Psychology of Learning & Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
Selective acquisition (learning) of new info & selective retention/storage of info for future use (memory)
-Shows plasticity of brain - ability to change in response to experience
-Involves synchronised brain region activity
What are the stages of memory?
Encoding→Initial Storage→Consolidation→Retrieval
What is forgetting?
Failed retreival process of a memory
What are the 3 possible causes of forgetting (failed retrieval)?
-Unsuccessful storage
-Loss of the memory trace (fading ink)
-Failure to locate the trace at retrieval
What are the 2 major categories of memory?
-Long-term
-Short-term - sensory & working
What are the 2 forms of long-term memory?
-Declarative
-Non-declarative
What is declarative memory?
Can be brought into conscious awareness & described
What is non-declarative memory?
-Can not be brought into conscious awareness
-Can only be demonstrated & learnt through experience
What are the 2 types of declarative memory?
-Episodic
-Semantic
What is episodic memory?
-Memory of past events in a person’s life
-Stores accumulated events, an autobiography
-Memory of specific event e.g., holiday to Paris
-Tied to a particular time & place (context specific)
-Recalled (re-experienced) in 1st person - are specific to the individual
What is semantic memory?
-Knowledge of the word: facts, concepts, vocabulary
-Doesn’t refer to temporal landmarks in a person’s life
-General knowledge e.g., Paris = capital of France, the meaning of words
-NOT tied to a specific context - i.e., we can’t recall where & when we learnt Paris is the capital of France
-Shared across individuals in a particular culture
How does semantic memory work?
There is a distributed network of categorical & feature based info
-Feature = has claws, roars
-Category = big cat or mammal
–> so accessing category or feature - facilitates access to linked info in the network
–> & this semantic system also facilitates for the generalisation of knowledge to new concepts & allows us to pick up an atypical features within categories (carrots = orange - but most veg = green)
What are the 4 types of non-declarative memory?
-Procedural
-Perceptual representation system
-Classical conditioning
-Non-associative learning
What is procedural memory?
-Often acquire more slowly by trial & error process
-Stores info guiding beh e.g., how to drive, ride bike, train dog
-May be unable to verbalise these memories - have become 2nd nature
-How we remember these = based upon how we learn them
What is perceptual (representation system) memory?
Ability to interpret incoming stimuli by recognizing individuals, by categorizing them & by noting relationships between such individuals & categories
–> i.e., ability to recognise an object is what it is
What is classical conditioning & operant conditioning - as associative memory?
Classical
= Paired associations with neutral stimulus
-By repetition = forms associations
Operant
= learning by rewards (food) to reinforce or by punishments (electric shock) to inhibit beh
–> behs = strengthened or weakened based on consequences of that beh
-Behaviourists say - stored info guides beh = stimulus response
-Bio explanation = declarative memory - learning an food as an outcome because are hungry (rats - press correct button for food)