memory and learning Flashcards
Define memory?
The faculty for recalling past events and past learning.
Name and explain the activities involved in memory?
Encoding—Getting information into memory in the first place
Storage—Retaining memories for future use
Retrieval—Recapturing memories when we need them
name the theories of memory?
Psychologists have developed a number of models of explanation, including the information-processing model and the parallel distributed-processing model, or connectionist model.
explain the information-processing model?
information-processing model view of memory suggesting that information moves among three memory stores during encoding, storage, and retrieval.
what is iconic memory?
visual sensory memory is also called iconic memory, meaning it is like a small copy of the visual event we have just encountered, just as a computer icon is a small visually descriptive representation of the program or file it represents
what is echoic memory?
echoic memory is an auditory system that holds information for a short time.
define the three-stage memory model.
1- Sensory memory: holds sensory information that lasts up to 1/2 sec for visual; 2-4 sec for auditory the capacity is large.
2- working memory: holds information temporarily for analysis up to 30 sec without rehearsal the capacity is limited to 5-9 items
3- long-term memory: relatively permanent storage with relatively unlimited capacity.
explain working memory and short-term memory?
1- multi-store model: a storage location-somewhere that stimuli could be held for a brief period of time. (Atkinson and Shiffrin)
2- working memory: composed of a number of related process with different systems responsible for processing the different kinds of information while consciously working on, keeping it available for immediate access. (Baddeley and Hitch)
explain the 3 system of Baddeley and Hitch’s short-term memory?
1- The central executive is the supervisory system that monitors and coordinates the entire working memory system by allocating attentional resources and selectively prioritizing information as it relates to two subsystems: the phonological/ articulatory loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.
2-The phonological loop processes spoken and written information; it is frequently likened to a “little voice” that continually repeats what needs to be remembered, keeping that information active in memory.
3- The visuospatial sketchpad keeps track of images and spatial locations needed for navigation purposes, and is frequently referred to as the inner eye.
4- In 2000 Baddeley added a third subsystem, the episodic buffer, that serves to link together information from the other parts of working memory and also creates links to time and order as well as to long-term memory.
what is the difference between short-term memory and working memory?
working memory is an entire theoretical framework composed of hierarchical processes used to temporarily store and manipulate information in short-term storage.
So, in many ways, working memory is short-term memory, but is composed of a number of sub-systems, rather than a unitary model as first proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin
what is needed to maintain attention?
To maintain attention on a specific task, one needs to have a goal.
what is the role of executive attention?
working memory and executive function is controlled by executive attention; responsible for maintenance of goals and controlling interference while a person is engaged in complex cognitive tasks.
what is memory stores?
The three systems of memory proposed by the information-processing model are comparable to the operation of a computer.
Sensory memory, working memory, long-term memory. all three are called memory stores.
what is parallel distributed-processing model?
parallel distributed-processing model (PDP) (or connectionist model), holds that newly-encountered pieces of information immediately join with other, previously-encountered pieces of relevant information to help form and grow networks of information. (Baddeley and Hitch).
what is automatic processing?
automatic processing encoding of information with little conscious awareness or effort
define effortful processing?
effortful processing encoding of information through careful attention and conscious effort.
what is the differences between effortful and automatic processing?
1- the encoding process will be disrupted if the individual attempt to do 2 tasks at the same time in effortful processing but the same doesn’t stand true for automatic processing.
2- extra effort doesn’t make the automatic processing more efficient while it does the effortful processing.
what is sensory memory?
sensory memory: memory involving a detailed, brief sensory image or sound retained for a brief period of time.
what is the significand’s of George Sperling’s research?
Test of sensory memory In his study of the duration of sensory memory, George Sperling flashed a chart of letters, similar to this one, for 1/20 of a second. He found that participants could recall almost all the letters in a particular row if asked to do so immediately, but half a second later, their performance declined.
define the working memory?
working memory a short-term memory store that can hold five to nine items at once.
how to make sure the information is encoded into working memory?
rehearsal conscious repetition of information in an attempt to make sure the information is encoded.
define long-term memory?
long-term memory the memory system in which we hold all of the information we have previously gathered, available for retrieval and use in a new situation or task.
what is spaced practice effect?
spaced practice effect facilitated encoding of material through rehearsal situations spread out over time.
define eidetic memories?
producing visual images with extraordinary detail and near-perfect accuracy. Although recalling an object or scene that they have just witnessed, these people behave as if they are recalling items while looking at a photograph. Thus their detailed images are called eidetic memories, or photographic memories.
when do we use visual codes?
When we encode non-verbal information into long-term memory, we once again tend to use phonological or visual codes
when do we use semantic codes?
to encode verbal information into long-term memory, we tend to use semantic codes, representations based on the meaning of information
what is hyperthymestic syndrome?
hyperthymestic syndrome (excessive remembering). a group of fewer than 100 people with the same condition have termed highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM)
define SDAM (severely deficient autobiographical memory)?
