Memory Flashcards
What is a flashbulb memory and examples?
a very vivid memory. ex. remembering everything that you were doing when 9/11 happened
- JFK’s assassination
- September 11th 2001
- The challenger explosion
What are the flashbulb inconsistencies?
reconstruction: changes overtime and the more times you say it, the more sure you are
Why does our memory reconstruct?
Since it is only able to use the information available to make an educated guess
- true for even our most dear memories
What is the search metaphor and the examples?
commonly referring to memory as a “search” process, where the mind is a space that holds memories (objects) that can be found, like in a physical space
- house, library, purse, computer, files
What is the memory test, what were the results and what does it prove?
asking participants to recall a drawing
- many couldn’t accurately replicate it, therefore adding or taking away some information
- memory isn’t a “search and retrieve” system
What should our memories be referred to instead of “search and retrieve”?
reconstruction using prior knowledge to make an educated guess
What is the adaptive function of memory?
memory is useful for helping in the presents, not reliving the past
- helps to solve challenges and adapt to situations
What is memory and name the 3 phases?
M: the structure and process involved in both the storage and retrieval of information
1. encoding
2. storage
3. retrieval
What is the difference between encoding, storage, and retrieval?
E - the process of how information is initially learned
S - the process of maintaining information over (a short or long) time
R - the process involved in recovering information from memory to produce a response
What is sensory memory and the 2 types?
S - the first step in encoding involves sensory memory. where sensory information (sights, sounds) is briefly held in its raw form.
1. iconic memory
2. echoic memory
What is the difference between iconic and echoic memory?
I - visual sensory memory, such as afterimages (e.g., the trail of a sparkler), lasts only a fraction of a second
E - auditory sensory memory (e.g., remembering the last words spoken to you after a distraction) can last up to 3-4 seconds.
What is unique about the storage capacity of sensory memory?
large capacity for short period of time
- ex. the George sperling word block experiment
What is immediate memory (short term memory/ working memory) and how does it relate to consciousness?
A system that holds and manipulates information actively in the present
- it is the “contents of consciousness”
What are the 3 characteristics of immediate memory?
- Representation: the kind of information a memory system contains
- Duration: how long a memory system can
- Capacity: how much information can be held in a memory system at any time
Immediate memory - what is the inner voice, what is its characteristics and common mistakes?
Verbal immediate memory depends on language: people who speak with sign language, sign as their inner voice (so they don’t really have an inner voice)
- mistakes that we make support the inner voice
- mistakes: words that sound the same but don’t look the same
Immediate memory - what is the inner eye?
immediate memory can also represent visual information (e.g., imagining the number of windows in your house), using mental imagery
immediate memory - what is duration and what is it reliant on?
information stays in immediate memory briefly unless rehearsed. Without rehearsal, memory decays quickly, as shown in Peterson & Peterson’s experiment, where recall dropped sharply after 3 secs.
- rehearsal
What is special about the location the inner ear and eye operate in the brain?
they recruit the same areas of the brain
