Module 05: Memory Structures Flashcards
encoding
acquiring info which is held in storage for later retrieval
retrieval
calling to mind previously experienced info
what is the case of clive wearing
had brain damage from encephalitis
caused severe amnesia
remember nothing more than a few minutes before
what did plato compare memory to
wax tablet on which impressions are made
modal model of memory
info is received, processed, and stored differently for each kind of memory
unattended info presented quickly stored briefly in sensory memory
attended info in STM for periods up to 20 or 30 seconds
info needed for long periods of time in LTM
describe sensory memory
the initial brief storage of sensory info, closely connected to perception
there is visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensory memory
what is the partial report technique
participants informed only to recall a single row but wouldn’t know which row until after display was shown (informed by pitch)
recalled 9/12 letters in sensory memory right after display, recall dropped if tone delayed
what is the icon and how many items can be stored
brief/sensory visual memory (Neisser)
visual store could only hold around 9 items briefly
masking in icon
items can be ‘erased’ by other stimuli presented right after
what is the echo
sensory memory for auditory material
what did moray find in his study on whole report and partial report listening task
people giving partial reports could proportionally report more letters => info is stored briefly
does the icon or the echo have larger capacity
visual memory has larger capacity, but length of time info can be stored is longer in auditory store
what is the suffix effect
auditory masking, harder to recall words spoken if cue is a word
the more auditory similarity between the suffix and items on the list, the greater the suffix effect
how long does STM last
1 to 2 minutes
describe the serial position effect
recall more words at the beginning or end of a list than they do in the middle
describe the primacy effect
improved recall of words at beginning of a list
describe the recency effect
improved recall of words at end of list
results from using sensory or STM memory
what is the capacity of the short term store
7+- 2
what is chunking
chunk individual units into larger units
helps overcome limitation of 7 units in STM
what is the dominant code in STM
acoustic
what is interference in memory retrieval
info can displace other info, making it harder to retrieve
accounts for forgetting rather than decay
describe proactive interference
material learned first can disrupt retention of subsequently learned material
describe release from proactive interference
the greater the similarity among pieces of info, the greater interference
describe the four theories for the types of searches for retrieval of info from STM
- parallel search: examine items at the same time
- serial search: comparisons done one at a time
- self terminating search: stops when match is found, successful search takes less time
- exhaustive search: if match found, continue looking
how is info retrieved in short term memory
high speed, serial, exhaustive search
what is the capacity of long term memory
virtually unlimited
_____ similarity affects STM; _____ similarity affects LTM
acoustic, semantic
what did henry bahrick find when plotting forgetting curves
recall declined at beginning, stayed flat, final decline, large portion still accessible after 50 years even though not rehearsed (permastore state)
what did herman ebbinghaus find when he taught himself nonsense syllables
plotted a forgetting curve for time it took for him to relearn a list of nonsense syllables after initial learning followed by retention interval of varying amounts of time
found that forgetting was rapid at first but levels off (not linear)
describe retroactive interference
learning of first material is affected by your learning of material afterwards
learning of first material is ‘contaminated’
T/F: interference plays a role in most forgetting material from LTM
true
what is it called when an object or stimulus points to and leads to the recovery of a target memory
retrieval cue
what is the fan effect
as participants study more facts about concept, time needed to retrieve fact about that concept increases
what are mnemonics
techniques to improve memory
what is the encoding specificity principle
memory improved when info available at encoding also available at retrieval
context
what is the context effect
recall best when environment same as learning environment
note that recognition memory does not show same context effect
state dependent learning
recall better when person recreates state they were in during learning
not with recognition tasks
T/F: info in STS activates relevant info from LTS and relays some of that info into STS
true
what is working memory
limited capacity workspace divided between storage and control processing
what are the components of working memory and describe them
central executive – directs flow of info, chooses which info is operated on and how
phonological loop – carry out subvocal rehearsal to maintain verbal material (learning to read, understand language, acquiring vocab)
visuospatial sketchpad – maintain visual material through visualization, creation and use of mental images
episodic buffer – required when remembering specific events from the past, requires more storage capacity
what are the 2 separate and distinct interacting systems
episodic memory – specific events in which you yourself participated, temporal organization
semantic memory – holds info that entered general knowledge base, organized on basis of meanings and meaning relationships
what was the case of gene (damage in frontal and temporal lobes)
shows anterograde and retrograde amnesia (no episodic memories)
can still recall facts (has semantic memory intact)
what does removing the inner sector of temporal lobes in brain, including hippocampus and amygdala do
lost ability to transfer episodic memories to LTM
anterograde amnesia
amnesia for new events, inability to form new memories
retrograde amnesia
amnesia for old or past events
what does damage to the frontal lobe cause
disrupts attention, problem solving, and planning
more distractible and harder to ignore irrelevant stimuli
what is hebbs rule
cells that fire together wire together
long term potentiation
neural circuits in hippocampus that are subjected to repeated and intense electrical stimulation develop hippocampal cells that become more sensitive to stimuli
