Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
The retention, retrieval and use of information after the information source is no longer available
What are the three types of memory stores?
Sensory, short-term and long-term
What is sensory memory?
Brief preservation of information in its original form, lasts approx half a second after the stimulus has disappeared
What is iconic memory?
Momentary memory for visual information (i.e. visual trace)
What is echoic memory?
Momentary memory for auditory information
What is short-term memory?
A memory store that holes a small amount of information in the consciousness, lasts 20-30 seconds without repetition
What is the limited capacity of short-term memory?
Holds an average of 7 items +/- 2
What is maintenance rehearsal?
The process of repeating information over and over to retain it in short-term memory
What is elaborative rehearsal?
The process of thinking about information while committing it to memory (i.e. long-term memory)
What is long-term memory?
The representations of information that may persist over a lifetime, potentially limitless in duration & capacity
What is retrieval?
The process of bringing information from long-term memory back into short-term memory
What is the serial position effect?
The tendency to remember information towards the beginning and end of a list rather than in the middle
On the serial position curve, what does the primacy effect reflect?
Long-term memory
On the serial position curve, what does the recency effect reflect?
Short-term memory
What does working memory refer to?
The temporary storage and processing of information that can be used to solve problems, respond to environmental demands or achieve goals
True or false: Working memory is active memory
True
What are the three components of working memory?
Central executive (divides attention), visual memory store (imagination) & verbal memory store
True or false: Working memory does not influence ability to control focus of attention
False
What is chunking?
Using knowledge stored in LTM to group information in larger units to expand working memory capacity (e.g. phone numbers)
What are the two ways in which information is stored in long-term memory?
Declarative and procedural memory
What is declarative memory?
Facts and events, subdivided into semantic and episodic memory
What is semantic memory?
General world knowledge or facts
What is episodic memory?
Autobiographical events
What is procedural memory?
‘How to’ knowledge of procedures and skills
What are the two ways in which knowledge is expressed from long-term memory?
Explicit and implicit memory
What is explicit memory?
Conscious recollection of information
What is implicit memory?
Memory that is unconsciously expressed in behaviour, e.g. tying a shoelace
What are the two types of explicit memory?
Recall and recognition
What is recall and what is the phenomenon experienced when recall fails?
Spontaneous, conscious recollection of information from LTM; tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
What is recognition?
The explicit sense or recollection that something currently perceived has been previously encountered or learned
What is everyday memory?
Memory as it occurs in daily life
What is prospective memory?
Memory for things that need to be done in the future
What is retrospective memory?
Memory for events from the past or previously learned information
What must happen in order for information to be retrievable from memory?
Encoding
What does level of processing refer to?
The degree to which information is elaborated, reflected upon and processed in a meaningful way during storage
What are the three levels of processing?
Structural (shallow), phonemic (intermediate) and semantic (deep)
What is elaboration?
The process of linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding (i.e. thinking of examples)
What is visual imagery?
The creation of visual images to represent words
What does the encoding specificity principle refer to?
Ease of retrieval depends on the match between the way information is encoded and later retrieved (e.g. studying multiple choice for an essay exam = poor recall)
What does context-dependent memory refer to?
Information is easier to recall when it is encoded and retrieved in the same context (e.g. studying in a quiet room)
What does mood congruent memory refer to?
Information is easier to recall when it is encoded and retrieved in the same emotional state
Why does having the same context during encoding and retrieval facilitate recall?
Because the context provides retrieval cues
What is the spacing effect?
Superiority of memory for information rehearsed over longer intervals
What are mnemonic devices?
Systematic strategies for remembering information
What does the mnemonic device, method of loci use?
Visual imagery as a memory aid
What is the SQ4R method?
A study designed to help students study textbook material efficiently by encouraging them to survey, question, read, recite, review and write
What do pieces of information stored in memory form?
Networks of association
What are networks of associated composed of?
Interconnected nodes that contain information
How do schemas affect the way people remember?
1) By influencing the way information is encoded
2) By shaping the way information is reconstructed
What are flashbulb memories?
Vivid memories of exciting or highly consequential events
What is the misinformation effect (MPI)?
Misleading information presented after a person witnesses an event can change how that person later describes the event
What types of people are most at risk for misinformation?
People with poor general memory, high scores on imagery vividness and high empathy scores
What three errors can occur during eyewitness testimony?
Errors due to attention/arousal, familiarity and suggestion
What are the three theories of forgetting?
Decay, interference and motivated forgetting
What does the decay theory suggest?
Forgetting is the result of a memory trace fading due to disuse
What does the interference theory refer to?
Conflict between new and old memories; proactive = old interferes with new, retroactive = new interferes with old
What does motivated forgetting suggest?
Forgetting can avoid painful memories
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to retain new memories
What is retrograde amnesia?
Losing memories from a period of time before brain damage occurred
