Retrieval Flashcards
What are the elements of the retrieval process?
- Retrieval
- Target Memory Trace
- Retrieval Cues
- Associations
What is the activation level of spreading activation?
○ The internal state of a memory, reflecting its level of excitement
○ Determines accessibility of the item
Define Pattern Completion
the process by which spreading activation from a set of cues leads to the reinstatement of a memory.
Hippocampal mechanism
What are the 7 factors determining Retrieval Success?
- Attention to Cues
- Relevance of Cues
- Cue -target Associative Strength
- Number of Cues
- Strength of Target Memory
- Retrieval Strategy
- Retrieval Mode
Define Spreading Activation
○ The automatic transmission of “energy” from one memory to related items via associations
○ it is proportional to the strength of connections
Define Pattern Completion
A hippocampal process by which spreading activation from a set of cues leads to the reinstatement of a memory
How does attention to cues impact retrieval?
Reduced attention to a cue impairs its ability to guide retrieval.
How does the Relevance of cues impact retrieval?
Retrieval cues are most effective when they are strongly related to the target.
Right cues enhance retrieval. Best cues are presented at encoding.
What is the Encoding Specificity Principle?
Retrieval cues are most useful if:
- present at encoding - encoded with the target - similar to the original cue available at encoding - encode info along with its context.
How does the Cue-Target Association Strength impact retrieval?
- Determined by the length of time and attention spent on encoding the relationship
- Encoding the cue and the target separately is unhelpful
- They need to be associated with each other!
How does the Number of Cues Impact Retrieval?
- Access to additional, relevant cues facilitates retrieval
- Activation spreads from both cues to the target, facilitating retrieval
What is the effect of Dual-Coding on Retrieval?
○ Cueing multiple access routes to a target (extra cues) can provide a super-additive recall benefit
○ Elaborative encoding maximizes the number of retrieval routes
How does Strength of Target Memory impact Retrieval?
weakly encoded targets that start at a lower activation level are more difficult to retrieve.
- need more activation for retrieval.
How does retrieval strategy increase retrieval?
The organization of materials at encoding
○ Adopting efficient strategies of memory search
○ Adopting a new strategy can facilitate recall of previously forgotten objects
How does Retrieval Mode impact Retrieval?
- Frame of mind allows interpreting environmental stimuli as episodic memory cues to guide subsequent retrieval.
- Encountering a stimulus without the intention to retrieve the target from memory, reduces the probability of eliciting the target.
