Memory pt. 2

Question 1

the role of the hippocampus in the formation and storage of memory

Answer 1

plays a major role in the formation of declarative memories. Memories are temporarily stored in the hippocampus and moved to the pre frontal cortex. (supported by the HM study)

Question 2

Henry Molaison – case study

Answer 2

-epileptic seizures from when he was 10 years old,due to being knocked off his bicycle at age 9.
- medication was not successful in controlling his seizures and doctors were unable to pinpoint the specific locations in his brain where the seizures originated

• he underwent a bilateral medial temporal lobe resection. -resulted in the pair of amygdala and the majority of both hippocampi being removed.
• The procedure reduced their severity.
• He did suffer from partial retrograde amnesia for the eleven years leading up to the surgery.
• He also demonstrated difficulty transferring information from the short-term store of memory to the long-term store.
• he was able to improve on two tests used to assess long-term memory. He had no memory of sitting the tests on a daily basis, yet his performance improved over time.
  = long-term memory is made up of procedural memories and declarative memories.

Question 3

the role of the cerebellum in the formation and storage of implicit memories

Answer 3

one of the brains regions that forms procedural memories. It is involved in the storage of procedural memories, specifically of learned sensory motor skills such as cutting paper with a pair of scissors

Question 4

the role of the amygdala in the formation of memories

Answer 4

has a significant role in the formation of memories associated with fear such as fearful memories can be established with just a few repetitions. It is unlikely that the amygdala stores memories as it strengthens episodic memories stored in other regions of the brain.

Question 5

forgetting- types of forgetting

Answer 5

retrieval failure, interference (proactive and retroactive), - motivated forgetting, decay theory

Question 6

retrieval failure

Answer 6

The inability to consciously recall information stored in LTM due to the absence of retrieval cues that could trigger memory retrieval. The information is still available (that is it is stored) but cant be accessed.

Question 7

interference

Answer 7

memory can be disrupted or interfered by what we have learned in the past, or what we will learn in the future. information in LTM may become confused or combined with other information during encoding, thus distorting memories.

Question 8

interferance proactive/reactive

Answer 8

• Proactive interference occurs when previously held information disrupts the learning of new information.
• Retroactive interference occurs when new information or memories disrupts previously learned information.

Question 9

motivated forgetting

Answer 9

we block out negative painful or threatening memories so that they are forgotten either consciously or unconsciously.

Question 10

decay theory

Answer 10

Overtime our memories naturally decay unless they are actively strengthened. We become less efficient at recalling memories. Episodic memories tend to be more resistant to decay

Question 11

The role of recall and its types

Answer 11

(free, serial and cued)
Recall is the process of retrieving information from LTM without the presence of retrieval cues that help in that retrieval. A retrieval cue is a stimulus that helps in the retrieval of memory.

Question 12

free, serial and cued recall

Answer 12

free recall- the retrieval of as much information about a topic as possible.
Serial recall- the retrieval of information in a set order
Cued recall- provided cues help with the retrieval of memory

Question 13

What is recognition

Answer 13

The ability to recognise/identify previously stored information by matching stimuli to stored memories.

Question 14

re-learning in memory

Answer 14

The reacquiring of knowledge or skills that were previously learned but may have begun to decay over time. It involves identifying information that was not remembered but now allows for successful encoding into LTM.

Question 15

Levels of processing model of memory theory (Craik and Lockhart, 1972)

Answer 15

Craik and Lockhart (1972) propose that the endurance and strength of LTM’s are dependent on the depth of cognitive processing. That is; the level of meaning derived from the stimuli.

Question 16

Levels of processing

Answer 16

sallow (structural, phonemic)
deep (semantic,)

Question 17

Shallow processing

Answer 17

encodes physical information based on appearance, via phonemic encoding, which is the encoding of auditory information. Maintenance rehearsal is used in shallow processing to hold information in short-term memory for longer than the usual 15-30 seconds. Information processed in this way results in memories that are short term and difficult to recall.

Question 18

Deep processing

Answer 18

Semantic encoding works by attaching meaning to the information and / or linking the information to knowledge currently in the long-term store. It is easier to recall information encoded via deep processing than shallow processing.

Question 19

Study: Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory (Craik and Tulving, 1975)

Answer 19

Aim- To determine the impact that levels of processing have on the recall of memory.

• Sixty male and female students from the University of Toronto were selected to be part of the sample.
• Convenience sampling was utilised.
• Participants chose to be part of the study that they were told was testing perception.
• They were randomly allocated into one of three conditions: structural encoding, phonemic encoding and semantic encoding.
• All participants were provided with a list of 60 words and were required to answer one question for each word.
• Participants in the structural encoding condition were asked, ‘Is the word in capital letters or lower case?’ Those in the phonemic encoding condition were asked, ‘Does the word thyme this sentence ..?’ with..?” Participants tasked with using semantic encoding were asked, Does the word go in 180 words, including the 60 words originally provided to participants, was given to each participant. They were required to indicate which words were part of the original list of 60.
  -Words that were semantically encoded via elaborative rehearsal and deep processing led to higher recall accuracy. In contrast, words that were structurally and phonemically encoded underwent shallow processing, resulting in less accurate recall.