Memory Flashcards
memory
an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information into a usable form (encoding), organizes it as it stores it away (storage), and then retrieves the information from storage (retrieval)
encoding
first process in the memory system
gets sensory info into a form the brain can use
the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert the info into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systems
transduction
when hear sound, ears turn vibrations in air into neural messages from the auditory nerve
storage
hold on to info for period of time
period of time different lengths depending on system of memory being used
retrieval
getting information person knows they have out of storage
information processing model
most comprehensive model, most influential over past few decades
focuses on way information handled or process through three different systems of memory
encoding, storage, and retrieval
memory is like a computer
parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
aka connectionism
memory is a simultaneous process with the creation and storage of memories taking place across a series of mental networks stretched across the brain
simultaneous processing allows people to retrieve different aspects of memory all at once, facilitating faster reactions and decisions
connectionism
the use of artificial neural networks to explain the mental abilities of humans
levels-of-processing model
memory’s duration depends on depth to which info processed/encoded
thinking about the meaning of something is a deeper level of processing and results in longer retention
sensory memory
first stage of memory
point at which memory enters nervous system through sensory systems
info encoded into sensory memory as neural messages in nervous system
allows for double takes
two kinds: iconic and echoic
iconic sensory memory
visual sensory memory
lasts for a fraction of a second
partial report method
sperling
showed grid of letters, sounded low medium or high tone after grid
report specific row corresponding to specific sound
subjects could report any row
if delayed tone, subjects can’t recall
masking
information that has just entered iconic memory will be pushed out very quickly by new information
eidetic imagery
ability to access a visual sensory memory over a long period of time
not quite photographic memory
echoic sensory memory
brief memory of something a person has heard
iconic memory capacity
everything that can be seen at one time
iconic memory duration
quarter of a second
iconic memory function
helps visual system to view surroundings as continuous and stable in spite of saccadic eye movements and allows brain stem to decide if info is important enough to be brought into consciousness
echoic memory capacity
limited to what can be heard at any one moment and is smaller than capacity of iconic memory, but lasts longer
echoic memory duration
2-4 seconds
echoic memory function
useful to have meaningful conversations with others, remember what people said to understand it, allows people to hold on to incoming auditory info long enough for lower brain centers to determine if processing by higher brain centers needed
short term memory
STM
stage of memory after sensory memory
held for up to 30 seconds or more (12-30 seconds without rehearsal)
encoded primarily in auditory form
selective attention
ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input
through selective attention that information enters our STM system
broadbent’s filter theory
bottleneck occurs between sensory memory and STM
only a stimulus important enough will be selected from all of the info in sensory memory to be consciously analyzed for meaning in STM
when is information conscious
when person thinking actively about information
cocktail party effect
in area with lots of noise but can notice when someone says your name
areas of brain involved in selective attention working
treisman’s theory of two stage selective attention
first stage: incoming stimuli in sensory memory filtered on basis of simple physical characteristics, but no move to STM or lost just lessening (attenuation) of signal strength of unselected memory
second stage: only stimuli that meet certain threshold of importance are processed
working memory
active system that processes information present in short term memory
made of central executive, visual sketchpad, and auditory action recorder
central executive
controls and coordinates other visual sketchpad and auditory recorder
interpreter for visual and auditory information
visual sketchpad
contains images of people and events of memory
auditory recorder
plays dialogue in person’s head
miller
wanted to know how much info humans can hold in STM at one time
digit span test
found magical number 7±2
digit span test
series of numbers read to subjects, have to recall numbers, each series longer until can’t recall numbers
found magical number 7±2
current research says younger adults 3-5 info if no strategy
when info more difficult can hold 4
chunking
recoding or reorganizing information
makes it easier to remember
maintenance rehearsal
repeat something in head over and over
continuing to pay attention to info to be held in memory
info stays in STM until rehearsal stops, then memory decays
could also not work bc of interference
aka rote learning
long term memory
LTM
system into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently
capacity: unlimited
duration: relatively permanent physical change in brain when memory formed, many memories still there available but not accessible
elaborative rehearsal
a way of transferring information from STM to LTM by making that information meaningful in some way
easiest way is to connect new information with something that is already well known
deeper kind of processing than maintenance rehearsal and thus leads to better long term storage
two kinds of LTM
nondeclarative and declarative
nondeclarative memory
aka implicit memory
memories for things people know how to do
procedural memory and priming
procedural memory
skills and habits
priming
improvement in identifying or processing concepts, words, or objects after having prior experience with them
anterograde amnesia
when there is damage to the hippocampal area of brain
new long term declarative memories cannot be formed
loss of memories from point of injury or illness forward
HM
tower of hanoi
patients with anterograde amnesia taught to solve puzzle, when brought back into room later couldn’t remember seeing puzzle or examiner but able to solve puzzle
procedural memories formed and stored in part of brain separate from part controlling memories could no longer form
declarative memory
aka explicit memory
things people can know
facts and information that make up knowledge
two types are semantic and episodic
semantic memory
general knowledge that anyone has the ability to know
most of this learned in school or by reading
type of declarative memory
awareness of meanings of words, concepts, and terms as well as names of objects, math skills, etc
relatively permanent
episodic memory
