Memory Lessons 07 - 09 Flashcards
What types of LTM are there?
- Episodic Memory
- Semantic Memory
- Procedural Memory
Episodic memory (What is it for? Where is it stored? What are the three elements?)
- Memory for events
- Stored in the hippocampus
- Three elements:
Specific details of the event
Context of the event
Emotions you were feeling at the time
Semantic memory (What is it for? Where is it stored? What can it relate to? What does it begin as?)
- Memory for facts and general knowledge
- Stored in the temporal lobe
- May also relate to things such as the function of an object, what behaviour is appropriate, and abstract concepts (maths, language)
- Begins as episodic memory (knowledge acquired from experience) and transitions to semantic memory (memory loses association with events and becomes generalised)
Evaluation for Types of LTM
+ There is evidence to support the different types: patients with amnesia are typically unable to store new episodic and semantic memories but their procedural memory is largely unaffected
+ There is evidence from brain scans: different areas of the brain are active on an fMRI when different types of information is recalled
+ Case studies: Clive Wearing suffered from a viral infection which damaged his hippocampus - has no episodic memory, cannot form new semantic memories but can still play the piano (procedural memory is intact)
- Case studies are isolated cases, so it would be incorrect to assume that everyone’s LTM is formed in the same way - findings cannot be generalised
Define ‘forgetting’
- Refers to a person’s loss of ability to recall or recognise something they have previously learned
What is the Interference Theory?
When is it more likely?
When is it less likely?
- It claims that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory
- More likely to occur when two lots of information are similar to each other
- Less likely to occur when there is a gap between instances of learning
Two types of Interference
- Retroactive Interference: when new learning affects the recall of old information
- Proactive Interference: when old learning affects the recall of new information
Evaluation for Interference theory
(+) Underwood (1957) investigated Proactive Interference. Participants who learnt ten lists of words could only recall 20% from the first list the next day. Participants who learnt one list of words recalled over 70% of words the next day
(+) McGeoch and McDonald (1931) demonstrated Retroactive Interference. Participants were given lists of words to learn to 100% accuracy, then given a new list, which were either synonyms or antonyms. They then had to remember the original list. Participants with the synonyms had the worst recall (similar meanings = interference)
(+) There are practical applications. Students should not revise similar content/subjects at the same time - interference is more likely
(-) The loss of memory is only temporary when interference occurs, therefore it is not a true explanation for forgetting - the information is still in LTM
(-) Some psychologists argue that retrieval failure is a better explanation (people forget when there are not enough retrieval cues). Godden and Baddeley (1975) got divers to learn and recall word lists on dry land and underwater. Words learned and recalled in the same environment were remembered better (retrieval cues in the environment to help them)
What is the Retrieval Failure Theory?
- It states that people forget information due to insufficient retrieval cues
- When information is placed into memory, data associated with it is also stored. If these cues are not available, it may appear that you have forgotten, but you just can’t access it.
- Some retrieval cues are linked to the material in a meaningful way, and some are not related - they were just present at the time of coding
What are the two types of forgetting? (Linked to Retrieval Failure Theory)
- Context-Dependent Forgetting (CDF): the physical environment in which information is learnt is the retrieval cue
- State-Dependent Forgetting (SDF): the state of the individual can act as a retrieval cue
Evaluation for the Retrieval Failure Theory
+ Abernathy (1940) demonstrated the importance of CDF. Participants tested by a familiar instructor, in a familiar room performed better than an unfamiliar instructor in an unfamiliar room (more retrieval cues)
+ Godden and Baddeley (1975) got divers to learn and recall word lists on dry land and underwater. Words learned and recalled in the same environment were remembered better (retrieval cues in the environment to help them)
+ Darley et al (1973) showed the importance of SDF. They found that participants who hid money in a large warehouse while under the influence of cannabis were more likely to recall the hiding place when in a similar drugged state.
+ Retrieval Failure Theory has practical applications. Students should revise in the same room in which they will take their exams
- Baddeley (1997) argued that the influence of retrieval cues is not actually very strong. In real life, we recall something in a different context to which we learnt it in.
Procedural Memory (AKA? What is it for? Where is it stored? How is it acquired? Resistance? Are we aware of them? What prevents you from doing it?)
- AKA muscle memory
- Concerned with motor skills and actions
- Stored in the cerebellum
- Acquired through practice and repetition
- More resistant to amnesia than other types of LTM
- People are less aware of procedural memories (become automatic and are unavailable for conscious inspection)
- If you think too much, you can’t do it
