Storage and Retrieval in Memory

These flashcards cover key vocabulary related to storage and retrieval in memory, including definitions and concepts relevant to the lecture notes.

Storage

The creation of a memory trace (or engram) corresponding to an experienced event.

Retrograde Amnesia

An abnormal forgetting of events that occurred prior to an injury or trauma.

Anterograde Amnesia

An abnormal forgetting of events that occur after an injury or trauma.

H.M. (Henry Molaison)

A famous patient known for his nearly complete anterograde amnesia following brain surgery.

Consolidation

The process through which a memory trace becomes stable and resistant to disruption.

Reconsolidation Theory

The claim that retrieved memories return to a vulnerable state and may be altered before being stored again.

Long-term Potentiation

An increase in the synaptic strength between two neurons, potentially involved in the process of memory consolidation.

Hypermnesia

A phenomenon where memory performance improves with repeated testing.

Encoding-Specificity Principle

The principle that memory retrieval is more effective when the context during recall matches the context during encoding.

Proactive Interference

When older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories.

Retroactive Interference

When newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older memories.

Misinformation Effect

The phenomenon where a person's recall of an event is altered by misleading information presented after the event.

DRM Procedure

A memory test where participants are given lists of words related to a critical unpresented word, leading to false memories.

Metacognition

Knowledge about one’s own cognitive processes, including memory awareness and self-assessment.

Directed Forgetting

The ability to intentionally forget information that is deemed unnecessary.

Response Competition

A situation where multiple responses compete for expression, affecting decision-making and memory retrieval.

Lack of List Differentiation

A phenomenon where different lists of items or information are not sufficiently distinct in memory, leading to confusion.

Unlearning

In an A-B, A-C design, unlearning occurs when subjects inhibit or break the A-B associations, similar to extinction in conditioning.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome

Memory deficits caused by lifelong excessive alcohol intake and accompanying thiamine vitamin deficiency.

Psychogenic Amnesia

Forgetting for the past, often retrograde, resulting from psychological trauma.

Fugue State

A dissociative disorder where an individual abandons their own identity and assumes a new one.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

A mental disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states or identities.

Capgras Syndrome

A condition where an affected individual recognizes familiar people, but lacks the emotional response that typically accompanies recognition.

Feeling of Knowing

Ratings taken after unsuccessful recall, indicating the subject's probability of recognizing the answer.

Tip of the Tongue State

A phenomenon where an individual fails to retrieve a word but can report some related information, such as syllables or first letters.

Memory Self-Efficacy

Awareness and knowledge of how well one’s memory functions, part of metamemory.

Uncertainty Response

A strategy where participants decline to answer difficult questions, allowing them to avoid penalties for incorrect answers.

What is the modified free recall test?

The modified free recall test is a variant of the recall test where participants are asked to retrieve previously learned information with certain modifications, often including cueing or altering the presentation format to aid memory retrieval.

What is metamemory?

Metamemory refers to an individual's knowledge and awareness of their own memory processes, including understanding how memory works and the ability to monitor and regulate memory performance.

What are the causes of interference?

Interference can be caused by two main types of processes: proactive interference, where older memories disrupt the retrieval of newer information, and retroactive interference, where new information affects the recall of older memories.