Unit 2 - Memory Flashcards
hyperthymesia
ability to recall specific events from personal past and thinks a lot about personal past
memory
an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information into a usable form, organizes it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage
information-processing model
3-stage memory model
atkinson shiffrin model
known as computer model
encoding - set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage system
storage - holds onto information for some period of time (different periods of time depending on system of memory being used)
retrieval - getting information they know they have out of storage (most difficult process for people to complete)
parallel distributed processing model (connectionism)
web of interconnected concepts
simultaneous process across a series of mental networks across the brain; use of artificial neural networks to explain the mental abilities of humans
levels-of-processing model
memory’s duration depends on the effort made to understand meaning (depth) to which information is processed or encoded
3 types of memory stystems
sensory memory
short-term memory
long-term memory
sensory memory
first stage of memory; information that enters nervous system through sensory systems (eyes, ears…)
iconic sensory memory
visual sensory memory that only lasts 1/4 - 1/2 second
echoic sensory memory
auditory sensory memory that only lasts 4 seconds –> useful when having meaningful conversations because allows people to remember what someone said long enough to recognize meaning and respond + useful because people can hold onto incoming auditory information long enough to determine if it is worth processing
George Sperling
He studied iconic memory, used grids of letters and different tones, found that the entire grid was in iconic memory and available to the subjects
partial report method
A method that showed a grid of letters to subjects, but immediately sounded a high, medium, or low tone, and the subjects were asked to report the top row if the high tone sounded, middle row for the medium tone, and lowest row for lowest tone
eidetic memory (photographic)
ability to access visual sensory memory over long period of time
microssaccades
Tiny movements made by eyes to keep vision from adapting to a constant visual stimulus, so that what is stared at does not slowly disappear
short-term memory (STM)
if incoming sensory memory is important enough to enter consciousness then message moves from sensory memory to STM
selective attention
ability to focus on one stimulus out of all sensory input
masking
Information that has just entered iconic memory will be pushed out very quickly by new information
Donald E. Broadbent
He developed an original filter theory, that a kind of “bottleneck” occurs between sensory memory and STM
cocktail-party effect
when important information appears, areas of the brain filter information into conscious awareness despite fact that you weren’t paying attention to background noise
Anne M. Treisman
proposed that selective attention operates in 2 stages of filtering:
1 - incoming stimuli in sensory memory are filtered based on physical characteristics
2 - only stimuli that meet threshold of importance are processed
working memory
often referred to as STM; relating to storage and manipulation of information
made up of 3 systems:
1) central executive - controls and coordinates the other systems
2) visuospatial sketchpad - awareness of space in front of you
3) phonological rehearsal loop - self-talk
George A. Miller
He researched how much information humans can hold in STM at any one time
digit-span test
Memory test in which a series of numbers is read to subjects who are then asked to recall the numbers in order
capacity of STM
7 + or - 2
chunking
recoding/reordering information in order to hold more information (usually in meaningful groups)
maintenance rehearsal
repeating something in order to remember it
serial positioning effect
made up of primacy effect and recency effect
primacy effect
tendency to remember beginning of a list the best (LTM)
recency effect
tendency to remember last thing said (STM)
schema
mental categories
recall
remember something off the top of your head
recognition
remember something with the help of cues
long-term memory (LTM)
- system into which all information is placed to be kept more or less permanently
- 3rd stage of memory
- unlimited capacity
- memories always available but not always accessible
elaborative rehearsal
way of transferring information from STM to LTM by making information meaningful in some way
non-declarative memory/implicit memory
- memory for skills/procedural memory
- includes priming
priming
improvement in identifying and processing concepts, words, and objects after having prior experience and memory associations learned through classical or operant conditioning
anterograde amnesia
loss of memories from point of injury or illness forward
- long-term declarative memories cannot be formed (damage to hippocampus)
- more common than retrograde
- often result of illness
- more permanent, most don’t recover
- can create new procedural memories
declarative memory/explicit memory
- memory for facts/semantic memory
- includes episodic memory
semantic memory
general knowledge
episodic memory
personal knowledge
flashbulb memory
mind takes “flash picture” when unexpected event or episode in person’s life has strong emotional associations (often incorrect because of frequency they are repeated)
prospective memory
allows people to remember to perform tasks later
retrieval cue
stimulus for remembering
encoding specificity
connection between surrounding and remembered information; tendency for information to be improved if retrieval conditions are similar to conditions under which information was encoded
context-dependent learning
memories formed during a particular physiological/psychological state will be easier to remember while in a similar state
tip of tongue phenomenon (TOT)
when answer feels so close to consciousness that it’s on “tip of tongue”
Elizabeth Loftus
focuses on inaccuracies of memory retrieval (eyewitness testimony; constant updated memories)
automatic encoding
people unconsciously notice and remember a lot of things
effortful encoding
people have to try in order to remember it
mnemonist
memory expert or someone with exceptional memory abilities
Hermann Ebbinghaus
- one of first to study forgetting
- created the curve of forgetting
- learned that distributed practice produces better retrieval information than massed practice
curve of forgetting
forgetting is greatest just after learning the information
encoding failure
failure to process information into memory
memory trace
some physical change in the brain which occurs when a memory is formed (if traces aren’t used, they decay)
decay
term for fading information in LTM
proactive interference
tendency for older/previously learned material to interfere with the learning and retrieval of new information
retroactive interference
newer information interferes with retrieval of older information
where are procedural memories stored?
