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cognitive psych 🧠 > memory > Flashcards

memory Flashcards

1
Q

sensory memory in modal

A

initial stage that holds all incoming information for fractions of a second

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2
Q

short term memory in modal

A

holds 5-7 items for about 10-15 seconds

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3
Q

long term memory in modal

A

holds large amounts of information for years or decades

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4
Q

modal model of memory

A

input into sensory memory

transfers to short term memory
rehearsal control processes
lost by decay

transfers to long tem memory

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5
Q

control processes in modal model

A

active processes that can be controlled by the person
allows us to make short term memory more efficient
- rehearsal
- strategies used to make stimuli more memorable
- strategies of attention to help focus

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6
Q

sensory memory

A

retention of effects of sensory stimulation
information decays very quickly

Sterling measured capacity and duration

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7
Q

Sperling

A

presented letters flashing quickly onto screen
participants asked to report as many letters as possible

whole report - report as many as they could

partial report - report specific row
best performance

delay partial report - presentation delayed after letter shown
worst performance

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8
Q

short term memory

A

stores small amounts of information for a brief duration
includes new information received from the sensory memory and information recalled from long term
- that we perceive as the present

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9
Q

duration of short term

A

15-20 seconds
tested with recalling letter and digit series tasks

can decay = reduction in performance after delay
also due to competing stimuli

poor performance after longer intervals mostly occurred towards end
interference caused forgetting

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10
Q

interference

A

proactive - previous interferes with new information

retroactive - new information interferes with existing knowledge

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11
Q

capacity of short term

A

digit span task
- average 5-9 items (7)

chunking
- small units can be combined into larger meaningful units
- effective learning strategy and STM control processes

chunk
- collection of elements strongly associated
- increases capacity

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12
Q

working memory

A

limited capacity system for temporary storage of information

WM differs from STM
- STM holds for brief period
- WM stores, processes and manipulates information
- active during complex cognition
- related to executive attention (requires information)

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13
Q

parts of working memory

A

phonological loop
- verbal and auditory information
- only holds information for few seconds
articulatory rehearsal process - rehearsal keeps information from decaying

central executive
- coordinates between them

visuospatial sketchpad
- visual and spatial information
- holds in absence of physical visual stimulus

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14
Q

central executive

A

acts as the attention controller and accesses long term memory

focuses, divides and switches attention

controls suppression of irrelevant information

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15
Q

capacity of WM

A

affected by interference

phonological similarity effect
- letters of words that sound similar are comfused

articulator suppression
- speaking prevents one from rehearsing items to be remembered

word length effect
- memory for word lists better for short words
- takes longer to rehearse long words and produce them in recall

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16
Q

episodic buffer

A

added to WM in 2009

backup store that can hold information longer
has greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad

uses chunking
communicates with long term and working memory components

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17
Q
A

neural basis of WM influenced by context

there is not one neural correlate of WM

behaviour of neurons being active while controlled attention mediates different processes
WM not localised

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18
Q

prefrontal cortex

A

processes incoming visual and auditory information

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19
Q

Funahashi

A

single cell recording from monkeys prefrontal cortex during delated response task

neurons that responded to stimulus location kept firing for the delay time

monkeys without prefrontal cortex have difficulty holding information in working memory

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20
Q

long term memory

A

archive of information about past events and knowledge

works closely with working memory
storage 30 seconds ago - forever
more recent memories are more detailed

consolidation = process of moving information from WM to LTM

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21
Q

types of long term memory

A

explicit (declarative)
- conscious - know you remember
- experiences and events

episodic (experiences) and semantic (facts and knowledge)

implicit (non-declarative)
- unconscious

procedural - how to do things
priming
classical conditioning (associations)

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22
Q

serial position curve

A

distinction between short and long term memories

read word list - write all words remembered

memory better for words presented at beginning of list - primacy effect

and for those at the end - recency effect

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23
Q

coding

A

happens on all levels
- auditory, visual and semantic

sensory coding is encoded into mental coding
recognition memory - identification of previously encountered stimulus

24
Q

patient HM and KF

A

HM = no hippocampus
retained STM but no new LTM

KF = damage to parental lobe
- impaired STM but good LTM

highlights role of hippocampus for encoding episodic information
and parietal for attention and working memory

25
Q

double dissociation

A

occurs if damage to one area of the brain causes function A to be absent while function B is present
and damage to area causes function B to be absent while function A is present

26
Q

declarative memory

A

episodic memory
- involves mental time travel
- tied to personal experience
- self knowing
- can overlap with autobiographic memory

semantic memory
- does not involve mental time travel
- general knowledge and facts
- knowing
- often result of episodic memories

autobiographical
- memory for specific experiences from our life, can include both semantic and episodic
- involves mental time travel
- multidimensional

27
Q

active reconstruction

A

based on combining episodic, semantic, sensory and self relevant information

28
Q

what information is remembered the best?

