Week 7 (Memory) Flashcards
Levels of processing
Different rates of forgetting occur due to
differences in the durability of memory codes
Structural Encoding
Shallow processing
* Emphasizes the
physical structure
of the stimulus
Phonetic Encoding
Intermediate
processing
* Emphasizes the
sound of the word
Semantic Encoding
Deep processing
* Emphasizes
meaning of the
verbal input
Elaboration
Linking a stimulus to other
information at the time of encoding
▫ Can explain differences in memory
performance when semantic
encoding is used
Visual imagery
The creation of visual images to
represent words to be remembered
Self-referent encoding
Deciding how or whether
information is personally relevant
Dual coding theory
memory is enhanced by forming both semantic and visual codes
Sensory Memory
Preserves information in its sensory form for a
brief period of time
Short-Term Memory
A limited memory store that can maintain
unrehearsed information for up to ~20 s
▫ Can be maintained indefinitely with rehearsal (7 +/- 2 items)
Capacity can be increased via chunking (ex: phone numbers)
Working Memory
More complex, modularized model of short-term
memory
* Limited capacity storage system that temporarily
maintains and stores info by providing an
interface between perception, memory, and
action
Working Memory component: Phonological loop
stores auditory info
Working Memory component: Visuospatial
sketchpad
spatial and visual information
Working Memory component: Episodic buffer
interaction between working and LTM
Working Memory component: Central executive
directs attention
organization
decision making
memory retreival
Long-Term Memory
Unlimited capacity store that can hold
information for an indefinite amount of time
Sematic networks
Knowledge organized in a system of nodes
representing concepts, joined together by
pathways that link related concepts
Retroactive interference
new information impairs the retention of
previously-learned information
Proactive interference
previously-learned information impairs
the retention of new information
Retrograde amnesia
loss of
memories for events prior to
the onset of amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
loss of
memories for events after the
onset of amnesia
Hippocampus
indexes memory locations and is
activated during memory retrieval and
reconsolidation
Implicit Memory
Memory that is apparent when
retention is exhibited on a task
that does not require
intentional remembering
* Mostly knowledge of
perceptual and motor skills
* Primary sites located in
cerebellum
* Unconscious, indirect access
* Largely unaffected by age,
drugs, length of retention, and
interference
Explicit Memory
Memory that involves the
intentional recollection of
previous experiences
* Mostly knowledge of facts and
events
* Primary sites located in the
hippocampus and temporal
lobe
* Consciously, directly accessed
Declarative memory
Handles factual information
* Depends on conscious,
effortful processes
* Much more susceptible to
decline
Nondeclarative memory
Handles skills, actions,
operations, and conditioned
responses
▫ Contains procedural
memories
* Largely automatic, with little
processing involved
* Doesn’t decline much over
retention interval
Semantic memory
Contains general knowledge
that is not tied to the time it
was learned
Episodic memory
chronological recollections of
personal experiences
* Can inform how we think
about the future
* Important for keeping records
of our personal experiences
Retrospective memory
Remembering events from the
past, or previously-learned
information
Prospective memory
Remembering to perform
events in the future
▫ Remembering to remember
▫ Important system, but it’s
easy to forget to remember
* Wide individual variation
▫ Declines with age
encoding specificity principle
value of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code
consolidation
hypothetical process involving conversion of new memories into stable memory codes stored in long-term memory
conceptual hierarchy
multilevel classification system based on common properties among items
hindsight bias
tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out
decay theory
proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time
long-term potentiation
a long-lasting increase in neural excitability at synapse along a specific neural pathway
