memory part 1 lecture

Question 1

encoding

Answer 1

creating separate memory traces to represent experiences

Question 2

storage

Answer 2

retaining encoded memory traces

Question 3

retrieval

Answer 3

a memory is recovered when a cue activates part of a stored memory trace

Question 4

brain structures - memory

Answer 4

hippocampus encodes cortical pattern of activity corresponding to a memory - over time, pattern becomes independent of hippocampus and turns into a stable cortical pattern

when a cue pops up that triggers the memory, pattern completion is triggered

Question 5

what are the three types of sensory memory

Answer 5

iconic: millisecond visual memory - ‘persistence of vision’

echoic: sound memory - sound bytes held for about 3 second

haptic memory - brief touch memory

Question 6

what are the two types of long term memory

Answer 6

implicit: non declarative, non conscious

explicit: declarative, conscious memory

Question 7

what are the two types of implicit memory

Answer 7

procedural and priming

Question 8

what are the two types of explicit memory

Answer 8

episodic and semantic

Question 9

what are the two types of iconic memory

Answer 9

afterimages:

positive afterimage
- visual memory that represents the perceived image

negative afterimage
- visual memory that is the inverse of the perceived image

Question 10

what area of the brain corresponds to short term memory

Answer 10

prefrontal cortex

Question 11

capacity and duration of short term memory

Answer 11

magical number seven plus or minus two

20 to 30 seconds time capacity

Question 12

primacy effects

Answer 12

we remember the first things in a list better - because they get rehearsed more so end up in long term memory

Question 13

recency effects

Answer 13

we also have better memory for the last things in a list

not due to long term memory - can tell because is the study recall duration is longer than 30seconds the effect is eliminated

Question 14

chunking

Answer 14

grouping items together in a meaningful way so more information can be represented at one time

increases with knowledge

Question 15

evidence for separate short term memory stores

Answer 15

neuroimaging studies
- different areas of the brain are active for visual and verbal short term memory tasks

double dissociation in neuropsychological cases
- ex. patient eld has problems recalling visual spatial but not verbal material in the short term
(can be vice versa for other patients)

Question 16

phonological store

Answer 16

passive store for verbal information (“the inner ear”)

Question 17

articulatory control loop

Answer 17

active rehearsal of verbal information
- “the inner voice”
- used to convert written material into sounds (reading) - specialized role in language

Question 18

what are the two elements of the phonological loop

Answer 18

phonological store and articulatory control loop

Question 19

what are the two elements of the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 19

the visual cache - information about visual features

the inner scribe
- information about spatial location, movement and sequences

Question 20

episodic buffer

Answer 20

additional element of the working memory that integrates information from short and long term memory

Question 21

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Answer 21

tested how encoded nonsense syllables were retained and forgotten from memory over time - on himself! created the forgetting curve

Question 22

the forgetting curve

Answer 22

forgetting is exponential - memory loss is largest early on and slows down

Question 23

the spacing effect

Answer 23

memory is better when the same amount of learning is spread out over time - and if it alternates in type and duration

Question 24

what are the two theories of forgetting

Answer 24

decay theory (forgetting from time) and interference theory (forgetting from interfering information)

Question 25

what are the two types of interference identified by interference theory

Answer 25

retroactive interference - newly learned information interferes with old information - ex. trouble remembering you old phone number after you’ve gotten a new one

proactive interference - previously learned material interferes with new information - ex. trouble learning a new phone number because you keep thinking of your old phone number

Question 26

what determines the strength of a memory

Answer 26

the depth of processing - memories can be processed at different levels

shallow - focus on sensory information
deep - integrate higher level knowledge = best memory retention

Question 27

deep and shallow encoding of faces

Answer 27

memory test:

had people look at faces and identify:
upright/inverted (shallow processing)
or
actor/politician (deep processing)

then tested memory for faces
- memory was better in the deep processing condition

Question 28

mnemonics

Answer 28

organizational strategies that help encode to be remembered information
often involves chunking

examples:
naming mnemonic - BEDMAS
story mnemonic
method of loci - associate pieces of information with a location of a visual image

Question 29

method of loci in non experts

Answer 29

three groups
- mnemonic (loci)
- active control
- passive control

found that people in the mnemonic training had better memory after 20 minutes, 24 hours, and 4 months