reliability of memory Flashcards
what are the 4 methods to retrieve info from memory?
- recall
- recognition
- relearning
- reconstruction
what is recall?
- reproducing info stored in memory
how does recall demonstrate the existence of memory?
- bringing info into conscious awareness provides evidence that something previously learnt was retained
what are the 3 types of recall + examples?
- free recall; writing a list of things you need to buy at a market
- serial recall; listing names of places you visited on an overseas trip in the order you visited them, months of the year
- cued recall; first letter of names are listed
what is free recall?
reproducing as much info as you can in no particular order without the use of any specific cue
what is serial recall?
reproducing info in same order it was learnt
what is cued recall?
- reproducing info using specific prompts to help
what is recognition?
identifying the original, learnt info usually from a number of alternatives
how does recognition show the existence of memory?
- we can identify ‘correct’ information among alternatives that include incorrect information
how does recognition assist in retrieval?
- presence of orignially learned info within alternatives acts as cue for its accessing info from memory= retrieving memory
what is reconstruction as a method of retrieval?
- rearranging randomly presented parts of an original stimulus to reproduce learned info
what is relearning (methods of saving)?
- learning previously learned info stored in LTM
how does relearning demonstrate the existence of memory?
- if same info is learnt quicker the 2nd time (time saved when learning something) = demonstrates some info was retained in LTM from first learning experience
how does relearning assist in retrieval?
- makes weak associations stronger from repetition
how do you calculate the savings score?
time taken to learn [ ] the 1st time - time taken to learn 2nd time/time taken to learn 1st time x100
T1 - T2
———- x100
T1
define savings score
- amount of time saved when info about [ ] is relearned
what is reconstruction (loftus)?
combining stored info with other available info to form what is believed to be a more accurate and complete memory
what is the cause of alzheimer’s disease?
- neurodegenerative nature= neurological degradation
- the presence of neurological abnormalities: high levels of amyloid plaques & neurofibrillary tangles that impair neuronal function and contribute to neuronal death= memory decline
how does reconstruction (loftus) demonstrate the existence of memory?
-actively draw on past and current knowledge
- if the memory is not clear we tend to add information to help ensure the retrieved memory is complete
fallibility def
the tendency to make mistakes or be wrong
what are eye-witness testimonies?
any firsthand account is given by a person of an event they have seen
- fallibility of eye-witness testimonies as it involves reconstruction
what was Loftus’ experiment 1 critical question including the IV (verbs) and DV
“about how fast were the cars going when they [contacted, hit, bumped, collided, smashed] into each other?”
-average estimation of the speed of the cars in miles per hour
what did Loftus find in her first experiment (conclusion)?
- the more intense the verb, the higher the estimated speed
- type of verb used in the critical question is likely to have influenced the reconstruction of speed of car
- contacted= 31.8 mph (51 km/h)
- smashed- 40.5 mph (65 km/h)
what was the groups in loftus’ 2nd experiment?
-“about how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”
-“about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
-not asked a critical question about the speed of the cars
what was the critical question (IV) in loftus’ second experiment and DV?
“did you see any broken glass?”
-number of participants who recalled seeing broken glass
what did loftus suggest about the findings of the 2nd experiment (why did participants assume there was broken glass)?
-higher proportion of people who incorrectly integrated info of broken glass when the verb smashed was used than hit group or control group
- reconstruction of memory involving speed of accident = implies logical leap to assume broken glass was present
what are leading questions?
- has content or is phrased in a way to suggest a desired answer
in terms of loftus’ research, why is eye-witness testimonies not accurate? why can it be questioned?
