Memory Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

what is memory

A

the ability to store and retrieve information over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what does the model of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (A+S) in 1968 comprise of.

A

a flow of information through 3 stages; sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Describe the role of the sensory memory in the A+S model

A

information enters the temporary sensory memory where sensory info is kept for a few seconds or less.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Describe the role of the short term memory in the A+S model

A

the info is processed into a nonsensory format and enters short term memory if relevant, here it is kept for more than a few seconds but shorter than a minute. processed further unless irrelevant and the memory is not kept active.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Describe the role of the long term memory in the A+S model

A

info stored for hours days weeks or years.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is the process that keeps info in the stm?

A

maintenance rehearsal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what are the two types of sensory memory?

A

iconic - fast decaying store of visual info

echoic - fast decaying store of auditory info

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what is rehearsal

A

process of keeping info in stm by mentally repeating it. gives the info another 15-20 seconds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is chunking

A

combining small pieces of info into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in stm.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

how many numbers can be held in stm

A

7 (Miller 1956)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is working memory as proposed by Baddley and Hitch (1974)

A

it is the active manipulation and maintenance of info in stm storage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is the working memory split into

A

visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, episodic buffer and the central executive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

describe the visuospatial sketchpad

A

briefly stores visual and spatial info e.g chess board position

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

describe the phonological loop

A

briefly encodes mental representations of sounds and is made up of a short term store and an articulatory rehearsal system. the articulatory system enables you to repeat words back to yourself.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what do the PL and VS have in common

A

can work simultaneously and are slave systems to the central executive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is the central executive

A

attentional system that coordinates and controls plans of action and output using the slave systems.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what is the episodic buffer

A

the temporary storage space where info from long term memory can be integrated into working memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what is interference

A

the drop in accuracy and response time performance when two tasks tap into the same system.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

how does interference relate to the subsystems of wm

A

if the dual tasks are using the same system there will be a decrease in performance due to interference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

is brain training effective?

A

no it improves wm for short term but these effects do not last (Hulme and Melby-Lervag 2012) also tasks improvement in the brain training scenario do not carry over to other tasks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what is consolidation?

A

process whereby info must pass from stm into ltm in order for it to be remembered

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what is encoding?

A

the process by which we transform what we perceive think or feel into an enduring memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what is storage

A

the process of maintaining info in memory over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what is retrieval

A

process of bringing to mind info that has previously been encoded and stored

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what is a schema

A

mental models of the world that contain knowledge that helps us to encode new info into a meaningful context. these can however lead to distortion of the actual memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

what is elaborative encoding

A

the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

where does elaborative encoding take place in the brain?

A

left temporal lobe

lower left part of frontal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

what is visual imagery encoding

A

the process of storing new info by converting it into mental pictures.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

what is a method of loci

A

a memory aid that associates info with mental images of locations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

what is organisational coding?

A

the act of categorising info by noticing the relationships between a series of items

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

what is a mnemonic

A

a device for reorganising info into more meaningful patterns to remember

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

describe encoding of survival related info

A

memory mechanisms that help us to survive and reproduce should be preserved by natural selection so our memory systems should be built in a way that allows us to remember especially well the encoded info that is relevant to our survival.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

what is memory storage

A

the process of maintaining info in memory over time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

where do memories potentially reside in the brain

A

the synapses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

what is long term potentiation

A

enhanced neural processing that results from the strengthening of synaptic connections

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

what properties indicate that long term potentiation has a role in ltm storage

A

it occurs in several pathways in the hippocampus
it can be induced rapidly
it can last for a long time

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

what does NMDA do?

A

it is a hippocampal receptor site that influences the flow of information from one neuron to another across the synapse by controlling the initiation of long term potential

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

how does NMDA work

A

for NMDA receptors to become active the presynaptic neuron must release glutamate which attaches to postsynaptic receptor site. excitation takes place in postsynaptic neuron. these two events initiate LTP which increases synaptic connections by allowing neurons to fire together to wire together

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

what is the hippocampus responsible for in memory

A

memory consolidation

40
Q

what is spatial memory

A

representation that encodes where something is. hippocampal lesions obliterate this memory

41
Q

describe the taxi example for hippocampus and spatial memory

A

take the knowledge test need to remember routes through the city. during PET scan the right hippocampus lights up. when asked to think of landmarks in same area didnt light up as much. the knowledge acquired had increased the processing ability of that part of the brain

42
Q

what is retrieval and what are the two ways of doing it

A

bringing to mind of previously encoded and stored info

two ways = recall and recognition

43
Q

describe recall

A

the capacity to spontaneously retrieve info from memory

44
Q

recognition

A

the capacity to correctly match info presented with contents of memory

45
Q

what is a retrieval cue?

A

external info that is associated with stored info and helps bring it to mind

46
Q

what does the encoding specificity principle state?

A

a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way that info was initially coded e.g godden and baddley shore and ocean remembering task

47
Q

what is transfer appropriate processing

A

the idea that memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when we process info in a way that is appropriate to the retrieval cues that will be available later

48
Q

when does explicit memory occur

A

when people intentionally retrieve past experiences e.g facts for a test

49
Q

when does implicit memory occur

A

when past experiences influence later behaviour and performance even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are remembering them e.g where the bathroom is in your house

50
Q

what is procedural memory

A

the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice or knowing how to do things. it is long term memory and non declarative

51
Q

what brain regions involved in procedural memory

A

motor cortex but not hippocampal area. implicit memories may not be in hippocampus then as procedural memory not affected by hippocampal lesions

52
Q

what is priming

A

an enhanced ability to think of a stimulus such as a word or object as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus. e.g Tulving and Schacter made ppt recall moon, later stated tide was favourite detergent but didnt know that the task had influenced their answer

53
Q

what is semantic memory

A

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

54
Q

what is episodic memory

A

the collection of past personal experiences that occured at a particular time and place (like a diary)

55
Q

the events remembered in our episodic memory allow us to develop what

A

autobiographical memory - the personal record of significant events of ones life

56
Q

what are flashbulb memories

A

detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events.

