ap psych unit 7 key terms

“We are what we remember”

when we cannot remember, we lose our connections to everything

Dutch Elms Disease

-disease that causes trees to die from the inside out

-Alzheimer's have been compared to this

Childhood Amnesia

the inability to remember things from early childhood

• before 3 years old

• we don't need memories at a young age because adults do everything else for us

What parts of the brain encodes memories?

the hippocampus and the cerebellum

What kind of memories and information does the hippocampus encode?

-explicit

-conscious

-things we know we remember

What kind of memories and information does the cerebellum encode?

-implicit

-unconscious

-things we remember without thinking about it

What does REM sleep do to memories?

consolidate

Learned associations, extinction, and learned helplessness require what to exist?

memory

How does information get into memory?

Encoding

Encoding Failure

if you didn't pay attention to something, you will not remember it

How is information maintained?

Storage

Storage Failure

once knew it but it's gone

How is information pulled back out of memory?

Retrieval

Retrieval Failure

information is in the brain, but you couldn’t get it when you wanted it

“tip of the tongue”

Memory is like a _________; the more you work on it the better you will get

muscle

Parallel Processing

the processing of many aspects simultaneously (natural mode of information) some explicit some implicit

Memory

the ability to encode, store, and retrieve information

• it is never perfect

Sensory Memory

a brief representation of a stimulus while being processed in the sensory system

visual stimulus

encoding of picture images

iconic memory

lasts ½ second

auditory stimulus

encoding of sound

echoic memory

lasts 2-4 seconds

Short-Term Memory (STM)

working memory

limited capacity (7 + or - 2 )

duration (about 30 seconds)

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

has a large capacity and long duration -- unknown

automatic processing

does not require deliberate effort 

• Produces implicit memories (non-declarative) done without conscious thought 

space

encoding the location in your notebook where information is recorded

time

note the sequence of events– enables you to trace your steps 

frequency

how frequently something has happened

ex: I have bumped into you 4x today

effortful processing

concentrated effort is required to produce explicit memories (declarative) 

chunking

any memory pattern or meaningful unit of memory. 

• By using this process, we can fit more information into the seven available slots of working memory.

mnemonic devices

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices 

method of loci

ideas are associated with a place or part of a building

memory palace

hierarchies

Organizing knowledge into an outline form

• The more organized something is, the more likely you are to pull the info out 

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better results 

• “Those who learn quickly, forget quickly” - Ebbinghause

distributed practice

refers to spacing learning periods 

massed practice

learning is “crammed” into a single session

testing effect

Henry Roediger and Jeffery Karpicke (2006)

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading

semantic encoding

Encoding of meaning

• Including meaning of words 

WORKS THE BEST

self-reference effect

making material more meaningful to your life

rehearsal

 the review or practice of material while you are learning it

• Without this, memories fade quickly from STM

overlearning

continue to rehearse even after you have committed something to memory 

NOT BENEFICIAL

maintenance rehearsal

rote repetition of material in order maintain its availability in short-term memory 

elaborative rehearsal

Association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information

• Better for creation of long-term memory 

organization of LTM

in categories that form a hierarchy with multiple paths (direct and indirect) to each item

• Sometimes the cues required to recall an item are not sufficient 

recognition

when a specific cue is matched against LTM

recall

when a general cue is used to search memory

priming

method for measuring implicit memory

• someone highlighting something in the brain

perceptual priming

The activation of prior exposure to a stimulus that influences perception and recognition of that stimulus in the future.

• when stimuli have similar forms

ex: Word-stem fill ins, McGurk effect

conceptual priming

• Activation of related concepts in memory, leading to faster and more accurate retrieval of information.

• Enhances cognitive processing and facilitates learning by creating connections between concepts.

• Can occur through various stimuli like words, images, or experiences.

long term potentiation

As a response is learned, specific neural pathways are established that become progressively more excitable and responsive

• The more we rehearse, biologically memory becomes stronger 

corn field analogy

front wall of memory is a cornfield and on the other side is where you put the memory you want to store. You run all the way there and drop it, then run out. The next day, you aren’t sure how to get there; but the more you run through the path, the more the corn gets trampled and the path becomes easier. After years of using it, it becomes a paved highway, which is much easier to go through. 

flashbulb memory

a vivid, long-lasting memory about a surprising or shocking event that has happened in the past.

