Intro Psych exam 2

Memory

an information processing system like a computer. It is a set of processes used to encode, store and retrieve information over different periods of time.

Encoding 

involves the input of information into the memory system

Storage

the retention of the encoded information

Retrieval

getting the information out of memory and back into awareness.

Automatic processing

encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words; E.g. remembering when you last studied

Effortful processing

Encoding of details that takes time and effort

Semantic encoding

encoding of words and their meanings; most effective form of encoding and involves a deeper level of processing

Visual encoding

encoding of images; words that create mental image

acoustic encoding

encoding of sounds

Self-reference effect

The tendency for an individual to have better memory of information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance

Baddeley and Hitch 

Proposed a model of storage where a short-term memory has different forms depending on the type of information received

Three short-term systems

Visuospatial sketchpad, Episodic buffer, Phonological loop

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory

Information passes through three distinct stages in order for it to be stored in long-term memory.

Sensory memory

storage of brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds and tastes

The Stroop Effect

Describes why it is so difficult for us to name a color when the word and the color of the word are different

Short-term/ working memory

A temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory

Memory consolidation

Transfer of STM to long-term memory

Rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information to be remembered

Long-term memory

the continuous storage of information; two types explicit and implicit

Explicit memory

memories of facts and events we can consciously remember and recall/declare; Includes episodic memories and semantic memory

Semantic

knowledge about words, concepts, and language; E.g knowing who the president is

Episodic

Information about events we have personally; remembering your 5th birthday party

Implicit memory

memories that are not part of our consciousness; includes procedural memory such as learned skills and action and emotional conditioning

Procedural

Stores information about how to do things; E.g how to ride a bike, tie your shoe laces, or drive

Retrieval

the act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness; E.g knowing how to drive to work and what to do when you get there

3 ways to retrieve information

Recall, recognition, and relearning

Recall

being able to access information without cues; used for an essay test

Recognition

being able to identify information that you have previously learned after encountering it again; used for a multiple choice test

Relearning

Learning information that you previously learned; taking a college Spanish class after taking Spanish in high-school

Amygdala

Involved in fear and fear memories; process emotional information

Hippocampus

Associated with explicit memory, recognition memory and spatial memory; involved in memory consolidation

patient H.M

had both temporal lobes removed and could not form new semantic knowledge or episodic memories

Cerebellum

plays a role in precessing procedural memories; e.g such as how to play a piano and classical conditioning

Prefrontal cortex

Involves in remembering semantic tasks; right-retrieval of information, left-encoding

Neurotransmitters involved in memory

Epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, acetylcholine

Arousal theory

strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories.

Flashbulb memory

a record of an atypical and unusual event that has very strong emotional associations; e.g assasinations or terroist attacks

Amnesia

the loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma.

Anterograde amnesia

inability to remember new information after point of trauma; Commonly caused by brain trauma.

Retrograde amnesia

loss of memory (partial or complete) for events that occurred prior to the trauma.

Construction

Formulation of new memories

Reconstruction

process of bringing up new memories

Suggestibility

the effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories.

Elizabeth Loftus

studied false memories

Misinformation effect paradigm

after exposure to incorrect information, a person may misremember the original event.

Loftus study

When people are asked leading questions about an event, their memory of the event may be altered. 

False memory syndrome

recall of false autobiographical memories

Repressed memories

what may happen to some childhood memories of sexual abuse

encoding faliure

when the memory is never stored in our memory in the first place

Forgetting type

transience, absentmindedness, blocking

Distortion type

misattribution, suggestibility, bias

Intrusion type

Persistence inability to forget undesirable memories; e.g PTSD

Proactive interference

when old information hinders recall of new information

Retroactive interference

When new information hinders recall of old information

Chunking

organizing information into manageable bits or chunks; e.g phone number separated into 3’s

Elaborative rehearsal

technique in which you think about the meaning of the new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory.

Mnemonic devices

memory aids that helps us organize information for encoding

Consciousness

Person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind

Phenomenology

The psychological study of subjective experience/consciousness, how things seem to the conscious person

Problem of other minds

Fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of other

Capacity for experience

Ability to feel pain, pleasure, hunger, consciousness, anger, or fear

Capacity for agency

Ability for self-control, planning, memory, or thought

The suprachiasmatic nucleus

serves as the brain’s clock mechanism. The clock sets itself with light information received through projections from the retina.

Negative consequences of sleep deprivation

Irritability, symptoms similar to ADHD, impaired immune system, decreased accuracy

The pineal and pituitary gland

Secrete a number of hormones during sleep

Four basic properties of consciousness

Intentionality, unity, selectivity, transience

Intentionality

Being directed toward an object

Unity

Resistance to division

Selectivity

Capacity to include some objects but not others

Cocktail party phenomenon

People tune in to one message even while they filter out others nearby

Transience

Tendency to change

Levels of consciousness

Minimal, full, and self-consciousness

Wandering consciousness

Happens when we are engaged in automated, repetitive tasks or in difficult/complex tasks

REM sleep deprivation

has most detrimental effects

Hypnagogic state

Pre-sleep consciousness

Hypnic/hypnagogic jerk

Sudden quiver or sensation of dropping, as if missing a step

Hypnopompic state

post-sleep consciousness

Psychoactive drug

Chemical that influences consciousness or behavior by altering the brain’s chemical message system

Reflexes

motor/neural reactions to a specific stimulus, involve activity of specific body parts; e.g babies are born with a sucking reflex

Instincts

behaviors triggered by a broader range of events; e.g aging, changing of seasons

Learning

a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience

Associative learning

When an organism makes connections between stimuli or events that occur together in the environment

Classical conditioning

Process by which we learn to associate stimuli and to anticipate events

2 types of responses to its enviroment

unconditioned and conditioned

Higher-order conditioning

An established conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus, so that new stimulus also elicits the conditioned response

Acquisition

The initial period of learning when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and and unconditioned response

Extinction

Decrease in the conditioned response when the UCS is no longer presented with the CS

Stimulus discrimination

When an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar; e.g dog can discriminate between the specific bell sound

Stimulus generalization

when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus; individual learns to dislike a specific spider, will eventually dislike all spiders

Habituation

Learning not to respond to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly without change

Behaviorism

John B. Watson, believed all behavior could be studied as a stimulus-response reaction

Operant conditioning

Organism learn to associate a behavior and its consequences (reinforcement or punishment)

Positive reinforcement

Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior; e.g high grades, paychecks, praise

Negative reinforcement

Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior; e.g beeping sound that makes you put seatbelt on

Primary reinforcers

those that have innate reinforcing qualities (e.g. food, water, sleep, sex, pleasure). The value of these reinforcers does not need to be learned.

Secondary reinforcers 

those that have no inherent value. There value is learnt and becomes reinforcing when linked with a primary reinforcer; e.g praise

Positive/ negative punishment

Scolding vs taking something away

Fixed interval

reinforcement is delivered at predictable time intervals; e.g patients take pain relief medication at set times

Variable interval

reinforcement is delivered at unpredictable time intervals; checking facebook

Fixed ratio

reinforcement is delivered after a predictable number of responses; e.g factory workers being paid for every x number of items manufactured.