Memory Pt.2 Flashcards
The Encoding Specificity Hypothesis
Memory retrieval is better when there is overlap in some source with encoding
-A major source of overlap is CONTEXT
-Context can refer to : internal state, external environment, processing
Internal Context : State-Dependent Learning
Alcohol dependent learning is an example of…
External Context
The deep sea divers experiment is an example of…
Processing Context : Transfer-Appropriate Processing
The overlap between processes during encoding and retreival determines memory strength
-Shallow encoding
-Deep encoding
Phife’s caffeine intake while studying affected their memory recall during the exam
Phife is studying for their final exam in a quiet room while drinking coffee. During the exam, they downed a decaf coffee before the exam, and found it difficult to recall the information studied. Which scenario best explains Phife’s difficulty in recalling the information?
Episodic Memory
Recollecting unique events within their specific time and place
-Mentally time-traveling back
-Retrieving what + where + when of an event
Semantic Memory
Culturally-shared knowledge and knowledge about the self that isn’t attached to a time and place
-Facts/knowledge
-No retrieval of learning, just what you know
Semantic Dementia
Affects temporal lobes
Early on in disease:
-Relatively spared at episodic memory tasks
-Impaired at word naming and picture matching tasks (semantic memory)
Hippocampal Damage
Episodic memory impaired (cannot copy images after a delay)
-Semantic memory preserved (normal facts and general knowledge)
-Can read the report and know what is means
-Knows it’s his because his name is on it
-Can’t remember what he used to do there
-Semantic memory fine/ Episodic memory impaired
Patient KC/Hippocampal Damage
Anoetic Consciousness
-Implicit memory
-No awareness or personal engagement
Noetic Consciousness
-Semantic memory
-Awareness but no personal engagement
Autonoetic Consciousness
-Episodic memory
-Awareness and personal engagement
The Reappearance Hypothesis
-An episodic memory trace is recalled the same way at each retrieval
-Based on clinical observations
-Recurrent memories are unchanged from the original event in cases like PTSD
-Suggestion that memories reappear for highly emotional memories
Flashbulb Memories
These memories form from events that are:
-Emotionally arousing
-Surprising or shocking
-Important to the self (have consequence)
Public flashbulb events
Thought to be supported by special mechanisms leads to repetitive detailed recall, resistant to forgetting
-Get as distorted as other memories, but we’re more confident we recall the details
Are flashbulb memories special?
The 1997 verdict for the O.J. Simpson murder trial
-Initial -> 15 months, 50% recollections changed
-Initial -> 32 months, 70% recollections changed
Example of how flashbulb memories change?
-Not recurrent recordings of events
-Change over time and are not resistent to memory distortion, even if memory feels strong
-Must accept the theory that memories are reconstructed
Proof that flashbulb memories do not reappear?
-We may use general knowledge, semantic memory (schemas) to infer the way things ‘‘must have been’’ in a recalled memory
-We may insert false information into the constructed memory, affecting later retrieval
2 examples that support the idea that we construct our memories…-
The War of Ghosts Experiment
Participants remembered a simplified version of the story and it became more conventional with repeated retrievals
-Omissions and alterations to match Western schema
Schemas can lead to false memories
-Study scenes associated with schema-consistent items removed
-Classroom without a chalkboard
-Not in the scene but would make sense there
-50% responded its presence
False Memories Effects
- Misattribution
- Misinformation
Misattribution
A familiar feeling can lead to incorrect associations
-E.g. between something you see and a past event
-Retrieving familiar information from the wrong source
Misinformation
Details can be added to memories during retrieval
-E.g. new information added in to old memory
-How a question is framed can affect how information is remembered
Implanting Memories
-Participants recalled childhood experiences recounted by their parents over three experimental sessions
-A false memory was added to the list of experiences by the experimentor an overnight stay in a hospital
-20% of people had a false memory of this event by the end of the third session
Memory Consolidation
-Experinces are encoded and then consolidated into a long-term memory trace
-The formation of stable cortical representations of memories
Memory Re-Consolidation
-When a trace becomes activated, a memory retrieved, it becomes de-stable
-Cortical connections can be strengthened or modified
-This alters how the memory trace is reconsolidated
-Retrieval changes a memory trace
-The same neural process that helps us construct memories help us imagine the future and plan for our lives
-You need your past to imagine your future
-E.g. problem solving, planning, creativity tasks
Why we have a constructed memory?
