PSY 231 - Cognitive Processes Memory

Cognitive Processes

the mental action of process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses

Mobile Study (Rovee-Collier)

• proves infants can remember

• Benjamin would kick his leg even when the mobile wasn’t attached to his leg

3 Important Features shown in Mobile Study

• An event from the past is remembered

• Over time, the event can no longer be recalled

• A cue can be used to bring up a “forgotten” memory

Baur Study

toddlers remembered the exact sequence for building a rattle an entire year after initially participating in the study

Why Do Memories Improve?

• Hippocampus

• Frontal Cortex

• Use better strategies

• Gain knowledge

Hippocampus

responsible for initial storage of memory

Frontal Cortex

responsible for retrieving memories

Memory Strategies

• Rehearsal

• Organization

• Elaboration

• Chunking

Metamemory

one’s understanding of their own memory

Knowledge & Memory

Knowledge one gains through experience also influence how they remember things

3 Types of Memory

• Procedural

• Semantic

• Episodic

Procedural Memory

a type of long-term memory that helps us perform tasks without conscious awareness, such as riding a bike or playing an instrument

Semantic Memory

a part of a long-term memory that stores general knowledge and facts about the world

Episodic Memory

a conscious memory of previous experience

Autobiographical Memory

memory of the significant events and experiences of the individual’s life

Infantile Amnesia

the inability to remember events from one’s early life

Autographical Memories in older children, adolescents, and adults

• recall nothing from the first 2 years of life

• relatively little from preschool years