COG PSYCH - Chap.7 - Interconnections between Acquisition and Retrieval

retrieval paths

When you want to

locate information in memory, you travel on those paths, moving from one

memory to the next until you reach the target material.

learning

involves the creation (or strengthening) of memory

connections.

Spreading activation

As each node becomes

activated and fires, it serves as a source for further activation, spreading

onward through the network.

lexical-decision task

research participants are shown a series of letter sequences on a computer

screen. Some of the sequences spell words; other sequences aren’t words (e.g.,

“blar, plome”). The participants’ task is to hit a “yes” button if the sequence

spells a word and a “no” button otherwise.

Priming

indicates that a specific prior event

(in this case, presentation of the first word in the pair) will produce a state

of readiness (and, therefore, faster responding) later on

“remember/know” distinction.

This involves pressing one button (to indicate “remember”) if

they actually recall the episode of encountering a particular item, and press-

ing a different button (“know”) if they don’t recall the encounter but just

have a broad feeling that the item must have been on the earlier list.

Explicit memories are those usually revealed by

direct memory testing

direct memory testing

testing that urges participants to remember the past.

Implicit memories, however, are

Implicit Memory • 255typically revealed by

indirect memory testing

processing pathway

the sequence of detectors, and the connections between

detectors, that the activation flows through in recognizing a specific stimulus.

processing fluency

the speed and

ease with which the pathway will carry activation.

Retrograde amnesia

is often caused by blows to the head;

the afflicted person is unable to recall events that occurred just before the blow.

Anterograde amnesia

causing disruption of memory for

experiences after the onset of amnesia; these are cases of

Korsakoff’s syndrome

As a result, longtime alcoholics

are vulnerable to problems caused by thiamine deficiency, including the disorder

known as