cerebellum
where is STM stored?
prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe
where are memories of fear stored?
amygdala
where are semantic and episodic LTM stored?
frontal and temporal lobes
long-term potentiation
changes in sensitivity of synapse through repeated stimulation
consolidation
takes place as memories are forming so they are properly encoded/stored -changes in number of receptor sites -long-term potentiation -changes in dendrites -changes in proteins in neurons BEST THING IS SLEEP
hippocampus
responsible for forming new long-term declarative memories
H.M.
patient whose hippocampi and medial temporal lobe were removed in an attempt to stop his epileptic seizures
- he could no longer remember new events or facts
- his procedural memory was intact but his declarative (semantic and episodic) memory was lost
repression
type of psychologically motivated forgetting in which a person cannot remember a traumatic event
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory from point of injury backward
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory from point of injury backward
- lose episodic and semantic memory
- over time memories return (chunk of time around accident probably won’t be recovered)
- due to accident/injury
senile dementia
mental disorder with severe forgetfulness, mental confusion, and mood swings (usually suffer from anterograde amnesia)
alzheimer’s disease
- first anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia comes as disease progresses
- brain has physical signs of aging
- neurons that produce acetylcholine (to form memories) break down in early stages of disease
- no cure but risk factors can be managed
- early-onset is genetic
infantile amnesia
early memories are implicit, and hard to bring to consciousness unlike explicit memories, which do not develop until age 2, when the hippocampus is more developed and language skills bloom
autobiographical memory
memory for events and facts related to one’s personal life story; develops as children are able to talk about shared memories with adults
3 factors to help maintain/improve memory health
1) sleep - memories rehearsed during sleep and waking are more likely to be consolidated and remember better later + sleep deprivation interferes with functioning of hippocampus
2) moderate exercise - norepinephrine is released during exercise, and it helps in formation of memories
3) diet high in DHA - diet high in DHA improves memory function
encoding specificity principle
- context and retrieval
- mood congruence
- state dependent
P.O.R.N.
Proactive interference - Old information gets in the way
Retroactive interference - New information gets in the way
motivated forgetting
suppression (on purpose) versus repression (unconscious)
Frederic Barlett
saw process of memory as similar to creating a story instead of reading one already written
reconstructive processing
memories are built/reconstructed from information stored during encoding - each time memory is retrieved, it can be altered to include new information or to exclude details
Elizabeth Loftus studied this
constructive processing
memories are built/reconstructed from information stored during encoding - each time memory is retrieved, it can be altered to include new information or to exclude details
Elizabeth Loftus studied this
misinformation effect
false memories created by a person being exposed to information after event –> information becomes part of actual memory, affecting accuracy
Elizabeth Loftus studied this
false memory syndrome
creation of inaccurate/false memories through suggestion of others, often while person is under hypnosis
hypnosis
- makes it easier to recall real memories, but also makes it easier to create false memories
- increases confidence people have in their memories, whether or not they are real or false
2 steps in order for a false memory to be interpreted as true
1) event must be made to seem as plausible as possible
2) individuals are given information that helps them believe that the event could have happened to them personally
variables that predicted higher false recall/recognition
- people who are most likely to recall/recognize false items
- susceptibility to hypnosis
- symptoms od depression
- tendency to exhibit odd behavior and unusual beliefs
memory reconstruction
- sharpening: certain aspects are emphasized and form the core part of the story
- assimilation: discrepant information is changed to conform to the core of the story so that it seems more logical
- leveling: stories get shorter over time
eyewitness testimony
- constant retelling
- merging new information from other eyewitness testimonies with your own
- less precise recording of information because of overreaction of neurotransmitters pumping through body at time of event
- asking leading questions by the police can form new false memories
