Memory Errors Exam 2

When multiple possible memories compete for retrieval, inhibitory control mechanisms suppress what?

non-target items to facilitate successful retrieval of the target

During Retrieval Induced Forgetting (RIF), what are people more likely to forget?

Related memories to the recalled thing

Is retrieval induced forgetting due to decay?

No

What does retrieval induced forgetting appear to reflect?

An inhibitory processes engaged to resolve competition during retrieval

What did the Cognitive Interview (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992) attempt to minimize?

selective retrieval effects

What did original researchers said that RIF was due to?

inhibitory responses (active suppression of competitors)

People who argue that RIF is driven by interference said ‘forgetting’ is caused by what?

by previous retrieval would not be because the competitor has been suppressed, but because the practiced trace is simply stronger than the competitor (Raaijmakers & Jakab, 2013)

Do the mechanism underlying RIF remains theoretically debated?

Yes

Why do we have difficulty retrieving?

Theres something in the way, its weakly encoded, there's an insufficient retrieval cue, there's a cognitive overload, a lack of attention

When does interference occur?

when multiple memory representations are activated by the same or overlapping retrieval cues

What are the types of retrieval cues that effect interference?

semantic (shared meaning), phonological (shared sound structure), or contextual

TOT might be brought on by what type of interference?

Phonological

What type of interference plays a central role in retrieval induced forgetting?

Semantic interference

What are uniquely vulnerable to retrieval failure?

Proper names

Why are proper names unique to retrieval failure?

They are arbitrarily assigned, have limited semantic content/connections, and often rely on single, shallow associative links, and depend heavily on phonological retrieval pathways

Why would they remember the occupation more than the name?

Their occupation is part of a complex and rich schema of related words, images, episodic memories; their name does not describe them so there is no existing memory representation to latch their name onto

What is a “new” area of study in cognitive psychology?

Prospective Memory

Why is proactive memory not usually considered one of the core types of memory?

it relies on our semantic and episodic memory, as well as executive functioning in order to operate

What types of memory are also retrospective memory?

semantic, episodic, procedural

What does successful prospective memory require?

either spontaneous retrieval or strategic, periodic monitoring of the environment for the appropriate retrieval cue

Is spontaneous retrieval reliable for prospective memory?

No

What does the monitoring process for prospective memory rely on?

Executive control processes supported by the prefrontal cortex

Do people perform terribly on time-based prospective memory tasks?

Yes, both in laboratory studies and in everyday practice

Do people perform terribly on event-based prospective memory tasks?

No

Why is time an extremely ineffective retrieval cue?

because it is non-distinctive, weakly associated, and highly overloaded

What is one way to improve performance on a time-based prospective memory?

To turn it into an event-based task

To turn a time-based prospective memory into an event-based task requires what?

either 1) associating the time that was the initial retrieval cue with a more concrete object or event that is harder to forget, or 2) removing time as a factor and relying only on a distinct event-based retrieval cue

Is there a negative correlation between age and prospective memory ability?

Yes

Does age effects time-based or event-based prospective memory more?

time-based

Older adults are more likely to make errors on time-based or event-based events?

time-based events

On event-based prospective memory tasks, how do older adults perform?

about as well as younger adults

Are older adults more likely to make errors of commission or omission?

Commission

What will younger adults more often forget?

to complete a prospective memory task

What will older adults more often forget?

that they already completed a specific task

Are we are less likely to fail an event-based or time-based prospective memory?

event-based

What are the major causes of event-based prospective memory errors?

Simply not noticing the retrieval cue or not remembering what information the cue is meant to retrieve

Is encoding more important for time-based or event-based cues?

time-based cues

What is critical for prospective memory?

Episodic memory and working memory capacity

In order for a cue to be effective for prospective memory, 4 conditions must be met; What is the first condition?

The cue must be encoded and linked to the target event or information; a cue can only help you retrieve something if you paired it with the ‘to be remembered information’ in the first place

In order for a cue to be effective for prospective memory, 4 conditions must be met; What is the second condition?

The person must experience or see the cue; attention is crucial, must be given full attention; especially relevant to prospective memory errors; If you are relying on a small or inconspicuous cue to trigger an event based prospective memory, you are more likely to miss it

In order for a cue to be effective for prospective memory, 4 conditions must be met; What is the third condition?

The cue must be specific/distinct enough

In order for a cue to be effective for prospective memory, 4 conditions must be met; What is the fourth condition?

The type of cue matters (*maybe)

What are context dependent memory, state dependent memory, and Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP) are all explained by?

Encoding specificity

Rather than assuming that “deeper” processing always leads to better memory, TAP proposes that memory is best when what?

the operations performed at test overlap with those performed at study

What is the strongest example of TAP?

Learning a physical task or skill

What does what we attend to determine?

what information enters working memory and becomes available for long-term storage

Information that is unattended is less likely to what?

to be encoded, less elaborated, and less durable

What did classic levels of processing research demonstrate influence later memory performance?

the type and depth of processing at encoding

What typically produces stronger and more retrievable memory traces?

