memory psych Flashcards
WHAT IS MEMORY
Processes that allow us to record and retrieve experiences and information
Recall:
retrieve previously stored information
Recognition
identify which stimulus, out of a bunch of choices, matches your stored
information
Relearning
compare rates of learning information on successive occasions to the first occasion
Relearning
compare rates of learning information on successive occasions to the first occasion
Encoding
getting information in by translating it into a neural code that your brain can process
Storage
retaining the information over time
Retrieval
getting information back out of storage when we want to use it 13 Encoding
Storage Retrieval
The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model (1968)
The first model of memory, multistage process in which information flows along three separate and interacting memory stores
Sensory Memory:
The initial information processor selects what details to pay attention to then sends this information on for further processing.
Iconic memory
visual memory is less than a second
Echoic memory
auditory memory lasts roughly 5 seconds
Short term memory:
Temporarily holds a limited amount of information,
Can remember the stimulus in various forms
Can remember 7 +/- 2
Chunking:
combining individual items into larger units
Maintenance rehearsal:
Simple repetition
Elaborative rehearsal
focus on meaning
Working memory
A Mental workspace in which we store actively process information
Phonological loop
Repeating to self
episodic buffer
understanding context
visual spatial Sketchpad
UNderstandingtraffic
Central executive
Phonological loop episodic buffer visual spatial Sketchpad
Long term Memory:
Library of durable stored memories
Storage capacity unlimited
Can endure for a lifetime
Declarative
Semantic: facts
Episodic : events that happened in your life
Non declarative
Procedural: ( movement)
Conditioning: (learning from consequences)
Retrieval
Getting information out
Forgetting:
Rapid loss of memory at first, then a more gradual decline.
WHY YOU FORGET
BRIAN DAMAGE, Encoding failure, Encoding failure, DECAY OF MEMORY, RETRIEVAL FAILURE, INTERFERENCE
INTERFERENCE TYPES AND DEFINITON
Information forgotten because other items in LTM impair ability to retrieve it
Proactive interference: Past material interferes with recall of newer material
Retroactive interference: New information interferes with ability to recall older information
misinformation effect:
Distortion of memory by misleading post-event information
Implanted memories
Simply picturing an event can make it seem like a real memory. This is because imagining an event and seeing an event activate similar brain areas
Biology of memory
Three approaches to study where memories are formed in the brain.
Human lesion
Human lesion studies
Study memory loss due to brain damage
Nonhuman animal lesion studies
Deliberate damage to brain regions:
Brain imaging studies
Examine healthy brain as participants perform memory tasks
Where in the brain are memories formed? HIPPOCAMPUS
Convert short-term memories into long-term
Cerebral cortex:
Encoding information from sensory memory
Prefrontal cortex
Involved in functions of working memory
Thalamus
Damage results in extensive anterograde and retrograde amnesia
Amygdala
Emotional aspects of memory
Cerebellum
Stores conditioned responses
Basal ganglia
Procedural memory
Emotions and memory
Strong emotions, especially stress, can
Flashbulb memories refer to emotionally intense events that become
“burned in” as a very vivid memory
Maintenance rehearsal:
Rote repetition of information
Not an optimal method
Elaborative rehearsal:
- Focuses on information’s meaning
- May involve: Organizing (chunking, hierarchy), understanding, relating to already learned concepts, using imagery
Dual coding theory:
Memory enhanced if use multiple memory codes
Mnemonic devices:
Memory aids intended to improve memory for specific
information
NAME Mnemonic devices:
Method of loci –
Peg word system
First-letter technique
Acronyms