A

significant events
emotional events
transition points

not all information remembered the same

almost nothing before 5
childhood remembered well
fewer memories encoded in middle of life
recent events remembered better

29
Q

exceptional stimuli

A

emotional events - more easily and vividly remembered

emotion improves memory
becomes greater with time eg weapon focus

30
Q

flashbulb memories

A

memories for hr circumstances surrounding shocking, important events

culturally important communal memories

highly affected by rehearsal (eg talking and media) and personal emotion

31
Q

non declarative memories

A

implicit - procedural, priming and conditioning

procedural - skills

priming - unconscious, implicit, pre activation of relevant features by an unattended stimulus

conditioning - associating two not naturally related things via experience

32
Q

implicit memories

A

occurs when learning from experience is not accompanied by conscious remembering of acquisition

33
Q

Patient HM and procedural

A

no new episodic or semantic

but could make procedural

34
Q

engrams

A

first physical traces of memory

recycled for new memories when they have been encoded

35
Q

consolidation

A

transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state 9change over time)

initiate in hippocampus and distributed in different parts of the cortex

36
Q

getting information into LTM

A

encoding
- acquiring information and transforming it into memory

retrieval
- transferring information from LTM to working memory

maintenance rehearsal
- repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it to LTM

elaborative rehearsal
- using meanings and connections to help transfer information to LTM

37
Q

levels of processing theory

A

memory depends on how much information is encoded (depth of processing)

shallow processing
- little attention to meaning
- focus on physical features
- results in poor memory

deep processing
- close attention to meaning
- connecting new information to existing
- results in better memory

38
Q

factors that aid encoding

A

visual imagery
self reference effect (memory better if you can relate it to something)
generation effect (generating relevant information)
organising to be remember information
retrieval practise
drawing

39
Q

retrieval

A

process of transferring information from LTM back into WM
most vulnerable process of memory

due to:
- many memory failures are failures of retrieval
- not done properly or correctly

emotion interferes
- positive easier than negative
context interferes
- easier to retrieve information in a similar situation or mood compared to when information is learnt

40
Q

facts that aid retrieval

A

cues
matching conditions

encoding specificity - context dependant
mood matching - state dependant

41
Q

memory consolidation

A

transforms new memories from fragile stat into more permanent state

synaptic - rapid, occurs at synapses (faster)
systems - gradual, reorganisation of neural circuits (slow)

42
Q

synaptic consolidation

A

Hebb
- learning and memory represent in brain by physiological changes at synapse
- neural record of experience

long term potentiation
- strengthening of synaptic transmission by enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation
- structural changes and enhanced responding

43
Q

system consolidation

A

gradual reorganisation of neural connections over time
after encoding, activity of the hippocampus fades with time

connections between the cortex and the hippocampus are initially strong
as time passes, activity occurs between the hippocampus and the cortex
= reactivation

over time, connections formed between cortical areas
connections between hippocampus and cortex weakened and vanish
= cross cortical consolidation

44
Q

factors affecting consolidation

A

memory consolidation enhanced during sleep
- stops interference from environmental stimuli

some memories are consolidated more than others
retrieved memories become fragile and are consolidated again = reonsolidation

memory constantly constructed and remodelled in response to learning and current conditions

45
Q

retrograde amnesia

A

loss of memory for events prior to trauma

46
Q

graded amnesia

A

memory for recent events more fragile than for remote

47
Q

anterograde amnesia

A

inability to form new long term memories for events after trauma

48
Q

effects of time on memories

A

semantic - increases infill 6- then slowly decreases

implicit - not effected much

episodic - deteriorates rapidly after 60
- recognition performance better than free recall

49
Q

constructive nature of memory

A

memory = what happened + persons knowledge, experiences and expectations

memory influenced by inferences based on peoples experiences and knowledge

50
Q

Bartlett

A

participants remember a story from a different culture
repeated reproduction

over time reproduction became shorter and less accurate

changed story to make more consistent with own culture and stereotypes

51
Q

scripts and schemas

A

concept of a sequence of actions that usually occurs during a particular experience

schema - knowledge about some aspect of the environment

52
Q

effect of scripts and schemas on memory

A

memory can include information not actually experienced but inferred
because it is expected and consistent with schema

can lead to errors and false memories

53
Q

source monitoring

A

source memory - process of determining origins of our memories

source monitoring error - misidentifiying source of memory

enhanced probability of evaluating a statement as true after repeated presentation
based on familiarity

54
Q

cryptoamnesia

A

unconscious plagiarism of another work due to lack of recognition of its original source

55
Q

power of suggestion

A

misinformation effect
- misleading information presented after someone witnesses an event can change how that person later describes it

56
Q

errors in eyewitness testimony

A

mistaken identity
errors due to attention or arousal
errors due to familiarity (source monitoring)
constructive nature (inference)
suggestive questioning (misinformation)

57
Q

inaccurate memories and inequalities

A

social hierarchy in who we believe
making inferences based on biased beliefs

face memory worse for groups we don’t interact with as much
people trust own memories

cognitive psych 🧠 (12 decks)

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