

Spacing effect: info is retained better when studied over time instead of massed together
Testing effect: recalling info from memory while testing is better for retention than studying directly from material

Question 17

Atkinson shiffrin model

Answer 17

Environmental stimuli => sensory memory => attention => short term memory => elbaorative rehearsal => long term memory
Retrieval: long term memory to short term memory

Question 18

Sensory VS short term memory

Answer 18

Sensory: brief period of a few seconds/milliseconds meant to be a buffer for info, while the brain decides what to focus on. Most info in sensory is forgotten.
Short term: 20 to 30 seconds, temporarily holds and manipulates info for tasks like reasoning, learning and comprehension. Can hold 5-9 items according to miller’s law. Info can be maintained through rehearsal and repetition.

Question 19

Long term memory

Answer 19

Responsible for storing memory over extended periods
Declarative: memory that can be consciously recalled/articulated. Can be semantic (memory of facts and general world knowledge) or episodic (memory of specific life events or experiences, contextual details)
Procedural: skills and actions that can be performed w/o conscious thought
Autobiographical memory: encompasses person’s personal history and experiences
Prospective: memory of planned actions/intentions
Retrospective: Recall of general past events

Question 20

Working memory

Answer 20

Model of memory by Alan baddeley, combines memory into multi component system
Central executive: the “boss,” determines where we focus our attention
Visuospacial sketchpad: Holds visual and spatial info (images, direction, spacial orientation)
Phonological loop: uses auditory/language related info, source of inner voice
Episodic buffer: combines elements from LTM to form a complete “scene,” helps keep things in temporal sequence

Question 21

Benefits of good memory

Answer 21

Higher reading comprehension, intelligence

Question 22

Reconsolidation

Answer 22

Sometimes when we recall memories and consolidate them again, we change them and remember them differently

Question 23

Retrieving memory

Answer 23

Explicit memory: searching through memory to get the necessary memory, uses hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
Implicit memory: do not need to search for memory, is instinctual, uses cerebellum and basal ganglia
State dependent retrieval: easier to recall info that matches your emotional state
Schemas and associative network help us remember things

Question 24

Testing memory

Answer 24

Recall: testing memory w/o cues
Recognition: testing memory w/ cues
Relearning: how long it takes you to learn info again after forgetting. The faster it takes you to relearn info, the more memory you have

Question 25

Amnesia

Answer 25

Problem with long term memory (short term memory unaffected) due to damage in hippocampus
Retrograde: you forget everything prior to event that causes amnesia (very rare)
Anterograde: unable to create new memories after the point of amnesia (more common)

Question 26

Serial positioning effect

Answer 26

More likely to remember items at the beginning and end of a list, low memory of items in the middle
Primacy: items at the beginning of a list (uses long term memory)
Recency: items at the end of a list (uses short term memory)
If there is a delay between when you hear the list and when you have to recall it, recency becomes worse, primacy is unaffected

Question 27

Jennifer Thompson and Ronald cotton

Answer 27

JT wrongfully identified RC as a perpetrator from a lineup, example of wrongful conviction from cross racial crimes
Own race bias: better at picking out details to create memory from our own race than those of other races

Question 28

Source monitoring

Answer 28

Understanding the the source you get info from, and the reputability of the source
Cryptoamnesia: if you have a thought and can’t remember the source, you can believe you created the thought

Question 29

Processing errors

Answer 29

Creating inaccurate memories due to errors in processing (selective attention, cryptoamensia etc can fall under this category), typically deals with encoding and reconsolidation

Question 30

Tip of the tongue effect

Answer 30

You know that you know info, but can’t recall it (we recall it using the associative network)

Question 31

Forgetting

Answer 31

Ineffective encoding: fail at first step leads to unsuccessful memory
Decay/transience: info fades away over time as we stop using it, to the point we completely forget
Retrieval failure: encoded and effectively stored info, but we cannot retrieve it
Proactive interference: original info is interfering w/ new info
Retroactive interference: new info interferes with old info
Suggestibility: create changes in memory due to external info
Bias: remember things that align with beliefs
Persistence: memories changing every time you recall them due to reconsolidation

Question 32

Rehearsal

Answer 32

Maintenance rehearsal: basic, repetitive rehearsal, keeps info in STM
Elaborative rehearsal: relating new info to what we already know, uses episodic buffer, brings things to LTM