Memory Flashcards
What are the three stages of information processing in memory?
Input, processing, and output.
What is input in memory?
The information received from the environment through the senses.
What is processing in memory?
The way the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information.
What is output in memory?
The retrieval of stored information when needed.
What is encoding in memory?
The process of converting sensory input into a form that can be stored in the brain.
What is storage in memory?
The process of retaining encoded information over time.
What is retrieval in memory?
Accessing and bringing stored information into consciousness.
What is the duration of short-term memory (STM)?
Around 18 seconds.
What is the capacity of short-term memory?
About 7 items.
What is the duration of long-term memory (LTM)?
Potentially a lifetime.
What is the capacity of long-term memory?
Unlimited.
What is retrograde amnesia?
The inability to recall past memories before brain damage.
What is anterograde amnesia?
The inability to form new memories after brain damage.
What are the symptoms of retrograde amnesia?
- Loss of past memories
- Older memories may return first
- Recent memories are affected more than distant ones
What are the symptoms of anterograde amnesia?
- Cannot transfer new experiences into long-term memory
- STM remains intact
- Can still recall past memories
What are schemas?
Mental frameworks based on past experiences that help organize information.
How do schemas influence memory?
They cause distortions, fill in gaps, and make memories more meaningful but less accurate.
What is the key idea of Bartlett’s Theory of Reconstructive Memory?
Memory is not an exact recording but is reconstructed based on prior knowledge and schemas.
How does Bartlett describe memory?
As an active process where we interpret and reconstruct events rather than simply recall them.
What did Bartlett mean by “effort after meaning”?
People try to make sense of new information based on existing knowledge.
What are the three types of memory distortions in Bartlett’s theory?
- Omission – Leaving out unfamiliar details.
- Transformation – Details are changed to make them more familiar and rational.
- Familiarisation – Changing unfamiliar details to align own schemas.
- Rationalisation – Adding details into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fitted with a schema.
What are strengths of Bartlett’s theory?
- It explains why eyewitness testimonies are unreliable and how memories change over time.
- He used qualitative data, allowing detailed insights into how people reconstruct memories.
What are weaknesses of Bartlett’s theory?
- His experiments did not follow standardized procedures, making results less reliable.
- Qualitative data is subjective, meaning Bartlett’s interpretations may have been biased.
What are the three stores in the Multi-store Model?
Sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
What is the role of the sensory register?
Holds brief sensory information before processing.
What is the role of attention in memory?
It determines whether information moves from sensory register to STM.
What is the role of rehearsal in memory?
Repeating information moves it from STM to LTM.
What is a strength of the Multi-store Model?
It is supported by evidence, such as amnesia patients who lose STM or LTM separately.
