Studied by 37 people
“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
expertise
imaginative thinking skills
venturesome personality
intrinsic motivation
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
Note
Flashcard