Deeper, semantic processing

Does shallow, perceptual processing typically produce stronger and more retrievable memory traces?

No

What does attentional allocation shape?

both what is encoded and how strongly it is represented

From a theoretical standpoint, how does attention influence encoding?

by controlling which content receives elaborative processing and maintained long enough for consolidation

Is it true to say that if you do not attend to it, it does not get encoded?

No

According to research on implicit memory, can stimuli processed without focused attention still influence later behavior?

Yes, albeit weakly and often outside conscious awareness

Does attention strengthen encoding?

Yes, but is not an all-or-none gatekeeper

What is critical during initial learning?

Attentional resources

What does divided attention reduce?

the depth and organization of encoding

When attentional resources are divided, what is disrupted?

the complex integration across neural systems that must take place during encoding

What does divided attention at encoding reduce specifically in the brain?

activation in left prefrontal cortices associated with semantic elaboration and organizational processing, and diminishes hippocampal encoding signals

What is affected as a result of divided attention?

encoded representations are less elaborated, less relationally structured, and more weakly bound to context, leading to reduced long-term retention

What disrupts the binding processes necessary for durable memory formation?

divided attention

Does experimental evidence show smaller impairments from divided attention during retrieval or during encoding?

During retrieval

What is more resource-demanding than memory access?

Memory formation

When does attentional narrowing often take place?

during states of high arousal; not limited to emotional contexts

Does attentional narrowing only happen in emotional contexts?

No

How does attention narrowing effect encoding?

It makes peripheral or less relevant information less likely to be encoded

What explains the central-peripheral trade-off?

Attentional Narrowing

Do emotion influence encoding?

Yes

What level of emotional arousal often enhances memory consolidation?

Moderate, particularly for emotionally salient stimuli

Emotional arousal appears to strengthen item memory but sometimes weakens what?

relational binding, leading to a less cohesive, connected memory

What increases subjectiveness vividness of emotional memories?

Activation of the amygdala

Emotional memories are often rated as more what?

vivid and are held with greater confidence, even when not objectively more accurate

Are emotional memories more accurate than regular memories?

No

Theories propose that trauma produces what type of memories?

unusually vivid and persistent memories

Is evidence mixed on traumatic memories?

Yes

highly stressful experiences show what?

both enhancement of central features and impairment of peripheral details, but this is also dependent on the type of event, the retention interval, and retrieval cues

Are traumatic memories still susceptible to false memories/errors?

Yes

Are traumatic memories more accurate?

No

Are traumatic memories are hard to suppress?

Yes

Are traumatic memories are encoded the same as other memories?

Yes, just under conditions of heightened arousal

What is there an overactivation of during traumatic memories?

the amygdala

Are people more confident with traumatic/emotional memories?

Yes

Is the overactivation of the amygdala beneficial to memory?

No

Under extreme stress or trauma, prolonged activation of the amygdala can lead to what?

very high cortisol levels and excessive norepinephrine.

What can a very high level of cortisol and norepinephrine reduce?

hippocampal firing efficiency, impairing contextual binding and suppressing long term potentiation

Is the amygdala “shutting off” the hippocampus?

No; chemical reactions from stress change the neuro-dynamics in a way that biases processing toward threat detection and away from detailed contextual encoding

What does an overload of norepinephrine inhibit?

Encoding; lack of contextual binding, decreased LTP; creates more fragmented, narrow memories; difficult to suppress

Does some norepinephrine help binding?

Yes, more vivid memories

If encode in high state of emotion, difficult to retrieve if what?

not in the same high emotion; example of encoding specify, state-dependent memory

What does the weapon do in the weapons focus effect?

The weapon diverted attention, disrupting encoding of facial details

What illustrates a case of increased emotional arousal causing attentional narrowing and heightened memory for central, salient, goal-relevant details compared to contextual or peripheral ones?

The weapons focus effect

What is the weapons focus effect an example of?

attentional narrowing

What are the two processing systems working together?

system 1 and 2

What does the controlled processing engage?

elaboration, relational binding, and strategic organization—processes associated with stronger retrieval

Habitual or automatic behaviors rely more on procedural and stimulus–response systems than on hippocampal episodic binding, meaning what?

there is less elaborative encoding and limited contextual binding

Because habitual behaviors are repeated in highly similar contexts, they produce what type of memory traces?

overlapping and minimally distinctive memory traces

Do we create a distinctive encoding of each habitual event?

No

Are memories of routine behaviors are highly confusable?

Yes

What increases when events are encoded in similar, non-distinct ways, overlapping traces?

interference and source confusion

Why do repeated actions can blend together?

because they lack unique contextual markers; may relate to fuzzy-trace theory- repeated similar events may strengthen gist representations while weakening verbatim traces