Memory (forms)

Question 1

declarative (or explicit) memories

Answer 1

Memories that can be consciously retrieved. further divided into semantic (fact based) and episodic (event based) memories.

Question 2

nondeclarative (or implicit) memories

Answer 2

Cannot be consciously retrieved. Implicit (nondeclarative) memories fall into three types.

Procedural - the acquisition of sensorimotor, perceptual, or cognitive skills through repeated exposure
Priming - the facilitation of a response to an item previously encountered
Conditioning and extinction

Question 3

Short-term memory (The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley in 1974 and is a more sophisticated model to describe the short-term memory)

Answer 3

DescriptionLasts from seconds to minutes. A feature of short-term memory is capacity limitation with most people being able to retain about seven items in short-term memory.

Features of the working memory:

Phonological Loop - responsible for auditory and verbal information
Visuospatial Sketch Pad - where visual and spatial information is handled
Episodic buffer
Central executive - co-ordinates the other features of working memory

Question 4

Eidetic memory (aka photographic memory)

Answer 4

Eidetic memory (aka photographic memory) is the ability to recall an image in near perfect detail. Contrary to popular belief most people with autism do not have a photographic memory.

Question 5

Flashbulb memory

Answer 5

Flashbulb memories are detailed recollections of the context in which people first heard about an important event.

For example, what were you doing when you first heard about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997?

They tend to be episodic (of events) rather than semantic (of fact) memories. The key ingredient that all flashbulb memories have in common is a high level of emotional arousal at the time the event was committed to memory.