PSYCH 370 - Exam 3 Study Guide

encoding

acquiring information and transforming it into memory

retrieval

transferring information from LTM to working memory

maintenance rehearsal

repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it to LTM

elaborative rehearsal

using meanings and connections to help transfers information to LTM

levels of processing theory

theory stating that memory depends on how information is encoded; has different depths of processing

Craik and Tulving

their experiment showed results that deeper processing is associated with better memory

Mantyla

their experiment showed that memory worked best when retrieval cues were created by the participant, and not as good when retrieval cues were created by someone else

consolidation

transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state

systems consolidation

gradual, reorganization of neural circuits

Herb

learning and memory are represented in the brain by physiological changes at the synapse; neural record of experience

long-term potentiation (LTP)

enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation; structural changes and enhanced responding

standard model of consolidation

after encoding, activity of hippocampus fades with time

reactivation

connection between the cortex and hippocampus are initially strong and connections between cortical areas are weak

Multiple Trace Model of Consolidation

hippocampus is activated during retrieval of both recent and remote memories. response of the hippocampus can change over time

Gilboa

used fMRI to show that the hippocampus is activated when retrieving vivid, context-rich autobiographical memories, regardless of whether they are recent or decades old

Vickontas

discovered that neuron in the human medial temporal lobe show selective, heightened responses to images with high personal relevance

Gais

demonstrated that sleep, particularly when it follows shortly after learning, significantly enhances the consolidation and recall of declarative memories

graded amnesia

memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events

Nader

experiment showing that once consolidated fear memories are retrieved, they return to an unstable state and require new protein synthesis in the amygdala to be restored (reconsolidation)

Brunet

experiment in which participants reactivated a traumatic memory, a drug was administered to block the amygdala stress receptors during reconsolidating f memory, and later reactivation of same memory showed lower stress responses.

Multidimensional Nature of Autobiographical Memory

personal memories are not single, static recordings but complex, multi-modal experiences combining spatial, sensory, and emotional components, often referred to as episodic and semantic components

reminiscence bump

percentage of memories from different ages recalled by a 55-year-old, showing the ________ ____, which occurs for events experienced between about 10 and 30 years of age

self-image hypothesis

memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s self-image or life identity is being formed

cognitive hypothesis

encoding is better during periods of rapid change that are followed by stability

cultural life script hypothesis

each person has a personal life story and an understanding of culturally expected events

flashbulb memories

memory for the circumstances surrounding shocking, highly charged important events

Neisser and Harsch

studied people’s memories for the day they heard about the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger

Brown and Kulik

studied flashbulb memories and found that high emotional arousal and personal significance lead to detailed, photographic-like recall

Talarico and Rubin

demonstrated that flashbulb memories are no more consistent over time than ordinary memories, but people believe they are more accurate

narrative rehearsal hypothesis

repeated viewing/hearing of event; TV< newspaper, radio, talking with others; could introduce errors in own memory

repeated recall method

involving repeatedly retrieving information from memory without looking at notes; this forces the brain to strengthen neural pathways, moving information from LTM

the constructive nature of memory

memory = what actually happens + person’s knowledge, experiences, and expectations

Bartlett

“war of the ghosts” experiment; had participants attempt to remember a story from a different culture

source memory

process of determining origins of our memories

source monitoring error

misidentifying source of memory

Jacoby

after 24 hours, some non famous names were misidentified as famous

pragmatic inferences

based on knowledge gained through experience; memory often includes information that is implied or is consistent with the to be remembered information but was not explicitly stated

schemas and scripts

memory can include information not actually experienced but inferred because it is expected and consistent with the schema

Roediger and McDermott

demonstrated that people frequently create “false memories" by recalling or recognizing non-presented words that are strongly associated with lists of studied words

the misinformation effect

misleading information presented after someone witnesses an event can change how that person later describes the event

Loftus and Palmer

hear “smashed” or “hit” in description of car accident; those hearing “smashed” said the cars were going much faster than those who heard “hit”

Hyman

participants’ parents gave descriptions of childhood experiences. participant had conversation about experiences with experimenter; experimenter added new events. when discussing it later, participant “remembered” the new events as actually happening

errors due to attention and arousal

attention can be narrowed by specific stimuli, weapons focus

post-identification feedback effect

occurs when feedback is given to an eyewitness after and identification (“Good, you picked the suspect”) distorts their memory, significantly increases their confidence, reported attention, and view quality, even if they were mistaken

visual imagery

“seeing” in the absence of a visual stimulus

mental imagery

experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input

Paivio

memory for words that evoke mental images is better than for those that do not; Conceptual Peg Hypothesis

Shepard and Metzler

mental chronometry; participants mentally rotated one object to see if it matched another object

Kosslyn

memorize picture and create an image of it. in image, move from one part of the picture to the other. like perception, imagery is spatial

Kosslyn

island with seven location, 21 trips. it took longer to scan between greater distances. visual imagery is spatial

Pylyshyn

spatial representation is an epiphenomenon; accompanies real mechanism but is not actually a part of it. proposed that imagery is propositional

Perky

mistake actual picture for a mental image; projection dim images on the screen

Farah

demonstrated that human face recognition is a holistic process, where individual features are better recognized when presented within the context of a whole face rather than in isolation

Bisiach and Luzzatti

demonstrated that patients with right-hemisphere brain damage could neglect the left side of their own mental imagery, not just their physical environment

Chalmers and Reisberg

had participants create mental images of ambiguous figures. difficult to flip from one perception to another while holding a mental image of it

Method of Loci

visualizing items to be remembered in different location in a mental image of a spatial layout

pegword technique

associate items to be remembered with concrete words, pair each of these things with a pegword, create a vivid image of things to be remembered with the object represented by the word