week 2 - memory structures and processes

Question 1

outline short-term memory

Answer 1

• the brain’s capacity to hold a short amount of information temporarily
• increase STM span through chunking

Question 2

outline the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) multi-store model of STM

Answer 2

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)

Question 3

outline working memory

Answer 3

a system for temporary storage and manipulation of information which can allow for reasoning, attention, learning and comprehension.

Question 4

discuss the contents of working memory model

Answer 4

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

Question 5

outline the capacity of working memory

Answer 5

has a limited capacity

if 2 tasks use the same component then they cannot be performed successfully together.

Question 6

LTM: implicit memory
inc. priming and conceptual priming

Answer 6

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

Question 7

LTM: explicit memory

Answer 7

memory that involves conscious recollection of events or facts that have been previously learnt

Question 8

LTM: implicit memory

Answer 8

memory that occurs when an experience effects a persons behaviour, even when they are unaware they had the experience

Question 9

discuss classical conditioning

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

what is procedural memory

Answer 10

the remembering of how everyday tasks are performed, we complete these tasks without being consciously aware.

Question 11

what is semantic memory

Answer 11

• 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

Question 12

what is episodic memory

Answer 12

• set at specific time, place and context
• has a sense of self in past
• associated with remembering an event

Question 13

briefly state encoding and retrieval

Answer 13

• memories are encoded (stored)
• if information is encoded at a deeper level it will promote a higher level of retrieval

Question 14

what is the self-reference effect

Answer 14

• the tendency for people to have a better memory for things/info that relate to themselves

Question 15

encoding: what is maintenance rehearsal

Answer 15

simple repetition of an item without taking into account the meaning

Question 16

encoding: what is elaborative rehearsal

Answer 16

meaning-based analysis, thinking about the meaning of an item.

Question 17

retrieval: outline the process

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

retrieval: how do cue associations work

Answer 18

they spread activation - like energy

memories automatically spread activation to other memories
(brookes - clerici - lecture - coursework)

Question 19

retrieval: context-dependent memory

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

retrieval: outline Godden and Baddeley (1975) study

Answer 20

• 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.

Question 21

forgetting: hyperthymestic syndrome

Answer 21

• memory is non-stop, uncontrollable and automatic
• Jill Price, remembers every single day of her life in extraordinary detail

Question 22

what are the 2 types of forgetting

Answer 22

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

Question 23

forgetting: what increases incidental forgetting

Answer 23

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

Question 24

forgetting: positivity effect

Answer 24

more likely to remember a pleasant memory than a bad one.