week 2 - memory structures and processes Flashcards
Understand the different types of memory (short-term, long-term, implicit, explicit). Be able to describe how a memory is encoded. Be able to explain the factors that make retrieval more likely. Understand the factors that lead to forgetting.
outline short-term memory
- the brain’s capacity to hold a short amount of information temporarily
- increase STM span through chunking
outline the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) multi-store model of STM
proposed a 3-stage system for storing memory
- sensory registers - info both auditory and visual is stored temporarily.
- STM store (working memory)
- LTM store (stored forever)
outline working memory
a system for temporary storage and manipulation of information which can allow for reasoning, attention, learning and comprehension.
discuss the contents of working memory model
VSSP - holds and manipulates visual and spatial information
PL - holds and manipulates auditory information
Cent. exec - monitors and co-ordinates the slaves systems stated above, responsible for division of focus and attention.
episodic buffer - allows various components of working memory to interact with LTM
outline the capacity of working memory
has a limited capacity
if 2 tasks use the same component then they cannot be performed successfully together.
LTM: implicit memory
inc. priming and conceptual priming
memory that occurs when an experience affects someones behaviour, regardless of whether you previously knew of this experience.
- priming is a change in response to a stimulus cause by previous presentation of the same stimulus.
- conceptual priming is when enhancements caused by a priming stimulus are based on the meaning of the stimulus
LTM: explicit memory
memory that involves conscious recollection of events or facts that have been previously learnt
LTM: implicit memory
memory that occurs when an experience effects a persons behaviour, even when they are unaware they had the experience
discuss classical conditioning
Pavlov & his dogs
behaviour shaped by env.
dog salivates when it sees food, so pavlov rung bell at dinner and dog learnt to salivate when bell rang in absence of food.
what is procedural memory
the remembering of how everyday tasks are performed, we complete these tasks without being consciously aware.
what is semantic memory
- no specific time or place
- there is no sense of self
- it is the ‘knowing’ i.e., capital of France = Paris, you cant remember when you learnt it but you just know it
what is episodic memory
- set at specific time, place and context
- has a sense of self in past
- associated with remembering an event
briefly state encoding and retrieval
- memories are encoded (stored)
- if information is encoded at a deeper level it will promote a higher level of retrieval
what is the self-reference effect
- the tendency for people to have a better memory for things/info that relate to themselves
encoding: what is maintenance rehearsal
simple repetition of an item without taking into account the meaning
encoding: what is elaborative rehearsal
meaning-based analysis, thinking about the meaning of an item.
retrieval: outline the process
- trying to recall information
- move through a set of retrieval cues until you reach memory, where was i Saturday? who with?
- these cues help the retrieval of target memories via there associative links
retrieval: how do cue associations work
they spread activation - like energy
memories automatically spread activation to other memories
(brookes - clerici - lecture - coursework)
retrieval: context-dependent memory
- cognitive psychs developed this theory
- memory is better when there is a match between the env, physiological, cognitive of mood context at encoding and at retrieval
retrieval: outline Godden and Baddeley (1975) study
- environmental context-dependent theory
- divers listened to 40 words either underwater or on land and then recalled as many as possible in water or on land.
- they recalled the 40 words better if they recalled them in the same environment they encoded them.
forgetting: hyperthymestic syndrome
- memory is non-stop, uncontrollable and automatic
- Jill Price, remembers every single day of her life in extraordinary detail
what are the 2 types of forgetting
incidental forgetting: memory failures that occur without the intention to forget
motivated forgetting: intentional forgetting as well as forgetting that is motivated by unconscious processes
forgetting: what increases incidental forgetting
time - trace decay, is where memories get weaker over time
contextual fluctuation
interference - accumulate more memories and they interfere with older ones especially if they are similar
forgetting: positivity effect
more likely to remember a pleasant memory than a bad one.
