The Learning Brain & Scientific Secrets for a Powerful Memory Flashcards
An award-winning professor of psychology provides scientifically proven study techniques that will help you become a more adept learner. The Learning Brain Lectures 1-5, 7-8,10,13,18-21,24
Learning is acquiring ____________ or behavioral responses from _______.
knowledge experience
Memory is the ________ of learning that is stored in your _____.
record mind
If we want to ________ our learning then we need to tailor our _________ _________ depending on the kind of information that we’re trying to learn.
optimize learning strategies
_______ occurs when previous exposure to a stimulus facilitates your processing of similar stimuli in the future.
priming
_______ memories are sometimes called declarative memories.
explicit
__________ memories are memories that you can consciously bring to mind and describe verbally.
declarative
_______ memories are memories that you can’t consciously recall but that nevertheless influence your subsequent behavior.
implicit
An example of an implicit memory is knowing ___ __ ___ _ ____.
how to ride a bike
During explicit learning, the ____ of information is what gets stored in the longterm memory, not the details.
gist
We remember ______ information significantly better than verbal information.
visual
Our memory for ______ is better than our memory for words and sentences.
pictures
Memory for pictures you saw _ ____ ___ is similar to memory for words and sentences you just saw a few minutes ago.
a week ago
A mental image’s _______ improves the memory.
vividness
We have an _______ capacity in our memory.
unlimited
We make ________ all the time and tend to remember the inferred information as if it actually happened.
inferences
When we’re learning new information we tend to add it to the information that we’ve already got _____ ____.
stored away
___ ________ __________ are highlighting, underlining, and rereading.
bad study techniques
Highlighting and underlining possibly ______ your attention to isolated facts.
restrict
Highlighting and underlining may make you _____ to make inferences you otherwise might make (not able to see the forest for the trees).
unable
You shouldn’t highlight too much because you might not be good at highlighting helpful _____.
points
_______ helps with fill in the blank and short answer testing but there is a lack of evidence that it actually improves comprehension or performance on inference-based questions.
rereading
The ______ of rereading tail off quickly.
benefits
Rereading something ____ helps but rereading more than that doesn’t help anything.
once
Rereading gives students the mistaken impression that they’ve _______ the material.
mastered
_________ information that you’ve recalled before is quite different from being able to recall the information.
recognizing
Don’t let “_______” fool you into thinking you’ve mastered information.
familiarity
Generating ______________ is _________ trying to come up with _____________ for why concepts are true or for how those concepts are related to what you already know.
explanations deliberately explanations
An example of ________ an _______ would be if a chemistry chapter claimed that a compound is more reactive than some other compound, you might ask yourself “Why might that be?”
generating explanation
Interleaved practice is mixing up ________ as you study.
topics
An example of ________ _______ would be if you’ve got a bunch of algebra problems covering a variety of different topics then you could work on them in a random order.
interleaved practice
______ practice is studying one topic until you master it and then move on to the next topic.
blocked
Interleave practice was found to be more than __ __ ______ as blocked practice during testing a week after learning the material.
3x as effective
________ practice and study is spreading out your studying over time with breaks or lags between study sessions.
distributed
Students would be much better off studying all their subjects for a ___ _____ every day instead of always cramming for the next exam.
few minutes
Cramming or procrastination scallop is not nearly as effective as ____________ ___________.
distributed practice
_________ testing is a highly effective study technique that can consist of _____________, ______ _________, and question writing (coming up with a question for the note you just took).
consistent flashcards note taking
Being _______ on a subject is much more effective than rereading or relistening to a lecture.
retested
_____ ______ is converting explicit declarative knowledge into implicit procedural knowledge.
skill acquisition
Skill acquisition means going from being a complete ______ at a skill to being _______ to the point that you can actually perform other tasks at the same time.
novice automated
__________ are an example of explicit declarative knowledge.
instructions
_______ memory is an example of implicit procedural skill.
muscle
The most _____ _______ during skill acquisition will be made in the first few days and weeks of practice.
dramatic improvements
It gets harder and harder to get ______ as you get more __________ at whatever you’re practicing.
better skilled
During skill acquisition the rate of improvement _____ _____ over time.
slows down
Stages of skill acquisition are cognitive, ________ and ________.
associative autonomous
During the ______ stage you’re thinking a lot, committing things to memory, and rehearsing them while trying to perform the skill.
cognitive
The cognitive stage requires _______ _______.
declarative knowledge
The cognitive stage requires your complete ______ and ______.
