Pyschology Chapter 8

Memory

An information processing system similar to a computer.

Encoding

The process of inputting information into the memory system.

Storage

The retention of encoded information.

Retrieval

The act of getting information out of memory and back into awareness.

Automatic processing

Encoding details without conscious awareness, such as recalling what you wore yesterday.

Effortful processing

Encoding details that requires time and effort, like remembering what year you learned something.

Self-reference effect

The tendency to have better memory for information that has personal relevance.

Semantic encoding

The encoding of words and their meanings; the most effective form for remembering.

Visual encoding

The encoding of images; concrete words that create mental images are easier to recall.

Acoustic encoding

The encoding of sounds.

Sensory memory

Storage of brief sensory sights, sounds, and tastes, lasting 1-2 seconds.

Short-term memory/working memory

A temporary storage system processing incoming sensory memory, lasting about 20 seconds with a capacity of about 4 items.

Memory consolidation

The transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory, crucially aided by sleep.

Rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information to be remembered, which can extend the duration of short-term memory.

Explicit (declarative) memory

Memories of facts and events that we can consciously recall.

Semantic memory

Knowledge about words, concepts, and language.

Episodic memory

Information about events we have personally experienced.

Implicit memory

Memories that are not in our conscious awareness, formed through behaviors.

Procedural memory

Knowing how to do things like skills and actions.

Emotional conditioning

Ingrained emotional reactions.

Three ways to retrieve information

1. Recall: Accessing information without cues. 2. Recognition: Identifying information previously learned. 3. Relearning: Learning previously learned information again.

Equipotentiality hypothesis

If one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part can take over that memory function.

Amygdala

Brain region involved in fear and fear memories.

Hippocampus

Associated with explicit memory and involved in memory consolidation.

Cerebellum

Responsible for procedural memories.

Prefrontal cortex

Involved in remembering semantic tasks.

Arousal theory

Strong emotions trigger stronger memories.

Flash bulb memory

A record of an atypical event with strong emotional associations.

Forgetting

Loss of information from long-term memory.

Amnesia

Loss of long-term memory due to trauma or disease.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to remember new information following trauma.

Retrograde amnesia

Loss of memory for events prior to trauma.

• Construction

• formulation of new memories

Reconstruction

The process of bringing up old memories, which can be altered.

Suggestibility

Misinformation leading to the creation of false memories.

False memory syndrome

Recalling false autobiographical memories.

Eyewitness identification

Often unreliable in criminal cases.

Misinformation effect paradigm

Incorrect information exposure can distort memory of an original event.

Schacter’s 7 of memory

• Forgetting type:

  • 1. Transience: accessibility of memory decreases over time (storage decay)

  • 2. Absentmindedness: forgetting caused by lapses in attention

  • 3. Blocking: information is temporarily blocked (aka tip-of-tongue phenomenon)

• Distortion type:

  • 4. Misattribution: source of memory

  • 5. Suggestibility: false memories

  • 6. Bias: memories distorted by current belief system

• Intrusion type:

  • 7. Persistence: inability to forget undesirable memories

Ebbinghaus (1885)

Demonstrated memory decay over time with the forgetting curve.

Recent and primary effects

Recency effect is recalling still in short-term memory; primary effect is recalling items consolidated into long-term memory.

Chunking

Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks.

Elaborative rehearsal

Thinking about new information's meaning and its relation to stored knowledge.

Mnemonic devices

Memory aids for organizing information for encoding.

Distributed learning

Spacing out learning sessions to enhance memory consolidation.

• Retrieval

• the act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness

• Encoding failure

• occurs when the memory is never stored in the first place

• Rehearsal

• conscious repetition of information to be remembered