memory errors Flashcards
what are Schacter’s (2002) seven sins of memory?
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence
decreasing accessibility to memories over time =
transcience
lapses of attention that affect memory and learning =
absentmindedness
information is present but temporality inaccessible =
blocking e.g. tip of the tongue state
attributing memories to an incorrect source =
misattribution
what does crypotmnesia mean?
unconscious plagiarism
false memories =
remembering things that never happened
implanted memories that never occurred =
suggestibility
what is the misinformation effect?
altering memories to conform to recently encountered but incorrect information
distorted memories of the past based on current knowledge and beliefs =
bias
misremember memories as being more similar to the current knowledge =
hindsight bias (foresight = what did people predict)
unwanted recollections that cannot be forgotten =
persistance
what are some examples of persistence memory errors?
ear worm, first responders, violence, war, embarrassing moments
describe ebbinghaus’s 1885 experiments
N = 1 (author) he was only ppt in study, learnt rows of nonsense syllables (consonant-vowel-consonant), after learning he tested his recall over different periods of time
what did ebbinhaus find in his self experiment?
most of our forgetting occurs quickly and then continues but at a slower pace. there is less difference in forgetting as time passes
decay =
forgetting due to the passing of time (theory that time has a causal effect on memory)
interference =
forgetting due to competition between memories
explain Thorndike’s “law of disuse”
the more time passes without using a memory, the more the memory decays away until it is entirely forgotten
what is McGeoch’s critique of the “law of disuse”
the passing of time causes nothing by itself but time is correlated with processes that cause forgetting (such as interference)
what are the 2 types of interference?
proactive (old memories stop retrieval of new ones) and retroactive (new memories stop retrieval of old ones)
what are the 3 types of source monitoring?
internal, external, reality
what are the 4 types of source information?
perceptual, contextual, affective, cognitive
what type of source information is higher in detail when actually experienced by the person rather than from other sources?
perceptual source information
context in which memory was acquired is consistent with an expected source = what source info?
contextual source information
emotional reaction in context of information =
affective source information
mental processing of the information =
cognitive source information
give an example of a typical external source monitoring error
misremembering doing something with a particular person
what causes a stronger effect for confabulations?
when ppts received confirmatory feedback
what were the results from Loftus & Pickrell’s false memories experiment?
1/4 of ppts falsely remembered to have been lost in the mall, shows false memories can be implanted via suggestion
what were the results for Wade et al’s experiment digitally altering photographs to make false evidence?
50% of ppts believed after a week that the hot air balloon event actually happened in their childhood, so 1/2 demonstrated false memories via suggestion. false evidence shown to contribute to formation of false memories
what were the results from Zaragoza et al’s experiments using a confabulated event?
people who could guess answers to questions were more likely to show false recognition and respond saying ‘yes’ 1 week later. ppts recalled 20% pf their forced confabulations as their own memories in the free recall at 4-6 weeks
deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease or psychological trauma =
amnesia
what is the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia?
retrograde = loss of ability to access memories PRIOR to the event. anterograde = loss of ability to store new memories AFTER the event.
what is posthypnotic amnesia (PHA)?
inability to recall events that took place under hypnosis (until presented with a prearranged reversibility cue)
PHA is a deficit in which memory process?
retrieval
true or false: some people are more susceptible to hypnosis than others
true
describe Mendelsohn et al’s hypnosis experiment and the results
ppts made to watch a 45 min documentary. 3 conditions: induce PHA, no PHA, simulate PHA ppts then took part in a recognition task. found that PHA resulted in less correct answers than no PHA > suggests hypnosis can induce a state of amnesia that specifically affects retreival
