PSYCH 1115- Week 11(ch8) Memory Flashcards
Define Memory
the persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage, & retrieval
- RECOGNITION: a multiple choice question whereby we just need to have a prompt of the words and simply recognize the correct word
- RECALL: a fill-in-the-blank question that you need to literally know the exact word and pull it from memory
- RELEARNING:
- ENCODING: process of directing your attention to a specific stimulus and then converting that stimulus to a form that can be stored is called
DUAL TRACK PROCESSING
Declarative Memories
Automatic Processing INCLUDES
* Procedural Memory (how-to)
* Conditioned Associations
* Information about Space
* Information about Time
* Information about frequent items/occurrences
1. SENSORY MEMORY
Iconic Memory(see)
Echoic Memory (hear)
- like an echo of a memory – only 12 sec
- brief recording of sensory information
- we can retrieve about the last 8 words of what someone said!
2. SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Short Term Memory (now called working memory)
Short-term memory holds info longer than sensory memory
Working memory is focused on the active processing that occurs in this stage
Can only hold this memory about 30 seconds.
Can also only hold about 7 pieces of info at a time (7 +/- 2 concept)
This why we repeat practice ‘maintenance rehearsal’ so we don’t forget something before we write it down!
Long-Term Memory
- Hippocampus temporarily retains memories (couple of days), THEN disseminated throughout the brain by memory consolidation(by sleeping)
- no cap on how much can be held by the memory!
- includes explicit and implicit memories
EXPLICIT
* * Memories of which a person is consciously aware. Requires conscious recall.
* uses hippocampus and frontal lobe
a) Episodic Memories: for personal events
b) Semantic Memores: for facts, stories, meanings of words
IMPLICIT
* Memories like procedural things, like how to use a vacuum cleaner, skills, conditioned associations, made by
* hippocampus not involved: only basal ganglia (procedural and motor skill memory) and cerebellum (conditioned responses memories)
Retrieval Cues?
Specific odours, visual images, emotions or other associations that help us retrieve a memory
Long-Term Potentiation?
refers to an increase in a cell’s firing potential
Anterograde Amnesia?
Retrograde Amnesia?
- After a head injury, Tim can no longer encode or store NEW information. He suffers from this type of amnesia.
- An inability to retrieve OLD memories of the past
ex: can occur a few minuts before a concussion occurs
ENCODING FAILURES OCCUR HERE
Source Amnesia?
occurs when we have a memory containing information we gathered from an external source (other people, media, videos, or even our imagination)
Refer to famour study done by Evan & Thorn (1966) on source amnesia whereby they gave real facts to patients in hypnosis, and a 1/3 of them were able to provide these answers when conscious even though they didn’t know how they got the answers.
Things that affect Long Term Memory?
Priming?
Also, Context?
What about Mood-Congruent Mood?
And finally, Serial Position Effect?
- PRIMING – A VERY POWERFUL TOOL
triggers a thread of associations that brings us to a concept (using pictures, symbols, sounds) – activation of associations in memory
ex: People primed with money-related words were less likely to then help another person
ex: kids primed with a santa clause picture led kids to share more
ex: people primed with missing-kids posters than misinterpreted amibiguous adult-child interactions as kidnapping
- CONTEXT – IS ALSO POWERFUL
If you learn in the same classroom, but then get tested in another on the exam, test scores will be lower. If you can imagine you are in the same room though, your testscores will remain high.
Greater recall occurs when learning AND testing contexts were the same
- MOOD-CONGRUENT MEMORY
Mood-congruent memory refers to the tendency to selectively recall details that are consistent with one’s current mood. So if you learn in a happy mood, then test in a happy mood!
- SERIAL POSITION EFFECT
- tendency to recall items at the beginning and end of a long string of information or even a list(only good if there is NO delay!)
- Also, the von Restorff effect occurs: tendency to remember unique things in a list (a celebrity name, a tiktok name, etc)
- Also, if there is a delay , then we’ll most likely only remember the beginning of the list because we were relying on short-term memory for the end of the list.
What is Chunking?
What is Hierarchies?
What is Mnemonics?
- Chunking
- Hierarchies
- Mnemonics ( memory aids that use visual imagery or other organizational devices, such as acronyms, are called this)
AID IN MEMORY FORMING
Testing Effect
Memories are better 7 days later if you TEST yourself 3 times and simply study once,
Instead of Studying 3 times and testing yourself once
What are the Levels of Processing?
- STRUCTURAL (weakest) Only looking at the letters of the word like if it’s capitalized ex: DOG, dog
- PHONEMIC : looking at the sound of the words and cadence
- SEMANTIC : looking at the meaning of the word or fact of the word (what is the capital of Canada?)
- SELF-REFERENCE (strongest) applying the concept to one’s self
Flashbulb Memories
emotionally intense events that become burned in our memories. May be intense but may not be highly accurate.
A shooting at a school
Grandmother’s death
Being in a car accident
Uses amygdala for the actual experience, but hippocampus and cortex for longer term memory
Prospective Memory
Memory of Intentions —It enables us to remember to carry out an action that has been planned for a predefined time in the future, while performing a concurrent activity named ongoing task (Einstein and McDaniel, 1990)
Need to pick up dry-cleaning on the way home from work. This type of memory in place.
Why do we Forget?
Retrieval Failure
Encoding failures lead to forgetting!
We don’t retrieve EXACT copies of our memories like CD’s – instead, our memories are reconstructed.
We know a concept a few days ago, but then forget it during the test. or have a ‘tip-of-tongue’ phenomenon where we can’t remember someones name (STRESS AND ANXIETY also reduce memory recall)
Something is blocking our attempts at getting the memory.
SOLUTION: build multiple associations! (cues, mnemonics, visual cues, auditory cues)
WHY? Memory Construction – our brains use multiple things to ‘build’ a memory
Encoding Failures?
We can’t remember what we didn’t encode properly!
There could also be ‘storage decay’ whereby something IS encoded well, but it fades after a while.
The course of forgetting is initially rapid but levels off with time, and if you do remember some stuff from that random highschool or university course, you’ll remember it for life.
Basically a fading of the physical ‘memory trace’
Interference?
- Proactive Interference: I learned French 1st. Learned Spanish 2nd, then had a Spanish exam. French words kept popping into my head instead. (1st words pop into 2nd words)
-
Retroactive Interference: Same situation, except I’m being tested on French instead, and Spanish words (2nd learned thing) keep popping into my head. (2nd words pop into 1st words) —
SOLUTION: learn new material 1 hr before sleep. Do not learn new material, then immediately switch to another subject. OR learn new material. Nap. Learn new material of 2nd subject. Nap. etc.
ex: if you have a dorm room in 1A and then move to 1B and the whole room is flipped , then you may have trouble recalling where you placed your belongings around the room…with the 2nd new layout! (proactive interference)