focus attention
During the _________ stage of skill acquisition, you’re ___________ out what works and what doesn’t to slowly get rid of actions that lead to errors.
associative figuring
The associative stage requires _______.
feedback
The ________ ________ is the point where you can perform the skill without even thinking about it.
autonomous stage
To transform ____________ knowledge into a ____________ skill try using production rules.
declarative procedural
_________ _____ are an automatic association between a set of conditions and a set of actions (If…then).
production rules
Production rules are an _______ _______ (unconscious and implicit) between a set of conditions and a set of actions (If…then). If the conditions are satisfied, then perform the action.
automatic association
________ _______ is when you compile your declarative knowledge and you’re turning it into procedural knowledge.
knowledge compilation
_________ is taking a high level declarative description of what we want to do and then converting it into a form our motor system can actually execute. This is how a _____ is learned.
compilation skill
The stages of knowledge compilation are __________ and _________.
proceduralization composition
The _____________ _______ of knowledge compilation involves taking individual pieces of declarative knowledge, and converting them into individual pieces of procedural knowledge or production rules.
proceduralization stage
The _______ _____ of knowledge compilation involves combining separate production rules together into a single, more complicated production rule.
composition stage
An example of the composition stage is when you get good at tying your shoes you don’t do it piece by piece, instead you perform the whole skill as an integrated fluid set of motions.
TRUE
Three key ideas about practice that have been scientifically demonstrated to be effective in the acquisition and longterm retention of skills is to ______, _______ and randomize (SCORE).
space challenge
Longterm learning can be significantly improved by introducing changes that actually make short term performance harder rather than easier (______ ______).
desirable difficulties
Our _________ about which training methods will be most effective for long term learning are not reliable.
intuitions
To maximize longterm learning, practice should be ______ over time.
spaced
Research suggest your practice will be more effective if you _______ _______ yourself.
deliberately challenge
Identify _________ challenging areas to work on and set _____ _____ within those areas that are difficult but not impossible to achieve.
specific specific goals
If you _________ work to achieve your learning goals then you’ll improve faster than if you spent the same amount of time without challenging yourself.
systematically
If you want to get better at a _______ _____ you need to be systematic and deliberate in the way you practice.
complex skill
________ _______ refers to mixing the practice of different parts of a skill rather than practicing each part separately.
random practice
Random practice is better for ________ ______.
longterm learning
In addition to randomizing the ________ of practice, it’s also helpful to randomize the _______ of your practice.
order conditions
Not all _______ are desirable.
difficulties
The level of _______ should match the _______ of the learner.
difficulty ability
The delay between practice sessions shouldn’t be ____ _____.
too long
The delay between practice sessions shouldn’t be so long that you forgot what you _________ _______.
previously learned
There is no need to practice in conditions that won’t be encountered in the ____ _____.
real world
Practice conditions should be ______.
realistic
Sometimes the goal is _____ _____ ______ not long term learning.
short term performance
In the case of short term ___________, spacing and randomizing may not be the ____ way to prepare.
performance ideal
A musician getting ready for a recital tomorrow is an example of a short term performance goal where spacing and randomizing may be ideal.
False. Correct sentence - A musician getting ready for a recital tomorrow is an example of a short term performance goal where spacing and randomizing may not be ideal.
If your main goal is to improve your _______ abilities, eating a good diet and pursuing an active lifestyle with plenty of physical exercise will get the same results (if not better) as practicing _______ exercises.
cognitive memory
Self efficacy, perceived _________, interest or intrinsic motivation, and perceived _____ are the four traits that _______ _______.
control value influence motivation
_____ ______ refers to your own confidence in your own ability to achieve some goal you’ve set.
self efficacy
Self efficacy does not necessarily ______ actual ability.
reflect
Your _____ can be better or worse than your self efficacy.
ability
Self efficacy influences what people try to ______.
learn
An example of ____ ____ _____ would be if you don’t believe that you’re capable of learning something then you may not bother even trying or pursuing a goal that you could actually accomplish if you set your mind to it.
low self efficacy
Self efficacy affects ________.
persistence
Research shows people with _______ ____ ______ tend to continue working toward their goals even in the face of difficulties.
higher self efficacy
_______ _______ refers to the extent to which you believe you are in control of how much you learn as opposed to your learning being dependent on forces outside your control.
perceived control
Studies have shown that perceived control can have a _______ ______ on motivation and engagement in learning.