memories of what happened to people each day, certain birthdays, anniversaries, that were particularly special, childhood events, etc
updated and revised constantly
semantic network model
assumes that information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion with concepts that are related to each other stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not highly related
PDP model explains how rapidly different points on networks can be accessed
prospective memory
enables us to remember that we need to perform a task a later time
enables us to remember and complete the task
what maintenance rehearsal vs chunking increases
mr: capacity
c: duration
retrieval cue
stimulus for remembering
encoding specificity
tendency for memory of any kind of information to be improved if retrieval conditions are similar to conditions under which information was encoded
context dependent learning
physical surroundings person is in when they are learning specific information
state dependent learning
memories formed during a particular psychological or physiological state easier to remember while in similar state
two kinds of retrieval of memories
recall and recognition
recall
memories retrieved with few or no external cues
recognition
looking at or hearing information and watching it to what is already in memory
tip of the tongue phenomenon
when recall fails so people struggle for an answer
best solution is to forget about it
serial position effect
information at beginning and end of list remembered more easily and accurately
primacy effect
words at beginning of list remembered better than those in middle of list
occurs because person has nothing in STM to interfere with rehearsal at beginning of list
recency effect
increase in recall at end of list
occurs bc last word or two was just heard and still in STM, no new words pushing it out
false positive
occurs when recognition is wrong
occurs when person thinks they have recognized (or even recalled) something or someone but in fact does not have that something or someone in memory
loftus
one of world’s leading memory researchers
focus on inaccuracies of memory retrieval
shows eyewitness testimony can be influenced by info given after event
automatic encoding
when long term memories enter permanent storage with little or no effort at all
flashbulb memories
memories of highly emotional events that seem vivd and detailed
special kind of automatic encoding when unexpected event or episode has strong emotional associations
bartlett
schema theorist
saw process of memory as creating a story rather than reading one already written
memory is problem solving activity where person tries to retrieve particulars of past event (problem) by using current knowledge and inferring from evidence to create the memory (solution)
constructive processing
view of memory retrieval
memories are built or reconstructed from information stored away during encoding
each time memory retrieved, may be altered or revised in some way to include new information or to exclude details that may be left out
hindsight bias
tendency of people to falsely believe they would have accurately predicted an outcome without having been told about it in advance
misinformation effect
false memories are created by person being exposed to information after event
misleading information becomes part of actual memory, affecting its accuracy
false memory syndrome
creation of inaccurate or false memories through suggestion of others, often while person under hypnosis
two steps that must occur before people likely to interpret their thoughts and fantasies about false events as true memories
- the event must be made to seem as plausible as possible
2. individuals are given information that helps them believe that the event could have happened to them personally
Mr. S
Mr. S was a mnemonist (memory expert or exceptional memory ability)
but unable to forget lists
noooooo
curve of forgetting
ebbinghaus
memorized list of nonsense syllables
graph shows forgetting happens quickly within first hour after learning lists then tapers off gradually
forgetting greatest just after learning
distributed practice
spacing out one’s study sessions
produces far better retrieval of information than massed practice
massed practice
attempt to study body of material all at once
encoding failure
failure to process information into memory
information doesn’t get past sensory memory
memory trace
some physical change in the brain, perhaps in a neuron or in activity between neurons, which occurs when a memory is formed
decay
if memory traces aren’t used they may decay and fade into nothing
disuse
LTM decay theory
proactive interference
tendency for older or previously learned material to interfere wit the learning and subsequent retrieval of new material
retroactive interference
when newer information interferes with retrieval of older information
reasons for forgetting
encoding failure, decay or disuse, proactive interference, retroactive interference
where are procedural, STM, fear memories stored
procedural: cerebellum
STM: prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe
fear: amygdala
long term potentiation
changes in the sensitivity of synapse through repeated stimulation
consolidation
mammalian brain modifies 4E-BP2 in certain way, alteration and other changes that take place as a memory is forming are called consolidation
4E-BP2
protein in mammals
controls production of new nervous system proteins
HM
suffered from seizures, hippocampus and adjacent medial temporal lobe structures removed
completely unable to remember new events or facts, consolidation impossible
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory from point of injury backward
consolidation process gets disrupted and loses everything not already nearly finished
ECT
used on depressed patients
couldn’t remember past three years shows (retrograde amnesia)
senile dementia
mental disorder with severe forgetfulness and mood swings
anterograde amnesia
Alzheimer’s
anterograde amnesia initially, later retrograde amnesia takes hold
infantile amnesia
people can’t remember first 2 to 3 years of life
early memories implicit and hard to make conscious
explicit memory doesn’t really develop until age 2
autobiographical memory
memory for events and facts related to one’s personal life story
important factors in improving or maintaining memory’s health
sleep, exercise, diet high in DHA
sleep
memories rehearsed during sleep as well as waking more likely to be consolidated and remembered better later
can practice information while asleep
sleep deprivation interferes with functioning of hippocampus
exercise
extra norepinephrine released during exercise
norepinephrine strong role in formation of memories
diet high in DHA
fish has high levels of omega 3 fatty acid DHA
DHA helps memory cells communicate, resulting in improved memory
Procedural memories
Short term memories
Semantic and episodic memories
Formation of new declarative long term memories
Cerebellum
Prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe
Frontal lobe and temporal lobe (different places than STM)
Hippocampus
