Psy 117 Midterm Flashcards
Principle of Parsimony
the best explanation is also the simplest (memory violates this principle)
Clinical Dissociation
Shows that long term and short term memory is independent (damage to one may not effect the other)
H.M.
had anterograde amnesia, could’t create new episodic long-term memories
Fibonacci sequence
how many number sequences do you go through until you see a pattern
Word Fragments
give a simple word, distract, then ask for word. People with amnesia wouldn’t remember being shown a word at all
Atkinson & Shiffrin Modal Model
memory is divided into sensory, short term (working) memory, and long term memory
Episodic Memory
Long-term, remember something by reliving it (remember what you had for lunch by visualizing it)
Semantic Memory
Long-term, remembering something but not knowing where you learned it. Factual knowledge; know Washington was 1st president but don’t remember where you learned it
Procedural
knowledge on how to do things, non-declarative; know how to type but wouldn’t be able to explain how to do it.
Spatial Metaphor
memory is a space where things are held.
Assumptions of Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Model
it is serial; memory travels from sensory to short and then under the right circumstances will go to long term
Mirror Study
shows how procedural memories can be learned; ask participants to read mirrored words. with practice, they get better
Ebbinghaus atomism & reductionism
explanations are the most convenient when you explain them in their most basic operating particles (learn chemistry by starting with subatomic particles)
Ebbinghaus CVC’s
consonant, vowel, consonant; meaningless words that displayed serial position curve (people remember first and last item best in a sequence) and forgetting curve (forgetting is rapid and then levels out)
Bartlett War of the Ghosts
people remember things by giving them meaning, not by memorizing exactly what happened. Effort after meaning; relate concepts to things you understand.