substantial impact
______ perceived ________ is closely related to the idea of a growth mindset.
high control
Someone with a _____ _______ views their talents and abilities as rigid and unchangeable.
fixed mindset
Someone with a ______ ______ views their abilities as malleable or changeable.
growth mindset
People with a growth mindset typically have goals about improving and _______ _______ a challenging domain. This is referred to as a _______ orientation.
ultimately mastering mastery
People with a fixed mindset typically have goals about ________ ____ and _________ their innate ability. This is referred to as a ___________ orientation.
performing well demonstrating performance
Having a growth mindset is associated with significantly more learning and better ________ ________.
academic performance
________ or _______ motivation is doing something because you want to do it.
interest intrinsic
_________ motivation is doing something because it satisfies some external goal.
extrinsic
Intrinsic motivation and personal interest is associated with _______ learning.
greater
Adding ______ ______ for good performance can often reduce intrinsic motivation and undermine learning.
external incentives
Perceived _____ is how much ________ a student places on what they’re learning.
value value
Perceived value can _________ ________ the amount a student learns.
significantly increase
_________ memories are typically more vivid than neutral memories.
emotional
Emotional _______ strengthens memory consolidation.
arousal
______ and emotional arousal don’t always improve every aspect of memory. It all depends on what you pay _________ to.
stress attention
Stress tends to make you ______ your focus of attention to the most __________ important information.
narrow central
Chronic stress _______ memory.
impairs
Short term stress often ________ memory.
strengthens
Long term chronic stress seems to ________ memory.
undermine
The release of _____ _______ is what causes emotional memories to be vivid and strong.
stress hormones
Chronic _________ to stress hormones over time can lead to changes in the brain that undermine learning and memory.
exposure
Certain ______ and ___ _________ medications actually increase stress hormone levels and patients taking these medications sometimes exhibit learning and memory deficits.
asthma anti inflammatory
In rare cases certain asthma and anti inflammatory drugs can produce a condition called _______ _______ which is often mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease.
steroid dementia
Human beings spend about a _____ of their lives sleeping.
third
A number of studies have found a correlation between poor sleep and ______ _______ (in academic performance) (correlation does not imply causation).
impaired learning
________ and _______ are better after a good nights rest.
learning memory
Sleeping improves memory consolidation and _______.
retention
If you study some information and then sleep on it, the sleep itself often ________ and ________ your memory so that you’ll be able to remember it better in the future.
strengthens consolidates
This _______ consolidation effect applies to explicit declarative ___________ and implicit procedural __________.
sleeping memory learning
________ of declarative memories is most associated with non-REM slow wave sleep.
reactivation
Try and get enough sleep (at least 7 hours) preferably _ or _.
8 9
Avoid ________ food or a big meal, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol for a ___ _____ before you go to bed.
heavy few hours
______ your bedroom for a good nights sleep.
tailor
We sleep best when the air temperature is between __ and __ degrees.
60 67
Get _______ to block out light if necessary when you’re sleeping.
curtains
If it’s ______ when you’re sleeping consider a fan or white noise machine.
noisy
______ in a comfortable mattress and pillow.
invest
Try and go to bed the same time every day even on ________.
weekends
Maybe adopt a relaxing bedtime _____ like reading or taking a shower or bath that your body will begin to associate with going to bed and falling asleep.
habit
Once you go to bed try to avoid watching TV or using ________ which can make it harder to fall asleep.
electronics
As little as __ minutes of aerobic exercise can significantly improve the quality of your sleep.
10
As _____ ______ so will learning and memory.
sleep improves
Learning has a lot more to do with what the _______ does than with what the _______ does.
student teacher
Adopting a positive mindset; being strategic and deliberate about your learning; actively learning rather than passively; identifying good sources of information that will challenge you; staying active, eating right, and getting plenty of sleep are all ________ to _______ learning.
strategies optimize
Adopting a positive mindset means not only believing you have the ability to learn but ______ ______ of your learning.
taking control
________ ________ approaches to learning can be more effective than less systematic methods.
strategic deliberate
__________ leads to less longterm learning than spacing the same amount of studying over time.
cramming
_________ and _________ what you work on is better than learning about one topic and then switching to another topic in blocks.
randomizing interleaving
_________ new information to information we already know can help us to learn it more effectively.
relating
When you’re trying to learn a new skill, ______ ______ practice is more effective than just mindlessly practicing the skill.
deliberate challenging
Set _ or _ specific goals at a time.
