Memory Processes (Unit 5)

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

Learning that has persisted over time, information that has been stored and can be retrieved.

Question 2

Information Processing Model

Answer 2

Model of memory, compares our mind to a computer in a series of three stages.

Question 3

Stages of Memory

Answer 3

Encoding —> Storage —> Retrieval

Question 4

Encoding

Answer 4

The process of putting info into the memory system, once we receive sensory info from the environment, our brains label/code it.

Question 5

Automatic Processing

Answer 5

The encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words. Usually done without conscious awareness or effort.

Question 6

Effortful Processing

Answer 6

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. You have to purposefully try to remember techniques to remember info better. Rehearsal and over-learning.

Question 7

Storage

Answer 7

The creation of a permanent record of the encoded info. Storage is for a period of time, ranging from a moment to a lifetime.

Question 8

Retrieval

Answer 8

The calling back of stored information on demand when it is needed. We locate it and return it to our consciousness. Some retrieval may be effortless.

Question 9

Recall

Answer 9

Being able to access the information without being cued (fill in the word test without a word bank).

Question 10

Recognition

Answer 10

Identifying information after experiencing it again (multiple choice test).

Question 11

Recollection

Answer 11

Reflects the retrieval of qualitative information about a specific study episode, so as to when or where an event takes place. Process of remembering something/a specific memory.

Question 12

Fergus Craik & Robert Lockhart’s Levels of Processing Model

Answer 12

How long and how well we remember info depends on how deeply we process the info when its encoded.

Question 13

Shallow Processing

Answer 13

Encoding on a basic level based on the structure of appearance (Short-term).
Structural- Encoding
Phonemic- Physical encode sound qualities

Question 14

Deep Processing

Answer 14

Occurs when we attach meaning to information and create associations between the new memory and existing memories. Semantic Encoding- relating words to similar ones

Question 15

Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Model of Memory

Answer 15

Three different memory systems characterized by time frame: Sensory, Short-term, Long-term.

Question 16

Sensory Memory

Answer 16

External events from our senses are held just long enough to be perceived.
Selective Attention- focusing of awareness on a specific stimulus in sensory memory

Question 17

Iconic Memory

Answer 17

Sensory input to the visual system goes into the iconic memory, duration of less than a second.

Question 18

Echoic Memory

Answer 18

The branch of sensory memory used by the auditory system. Capable of holding large amount of auditory info for 3-4 seconds.

Question 19

Haptic Memory

Answer 19

The branch of sensory memory used by the sense of touch. Sensations all over the body are briefly held in haptic memory before going to short-term memory (2 seconds).

Question 20

Short-Term Memory

Answer 20

The information we are currently aware of or thinking about. Short-term memory info comes from paying attention to sensory memory.

Question 21

Long-Term Memory

Answer 21

All the memories we hold for periods of time longer than a few seconds. It has an incredibly vast storage capacity, some memories can last a lifetime.

Question 22

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Answer 22

The capacity for holding a small amount of information in an active, readily available state for a brief period of time (20-30 seconds). Very sensitive and vulnerable interruption or interference.

Question 23

Baddeley’s Working Memory

Answer 23

A system in your brain that allows you to temporarily retain and manipulate the stored information involved in a complex process. “Active State” contains info you are aware of.

Question 24

Memory Span

Answer 24

Number of items a person can remember and repeat back using attention and short-term memory. George Miller demonstrated that the capacity of STM is about 7 (+/-2) unrelated bits of information at one time.

Question 25

Chunking

Answer 25

Process of taking individual pieces of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. By grouping pieces into a whole it can increase how much you remember.

Question 26

Maintnence Rehearsal

Answer 26

Repeating of information in order to memorize it to prolong its presence in STM, can increase the length of time info can be stored (abt 30 seconds).

Question 27

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Answer 27

The storage of information over an extended period of time. Long-term memory is also susceptible to the forgetting process, long-term memories can last for a matter of days to as long as many decades.

Question 28

Explicit “Conscious” Memory (Declarative Memory)

Answer 28

Information that you have to consciously work to remember. Memory that requires conscious recall. Encoded through effortless processing.

