Memory & Forgetting Flashcards
Echoic memory
It is when you take something you heard and you quickly try to hang on to it in order to remember it
Sensory memory
It is when you need to pay attention to remember something
- Constantly getting it all the time
- Last 5 to 10 seconds
- If we pay attention and we see value in what we see/hear, we then move it into short term memory
Short term memory (Working Memory)
Can hold 5 to 9 pieces of information at a time in short term memory
- Can retain the info for somewhere between a few seconds and an hour
- Examples : Remembering a phone number or holding your grocery list in your head
Chunking
Putting things together in chucks so that it makes it easier to remember
Long term memory
Often understood as memories that last longer than an hour.
- Can include experiences and life events
- If it’s in long term memory, the memory can be reactivated
- But forgetting can occur if nothing activates it
Maintenance rehearsal
If we are actively trying to remember the information then we can keep it in short term memory
- When you stop maintenance rehearsal, forgetting occurs
Elaborative rehearsal
When you see value in what you’re learning, you incorporate/attach it to your experience and as a result you then move it into long term memory
Declarative Memories
Memory for facts & event
- Information that can be expressed, typically through words
Sometimes called explicit knowledge
- Most associated with what we learn in formal schooling
- Examples : Knowing all of 50 states and the order of the presidents
Declarative Memories Groups
(SM & EM)
- Semantic memories – “knowledge of the world.”
- Episodic memories – personal knowledge of the self and experiences.
- Also known as autobiographical memories. - Memory can consist if both types
Non-Declarative Memories
Memory for skills and habits
- Knowledge that cannot be explained or expressed.
- Also called implicit memories
- Examples : learning to walk or swim
Procedural memories
It is a type of non-declarative memory
- Considers how you know/learned to do something :
- How do you KNOW how to walk?
- How do you KNOW how to ride a bicycle?
Forgetting (Definition)
It is the deterioration of learned behavior following a period without practice.
Variables in Forgetting
(T & DL)
A.Time – the more time that passes between learning and recall, the greater the forgetting.
B. Degree of learning – the better something is learned, the less likely it is to be forgotten
Degree of learning (Characteristics)
(O. F. PL. C.)
C – CDF & SDF
- “Overlearning” : practicing a lot
- Fluency – a smooth, accurate, and relatively rapid degree of recall in a given time period, typically a minute
- Prior learning – reactivating neurons with a second teaching is one of the best ways to reduce forgetting.
- Subsequent learning is equivalent to practicing! - Context – how and where we learn the material has a great effect on how it is remembered and recalled.
- A. cue-dependent forgetting – if specific cues are absent, we won’t remember the information as well.
- B. state dependent forgetting – we tend to forget information if we are not in a similar emotional or physical state as we were when we learned the material.
Learning to Remember
(T. O. M. MI. CC. UP)
- Training – you can train your mind to hold more information
- Overlearning – PRACTICE!!! A LOT!
- Mnemonics– using chunking and making up phrases that have the info embedded to make it easier to remember
- Method of loci – pair new item with rooms in your home or some other “map” that you know well.
- Contextual cues – study in the same type of environment as where you’ll take the test
- Use prompts – making lists is the most common form of prompts, setting reminders on your phone is also helpful.
- Can use prompts when remembering someone’s name (association with someone you already know)
