Memory

What is information processing

What is information processing

taking sensory information and changing it

What are the stages of information processing

1- Info input in brain through senses.

2- Info encoded. Changed from one format to nerve impulses. Encoding means to change into a format we understand.
Occipital lobe- Eyes
Gustatory cortex - taste
Somatosensory - touch
Auditory - Hearing
Olfactory - nose

3- Info held to be retrieved later

4- Info recalled

5- Info retrieved from memory and used in some way

What is the role of the hippocampus

Making new memories. Forms part of the limbic system. New memories must pass through here before entering long term storage.
Creates semantic memories (facts) and autobiographical memories (personal).

What are autobiographical memories

Contain semantic and episodic memories.

Semantic are facts like names

Episodic are personal details like birthday parties

What did Maguire (2000) find?

Hippocampus of black cab taxi drivers in London are greater in volume. Have more grey matter so make connections more easily so can memorise all the routes in London. Could be because born this way or because retaining huge info caused the change.

Bigger hippocampus = better memory and learn things quicker. Supports new memories pass hippocampus.

What is amnesia

Condition affecting person’s ability to recall old memories and form new ones.

What are the causes of amnesia

Illness, PTSD, head injury, accidents, brain surgery, Drugs

What is anterograde amnesia

• unable to form new memories as information cannot pass through hippocampus and enter long term memory store. People can hold short convos but not remember later

What is retrograde amnesia

• Unable to recall old memories. May be due to damage to frontal lobe. Can’t remember past events.

• Remote memory tests confirmed this.

What is procedural memory

Motor skills. Stored in long term memory and can do automatically. Damage to cerebellum which helps time and coordinate complex movements.

Who came up with the multi-store model of memory

Atkinson and Shiffrin

What is the multistore model of memory

Theory separating memory into 3 stores: sensory, short term and long term.

How does the multi-store model of memory work

1 - Environmental stimulus gets encoded

2 - Goes to sensory store. Info enters whether or not paid attention to. Holds for 2 seconds and has huge capacity. Decays if not payed attention to

3- Short term memory if paid attention to. Hold 7-9 items. 30 seconds span. Too much info means it starts getting displaced or decay. Maintenance rehearsal (repeating info) and elaborative rehearsal (understanding meaning of info) allows it to move to long term memory.

4- Long term memory has unlimited capacity and can stay forever. Encoding mainly semantic. Means we think meaning of info. Encoding visual or auditory. Can be retrieved in short term memory. Can decay if not recalled for long time.

What are the criticisms of the multi-store model of memory

• Too reductionist. Breaks down something so complex as memory into 3 stores. Psychologists believe memory made up of more than one store. Brain encodes smell, feelings and sound,

• Doesn’t explain why some information we don’t rehearse still goes to long term memory such as trauma. Too much importance on role of rehearsal vs meaning

• Some psychologists suggest thinking of meaning of info that repeating is more important to enter LTM.

What is decay

Old memories fade away because they’re not paid attention to so you forget them. Sensory info slowly breaks down in process. Quicker to forget short term memories if not rehearsed. Decay happens in LTM if long gap between memory encoding and recall.

What is displacement

When initial/older information gets pushed out of the short term memory and is replaced by new information as STM can only hold a small amount of info. Forgotten if not rehearsed. Doesn’t happen in LTM

What is retrieval failure

Lack of cues. Cues needed to trigger the memory are not present so memory cannot be retrieved and recalled.

What are the 2 types of cues

• State cues: in the same physical or psychological condition as when the memory was encoded

• Context cues: In the same context/environment as when the memory was encoded.

Define attention

Select information which is then encoded

Define dementia

Degenerative disorder. Loss of memory, problems in thinking and problem solving.

Define neurological diseases

Affects brain, spinal cord, and nerves

Define distorted memories

Memories changed/altered in some way

Define delusions

False beliefs a person fully believes in

What are schemas

Mental representations of objects or situations. Packets of info based on prior experiences. Bartlett came up with theory.
We don’t just recall schemas in chronological order but can be flexible with them. We can reconstruct schemas based on new info.

Define reconstructive memory

Theory suggesting memory is influenced by prior experiences and schemas aren’t an exact representation of what actually happened. Memories aren’t accurate and get mixed up with similar events. Expectations help us make judgements,

How did Bartlett test his theory

Gave British pp’s North American Folk Tales ‘The war of the ghosts’. Pp’s recalled memory differently. Lacked details and unfamiliar cultural words as it didn’t fit their schema.

What is confabulation

Making up details to create more complete memory. Not done with intent to deceive. People do it to till in blanks in schema.

What are the criticisms of Bartlett’s theory and reconstructive memory

• Reductionist: Says how we create and reconstruct schemas but not how process happens in brain

• Concept too vague and hypothetical to be useful. Can’t be observed.

• Bartlett’s research not conducted in systematic standardised way. Too many EVs. Demand characteristics.

What did Braun et al. say about autobiographical advertising?

Advertisers do it so audience focus more on feelings evoked by memories of childhood than rational product info. Alters what person remembers, reconstructing memory through nostalgia.

What is autobiographical adveritising

Advertisers intend to bring back people’s memories of past to influence how they feel about product.

What was the aim of the reconstructive memory research study (RMRS) Braun et al.?

Whether autobiographically focused advertising directly affects how consumers remember prior childhood experience.

What was the hypothesis of RMRS?

1- If ad is part of how consumer’s memory is reconstructed, then elements or images of advert may appear as part of reconstructed memory of visit

2- If advert causes consumers to visualise childhood memory, then imagining they shook hands with Mickey will make them think it happened to them (advertising inflation)

What is the research method and design on the RMRS?