Memory

What is a stimulus?

• Anything that influences organsims.

What is sensation?

• Detection of environmental stimuli by sense organs & conversion of sensory info to electrochemical energy.

What are sensory organs?

• Specialised organs in body containing sensory neurons functioning as sensory receptors.

What are sensory receptors?

• Specialised cells in body that detect sensory info.

What are the 3 main steps in sensation?

1. Reception

2. Transduction

3. Transmission

What is reception?

• Detection of sensory info in sense organs of body by sensory receptors.

What is transduction?

• Changing of sensory info into electrochemical energy.

What is transmission?

• Movement of electrochemical energy from sensory receptors to brain for interpreting.

What is perception?

• Mental representation that brain creates using info detected by senses.

What are the 3 main steps in perception?

1. Selection

2. Organisation

3. Interpretation

What is selection?

• Crucial features of info are selected for further processing & insignificant content is disregarded.

What is organisation?

• Selected info is categorised, allowing for arrangement of meaningful patterns.

What is interpretation?

• Meanings assigned to groups of patterns.

What is attention?

• Mental capacity to concentrate on specific stimulus while ignoring other stimuli.

What is memory?

• Cognitive function through which info & past experiences are actively processed, stored & retrieved.

What is the cocktail party effect?

• Ability for individual to be aware of multiple convos occurring around them at same time using selective & divided attention, where their focus is on 1 convo & rest are neglected.

Who proposed the cocktail party effect?

• Cherry, 1953.

What are the 5 steps involved in experiment one conducted by Cherry, 1953?

1. Participants used both ears when presented with 2 diff spoken messages simultaneously.

2. Participants tasked with singling out & repeating 1 of speeches word-by-word.

3. Participants could play back tape as often as they liked but unable to write anything down.

4. Researchers marked down on scripts words & phrases that were correctly recognised.

5. Participants were generally successful in separating speeches.

What are the 3 steps involved in experiment two conducted by Cherry, 1953

1. 2 recorded speeches were played concurrently to participants via headphones.

2. Participants were asked to verbally repeat back 1 of messages while simultaneously listening to it.

3. Participants were able to complete task easily but unable to describe what they were played in other ear.

What 2 things do Cherry’s experiments demonstrate?

1. How we use divided attention via our awareness of simultaneous convos in crowded noisy space.

2. How we are able to focus our attention toward 1 convo & subsequently disregard all other convos using selective attention.

What is selective attention?

• Process of concentrating on 1 stimuli while disregarding other.

What is divided attention?

• Ability to concentrate on 2 or more stimuli simultaneously.

What are 3 different ways information can be encoded?

1. Acoustic encoding - based on its sound.

2. Visual encoding - according to images.

3. Semantic encoding - based on its meaning.

What are the 3 processes of memory?

1. Storage

2. Retrieval

3. Encoding

What is storage?

• Retention of info within stores of memory.

What is retrieval?

• Movement of info from LTM to conscious awareness.

What is encoding?

• Form of which info is stored.

What are the 3 main components of the multi-store model of memory?

1. Sensory register

2. STM

3. LTM

Who proposed the multi-store model of memory?

• Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968.

What is decay?

• Fading of memory over time.

What is capacity?

• Max amount of info able to be stored at given time.

What is duration?

• Length of time info can be stored for.

What is the sensory register?

• Memory store where sensory info is briefly held before decaying or transferring to STM.

What is the STM?

• Temporary memory store for limited info received from sensory register & LTM

What is the LTM?

• Relatively permanent memory store for limitless amount of info that sends & receives info from STM.

What is the encoding for iconic sensory register?

• Visual

What is the encoding for echoic sensory register?

• Acoustic

What is the encoding for STM?

• Mainly acoustic.

What is the encoding for LTM?

• Semantic

What is the capacity of iconic sensory register?

• Unlimited.

What is the capacity of echoic sensory register?

• Unlimited

What is the capacity of STM?

• 5-9 items.

What is the capacity of LTM?

• Unlimited

What is the duration of iconic sensory register?

• 0.2-0.4secs

What is the duration of echoic sensory register?

• 3-4secs.

What is the duration of STM?

• 15-30secs.

What is the duration of LTM?

• Relatively permanent.

What are the 2 types of LTM?

• Procedural memory (implicit)

• Declarative memory (explicit)

What is procedural memory & an example?

• Skills or actions that are usually difficult to explain in words.

• e.g. I know HOW to drive car

What is declarative memory & an example?

• Factual info that can be expressed in words.

• e.g. I know THAT I need to put fuel in my car

What are the 2 types of declarative memory?

1. Semantic memory

2. Episodic memory

What is semantic memory & an example?

• Impersonal factual knowledge.

• e.g. Driving on empty tank causes engine to overheat

What is episodic memory & an example?

• Personally significant events.

• e.g. remembering time you needed to be towed away.

What is the WMM?

• View of STM as dynamic storage system capable of simultaneously holding multiple pieces of info.

Who proposed the WMM?

• Baddeley & Hitch, 1974; Baddeley 2000.

What are the 4 main components of working memory?

