Week 5 Flashcards
What is sensory memory?
Sensory information enters the cognitive systems, where relevant information is passed onto the working memory
Adult-like at 6 months of age
How long does sensory memory last?
1 second in vision
5 seconds in audition
What is working memory?
Where information is stored temporarily (up to 30 secs) and supports ongoing thought processes (7+/-2 elements)
Can infants store one object in their working memory?
[Kaldy and Leslie, 2005]
Yes
Infants looked longer when a different object was revealed after occlusion (shape change) then when the same object was revealed
How does infants working memory span increase with age?
12 months = up to 3 hidden objects
14 months = chunking -> up to 6 objects
What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?
Explicit: available to be consciously recalled and stated verbally
Implicit: outside of conscious awareness/language
What is the difference between semantic and episodic memory?
Semantic: our knowledge
Episodic: memory for specific events
What is recognition in terms of implicit memory?
The ability to recognise stimuli and events as familiar, usually outside of conscious awareness and/or without language, unintentional
What are infants abilities to recognise causal events?
Memory retained over 2-8 days
Overtime they forget the specifics of the mobile which they were trained
Presence of a reminder = memory accessible after 14 and 28 days
Better recall when tested in the same context
Describe an infants ability to recognise words
14 days
Infants recognised target words (that have been repeated 60 times a day for two weeks) over their own name
When does implicit memory reach an adult-like level?
Early childhood (~5 years)
How does episodic memory work?
- Model an event for a child
- Test immediate recall
- Test long term retention (e.g. after 6 weeks)
What should a 2 year old be able to recall?
Frequently occurring event sequences
Novel event sequences
20 months > 100% accuracy up to 3 months
13 months > 80% accuracy after 1 month
Novel causal sequences remembered better than arbitrary ones
What is early childhood amnesia?
The inability in life to recall any autobiographical memories prior to 2.5 years of age
What are modern accounts of infantile amnesia?
Memory format change hypothesis: Memory format or code changes (memories formed early in life = inaccessible to older children/adults)
Neural change hypothesis: early in life, immature brain regions unable to preserve memories
Cueing hypothesis: early memories may actually be present and potentially accessible later in life, but they may not be easily retrieved unless the right kinds of cues are used
Name factors that support the development of LT autobiographical memory in children older than 3 years
- development of narrative skills
- social sharing of memories and explicit rehearsal of past events
- understanding of time
What drives the change in episodic memory?
- Children become able to encode their memories in language - implications for their narrative skills
- Certain brain structures implicated in memory undergo a significant development
- Children develop a better understanding of time and timelines
What are the two types of memory strategies?
- Strategies that involve external support e.g. note taking
- Internal strategies e.g. repeating a phone number several times
What is rehearsal?
The process of repeating to oneself the info to be remembered, which helps to transfer the info from WM to LTM
Do children spontaneously recruit the rehearsal strategy?
5 yrs = 10% use it
7 yrs = 65% use it
10 yrs = 80% use it
Define organisation; what ages is it used?
The process of imposing a structure on the info to be remembered by using categorical or hierarchical relationships
7 yrs = 10%
10 yrs = 80%
Define meta memory; what ages is it used?
The ability to appreciate how your own memory works
4 yrs = inaccurate prediction
8 yrs = accurate prediction
Name the challenges of infancy research
- Impossible to give verbal instructions
- Shorter attention span
- Struggle to sit still for long periods of time
- Ethical considerations: infants cannot express verbally how they feel
What is object permanence?
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible
