Unit 8: Memory (Chapter 7) Flashcards

Question

Levels of processing theory

Answer 1

Encoding is an active process that can occur at multiple levels ranging from shallow to deep. *Deep encoding leads to better memory performance.*

Answer 2

Encoding based on sensory characteristics, such as how something looks or sounds. - Maps onto basic brain regions related to perception of sensory information (visual or auditory encoding; occipital + temporal lobes)

Answer 3

Involves making associations between new information and old information already stored in your brain (elaboration). • Thinking about the meaning of the word (semantics) • Drawing connections to other things you already know Engages higher-order brain regions related to thought (e.g., frontal lobes, temporal lobe regions related to semantic information). Also associated with increased activity in the hippocampus.

Answer 4

Type of deep processing where information is related to oneself. Enhances memory retention, as humans love to think/talk about themselves.

Answer 5

H. M. could not form new memories of people he had met, conversations he'd had, things he had done - anterograde amnesia. • But could learn new challenging skill → Ex: shown a figure and traced its outline using a mirror. • **Suggests that there may be different forms of long-term memories, only some of which are reliant on the hippocampus.**

Answer 6

- Explicit/declarative - Implicit/nondeclarative

Answer 7

Intentional, conscious.

Answer 8

Occurs without intentional recollection or awareness, measured indirectly by observing effect of prior learning on behaviour. Difficult to verbalize (like trying to explain to someone how to ride a bike).

Answer 9

Type of implicit memory related to the acquisition of skills (e.g., riding a bike, using scissors, knitting, or drawing a five-pointed star in the mirror). - When procedural skills become automatic, can direct our attention elsewhere. - H.M. could learn new skills but could not remember learning them in the first place ##Footnote## Ex: Driving, using scissors.

Answer 10

Change in response to a stimulus as a result of exposure to a previous stimulus. - Priming is observed in patients with amnesia, demonstrating that implicit memory is intact. - Not reliant on hippocampus or deeper processing

Answer 11

Type of classical conditioning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated an emotionally charged stimulus, leading to a conditioned emotional response. Ex: Recall "Little Albert" study. • Affective conditioning is preserved in amnesic patients. Ex: Neurologist pricking patient’s hand, patient not wanting to shake his hand the next day, but was could not remember why. • Does not rely on hippocampus: Individuals with hippocampal lesions still exhibit fear conditioning in lab studies (operationalized as increased galvanic skin response, "sweating", in response to cue previously associated with blast of noise).

Answer 12

**Remembering** Hippocampus is your personal "time machine", which allows you to travel back in time (retrospective memory) through episodic memory → memory of yourself experiencing the event. • Explicit recollection of personal experiences. • Impaired in amnesia. E.g., HM unable to form new episodic memories.

Answer 13

Hippocampus also allows travel to the future. • Prospective memory = memory for things we need to do in the future • Also impaired in individuals with retrospective memory loss

Answer 14

**Knowing** Explicit memory reflecting knowledge about the world, including concepts and facts. Does not rely on hippocampus. Mediated by surrounding parts of temporal lobe. ##Footnote## E.g. you being able to explain how neuronal signaling works or knowing that; knowing random animal facts.

Answer 15

**Neurons that fire together, wire together.** Long-term memories are made & consolidated at the cellular level: neurons contain remnants of past communication (memory traces). When two neurons are active at the same time, the connection between them becomes stronger. This strengthening of the connection makes it easier for them to activate each other in the future (long-term potentiation).

Answer 16

The process through which a memory trace is stabilized and strengthened following its initial acquisition. • Time-dependent biological processes • May be disrupted by: Presentation of new information presented shortly afterwards, head injury, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). • Does not require conscious effort (sleep leads to stronger memory consolidation)

Answer 17

Memory is organized in associative networks where nodes (concepts) are linked together (associations). • Concepts become associated if: - They have co-occurred repeatedly. - They share properties in common. - When one node is activated, related nodes become primed & are more easily retrievable.

Answer 18

Stimulus or thought that primes a particular memory. Elaboration helps create more connections, and thus more retrieval cues.

Answer 19

**“Use it or loose it.”** If memories are not accessed, memory trace will fade over time. • Ebbinghaus forgetting curve: Memory retention drops sharply without further reinforcement, and repeated retrieval practice slows down forgetting

Answer 20

Forgetting occurs because memories interfere with and disrupt each other. Interference is more likely to occur when tasks at hand are similar but conflicting. Two main types of interference include: - Retroactive interference - Proactive interference BUT prior learning can also be helpful due to positive transfer.

Answer 21

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

Answer 22

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. ##Footnote## Ex: Learning a new language later in life.

Answer 23

Learning acquired in one context enhances performance or learning in another context. ##Footnote## Ex: verbs in French and Spanish.

Answer 24

The cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) is a transcription factor that plays a central role in long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory formation. Gain of CREB function improves memory consolidation and LTP, while loss of CREB function impairs memory consolidation and LTP.

Answer 25

A form of retrieval that relies on identifying previously seen or experienced information. ##Footnote## Example: Multiple-choice tests with answer options provide retrieval cues.

Answer 26

Retrieval works best when it recreates the way the information was initially encoded. ##Footnote## On-land vs underwater learning and retrieval study.

Answer 27

The increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mood during both encoding and retrieval. • People in a sad mood are more likely to retrieve sad memories • People in a happy mood are more likely to retrieve happy memories

Answer 28

Information never makes it into long-term memory. - May occur because we did not attend to it (e.g multitasking). - Weapon focus effect.