Question 29

Episodic Memory “Events”

Answer 29

Long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences (Autobiographical memory).

Question 30

Semantic Memory “Facts”

Answer 30

These are memories of facts, concepts, names, and other general knowledge. You use semantic memory when you take a test.

Question 31

Implicit “Unconscious” Memory

Answer 31

Information that you remember unconsciously and effortlessly.

Question 32

Eidetic Memory

Answer 32

A person has visual images clear enough to be retained for seconds and realistic in their vividness. Photographic memory –> recall image for longer

Question 33

Memory Consolidation

Answer 33

Process where our brains convert short-term memory into long memory.

Question 34

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Answer 34

Strengthening of a synaptic connection that happens when the synapse of one neuron repeatedly fires and excites another neuron. This occurs in the hippocampus.

Question 35

Amygdala

Answer 35

A pair of small almond shaped regions in the brain that regulate emotion and encode memories. In the medial temporal lobe.

Question 36

Cerebellum

Answer 36

Controls balance for walking, standing, and other complex motor functions. Maintain posture, balance, and equilibrium.

Question 37

Basal Ganglia

Answer 37

Group of structures near the center of your brain that form important connections. Manages the signals your brain sends that help you move your muscles.

Question 38

Storage Decay, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Forgetting Curve

Answer 38

First to conduct experimental studies on memories by using himself as a subject.
Forgetting Curve- the exponential loss of info shortly after learning it.

Question 39

Trace Decay Theory

Answer 39

Overtime, our memories biologically degenerate. STM assumes that memories leave a trace in the brain (physical/chemical change). Forgetting= automatic decay, fading of memory trace.

Question 40

Retrograde Amnesia

Answer 40

Cannot remember things that happened before the event that caused it.

Question 41

Anterograde Amnesia

Answer 41

Condition in which a person is unable to create new memories after an amnesia-inducing event.

Question 42

Serial Position Effect

Answer 42

When we try to retrieve a long list we usually recall the last words and first words best and forget the middle.

Question 43

Primary Effect

Answer 43

Refers to better recall of the first items from greater rehearsal.

Question 44

Recency Effect

Answer 44

Refers to better recall of the last items, still in working memory.

Question 45

Retrieval Failure

Answer 45

The failure to recall a memory due to missing stimuli or cues that were present at the time the memory was encoded to help trigger the memory.

Question 46

Tip-of-the-Tongue State

Answer 46

The feeling that a memory is available but not quite achievable. Often experienced when trying to recall a name.

Question 47

Encoding Failure

Answer 47

Occurs when a memory is never formed in the first place (without effort, many memories never form). We cannot recall what we don’t perceive.

Question 48

Proactive (Previous) Interference

Answer 48

Older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories. It is often easier to recall previously learned information rather than more recent learning.

Question 49

Retroactive (Recent) Interference

Answer 49

Newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older memories. Learning new memories can make it more difficult to recall things that we already know.

Question 50

Flashbulb Memory

Answer 50

Vivid and detailed memories that people create during times of personal tragedy, accident, or emotionally significant world events. Can develop in response to big events in our own life.

Question 51

Memory Reconstruction

Answer 51

Approach to understanding memory as a cognitive process and the errors that occur within it. We construct memories as we encode them.

Question 52

Pseudo-Memories

Answer 52

False memories that a person believes to be true. Though they will view memories as being honest and correct, research has shown that their recollection are not entirely accurate.

Question 53

Elizabeth Loftus (1944)

Answer 53

Extensive research on memory construction and false memories and how memory is changeable, not always accurate.

Question 54

Misinformation Effect

Answer 54

Exposed to misleading information we tend to forget.

Question 55

Source Amnesia

Answer 55

The inability to remember the source of a memory while retaining the substance. False memories created by misinformation and miss-attributed source may feel as real as true memories and very persistent. Source amnesia explains Deja Vu.

Question 56

Eyewitness Testimony

Answer 56

An account given by people of an event they have witnessed. 52% of mistakes result from eyewitness testimony.