Autumn term 1

What does encoding mean?

Translating or changing information so that it can be held in our brains.

What does storage mean?

Keeping the information in your brain for a period of time.

What does retrieval mean?

Locating stored information and being able to use it.

What is recognition?

Retrieving information while being given options to choose from (e.g. multiple choice questions).

What is cued recall?

Retrieving information while being given a cue to recall it, such as "it begins with...".

What is free recall?

Retrieving information without any cues or options.

What is episodic memory?

Memories of our personal events including people, objects, places, and behaviors.

What is semantic memory?

Our knowledge of the world including facts and the meanings of words and concepts.

What is procedural memory?

Our knowledge of how to do things (actions) such as tying shoelaces, done without conscious effort.

What does the frontal lobe help with?

Decision making and mood making.

What is the cerebellum also known as?

Little brain.

What does the parietal lobe contain?

Somatosensory cortex.

What happens in the somatosensory cortex?

Sensory information is processed.

What does the occipital lobe contain?

Visual cortex.

Duration of sensory memory?

Up to 0.5 seconds.

Duration of STM?

18 to 30 seconds

Duration of LTM?

lifetime

Capacity of sensory memory?

Very large / very limited.

Capacity of STM?

7 ± 2.

Capacity of LTM?

Very large / infinite.

Encoding of sensory memory?

Acoustic / visual.

Encoding of STM?

Mainly acoustic.

Encoding of LTM?

Semantic.

Forgetting in STM?

Displacement

Forgetting in LTM?

Decay.

What is the primacy effect?

The idea that the first few words in a list are more likely to be recalled (compared to the middle), as they have become long-term memories.

What is the recency effect?

The idea that the last few words in a list are more likely to be recalled (compared to the middle), as they are in short-term memory.

What is the multistore model?

A representation of how memory works. It describes how information can move from one store to another in a linear sequence, so information can flow forwards and backwards.

What is proactive interference?

When old information makes it harder to remember new information.

What is retroactive interference?

When new information makes it harder to remember old information.

What are schemas?

Mental frameworks that shape how we think, understand, and make decisions.

What is effort after meaning?

When people first get the overall meaning of something, then use effort to fill in the details from their experience.

What is reconstructive memory?

When we rebuild memories using stored fragments, filling in gaps with our expectations and beliefs, to make a story that makes sense.

What is visual encoding?

Storing information based on the way it looks (e.g., the colour of your dog).

What is acoustic encoding?

Storing information based on the way it sounds (e.g., the noise your dog makes).

What is semantic encoding?

Storing information based on its meaning (e.g., knowing what the word “dog” means).

How long can short-term memory hold information?

Around 18–30 seconds with a limited amount of information.

How long can long-term memory hold information?

Up to a lifetime.

What was the aim of Baddeley’s (1966) study?

To see how information is coded in short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

What type of words did Baddeley give to the four groups?

• Group 1: Acoustically similar

• Group 2: Acoustically different

• Group 3: Semantically similar

• Group 4: Semantically different

What were Baddeley’s results for STM recall?

Participants performed worse with acoustically similar words.

What were Baddeley’s results for LTM recall?

Participants performed worse with semantically similar words.

What did Baddeley (1966) conclude about STM and LTM encoding?

STM mainly uses acoustic encoding; LTM mainly uses semantic encoding.

Define false memories

memories of events or details that feel real to a person but didn't actually happen or are remembered incorrectly.

What is sensory store?

a brief collection of information from your senses.