Memory

Hippocampus

Hippocampus

brain region that processes everyday new memories

ex. “what did I eat yesterday?”

• processes spatial memory

Amygdala

brain region that’s responsible for threat detection

• tends to process negative emotions (anger, aggression, fear)

• PTSD patients show lots of activity in this region when having flashbacks

• fear memory

Cerebellum

Brain region responsible for balance, coordination, movement. (it’s the first part of the brain affected by alcohol)

• plays a role in 2 types of memory:

  • memory in classical conditioning

  • procedural memory (“muscle memory”)

    • riding a bike, swimming, piano

Acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter involved in muscle control, learning and memory

Serotonin

a neurotransmitter involved with sleep, mood, and hunger

Neural Networks

a collection of neurons that fire together

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

process by which synaptic connections between neurons become stronger w/frequent activation

• thought to be crucial mechanism involved in learning and memory formation

Recognition vs. Recall

2 opposing type of long-term memory where:

• one is when one only needs to identify items previously learned (has a reference/memory cue)

  • ex. multiple choice questions where the options are presented

and the other

• one is when one must retrieve information learned earlier (without a reference/memory cue)

  • ex. fill in the blank questions

Declarative vs. Procedural

2 opposing types of long-term memory where:

• one is with conscious recall

  • AKA explicit memory

  • processed in the hippocampus

  • includes semantic and episodic memory

and the other

• one is without conscious recall

  • AKA implicit memory

  • processed by other brain regions like cerebellum

  • includes motor/cognitive skill memory and classical conditioning memory

Semantic vs. Episodic

2 opposing types of explicit memory where:

• one is memory of facts and general knowledge

and the other

• one is the memory of personally experienced events

Information Processing Model of Memory

“memory is like a computer; we remember information in 3 steps”

1. encoding = recording incoming info so it’s usable later

2. storage = holding that info until it is needed

3. retrieval = getting info from memory when you need it

Atkinson-Shiffron Model of Memory

“stimuli move through 3 levels of memory”

1. sensory memory/register

• almost all stimuli are processed by sensory registers (iconic and echoic)

• most info decays in the sensory register (unless attention is directed to it and it moves on to the next level)

2. Working Memory

   • processes conscious experiences and new learning

   • working memory focuses attention on the important info and combines it w/info from long-term memory

3. Long-term memory

Iconic Memory Registers

registers in the sensory memory level of A-S Model that processes visual stimuli

Echoic Memory Registers

registers in the sensory memory level of A-S Model that processes auditory stimuli

Miller’s Law

law that predicts that the average person can only keep 7 (±2) items in their working memory

Depths of Processing Model of Memory

“one either processes info shallowly or deeply”

Shallow Processing = doesn’t require much effort, BUT it doesn’t yield good results

vs.

Deep Processing = takes more effort, BUT more info stored

Encoding Specificity

“the more specific your clues to help you remember items, the more you remember them”

Maintenance Rehearsal

a type of rehearsal using simple repetition

ex. “reps” for lifting weights

ex. repeating a # over and over until you don’t need ita

Elaborate Rehearsal

a type of rehearsal but adding a bit of info to make it easier to remember

Self-Reference Effect

an example of elaborate rehearsal where one uses some kind of personal info to help them remember

ex. setting password to anniversary date

ex. associating the date of Berline wall falling down (Nov 9) with your birthday on history test

Chunking

an example of rehearsal where one groups info into ways that make sense

ex. breaking your SSN into groups

ex. breaking the numbers of pi into groups

Categorization

an example of rehearsal where you rearrange info into categories that make sense

ex. grouping each section of the study guides by topics for better memorization

ex. grocery list: vegetables, dairy, etc. (and in case you lost it, you memorize better at grocery store)

Acronym

a type of mnemonic

= a word composed of the first letters of a phrase

ex. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

ex. SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus)

Mnemonic

a technique/strategy used to improve memory

Acrostic

a type of mnemonic

= a sentence or phrase where each first letter represents something

ex. Never Eat Soggy Waffles (phrase where first letters are cardinal directions)

ex. (phrase where first letters are taxonomy orders)

King

Philip

Came

Over

From

Germany

Smiling

(think: up and down ACROSS the page)

Interactive Images

a type of mnemonic

= matching an image to a word

ex. Hippocampus = picturing a hippo wandering around thinking about its past in the brain region

Method of Loci (Memory Palace)

a type of mnemonic

= uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information

• helpful for memorizing lists of items in order

Peg words

previously memorized words (that you know because they rhyme with 1-10) that you connect with ten test words that you want to memorize

ex.

