Module 5 Lesson 1 - Memory

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

Memory is the persistence of learning over time.

Question 2

What are the two memory models that are used to explain memory processing?

Answer 2

• The Information Processing Model
• The Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Model

Question 3

Describe the Information Processing Model.

Answer 3

Human memory processing is similar to the way a computer processes information.

+ Encoding information - Getting information to the brain
+ Storage - Retaining the information
+ Retrieval - Getting the retained information out

Question 4

Describe the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model.

Answer 4

Human memory works in three stages
1. We experience sensory memory - extremely short-term memory taken in through our senses
2. Information is then processed through short-term memory - we use rehearsal to encode
3. Information is then moved into long-term memory - stored here for later retrieval.

Question 5

What are the two ways that memory is encoded?

Answer 5

Automatic Processing - Occurs without effort and involved implicit memories.

Effortful Processing - Takes effort and requires conscious awareness.

Question 6

Describe Automatic Processing

Answer 6

+ Occurs place without effort and involves implicit memories
+ They take place outside of our awareness
+ This also includes well-learned information that does not require any effort to recall, like reciting ABCs.
+ The information is automatically processed: Space, Time

Question 7

What are the automatically processed information? Describe them.

Answer 7

+ Space - Such as encoding places where you may have left off reading a book or studying for a test
+ Time - Such as retracting your steps throughout the day to find where you left something that you forgot.
+ Frequency - Such as noting the number of times someone uses verbal fillers excessively during a speech.

Question 8

Describe Effortful Processing

Answer 8

+ Requires effort and conscious awareness
+ This involves explicit memories, learning facts, and life experiences.
+ Factors include: Rehearsal, Overlearning, Next-in-Line Effect, Spacing Effect, Serial Position Effect.

Question 9

What are the factors that affect effortful processing? Describe them.

Answer 9

Rehearsal - Conscious repetition, the amount we remember is based on the time spent learning the information.

Overlearning - You can never know something enough so you have to study the information again and again.

Next-in-line effect - We are unlikely to remember information that is processed just before we must use it.

Spacing effect - We retain information better with longer spaces between practice sessions. It is better to study a little bit each night than to cram information all in one night.

Serial position effect - We are most likely to remember the beginning and end of information presented to us.

Question 10

What are the tricks that can help with encoding information?

Answer 10

+ Semantic Encoding - Think about the meaning of the word.

+ Acoustic Encoding - Think about the sound of the word.

+ Visual Encoding - Think about the appearance of the word.

+ Self-Reference Effect - Relate the word to yourself to make connections.
+ Imagery - Create mental pictures of the word
+ Mnemonic devices - Used as a memory technique to organize information through imagery (ex. PEMDAS)
+ Chunking - Organizing information into small manageable parts. (Ex. we memorize phone numbers by +1 3-digit - 3-digit - 4-digits.)
+ Hierarchies - Grouping of words or concepts into meaningful categories, such as the Periodic Table.

Question 11

Rehearsal

Answer 11

Conscious repetition, the amount we remember is based on the time spent learning the information.

Question 12

Overlearning

Answer 12

You can never know something enough so you have to study the information again and again.

Question 13

Next-in-line effect

Answer 13

We are unlikely to remember information that is processed just before we must use it.

Question 14

Spacing effect

Answer 14

We retain information better with longer spaces between practice sessions. It is better to study a little bit each night than to cram information all in one night.

Question 15

Serial position effect

Answer 15

We are most likely to remember the beginning and end of information presented to us.

Question 16

What is Miller’s Law

Answer 16

The Magic Number 7… states that our short-term memory typically remembers a sequence of 7 numbers + or - 2.

Question 17

What is sensory memory?

Answer 17

Extremely short memory of sensory information, which lasts for just a few seconds to get us through a given moment.

The three types of sensory memory are Iconic, Echoic, and Haptic Memory.

Question 18

What are the three types of sensory information? Describe them.

