Nondeclarative memory

Question 1

Explain classical and operant conditioning.

Answer 1

Yeah - I’m sure you know this stuff

Question 2

How is it with motor memory consolidation (interference, declarative, sleep)?

Answer 2

• Consolidation is needed to make the muscle memory enduring
  - BUT this process could be disrupted by a newly acquired muscle sequence
  - moreover, if we were learning something declarative before -> it will slow down motor consolidation
  - Benefit from period of sleep

Question 3

What is a negative transfer?

Answer 3

= the fact that prior motor trace can interfere with the new ability we’re trying to grasp
- Past motor trace is already too strong and gets activated everytime one engages in the task (e.g. me automatically cutting cucumbers into small pieces because I’m used to making salads)
- Amount - depends on the degree of overlap

Question 4

What are the 3 stages of skill acquisition?

Answer 4

1. Cognitive stage = consciously and deliberately attempting the task
   e.g. Trying to grasp Anamika’s choreo for the first time
2. Associative stage = associations become easier to retrieve (although effort still needs to be there)
   e.g. Not retrieving every step but rather dancing the entire sequence
3. Autonomous stage = execution becomes automatic

• People can move through them depending on a situation e.g. If Anamika watches I retrieve to cognitive stage and mess it up

Question 5

Describe the triarchic theory of skill learning.

Answer 5

This model encompassess 3 types of processing:
1. Metacognitive system = conscious, delibarate effort
- Engaged at the start
- Quick to develop BUT short-lived
- Processing the novel context
- Anterior prefrontal cortex (and others) exert control and modulate activity to let brain adapt to the new skill
2. Cognitive control network
- Enaged when we become more skilled
- dcPFC, ACC, IF junction, PPC
- develops longer BUT more enduring
4. Representation system = automatic
- Domain dependent (specific for that skill alone)
- Very looong development BUT also very enduring

Question 6

What is meant by choking under pressure? Recall findings of research on novices and experts.

Answer 6

= phenomena in which there is an interference between automatic and conscious systems of a skill
- i.e. when an expert suddently starts to think how they are supposed to execute it

• Study:
  - Novices benefit from focus on accuracy
  - Experts on speed

Question 7

What’s the difference between monitoring pressure and outcome pressure?

Answer 7

• Monitoring pressure = confict between conscious and automatic due to someone watching
• Outcome pressure = related to person’s anxiety about the outcome of the performance
  - Here, anxiety fills up working memory and compromises its functioning

Question 8

How do people with higher or lower levels of skill practice? Do they differ?

Answer 8

• People with higher level skills ted to practice parts they’re not yet good at
• People with lower level skills rather focus on the good parts

Question 9

Define implicit memory.

Answer 9

= form of memory that doesn’t require conscious access, may operate without the person knowing it is there

Question 10

What is an incidental learning? (possible neuronal correlates, e.g.)

Answer 10

= form of aquiring knowledge without people knowing it is being stored in the memory
- some evidence indicate presence of increased theta and decrease alpha band synchronization
- e.g. altering my speaking patterns to my classmates

Question 11

What is priming?

Answer 11

= phenomena in which people respond quicker or more accurately thanks to earlier knowledge
- Indirect memory test

Question 12

How does repetition priming work?

Answer 12

= people are better at responding to something they (even unconsciously) previously encountered
- E.g. I filled in H__S_ quicker than A_I__L because I previously read a research about PPA
- associated with lower neuronal activation (don’t have to work that hard since they were already activated)

Question 13

How does word-stem completion work?

Answer 13

• People are given just few initial letters (“stem”) and asked to complete it with the first word that comes to their mind

Question 14

How about word fragment completion?

Answer 14

• People given a word with missing letters and sked to complete it

Question 15

What’s the deal with lexical decision task?

Answer 15

• People are given strings of letters and asked whether they are words or not
• Tend to be faster if they recently encountered this or semantically associated word

Question 16

What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory (except consciousness)

Answer 16

• Implicit is more data-driven
  
  • affected by how information was previously presented (e.g. oral, written)
  • e.g. seeing cloud as a cloud
• Explicit is more conceptually-driven (i.e. relies of prior knowledge, expectations)
  - affected by the level of processing during encoding
  - e.g. seeing a cloud that looks like a dragon

Question 17

Explain the study on implicit memory of frequency patterns (the lights).

Answer 17

• Participants shown 4 lights with a button underneath each of them -> their task was to press the button after a light turns on

-> Control group = random
-> Experimental group = long pattern

Findings => eventhough people couldn’t consciously report the pattern they were faster at responding to it (+ eye movement showed anticipation)