2 = shoe and you want to memorize lettuce as the second item in the list, so you picture lettuce stuffed in a shoe

10 = hen and you want to memorize getting peanut butter last, so you picture a hen doused in peanut butter

Distributive Learning vs. Massed Learning

ex. distributing your studying across a week instead of cramming the night before

Positive Transfer/Scaffolding

Building upon old knowledge

ex. learning math from 8th to 12th grade, first learn algebra, then precalc, trig, and finally calculus

ex. teaching limits, then derivatives

Negative Transfer

When current information/skills get in the way of learning something new

ex. false cognates in language learning

Memory Storage

facts/sensations/emotions are stored briefly in working memory then much longer in long term memory

Flashbulb memory

a vivid, enduring memory associated with a personally significant and emotional event, often including such details as where the individual was or what he or she was doing at the time of the event

ex. people remember vivid snapshot of what they were doing when they heard about

the 9/11 attacks

Eidetic Memory

= photographic memory

• very rare

• those who have it struggle with prioritizing more important info

  • remembering every word from textbook but also the coffee stain in the corner

  • clutters the memory

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)

= uncommon ability to recall vast amounts of personal events/experiences and their associated dates

Context-Dependent Memory

= having better recall when you are in the same environment as when you encoded and retrieved the information

• uses external cues for recall

ex. chewing a certain type of gum while studying → better recall when chewing same gum

ex. losing car keys and “retracing steps” to determine all possible places

ex. scrolling back up to a TikTok to recall a thought you had at that time

State-dependent memory

= memory that depends on state of consciousness due to drugs or alcohol

• using internal cues for recall

ex.

learning while tipsy = better recall while tipsy

learning while sober = better recall while sober

(ofc sober group was overall better than the tipsy group, but within the test group performance differed)

mood-congruent memory

= memory that depends on emotional state

• using internal cues for recall

ex. people are more likely to recall happy memories when they are happy again

Prospective Memory

= remembering to do things in the future

• part of executive functioning (prefrontal cortex in frontal lobe)

ex. planning ahead, keeping appointments, remembering birthdays, and meeting deadlines

Retrospective Memory

= remembering events from the past or previously learned info

• opposite of prospective memory

Semantic Networks

= closely related terms are stored together in memory and so when you recall one item, you probably will also recall other, similar items

Serial Processing

a type of memory retrieval where you recall one item at a time

Self-terminating serial processing

a type of serial processing where you stop looking once you’ve located the item

ex. it would be unnecessary to keep looking for car keys after you’ve found them

exhaustive serial processing

a type of serial processing where you search your entire memory list before making a choice

ex. looking at ALL the multiple choice answers before choosing one (because you don’t want to stop after an “almost best choice” when you could keep looking for a “BEST choice”

Parallel Processing

searching a group of items in memory simultaneously

ex. facial recognition (jumping around when looking at a yearbook page instead of going left to right and up and down like reading (which would be serial))

Serial Position effect

tendency to better recall items at the beginning or end of a list

Primacy Effect

tendency to better recall items at the beginning of a list

Recency Effect

tendency to better recall items at the end of a list

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

knowing you remember but you can’t seem to access the info in the moment

• is an example of blocking (the third sin of omission)

Retrograde Amnesia

a type of amnesia where you can't recall memories that were formed before the event that caused the amnesia. It usually affects recently stored past memories, not memories from years ago.