1. Central executive

2. Phonological loop

3. Visuospatial sketchpad

4. Episodic buffer

What is the central executive?

• Responsible for coordinating slave systems as well as controlling attention given to info & decision making

What is the phonological loop?

• Temporarily stores & processes auditory info.

What is the phonological loop subdivided into?

• Phonological store

• Articulatory process

What is the phonological store?

• Storage for words that are heard (inner ear).

What is the articulatory process?

• Repeats heard words in loop allowing for maintenance rehearsal to occur (inner voice).

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

• Stores & manipulates visual & spatial info.

What is the episodic buffer?

• Temporarily stores consolidated info from central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, LTM.

What are the 6 main structures in the brain for memory formation?

1. Hippocampus

2. Cerebellum

3. Amygdala

4. Thalamus

5. Hypothalamus

6. Pre-frontal cortex

What is the hippocampus?

• Region located deep within each temporal lobe that plays major role in memory & learning.

What is the cerebellum?

• Structure underneath cerebrum involved in balance, judging distance & coordination of fine motor movement.

What is the amygdala?

• Collection of nuclei deep within each temporal lobe that play role in emotional responses & modulates fear response.

What is the thalamus?

• Double-lobed structure located just above brainstem that receives sensory info (except smell) & transmits info to cerebral cortex.

What is the hypothalamus?

• Structure that sits below thalamus & regulates sleep, eating, body temp, etc.

What is the pre-frontal cortex?

• Front layer of frontal lobes that coordinates executive functions, e.g. ability to recognise & regulate emotions.

What is the role of the hippocampus in the formation of memories?

• Plays major role in formation of declarative memories.

What is the role of the hippocampus in the storage of memories?

• Temporarily held in hippocampus then moved to pre-frontal cortex.

What is the role of the cerebellum in the formation of memories?

• 1 of brain regions that forms procedural memories.

What is the role of the cerebellum in the storage of memories?

• Storage of procedural memories.

What is the role of the amygdala in the formation of memories?

• Role in formation of memories associated with fear

What is the role of the amygdala in the storage of memories?

• Strengthens episodic memories stored in other regions of brain.

Who is patient H.M.?

• Henry Gustav Molaison became one of most important figures in neuroscience due to brain surgery he underwent in 1953 at the age of 27, intended to treat his severe epilepsy.

• Procedure, known as bilateral medial temporal lobectomy, involved removing parts of his hippocampus, amygdala, surrounding brain tissue.

Why is Patient H.M. famous?

• Following surgery, H.M. developed profound anterograde amnesia, meaning he was no longer able to form new long-term explicit (declarative) memories, such as facts or personal experiences.

• Despite this, his short-term memory remained intact, he was still able to learn new motor skills, showing that his procedural memory was unaffected.

What are 3 contributions to psychology from patient H.M.?

1. Demonstrated that hippocampus is critical for forming new long-term declarative memories.

2. Showed memory is not single process, but rather consists of multiple systems, e.g. short-term vs. long-term memory & declarative vs. procedural memory.

3. Revealed that you can lose ability to remember facts & events without losing ability to learn & retain new skills.

What is retrograde amnesia?

• Inability to recall past memories prior to onset of amnesia.

What is anterograde amnesia?

• Inability to form new memories after developing amnesia.

What is forgetting?

• Inability to retrieve memories.

What are the 4 types of forgetting?

1. Retrieval failure

2. Interference

3. Motivated forgetting

4. Decay theory

What is retrieval failure?

• Inability to consciously recall info stored in LTM due to absence of retrieval cues that could trigger memory retrieval.

What is interference?

• When info in LTM cannot be retrieved due to it being disrupted by similar info.

What are the 2 types of interference?

1. Proactive interference

2. Retroactive interference

What is proactive interference & an example?

• Where previously stored info interferes with retrieval of new learning.

• e.g. pressing 'X’ on controller for ‘pass’ in new game instead of ‘△’, which is what older games you played used.

What is retroactive interference & an example?

• Where learning new memories interferes with retrieval of previously stored info.

• e.g. needing to enter previously old password to change to new password.

What is motivated forgetting?

• Intentional or unintentional suppression of memories or thoughts from conscious awareness to minimise emotional distress.

What are the 2 types of motivated forgetting?

• Psychological repression

• Thought repression

What is psychological repression?

• Involuntary & subconscious process to push certain memories out of one’s conscious awareness

What is thought repression?

• Deliberate & conscious effort to push certain memories out of one’s conscious awareness

What is decay theory?

• Suggests memory fades over time.

What is remembering?

• Ability to retrieve memories.

What are the 3 types of remebering?

1. Recall

2. Recognition

3. Relearning

What is recall?

• Process of retrieving info from LTM without provision of cues to aid in retrieving info.

What is a retrieval cue?

• Stimuli aiding in retrieval of memories.

Whare the 3 types of recall?

1. Free recall

2. Serial recall

3. Cued recall

What is free recall & an example?

• Retrieval of as much info as possible about specific topic in any order

• e.g. Name teachers that you remember from primary school

What is serial recall & an example?

• Retrieval of info in set order.

• e.g. List order of planets in solar system starting nearest of Sun.