Week 3 - Episodic Memory Flashcards
Define semantic memory
The neurocognitive memory system that encodes, and retrieves information concerning knowledge of the world.
It is impersonal, meaning detached from our personal experience. We express is by saying “I know” and not “I remember”
Define episodic memory. What is also known as?
The neurocognitive memory system that encodes, stores and retrieves memories of our potential individual experiences. Encodes the what, when and where of past events.
It is based on personal experiences and characteriszed by feelings of “remembering” rather than knowing
Also known as “mental time travel”
Define flashbulb memories
highly confident personal memories of surprising events. Ex. 9/11
What are some differences b/w semantic memory and episodic memory
Semantic memory: - need not to be personal - usually concern the present Episodic memory: - are always personal experiences - are concerned about the past
Define autobiographical memory
Memories we have of our own lives. It is composed of our memory for both events from our lives and the facts of our lives (static memory and self-reference semantic memories)
All _________ memories are _________ however, not all _________ memories are _________
All episodic memories are autobiographical however, not all autobiographical memories are episodic.
Behavioural evidence of episodic memory
Remember ( R judgments)/ Know ( K judgments) - Tasks in which participants determined the feeling of Memories by assigning them categories of “ remember” or “ know”
Found that “I know” judgements and “I remember judgments are influenced by different factors.
Remember are more likely to be accompanied by memories of time and place of event.
Neuropsychological evidence
Memory impairment occurs more often for episodic memory. Semantic memory
Define developmental amnesia
congenital memory ______, usually restrictive to episodic memory
Define dissociation
Brain damage that affects one cognitive that leaves another one intact
Evidence from neuroimaging
During retrieval of tastes samples, researchers found a greater activity in the right prefrontal pain in the left prefrontal lobe, supporting the idea that retrieval from episodic memory employs a network that uses the right prefrontal lobe more than the left prefrontal.
Therefore, episodic memory and semantic memory are likely the product of different neurocognitive systems.
Define encoding
Refers to the learning process- that is, how information is initially learned
Define representation
how we store information when it is not currently in use
Define retrieval
The process of how we activate information from long-term and access it when we need it
Define levels of process
refers to the fact that more meaning-based handling of information leads to better encoding of that information.
Define incidental learning
It occurs when people encode information not by actively trying to remember but rather as a byproduct of perceiving and understand the world.
ex. you don’t study the names of people at your party because they’re your friends.
Define intentional learning
Takes place when people actively engaged in learning information, because they know that their memories may be tested.
Example: lectures because you know exams are coming
Define elaborative rehearsal
Processing the meaning of information in working memory which leads to deeper processing
Define maintenance rehearsal
Repeating information over and over leads to shallow processing
Define shallow processing. Give an example.
Processing information by using maintenance rehearsal or processing for sensory characteristics to produce less remembering then deep.
Example: Reading a novel and only paying attention to the size of the type come on other book is old or new, what designs are on the cover
Define deep processing. Evidence?
Processing information by using elaborative or meaningful processing to produce more remembering than shallow processing
Example: reading a novel and you’re trying to connect the plot to ideas about the world., apply book to your life, gauge whether book is enjoyable or not.
Sporer (1991) show. We’re better at recognizing faces if they had first process them in terms of whether or not the face looked “ honest” then it is a hard process them in terms of whether or not the person had a wide nose.
Explain oriented tasks. What did researchers found on deep/shallow processing?
Direct the participants his attention to some aspect of the stimuli - either deep shallow - but not alert the participant to the potential of a later memory test.
Visual shallow: does the word have any capital letters?
Auditory shallow: does the word rhyme with “skip”?
Meaningful: does it fit in the following sentence: The boy were only allowed to eat one potato ___ each?
Research found that using deep or meaning based encoding strategies can improve memory without any additional investment of time and effort.
Define self-reference and survival processing
Observation that linking to-be-learned information to personally relevant information about oneself create strong and encoding
Processing information in terms of its value to surviving in the wild is a surprisingly effective manner in which to encode information
Define generation effect and enactment effect
Memory is better when we generate associations ourselves then when we simply read them
Performed tasks are remembered better than those that are read about.
Example: bending a paperclip and reading “bending a paperclip
Define organization and distinctiveness
Imposing a meaningful strike on to-be-learned material.
Searching for the unique meaning for each item. Distinctive aspects causes good memory performance.
What is the von Restorff effect?
Advantage in memory that if items have over less distinctive items
Define availability
Refers to all information present in the memory system - everything that you’ve ever learned is currently stored in your episodic memory.
Define accessibility
Refers to that part of our storage… that we can retrieve under the present conditions. At any given time, we may be able to access only some of our memories but not all of them
What are retrieval cues?
Information present in Akron environment that we used to trigger memories of past events
What is the difference b/w part-set cueing and part-list cueing?
part-set : occurs when people study some of the information in a set of already learned information but not all of it.
part-list : occurs when retrieving part of a list interferes with retrieving other parts of a list.
What is the difference b/w part-set cueing and part-list cueing?
part-set : occurs when people study some of the information in a set of already learned information but not all of it.
part-list : occurs when retrieving part of a list interferes with retrieving other parts of a list.
