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
Immediate memory - What is rehearsal?
the process of repeating information to yourself
- helps you “re-her” information again
- ex. repeating numbers in a phone number
What is capacity, what is it also called and what is the limit dependent on?
immediate memory can hold about 7 +/- 2 items
- memory span
- the amount of rehearsal in 2 seconds
What is the Baddeley’s working memory model?
Central executive (decides what is going to long term memory)
Branch 1: phonological loop (inner voice)
Branch 2: episodic buffer (temporary store)
Branch 3: visuospatial sketchpad (inner eye)
What is the order of memory?
- sensory
- immediate
- long-term
Long term memory - What is the difference between episodic, semantic, and procedural memory?
E - tied to personal experience, emotion, and events (autobiographical memory - blowing out candles)
S - general knowledge not tied to specific experiences (semantic = meaning - dog has four legs)
P - memory for processes or how to preform tasks (motor and athletic skills - resistant to amnesia)
What is elaborative rehearsal?
actively relate new information to existing knowledge to enhance memory
Elaborative encoding - what are the types of processing?
Deep processing - encoding new information via meaningful connections to existing knowledge
Shallow processing - encoding new information based only on its surface characteristics
What are the different kinds/ ways of elaboration?
- imagery
- organization
- distinctiveness
- self- reference
What is the deep and shallow processing of the word: CHIPMUNK?
Deep: is this a living four-legged furry creature
Shallow: is this is capital letter or not
What are mnemonics and the 2 types?
Techniques to help structure and enhance memory
- acronyms/ initializations
- method of loci (visualizing items along a familiar route)
What was the practice retrieval experiment and what was the 3 methods of flash cards?
retrieving information that you have learned (ex. learning Swahili vocabulary)
1. drop
2. study
3. test
What was the results from the practicing retrieval study?
Test was the most effective method for learning
What is centrality of cues?
Cues: pieces of information that helps us remember events from the past (e.g., smells, songs)
What are the different types of cues?
Cued recall: memory is enhanced when provided with cues
Free recall: recalling something without any cues
What is encoding- context match?
Retrieval works best when the context during encoding matches the context during retrieval.
- ex. studying underwater means you can retrieve the studied information better underwater
What is transfer-appropriate processing?
use same kinds of mental processes during testing as encoding to enhance retrieval
What is encoding-retrieval matches?
- many cues for the same information
- cues are only helpful if they match the to-be-remembered information
What is implicit memory?
- remembering without conscious realization or intent
- opposite of explicit memory (e.g., conscious, willful remembering)
Why does encoding-retrieval matter to implicit memory?
elaboration has a reduced effect on implicit memory
What is error of omission and the 3 kinds?
memory errors where information cannot be brought to mind
1. transience: memory for an event tends to degrade over time
2. absent-mindedness: memories that are unavailable because of a failure to encode them in the first place
3. blocking: not enough distinctive cues are available to help us recover a specific memory
What is error of commission and the 4 kinds?
memory errors where wrong or unwanted information is brought to mind
1. misattribution
2. suggestibility (misinformation effect)
3. bias
4. persistence
Transience - What is the decay theory of forgetting?
- memories fade away due to the passage of time alone
- Ex. forgetting the name of new people with rehearsing
- little evidence for this
Transience - What is the difference between retroactive and proactive interference with memories?
R: when new information makes it harder to remember old information
P: when old information makes it harder to learn new information
- more evidence for this theory
What is misattrubution?
Deja vu or incorrect flashbulb memories
- the feeling that one has already experienced a sequence of events
What is suggestibility?
the misinformation effects
- phenomenon in which misleading information alters a subsequent memory
- typically refers to an eyewitness account
What is bias?
the use of schemas
- highly organized knowledge structures
- stereotypes
What is persistence?
posttraumatic stress disorder
- people who have PTSD often have memories that are difficult to suppress, despite conscious efforts to do so
- flashbacks
What is elaboration?
Actively relating new information to existing knowledge to enhance memory
