Memory Flashcards
Memory def
the storage and retrieval of what has been learned or experienced
What are the 3 stages of memory?
sensory, short-term, long-term
Types of sensory memory, duration, purpose
Iconic: visual memories held up to a second
Echoic: auditory info held up to 2 seconds
Purpose:
- Allows you to make sense of your surroundings
- Gives you time to decide if something is important enough to move to your working memory
-Vanishes so you don’t feel overwhelmed with every single sensory input
Short-term memory duration and influences
Short-term memory is limited to about 7 items for up to 20 seconds if not rehearsed…
It can be influenced by the following:
- Maintenance Rehearsal: repeating info
- Chunking: grouping items together
- Elaborative rehearsal: associating info with previous knowledge
- Primary-Recency Effect: remember first and last part of a list
Working Memory def
Another word for short-term memory, but includes both short-term memory and info stored in long-term that is now being recalled
Long-term memory def, duration, types
Long-term memory: the storage of info over extended periods of time. Its duration can be up to a lifetime.
Types:
- Semantic: knowledge of language - rules, words, meanings. Share knowledge with others
- Episodic: Memory of one’s life
- Procedural memory: memory of learned skills that does to require conscious recollection
Declarative memory: memory of knowledge that can be called forth as needed
The memory process (3 stages)
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Storage
the process by which info is maintained over a period of time
Encoding
the transforming of information so the nervous system can process it
senses can encode memory:
- acoustic codes (say something out loud
- visual codes (mental picture)
- semantic codes (using language to encode a memory or using mnemonics which involve our use of language)
Retrieval
info is brought to front of mind from storage
Retrieving information (process)
- Recognition
- Recall
- Relearning
- Forgetting
Recognition
retrieve info based on recognition
ex. remembering an old teachers name if you heard it, multiple choice tests, etc.
Recall
memory retrieval in which a person reconstructs previously learned material (jeopardy)
how can recall be altered?
- reconstructive memory: memory that has been simplified, enriched, or distorted, depending on an individual’s experiences and attitudes.
- Eidetic memory: photographic memory (people with eidetic memory DO NOT reconstruct memory)
- State-dependant learning: when you recall info easily when in the same environment you learned it in
schema
conceptual frameworks a person uses to make sense of the world
CONFABULATION is a type of reconstructive memory where a person remembers something that never happened.
Relearning
ex. relearning a poem or song you learned when you were a child (often procedural and declarative)
Forgetting
Interference
1. Decay: fading away of memory over time
- Interference: blockage of a memory by previous or subsequent memories (talking while someone is trying to remember a list)
- proactive interference: earlier memory blocks new memory (old phone number blocks new phone number)
-retroactive interference: new memory blocks old memory (can’t remember old lock combo after learning new one) - Repression: subconsciously blocking memories to protect oneself from embarrassing or frightening experiences
- Amnesia: loss of memory. Can be caused by physical or psychological conditions (also infant amnesia)
Proactive and Retroactive Interference
Proactive interference: earlier memory blocks new memory (old phone number blocks new phone number)
Retroactive interference: new memory blocks old memory (can’t remember old lock combo after learning new one)
Improving memory
Elaborate Rehearsal: linking of new info to material you already know
2. Mnemonic Devices: techniques for using associations to memorize and retrieve info
