W7 - Memory

Question 1

Autobiographical memory

Answer 1

Memory for the events of one’s life.

Question 2

Consolidation

Answer 2

The process occurring after encoding that is believed to stabilize memory traces.

Question 3

Cue overload principle

Answer 3

The principle stating that the more memories that are associated to a particular retrieval cue, the less effective the cue will be in prompting retrieval of any one memory.

Question 4

Distinctiveness

Answer 4

The principle that unusual events (in a context of similar events) will be recalled and recognized better than uniform (nondistinctive) events.

Question 5

Encoding

Answer 5

The initial experience of perceiving and learning events.

Question 6

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 6

The hypothesis that a retrieval cue will be effective to the extent that information encoded from the cue overlaps or matches information in the engram or memory trace.

Question 7

Engrams

Answer 7

A term indicating the change in the nervous system representing an event; also, memory trace.

Question 8

Episodic memory

Answer 8

Memory for events in a particular time and place.

Question 9

Flashbulb memory

Answer 9

Vivid personal memories of receiving the news of some momentous (and usually emotional) event.

Question 10

Memory traces

Answer 10

A term indicating the change in the nervous system representing an event.

Question 11

Misinformation effect

Answer 11

When erroneous information occurring after an event is remembered as having been part of the original event.

Question 12

Mnemonic devices

Answer 12

A strategy for remembering large amounts of information, usually involving imaging events occurring on a journey or with some other set of memorized cues.

Question 13

Recoding

Answer 13

The ubiquitous process during learning of taking information in one form and converting it to another form, usually one more easily remembered.

Question 14

Retrieval

Answer 14

The process of accessing stored information.

Question 15

Retroactive interference

Answer 15

Recent memories interfere with the retrieval of old memories

Question 16

Semantic memory

Answer 16

The more or less permanent store of knowledge that people have.

Question 17

A stage in learning: Storage

Answer 17

The stage in the learning/memory process that bridges encoding and retrieval; the persistence of memory over time.

Question 18

Availability

Answer 18

item is in memory

Question 19

Accessibility

Answer 19

item can be retrieved from memory

Question 20

What causes forgetting

Answer 20

failure of availibility

Question 21

retrieval failure

Answer 21

failure of accessibility

Question 22

Cue Dependency Principle

Answer 22

The strength of a memory depends on the number and informativeness
of its cues.

Question 23

Encoding Specificity Principle

Answer 23

Cues are most effective if they are encoded along with the to-be-
remembered information

Question 24

How long do we keep memories?

Answer 24

• Forgetting happens all the time, usually for poorly encoded information.
• Memories are strengthened every time we retrieve them.
• If you learn information well, how long can you keep it?

Question 25

What is the duration of sensory memory and short term memory? How do we know (i.e., can you describe an experiment that tells us the answer)?

Answer 25

Sensory Memory: Lasts approximately 1/4 to 1/2 second for visual information and 2 to 4 seconds for auditory information. This was demonstrated by Sperling’s partial-report experiment.

Short-Term Memory: Lasts about 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal, as shown by Peterson and Peterson’s experiments involving trigrams and backward counting.

Question 26

What is the capacity of sensory memory and short term memory? How do we know?

Answer 26

sensory: 5-10 items
short term memory: 7+/- 2 verablly and 4+/-1 visually

Question 27

What do memory studies of expert chess players tell us about short-term/working memory?

Answer 27

in a Game - experts recalled correctly a significantly higher number of peices than novies
Random - the number of peices correctly recalled does not differ between the two

Question 28

What are the different types of long-term memory?

Answer 28

Explicit (declarative) memory
Implicit (nondeclarative) memory

Question 29

Early models of short-term memory just treated it like a single “box” where we stored things temporarily. How is Baddeley’s working memory model different?

Answer 29

with Baddeley’s model short-term memory is slip into three boxs that all feed in and out of the central excutive(sesory memory) and the long-term memory, these boxes are:
- photological loop
- episodic buffer
- visual-spatial sketchpad

Question 30

What are four strategies than improve encoding into long-term memory? Can you describe an experiment that demonstrates each?

Answer 30

Experiment: Craik & Tulving (1975)

Method: Participants processed words by appearance, rhyme, or meaning, then took a yes/no recognition test.

Results: Words processed for meaning were remembered better than those processed by appearance or rhyme, showing deeper processing improves long-term memory encoding.

Question 31

Levels of processing theory distinguishes between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. What is the difference? Why do you think elaborative rehearsal is better?

Answer 31

maintenance rehearsal - is just rehersing the same thing again.
elaborative rehearsal - adds or makes the information more elaborte each time you rehers it.
- it is better because it goves more meaning by linking pre-existing knowledge to better incode the new info

Question 32

An effective study strategy is mind-mapping. Given what you know about memory encoding and retrieval, why is mind-mapping effective?

Answer 32

• linking ideas together - Chunking
• drawing - Visual Encoding
• writing out the info how you interprit it
• Elaborative Rehearsal

Question 33

What are two important lessons we learn from Ebbinghaus’s memory studies?

Answer 33

• overlearnign leads to stable remembering
• savaings: the reduction in time reqired to learn a second time

Question 34

Anterograde amnesia

Answer 34

Inability to form new memories for facts and events after the onset of amnesia.

Question 35

Consolidation

Answer 35

Process by which a memory trace is stabilized and transformed into a more durable form.

Question 36

Decay

Answer 36

The fading of memories with the passage of time.

Question 37

Decay

Answer 37

The fading of memories with the passage of time.

Question 38

Declarative memory

Answer 38

Conscious memories for facts and events.

Question 39

Declarative memory

Answer 39

Conscious memories for facts and events.

Question 40

Dissociative amnesia

Answer 40

Loss of autobiographical memories from a period in the past with brain injury or disease. often linked to PTSD

Question 41

Encoding

Answer 41

Process by which information gets into memory.

Question 42

Interference

Answer 42

Other memories get in the way of retrieving a desired memory

Question 43

Medial temporal lobes

Answer 43

Inner region of the temporal lobes that includes the hippocampus.

Question 44

Retrieval

Answer 44

Process by which information is accessed from memory and utilized.

Question 45

Retrograde amnesia

Answer 45

Inability to retrieve memories for facts and events acquired before the onset of amnesia.

Question 46

Temporally graded retrograde amnesia

Answer 46

Inability to retrieve memories from just prior to the onset of amnesia with intact memory for more remote events.