Anterograde Amnesia

a type of memory loss that occurs when you can't form new memories

Alzheimer’s

A progressive disease where brain cell connections and the cells themselves degenerate and die,

• destroys memory and other mental functions

Repression

unconsciously blocking unwanted thoughts or impulses

Supression

deliberately trying to forget or not think about painful or unwanted thoughts

Context

the conditions or circumstances in which a particular phenomenon occurs

Transience

Sin #1 (Omission)

= deterioration of memories over time

Absent-mindedness

Sin #2 (Omission)

= breakdown at the interface of attention and memory

• person usually forgets to carry out specific action @ specific time in the absence of retrieval cues and when attention is not focused on task

• due to failure of attention (you remember, just can’t recall @ specific time, but will remember later)

Blocking

Sin #3 (Omission)

= temporary inaccessibility of info stored in memory

• usually happens w/infrequently accessed memories

ex. tip of the tongue moments (you remember, but can’t seem to access it) (like forgetting an old acquaintance’s name)

Proactive Interference

a type of interference/blocking

= old memories disrupt the retrieval of new memories

ex. writing the old year for the first few weeks of the new year

Retroactive Interference

a type of interference/blocking

= new memories disrupt the retrieval and maintenance of old memories

ex. learning a new script but you forget the old one for an old play

Misattribution

Sin #4 (Commission)

= a type of memory distortion where you attribute a memory/idea to the wrong source

False Recognition

= a type of misattribution (#4) where you think you recognize a new stimulus but it’s just similar to an old stimulus you know

ex. “I feel like we’ve met before”

• but this new face is actually just similar to a face you already know

Déja Vu

= a type of misattribution (#4) where you feel like you’ve lived an experience before

• you’re falsely recognizing the moment to be a new one when it’s just a moment that familiar to an old one

Cryptomnesia (Source Amnesia)

a type of misattribution (#4)

= thinking that you have an original idea but it’s actually just a memory of someone else’s

• could lead to accidental plagiarism!!

ex. a musician comes up with an “original” melody but they don’t realize that they’ve actually heard it in another song

Source Monitoring

a type of misattribution (#4)

= an unconscious mental test that humans perform in order to determine if a memory is "real" and accurate as opposed to being from a source like a dream or a movie

Conflation

a type of misattribution (#4)

= the merging of two or more sets of information, texts, ideas, opinions, etc., into one, often in error

• treating two similar but disparate concepts as the same

Constructive Memory

a type of misattribution (#4)

involving the use of general knowledge stored in one’s memory to construct a more complete and detailed account of an experience

• changing or filling in various features of the memory.

Suggestibility

Sin #5 (Commission)

= implanted memories that result from suggestion or misinformation

key takeaway → our memory are malleable: external information that’s not part of a memory can influence it

Framing

a type of suggestibility (#5)

= a cognitive bias in which the brain makes decisions about information depending upon how the information is presented

• effect → people decide on options based on whether the options are presented with positive or negative connotations

Eyewitness Testimony

an account given by people of an event they have witnessed

• can be affected by leading questions:

“the suspect had an earring, remember?”

“oh yeah, they did!” (they did not)

“Lost in the Mall” (Loftus)

• Participants were told some stories about their childhood (gathered from their family)

• 1 of them was false with a lot of details (lost in a mall and got rescued)

• was asked to recall after and then a week after

  • 20% believed the false story to be true

Takeaway → suggestive procedures (social influence and mere visualizations) can create false memories

Repressed Memories

inability to recall autobiographical info (usually traumatic)

Recovered Memories

memory of traumatic event recalled years later

ex. childhood sexual abuse victims remembering later

• BUT sometimes is invalid/false memory due to outside influence (suggestibility)

Bias

Sin #6 (Commission)

= retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge, beliefs, and feelings

Consistency Bias

a type of bias (#6)

= rewriting the past to make it consistent w/current info

= tendency to think our current beliefs/perspectives have been consistent all along

ex. “I’ve always had this opinion”

Hindsight Bias

a type of bias (#6)

= tendency to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were

• AKA “knew it all along” bias

ex. insisting that you knew the winning team was going to win all along

Persistance

Sin #7 (Commission, a type of memory distortion)

= intrusive remembering of events

• usually negative, traumatic memories

ex. PTSD patients having flashbacks

ex. embarrassing/distressing moments that you just can’t seem to forget