Answer 18

Iconic Memory - Involves visual memory and lasts a few 10ths of a second.

Echoic Memory - Involves auditory memory and lasts about 3-4 seconds.

Haptic Memory - Involves touch memory and lasts about 2 seconds.

Question 19

What is Working Memory?

Answer 19

It is a part of our short-term memory, which is active to help us process the information needed to perform tasks or learn new information.

Question 20

What is long-term memory?

Answer 20

This is information that has been processed and stored for later retrieval.

The brain has an unlimited capacity for long-term memory, which is stored in the synapse.

There are two types: implicit (non-declarative) and explicit (declarative)

Question 21

Where are memories stored?

Answer 21

In the synapse.

Question 22

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)? What did research reveal about LTP?

Answer 22

This refers to the efficiency with which a neuron fires.

Research on the California sea slug by Kandel and Schwartz suggests that increased LTP through experience and learning improves memory.

Question 23

What is implicit (non-declarative) memory?

Answer 23

Implicit memory occurs unconsciously and involves the cerebellum. An example of this would be riding a bike.

Question 24

What is explicit (declarative) memory?

Answer 24

It is memory that takes conscious effort. There are two types:
+ Semantic (recollection of school facts)
+ Episodic (recollection of events in your life)
+ An example would be recalling events from a ball game.

Question 25

What can increase our memory of an event and how?

Answer 25

Stress and emotion can increase our memory of an event since they can trigger hormones that cause the amygdala and hippocampus to forge unforgettable memories called flashbulb memories.

Question 26

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 26

Traumatizing or stressed memories are known as flashbulb memories.

Question 27

Tips for retrieving information:

Answer 27

+ Recognition is easier than recall (Think Multiple-choice test vs. Essay Test)

+ It takes less time to relearn information that we’ve learned and forgotten than to learn something completely new.

+ Priming can help trigger memory retrieval (Ex. the smell of a food may bring back memories of a celebration)

+ We are more likely to remember something within the same context as we learned it.

+ Memory is state-dependent, so we are more likely to remember something if we are in the same psychological state as when we learned it.
Memory is mood-congruent, which means that mood influences how we remember and recall events (You see your high school years as the best or worse years, depending on your mood throughout high school)

Question 28

What are the five reasons why people forget?

Answer 28

+ Amnesia
+ Encoding Failure
+ Storage Decay
+ Retrieval Failure
+ False Memories

Question 29

What is amnesia?

Answer 29

This is memory loss. The two main categories of amnesia are anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia.

Question 30

What is the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia?

Answer 30

Anterograde - Can recall past memories, but cannot create new memories

Retrograde - When past memories cannot be remembered

Question 31

What is encoding failure?

Answer 31

It is when information fails to enter long-term memory. This is usually because we did not rehearse the information enough or pay attention while encoding the information.

Question 32

What is storage decay?

Answer 32

It occurs when information that we stored isn’t used. It goes unrehearsed and becomes forgotten (if you learned a language in college but never used it, you forget it). See Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.

Question 33

Describe the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.

Answer 33

Half of the things we learn are typically forgotten when we don’t use them.

Ebbinghaus ran an experiment memorizing three-letter nonsense words and created a formula for forgetting, even graphing the results!

Two things that matter: the strength of one’s memory and the amount of time that has passed since learning the information.

Question 34

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 34

It occurs when we have difficulty getting the memory out of our head (“tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon”). This can be due to interference.

Question 35

What are the two types of interference in retrieval failure?

Answer 35

Proactive interference - Occurs when old information interferes with the recall of new information.

Retroactive interference - Occurs when new information interferes with the recall of old information.

Question 36

False memories

Answer 36

This can occur when we retell memories. It can be a result of the misinformation effect where we can be primed with misleading information that is incorporated into our memory. It may also “fill in blanks” with incorrect information, or attribute events to the wrong source (Source Amnesia).