Memory Flashcards
Stages of memory
sensory, short term, long term
Sensory memory
lasts for only seconds; connection between perception and memory. Iconic and echoic
George Sperling
Studied iconic memory and found that people can see more than they can remember. Shown series of letters like : GRXP ILTH and told to write it won. Could do first line and then forgot second while writing first
Iconic memory
sensory memory of vision
Ulric Neisser
Coined the term icon for brief visual memory. Icon memory lasts for about 1 second. Found that bright light or new pattern can erase original image
Backward masking
Presentation of bright light or new image after original image that interferes with visual memory. more successful if mask is similar to original stimulus
Echoic memory
sensory memory for auditory sesations
Short term memory
Lasts for seconds or minutes; capacity of about 7 items. Largely auditory–items encoded phonologically
Working memory
temporary memory that is needed to perform the task that someone is working on at that moment
George Miller
found that STM has a capacity of about 7 items (+/- 2 items)
Chunking
grouping items. Can increase the capacity of STM
Primary (maintenance) rehearsal
Repeating material in order to hold it in short term memory
Secondary (elaborative) rehearsal
Organizing and understanding material in order to transfer it to long term memory
Proactive interference
When information that is disruptive to new learning was learned prior to new items
Retroactive interference
When disruptive information is presented after new learning. Causes retroactive inhibitions
Long term memory
Capable of permanent retention. Most items learned semantically, for meaning.
Savings
measures how much information about a subject remains in long term memory by assessing how long it takes to learning something the second time instead of the first
Encoding specificity principle
material is more likely to be remembered if it is retrieved in the same context in which it was stored. Applies to Long Term memory
Episodic memory
details, events, and discrete knowledge
semantic memroy
general knowledge of the world
Procedural memory
knowing “how to” do something. Ride a bike
Declarative memory
knowing a fact
Explicit memory
knowing something and being consciously aware of the fact that it is known
implicit memory
knowing something without being aware of knowing it
Hermann Ebbinghaus
1st to study memory systematically. Developed “forgetting curve” that depicts sharp drop in savings immediately after learning, then levels off
Frank Bartlett
Found that memory is reconstructive rather than rote. People are more likely to remember the idea of a story than details or grammar
Allan Paivio
dual code hypothesis–items will be better remembered if they are encoded visually (icons/imagery) and semantically (understanding)
Fergus Craik & Robert Lockhart
learning and recall depend on the depth of processing. Different levels of processing from superficial phonological to deep semantic. Deeper processing is more likely to be remembered.
Elizabeth Loftus
memory of traumatic events can be altered by presentation of questions
Karl Lashley
most memories are stored diffusely in the brain
Donald hebb
memory involves changes of synapses and neural pathways–memory tree
Brenda Milner
Wrote about HM
Serial learning
When a list is learned and recalled in the same order (i.e. US presidents)
Primacy effect
First item on a list is easiest to remember because it is rehearsed the most frequently
Recency effect
Last item on a list is easy to remember because it was rehearsed most recently
Serial anticipation learning
Similar to serial learning except asked to recall one item at a time
Decay/trace theory
Theory of forgetting that posits that memories fade with time (doesn’t account for interference with retrieval)
Interference theory
Theory of forgetting that posits that competing information blocks retrieval
Tachtiscope
Instrument used in cognitive or memory experiments that presents visual material (words or images) for a fraction of a second
Zeigamik effect
Tendency to recall uncompleted tasks better than completed ones