2 3
Goals should be challenging so that they’ll ______ you and really force you to learn.
stretch
Goals should be specific and ________ with _______ effort.
achievable concerted
Learning ______ rather than _______ means coming up with questions about the material you’re learning.
actively passively
Learning actively rather than passively means _______ _______.
testing yourself
Learning actively rather than passively means _______ and or ________ what you’re studying and trying to learn to others.
teaching explaining
To identify good sources of information that will challenge you, consider the source, consider the ______, be _______, and seek out different points of view from your own and that will challenge your point of view.
evidence skeptical
Consider the source of ____________ by asking, “Who’s providing the information and what are their ___________?” and “Are they actually trained in the field that I’m trying to learn?”
information qualifications
Consider the evidence presented to you by asking, “Does the source provide actual evidence in support of their _______ or is it just ________?” and “If there is evidence, can you confirm its authenticity and does it come from a credible source?”
claims opinion
A quick Google search of an _______ ______ can often identify its source and its authenticity.
empirical claim
Stay ________ active by taking up a hobby, learning a course, or learning a ___________ or instrument.
mentally language
Stay ________ active by walking, gardening, and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
physically
Failure to _______ occurs because of a failure to encode.
perceive
Memory consist of 2 different types of information storage; _______ _______ and long term.
short term
A failure to retrieve information can occur due to _______ _______ or proactive interference.
retroactive interference
Exercise produces a brain with a more densely connected and _______ network of neurons.
active
__________ amnesia is when the ability to remember new things is disrupted and is more common.
anterograde
The human brain is very very good at ______ and later recognizing images.
encoding
The “Major System” was developed by _______ _______ in ________.
Johan Winkelmann 1648
Short term memory is usually limited to about 1 item.
False. Correct sentence - Short term memory is usually limited to about 7 items.
Forgetting is in essence, a failure of the _______ system.
memory
Short term memory is usually limited to about __ __________.
7 items
The more vivid, striking and detailed your memory image is, the more unlikely it is to stick and be memorable.
False. Correct sentence - The more vivid, striking and detailed your memory image is, the more likely it is to stick and be memorable.
Explain the following with an example - ‘To help remember faces tie the name to an image.’
Someone named Sharon would or could be tied to the act of sharing
The _______ _______ to enhancing your memory is to transform things that are hard into things that are easy for your brain to __________ and later recall.
central trick encode
_______ and strength training together, exhibited a clear advantage in terms of the amount in improvement in brain function.
cardiovascular
More meaning leads to stronger and more numerous connections to existing knowledge, which leads to faster and more _______ _______.
accurate memory
You can’t forget what you never perceived due to lack of focus or _______ _______.
misplaced attention
_______ amnesia is the loss of memories prior to injury.
retrograde
The more vivid, striking and detailed your _______ _______ is, the more likely it is to stick and be memorable.
memory image
What types of images are the most memorable?
strange, unexpected, even bizarre images
Who invented the Method of Loci?
greek poet Simonides
Memory consists of how many different types of information storage?
2
What can be encoded into the long term memory?
short term memory
What may result due to retroactive interference?
a failure to retrieve information
What learning process is faster than the initial learning process?
the relearning process
What is the central trick to enhancing your memory?
transform things that are hard to remember into things that are easy for your brain to encode and later recall
When was the method of loci invented?
500bc
What type of amnesia is very rare?
retrograde amnesia
What are the 2 types of information storage?
short term and long term
What is the Major System?
converts numbers into the sound of letters
What is the name of the system that helps you memorize numbers?
major system
What did Ebinghaus discover about learning?
the relearning process is much faster than the initial learning process
What happens if you fail to attach an image or some relation to the object?
a failure to encode
What is retroactive interference?
when new memories or new things that you’ve learned interfere with the things that you’ve learned in the past
What produces a brain with a more densely connected and more active network of neurons?
exercise
_______________ a list over and over to remember it doesn’t work. To remember a list you have to make it _______________ with other things you already know.
repeating meaningful
______________ _____________ is when information you’ve learned in the past interferes with new information you’ve learned in the future.
proactive interference
The Kramer & Holcomb meta-analysis concluded that exercise has a significant positive effect on ________ _________ as we age.
mental function
The Kramer & Holcomb meta-analysis concluded that the effects of exercise were largest for tests that tapped ___________ __________.
executive function
The Kramer & Holcomb meta-analysis concluded that there were substantial effects for virtually __________ __________ of mental function.
every measure