• Using self-reference effect 

why is forgetting a good thing

“If we remembered everything, we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing.” (W. James)

Super Autobiographical Memory (SAM)

people with this remember everything

• they have larger temporal lobes (holds new memories) and caudate nucleus (habits; obsessive compulsive disorder)

  • About 7 standard deviations larger than the average person***

caudate nucleus

planning the execution of movement, but also in learning, memory, reward, motivation, emotion, and romantic interaction.

temporal lobe function

processing auditory information and the encoding of memory. 

what disorder do people with SAM seem to also have

OCD

serial position effect

Remembering information at the beginning and end of a list better than material in the middle

• Primacy/Recency

primacy effect

our tendency to remember the beginning of a list

recency effect

our tendency to remember the ending of a list

decay theory

memory trace fades with time when not accessed (STORAGE)

• Doesn’t account for persistent, declarative, and procedural

• USE IT OR LOSE IT

replacement theory

new memory can wipe out old memories (STORAGE)

• ELIZABETH LOFTUS

• ex) stop sign- “did you see the car in front of the yield sign” 

interference theory (RETRIEVAL)

argues that information competes for retrieval  

proactive interference

old information interferes with recall of new information (those before now interfere with new memories)

retroactive interference

new information interferes with recall of old information (new goes back and interferes with old)

what does sleep protect against

Retroactive Interference (1 hour before sleep) 

when is information not encoded

when presented during sleep or seconds before

cue dependent memory

Memory is there but you need a picture or other cue to access it 

state dependent memory

dependent on your physical or emotional state

contributes to depression because they are stuck with sad/painful memories

motivated forgetting

involves the loss of painful memories

being able to push the memory aside (not rehearsing, long term potentiation not happening)  

amnesia

forgetting produced by a brain injury or trauma

retrograde amnesia

refers to a problem with recall of information prior to a trauma 

anterograde amnesia

refers to problems with recall of information after a trauma 

ex: H.M.; can’t create new memories AFTER removing hippocampus

Claire Rutherford

Retrograde amnesia 

• Herpes virus caused her to have amnesia

• She was in a coma for a while and when she came out she lost about 20 years of her life

• Does not remember any of her kids growing up

Nicola Pomfret

Anterograde amnesia

• Herpes virus had a stronger effect on her

  • She cannot store much in her memory 

  • Can only hold things in short term memory; cannot hold in long term

  • She can remember old memories before the damage (like HM) 

childhood amnesia

the inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first 2-3 years of life 

Problem encoding and retaining episodic memories and carrying them into later childhood

biological theory of childhood amnesia

The prefrontal cortex is not yet fully developed

cognitive theory of childhood amnesia

• Lack of a sense of self

• Impoverished encoding

• Focus more on the routine then the distinctive aspects

• When we begin to think like adults we no longer have access to the cues and information we once used as a schema

memory inaccuracy

memory recall may involve reconstruction and thus may not be accurate

reasons: source amnesia and sleeper effect

source amnesia

attribution of a memory to the wrong source (ex. a dream is recalled as an actual event)

sleeper effect

a piece of info from an unreliable source is initially discounted, but is recalled after the source has been forgotten

apply to political campaigning

charles hudson

has confabulation

believes he fought against a big jewelry fraudster but in reality tried to run after a thief and got hit by a car

confabulation

a neuropsychiatric disorder wherein a patient generates a false memory without the intention of deceit

peg-word system

associated with ideas (ex: “one is a bun)

word associations

verbal associations are created for items to be learned 

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

concepts

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

how do concepts work

simplify our thinking

prototype

a mental representation of the idealized form of an object or concept.

how do category boundaries blur

when something fails to match our prototype, we are slower to recognize it

what is creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

5 components of creativity

1. expertise

2. imaginative thinking skills

3. venturesome personality

4. intrinsic motivation

5. a creative environment

algorithms

problem solving procedures or formulas that guarantee a correct outcome if correctly applied 

heuristics

simple, basic rules that serve as shortcuts to solve complex mental tasks 

insight

a sudden realization of a problems solution 

confirmation bias

Our tendency to search for information that supports our beliefs while ignoring or distorting contradictory evidence.

fixation

an inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective 

prime example of fixations

mental sets

mental sets

When faced with problems, we have a tendency to approach it in a familiar way

functional fixedness

the inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose