retrieval Flashcards
what is retrieval?
the progression from retrieval cues to a target memory trace through associative connections
what is a target memory trace?
the memory we are looking for
what are retrieval cues?
information about the target memory that guides our search
what are associations?
the bonds that link items in memory, they vary in strength
what is activation level?
memory traces have a level of excitement which determines the accessibility of memories
how does activation level increase?
it increase with cues
what is spreading activation?
the automatic transmission of energy from a memory to associations
how does activation spread?
cues activate the trace memory, spreading activation to other associations
what is spreading activation proportional to?
the strength of connections
what is pattern completion?
spreading activation from cues leads to reinstatement of a memory
what sort of mechanism is pattern completion?
a hippocampal mechanism
how does the relevance of cues determine retrieval?
recall is better when cues are strongly related to the target e.g. present at encoding
how does attention to cues determine retrieval?
increased attention to cues helps guide retrieval
how does cue-target associative strength determine retrieval?
being more familiar with the link between the cue and target aids retrieval
how does the number of cues determine retrieval?
additional relevant cues aids retrieval
how does the strength of the target memory determine retrieval?
it easier to retrieve a strongly encoded memory compared to a weakly encoded memory
how does retrieval strategy determine retrieval?
retrieval is better when information is organised during encoding and you use effective strategies of memory search
how does retrieval mode determine retrieval?
having intention to later retrieve a memory increases the chance of retrieval
what are direct/explicit retrieval tasks?
recalling experiences, requires contextual cues, impaired in amnesics
what are indirect/implicit retrieval tasks?
measure influence of past experiences which guide behaviour, normal in amnesics
what is priming?
recent experience with stimulus improves performance
what are the 4 contextual cues?
cognitive, physiological, mood, spatio-temporal
what are cognitive contextual cues?
the thoughts that you have about a target
what are physiological contextual cues?
the physical state you were in during the event e.g. drunk
what are mood contextual cues?
the emotional state you were in during the event
what are spatio-temporal contextual cues?
the environment you were in during the event
what does context do to help retrieval?
it reinstates the original encoding environment
what did gooden & baddeley (1975) find in their diving study?
retrieval is best when you are testing in the same environment as encoding e.g. underwater
what did grant et al (1998) find about study environments?
retrieval is best when tested in the same noise conditions as encoding (noisy or quiet)
what is state dependent memory?
recall depends on the match between physiological state at encoding and retrieval e.g. drunk, under influence
why does state dependent memory not apply to recognition tests?
we don’t rely on context as much
what is mood dependent memory?
recall depends on match in mood states at encoding and retrieval
what is mood congruent memory?
it is easier to recall events with the same emotional tone as your current mood e.g. depressed person recalls more depressive memories
what did eich, macaulay & ryan (1994) discover about mood dependent memory?
retrieval improves when music or story matches mood of participant
what is cognitive context dependent memory?
retrieval is better if the same cognitive features and tasks are involved as encoding e.g. thoughts, concepts
what did marian & neisser (2000) discover about cognitive context dependent memory?
language guides retrieval of memories from a specific background e.g. russian interview = russian memory
what is recognition memory?
decide whether you have previously seen stimuli or not
what is signal detection theory?
decide whether you have heard a signal (tone) presented against background noise, with varying intensities
what is the response criterion in signal detection theory?
answers to the right of the response criterion are ‘old’ stimuli that have been encountered previously
what does mandler (1980) say about recognition memory?
recognition is based on familiarity and recollection
what is familiarity?
automatic recognition of seeing item, described by signal detection
what is recollection?
retrieve additional contextual details
what did yonelinas (2002) say about recollection?
it is disrupted by divided attention during encoding and retrieval
what is tulving’s (1980) remember/know procedure?
remembering involves recollecting contextual details, knowing is familiarity of an item