57
Q

when do flashbulb memories occur

A

when the event is emotional and shocking to the individual. enhanced retention can be explained by the emotional arousal caused and the elaborative encoding enhacing memory e.g talking about it increases memorability

58
Q

what is transcience

A

forgetting that occurs with the passage of time

59
Q

who investigated transcience

A

Ebbinghaus - memorised nonsense lists and varied the time after learning to recall them. showed forgetting doesnt happen at a constant rate as time passes. most forgetting happens soon after an event occurs with increasingly less forgetting as time passes

60
Q

what else erodes with time

A

quality of memory - it is preserved in detail for days then as time passes we remember the general memory and attempt to reconstruct the details.

61
Q

why does transcience happen

A

decay and interference

62
Q

what is serial position effect? and what does it include

A

the enhanced memory for events presented at the beginning and end of a learning episode
primacy effect
recency effect

63
Q

what is the explanation for the serial position effect

A

items better encoded in ltm when learning begins because all processing resources are initially available. in the middle it is fully occupied, at the end items are less vulnerable to interference as theyre still in wm

64
Q

describe the 2 types of interference

A

retroactive - later learning impairs memory for info acquired earlier. new info interferes with old
proactive - info already learnt comes forward to iterfere with information acquired later

65
Q

what is the tip of the tongue experience

A

the temporary inability to retrieve info that is stored in memory accompanied by the feeling you are on the verge of recovering that info

66
Q

what is blocking

A

happens with tip of the tongue. a failure to retrieve info that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it

67
Q

what is absentmindedness

A

a lapse in attention that results in memory failure

68
Q

what is divided attention

A

situations where individuals have to simultaneously monitor more than one source of info - attention is a key part of encoding info into ltm

69
Q

when is absentmindedness most common

A

during everyday activities and happens a lot due to divided attention. as skill in a task increases moves into procedural memory and dont need to pay as much attention leads to absentmindedness

70
Q

what happens in brain when attention is divided

A

left temporal lobe less activity. this area highlighted for importance in encoding, leads to absentminded forgetting

71
Q

what is retrospective memory

A

remembering things that have already happened

72
Q

what is prospective memory

A

remembering to do things in the future a failure of this would lead to forgetting to go to an appointment

73
Q

differences between retrospective memory and prospecitve

A

r = what p = when
p - split into two what and when
r is just what
p = easier to remember as have an external cue
r = harder to remember as requires monitoring the passage of time
both require attention

74
Q

what are the two types of prospective memory

A

event based = requires an action when an event occurs e.g post letter in post box when you get there
time based = action needed when a certain time or interval is reached e.g call friend at end of exam

75
Q

what is anterograde amnesia

A

the inability to transfer new information from stm to ltm. no new memories

76
Q

what is retrograde amnesia

A

the inability to retrieve info that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation

77
Q

describe the two types of temporary amnesia

A

concussion - a loss of consciousness that can range from moments to weeks
fugue state - an amnesia of ones previous life and identity.

78
Q

what is childhood amnesia

A

an inability to remember events from the early years of life

79
Q

why do we get childhood amnesia

A

early memories are procedural and autobiographical memories depend on the maturation of of the hippocampus and neocortical regions which doesnt occur until year 2

80
Q

why do we get childhood amnesia schema idea and how can it be reduced

A

we need schema to make sense of experiences and encode memory. by parent child reminiscing about the days activities

81
Q

what is the explanation for childhood amnesia that involves wm

A

cognitive efficiency improves with age. children get better at filtering info as they grow

82
Q

what is metamemory

A

the subjective awareness of ones own memory - how we know that our memories are correct

83
Q

what is the feeling of knowing and why is it interesting

A

the subjective awareness of info that can not be retrieved from memory. it is interesting because it reveals that individuals are aware of the contents of their memory even tho the information is not explicit

84
Q

what is source monitoring

A

recall of when where and how info was acquired

85
Q

memory misattribution

A

assigning a recollection or idea to the wrong source

86
Q

what are the three types of source monitoring

A

internal source monitoring - distinguishing between events that an individual thought about vs events they did
external - distinguishing between two external sources e.g did jane or sarah tell me
reality source monitoring - distinguish between an actual event and an imaginary one

87
Q

misattribution may explain deja vu which is?

A

the feeling you have been in a situation before even though you cant recall the details

88
Q

what is deja vacu

A

a confabulated memory where the individual is certain that the new experience is old

89
Q

who is particularly prone to misattribution

A

people with damage to frontal lobes. because frontal lobes play significant role in effortful retrieval process

90
Q

what is a false memory

A

recollection of events that never happened.

91
Q

what is a false recognition

A

a feeling of familiarity about something that hasnt happened before

92
Q

define the problem of BIAS

A

the distorting influences of present knowledge beliefs and feelings on recollection of previous experiences.

93
Q

what 3 ways can bias affect memory

A

altering past to fit the present - consistency bias
exaggerating differences between past and present - change bias
by distorting the past to make us look better - egocentric bias

94
Q

suggestibility

A

the tendency to incorporate misleading info from external sources into personal recollections e.g loftus and palmer car study

95
Q

who proved it was possible to implant false memories

A

Hyman and Billings

96
Q

define persistence

A

the intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget e.g

97
Q

why do our brains succumb to persistence

A

associated with strong emotions. amygdala is for emotions. triggers release of hormones which enhance memory for the experience