W2 Episodic memory Flashcards
Major taxonomies categorise memory by
Time (model model of memory) + Content (long-term memory system)
Episodic memory
Memory of personal experiences that can be explicitly stated, consisting of autobiographical events and their context (who, what, when, where, and why).
Mental time travel (chromesthesia)
Capacity to mentally reconstruct personal events from the past as well as to imagine possible scenarios i the future.
Reminiscence Bump
superior memory for events that occurred in adolescence and early adulthood.
Flashbulb memories
emotionally significant or shocking (9/11, COVID)
Andi Bell ( world with perfect memory)
World memory champion (1998, 2002, 2003) Recall serial order of playing cards, after 20 min study. = trained, exploits how our memory worlds.
Superior autobiographical memory Parker, et al. 2006
Case study of AJ. Near perfect recall of events in her own life historical events when given dates by the researchers, remembering dominates her life, non-stop automatic and uncontrollable.
Superior autobiographical memory Leport et al. 2012
identified 10 individuals with superior autobiographical memory, same performs as AJ for autobiographical memories. But perform same as control on standard memory tasks. MRIs performed on all subjects. Compared to control group, size and shape of temporal lobe differed, associated with episodic memory. Compared to control group – size and shape of caudate nucleus (basal ganglia)– associated with habits. Researchers noted tendencies towards obsessive memory.
Hyperthymesia Jill Price
1st person to be diagnosed. highly superior autobiographical memory. Feels like she is living 2 lives at once – the past and the present simultaneously. Emotions associated with previous upsetting situations – with perfect recall of events and situations.
Direct memory test
Instructed encoding ( participants instructed to memories information) ==> Explicit retrieval ( participants instructed to retrieve the information they memorised)
Indirect memory tests
Incidental encoding (participants think about the information but are not instructed to memorize it) ==> Implicit retrieval (during testing they are asked to compete for an activity seemingly unrelated to memory)
Direct Memory Test = Recall
Generate informaiton from memory = open ended exam questions, digit recall task
Direct Memory Test = Free recall
recall as many items as possible
Direct Memory Test = Serial recall
recall items in order of their presentation
Direct Memory Test = cued recall
recall items with help of a cue, ()recall all odd digits first, then all even digits
Direct Memory Test = Recognition
Veyr whether information presented matches memory = MCQ exams, word recognition task
Levels of processing = Encoding effects
Craik & Tulving, 1975 experiments Structural (is the word in capital letters?) phonemic (does the word rhyme with weight) ==> deeper processing at encoding can aid memory
Spacing effect
Massed practice = signle, lengthy study period
Distributed practice = multiple short study periods
Memory is generally better after distributed than after massed practive.
Serial position effects
Information encoded first (primacy) or last (recency) is recalled best.
Testing effect (roediger & karpicke’s 2006)
retrieval practice improves emmory for delays longer than a few minutes
Encoding specificity (encoding retrieval interaction)
= matching context at encoding and retrieval aids episodic memory.
Godden and Baddeley (1975) diver study = memory is best for matched encoding and retrieval context.
Transfer-appropriate processing
= matching processing at encoding and retrieval aids episodic emmory. Morris, Bransford, & Franks’ (1977) experiments. = completion encoding, recognition retrieval, phonemic encoding, rhyme retrieval