Answer 29

Witness's attention is drawn to a weapon during a crime, which impairs ability to remember other details of the event. - Witness’ memory is likely focused on weapon - Limitation to eyewitness testimony

Answer 30

Information is accessed without any cues to aid retrieval. Free recall is different from cued recall, where participants are given cues or hints to help them remember the items. Free recall is also different from serial recall, which is the ability to recall items in the order they occurred.

Answer 31

From an evolutionary perspective, adaptive to remember emotion-laden events. • Study example emotionally arousal video presented immediately after lecture enhances memory for lecture material. Caveats: • Timing matters: stress may either impair or enhance memory for an event depending on timing. Effect works best when the emotional arousal happens around the same time as the event/ simultaneously. • Chronic (ongoing) stress has deleterious effects for memory!!! Potential underlying mechanisms: • Brain activity is enhanced for emotional events in the amygdala and hippocampus. • Amygdala facilitates the consolidation of long-term memories made by the hippocampus • Stress hormones promote attention and encoding efficiency. Administration of an stress-hormone blocker (propranolol) reverses memory advantage for emotional events. • Individuals with no amygdala have more long term memory for neutral events.

Answer 32

Especially vivid & detailed memory of an emotional event. Associated with more confidence but not necessarily more accuracy.

Answer 33

Process wherein previously consolidated memories are recalled & stored again for long-term retention. • Renders memories malleable & susceptible to modification • Common misconception that memory is like camera recording • In the words of renowned memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus, memory is more like a Wikipedia page, subject to revisions both by oneself and others ##Footnote## Loftus & Palmer car accident study, which suggested words like “smashed” versus “hit” and asked Ps at what speed the was car going. Also brought them back to the lab later, and asked if there was any broken glass.

Answer 34

Additional information received after an event is later mistakenly recalled as part of the original event. Suggests that memory can easily be distorted. Some real-life implications: - Eyewitness testimony → controversial! - Recovered memories ##Footnote## - Played a role in the "Satanic Panic" of 1980s - In the Loftus & Palmer (1974) study, the leading question is the "misinformation" - Ex: Ps shown 2 real events and one fake event, 25% elaborated, added details to event. Larger replication where mock jurors believed a false memory.

Answer 35

- Not as rich or vivid - Less willing to testify when asked - Ps more likely to identify fake story when informed of the purpose of the study Generalizability? • Emotional significance of the event → lost at the mall does not equal abusive experiences • Commonplace vs. rare events • Familial informant vs. therapeutic setting • Successful implantation of memories of less common and/or emotionally charged childhood experiences-e.g.: • Taking a hot air balloon bride • Spilling punch on a bride • Being attacked by an animal - Increased belief that they experienced implausible events (e.g., witnessing demonic possession). I.e. less convinced that this did not 100% happen to them.

Answer 36

Occurs when cannot identify the provenance of our memory.

Answer 37

Ability to recall the context in which we acquired a memory.

Answer 38

E.g., when we cannot remember whether we saw something in a news article or Facebook newsfeed.

Answer 39

When we forget whether we actually experienced an event or merely imagined it.

Answer 40

Imagining an event that never happened increases confidence that it actually occurred. ##Footnote## The more interviews, and the more time spent imagining the planted event, the more confidence Ps had that it actually happened.

Answer 41

The general global aspects of the supposed event. • Gist memories are highly durable and long tasting → might outlast a real memory! • Cannot judge veracity of memory by its persistence • Mind fills in the gaps (missing or forgotten details) by using the gist, which can lead to inaccuracies!

Answer 42

The specific details of an event.

Answer 43

Two lists of words read out loud. Most likely to say words were named in the second list after a delay if they were related to the theme of the original list of words.

Answer 44

The increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mental state during both encoding and retrieval. ##Footnote## Ex: Remembering a memory formed during a stressful time while under stress.

Answer 45

Recalling the context of learned information, such as knowledge of when or where something was learned.

Answer 46

What you recall from your memory isn’t always actually what happened; memory can be altered or erroneous. Memory is rebuilt, and may easily be influenced. Showcased through false memory studies. Ex: Loftus and Palmer car speed video study.

Answer 47

Continued activity in neurons after a stimulus ceases, which rapidly fades.

Answer 48

Measured by how many items can be juggled and manipulated in the mind using simple span tasks (increasing the number of items in a list to remember).

Answer 49

An enduring (long-term) enhanced (potentiation) form of communication between neurons. - LTP increases the amount of CREB (cAMP-response element binding) protein, which might represent the molecular basis of memory. CREB is able to interact with genes in neurons, which can increase the neuron’s response to stimulation. Spaced learning is associated with increased CREB expression.

Answer 50

Recall from memory isn’t accompanied by retrieval cues or hints.

Answer 51

The detrimental effect of your past memories on how well you can learn and perform today.

Answer 52

A failure to retrieve information, often the name of a person or place, though we are confident it is stored in memory. Occurs increasingly with age.

Answer 53

Occurs when individuals intentionally try to forget information so that they are less likely to retrieve it later.

Answer 54

The inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories from the first few years of life, usually from birth to age 3-3.5 years old.

Answer 55

A time of prominent memory making between adolescence and early adulthood.

Answer 56

Information is better remembered when encoding is spaced over time.