- according to loftus’ research, eyewitness memory is highly susceptible to being reconstructed during retrieval
- prone to distortion due to influence of false info that may be introduced by leading questions or other available info
- misleading info suggested by question can potentially become integrated as part of an updated reconstruction of the event
- we retrieve encoded ver. not exact copy= details can change overtime= people recall details that were not originally there
Define brain trauma and what can it result from
Any injury that impacts the normal functioning of the brain
- brain surgery
-neurodegenerative disease (progressive decline in structure, activity and function of the brain
What is the effect of brain trauma on the hippocampus
- interferes with the consolidation of declarative memories and their transfer to the cerebral cortex
- explicit content of emotional memories can be lost
Effect of brain trauma on amygdala on memory
- problems with formation and recall of emotional memories
- typically unable to acquire implicit CC fear responses
Effect of brain trauma on cerebral cortex
- disruption in storage and retrieval of memory when damage to cortical area that originally stored & processed the info
- impairments when remembering the sequence of events
Effect of brain trauma on cerebellum
- cant acquire CC reflexes
- don’t show CR when CS is presented
what is anterograde amnesia?
Loss of memory for info and events that occur after brain trauma
What is the effect of anterograde amnesia on memory
- can recall events before trauma (stored in cerebral cortex)
- difficulty forming and storing new explicit LTMs
- can retain new info in STM as long as it’s rehearsed and not interrupted
What’s the difference between the two amnesia
- anterograde amnesia: old memories retained, new memories not formed
- retrograde amnesia: old memories lost, new memories formed
what is alzheimer’s disease
- neurodegenderative disease characterized by gradual widespread neuron death causing brain tissue to shrink progressively leading to:
- memory loss
- deterioration of cognitive and social skills
- personality changes
what are the symptoms of alzheimer’s?
-declining cognitive functions, social skills, personality changes, STM loss then LTM impaired
- memory loss for past and new events
eg. events, words, names, directions, general knowledge, everyday skills
what are amyloid plaques and where are they located?
- hard, insoluble protein fragments
- found between neurons
how does amyloid plaques affect the brain?
- doesn’t break down in alzheimer’s & gather overtime forming clumps= interfere with neuron’s ability to communicate
what are neurofibrillary tangles?
- insoluble twisted fibres
- found inside neurons
how does neurofibrillary tangles affect the brain?
- prevents transport of important substances around the neuron= killing neurons as it doesn’t receive essential substances
- usually help form support for essential substances to be transported around the neuron
what are the 5 factors influencing a persons ability and inability to remember info?
- context & state dependent cues
- maintenance & elaborating rehearsal
- serial position effect
Describe how maintenance and elaborative rehearsal influence our ability to remember
- consciously manipulating info improves storage of info in STM and LTM
Describe how the serial position effect influence our ability to remember
The position of info in a list affects recall
- free recall is better for items at the beginning and end of a list than middle
What are context dependent cues and how does it help with retrieval?
External environmental cue in [the situation] where a memory was formed
- the more closely the physical condition (retrieval cue) match the original learning conditions= help access memory formed there
What are state dependent cues and how does it help with retrieval?
internal physiological+/psychological condition at the time a memory was formed acts as a cue to help retrieval
- similar internal condition (cue) when retrieval required to original learning conditions = more likely info will be recalled
What is maintenance rehearsal and how does it help/not help with retrieval?
- Repeating info being remembered so it can be retained in STM (increase duration of STM)
Eg. Out loud, in your head
What is elaborative rehearsal?
- process of linking new info in a meaningful way with other new info or info already stored in LTM to aid its storage and future retrieval from LTM
What are the advantages of elaborative rehearsal over maintenance?
- more effective way to encode info into LTM
- creates more cues for retrieval= more active (more effort required)
Limitations of maintenance rehearsal?
- doesn’t always lead to LTM retention
- limited capacity of STM= amount of new info that can enter is restricted
What are the 3 different ways to elaborate info?
New ->new
New -> old
New -> you
What is the primacy effect?
Superior recall for items at the beginning of a list
- words at the beginning of the list get rehearsed more= more likely to be transferred into LTM
What is the recency effect?
Superior recall for items at the end of a list
- Words at the end are most recently presented= still available in STM if recall is tested immediately
Why is recall worst for items in the middle?
- items presented too late to be adequately rehearsed= no transfer to LTM
- presented too early to be stored in STM without rehearsal
= more likely to be forgotten
Why is there no recency effect in delay recalling a list of words?
Cannot hold items in STM long enough for it to be remembered
- STM duration exceeds 30s