SDAM is characterized by an inability to distinctly recall autobiographical information in individuals who otherwise perform normally on tests of cognitive functioning, such as attention, perception, working memory, and executive function
what is mnemonic devices?
mnemonic devices techniques used to enhance the meaningfulness of information as a way of making them more memorable.
what is schemas?
schemas knowledge bases that we develop based on prior exposure to similar experiences or other knowledge bases.
name the organization techniques?
1- Chunking
2- organizing a list of unrelated words into a story)
3- create a hierarchy of the information
what is PQRST?
The PQRST method is an abbreviation named for its five steps.
( preview skim, Question, Read, self-recitation, test)
explain each section of the PQRST?
Preview Skim the entire section you are required to learn. Look for the basic themes and try to get a rough idea of the information you will have to process when reading the section in more detail.
Question Examine the organization of the section and turn each subsection into a question that you want to answer over the course of your reading.
Read Read the section with the goal of finding the answers to your questions.
Self-Recitation Ask yourself and answer aloud a set of questions that arose from the reading material. Work by Colin MacLeod at the University of Waterloo has shown that saying things out loud seems to increase their distinctiveness and make it more likely that they will be remembered later.
Test Test yourself by trying to recall as much of the learned information as you can.
from which sources dose information enters the memory?
1- from sensory information
2- long-term memory.
what is temporary scratchpad?
because working memory helps us do mental computations, it is often characterized as a temporary scratchpad that briefly retains intermediate information while we think and solve larger problems
who discovered the working memory’s capacity at one particular moment?
On average, only five to nine items can be stored there at a given moment. This number was first uncovered back in 1885 by German researcher Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), who pioneered memory research by studying his own memory. Ebbinghaus’s findings were confirmed over 70 years later by psychologist George Miller.
explain the memory span?
memory span maximum number of items that can be recalled in the correct order.
what is chunking?
chunking grouping bits of information together to enhance ability to hold that information in working memory.
which memory stores do we use while chunking information?
In chunking, we use our stored, long-term knowledge that certain letters spell certain words, or that words can be organized to form sentences, to guide us in chunking new information.
what is the difference between implicit and explicit memory?
implicit: motor skills
Explicit: past experiences and facts
Explain implicit and explicit memory?
explicit memory memory that a person can consciously bring to mind, such as your middle name.
implicit memory memory that a person is not consciously aware of, such as learned motor behaviors, skills, and habits.
how many types of long-term memory do we have?
explicit memory: semantic memory, Episodic memory
Implicit: Procedural Memory, Classically conditioned memory, priming
explain Explicit memory and its branches?
semantic memory a person’s memory of general knowledge of the world. Ex: apple is red
episodic memory a person’s memory of personal events or episodes from his life. Ex: graduation ceremony
which part of the brain serves as the temporary storage area of the information of explicit memory?
Explicit memories are converted into long-term memories in the hippocampus and then are stored permanently in various areas of the neocortex
which region of the brain plays the vital role of storage area for implicit memory?
the striatum, the region located toward the midline in the brain, plays a key role in the storage of implicit memories
what will happen if someone damage its striatum?
an individual whose striatum is damaged by injury or disease may have enormous difficulty performing longtime skills and habits such as driving, yet retain most of her explicit memories.
who proposed the level of Processing model?
Canadian researchers Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart’s Levels of Processing model.
what is the argument of the level of processing model?
This model suggests that rather than passing information through distinct types of memory (short- versus long-term), we process information to shallow or deeper depths.
This means that when you are studying, you should read for understanding and for depth of understanding as this will ensure better recall of material on exams
define the Serial position effect?
Serial position effect The results of a recall task plotted in the form of a curve yield this classic pattern. That is, the position of a word on a list influences how likely it is that the word will be remembered. Those words in the top third of the list (primacy effect) and the last third of the list (recency effect) are most likely to be recalled.
define the retrieval cues?
retrieval cues words, sights, or other stimuli that remind us of the information we need to retrieve from our memory.
define the priming
priming activation of one piece of information, which in turn leads to activation of another piece, and ultimately to the retrieval of a specific memory.
what is the difference between recognition and recall tasks?
recognition tasks memory tasks in which people are asked to identify whether or not they have seen a particular item before.
recall tasks memory tasks in which people are asked to produce information using no or few retrieval cues.
what is context?
context the original location where you first learned a concept or idea, rich with retrieval cues that will make it more likely you will be able to recall that information later if you are in that same location or context.
define encoding specificity principle?
encoding specificity principle a theoretical framework that asserts that memory retrieval is more efficient when the information available at retrieval is similar to the information available at the time of encoding.
define state-dependent memory?
state-dependent memory memory retrieval facilitated by being in the same state of mind in which you encoded the memory in the first place.