AP Psych unit 5

Memory

bio-cognitive process of recording
information & experiences in a manner that can be
organized and recalled repetitively over time

Declarative (Generic) Memory

-General knowledge
-academics, facts, dates, numbers, images, etc)
-information typically encoded with language

prospective memory

Organizational memory used to recall appointments,
dates, and tasks scheduled to be completed in the
future

procedural memory

- learned skills and operational processes
-Memories of step-by-step actions with sequential organizational
-Requires higher level learning abilities
→ math problems, recipes, changing car oil, etc.
-Typically requires muscle coordination
→ "muscle memory" = riding a bicycle, typing, etc.

episodic memory

-Memories of specific events & experiences

• Type of memory most influenced by sensory input & emotion

• Memories most commonly repressed and "unlocked" by physical sensation and / or emotional cues

flashbulb memory

memories of events associated with intense emotion (trauma) that can be recalled with vivid detail

• Trauma activates Sympathetic Nervous System → initiates the release of Acetylcholine (Ach)

• Recollection of highly-emotional events from the past that appear as though it "happened yesterday"

serial position effect

Analysis of memory retrieval accuracy (or retrieval
failure) of items presented in a list based upon their
position (location)

primacy effect

Stimuli have the highest likelihood of retrieval (and
accuracy) when located in the beginning of the list

Recency effect

Retrieval accuracy recovers with stimuli that are
positioned at the end of the list

conceptual memory

memory relative to the process of conceptual
development
• Memories of schematic categories
• Memories of prototypes
• Memories of conceptual rules of assimilation

Associative memory

Memory retrieval based upon a stimulus' relative
similarity to other stimuli within the schema

Memory summation

The mind's natural tendency to draw conclusions
& generalize the contents of a list or schema

Model of Memory Processing

1.) Encoding- neurological creation of memory
pathways
2.) Storage- retention of encoded messages (STM &
LTM)
3.) Retrieval- memory recall & re-encoding back into
storage

Encoding

process of translating transduced
neural impulses from sensory registers and
arranging them into unique neurological codes
that can be retained into memory storage

encoding specificity principle

• Optimal memory retrieval is recalled in the same manner in which it was first learned

• The coding sequence used to create a memory also establishes the same neural pathway used to retrieve it

• Memory retrieval via alternative neural pathways lead to memory delay or failure

Rote memory

= memory recalled verbatim from the order in which it
was encoded
- "regurgitated information" with no analytical synthesis
or comprehension of learned behavior

Mnemonic device

encoding technique using unique cues of
phrases and words that trigger meanings to
larger groups of memory schemas

Chunking Method

Organization of serial stimuli into manageable units typically with the use of rhythmic pauses

Multi-sensory input

= organization of stimuli with combinations of
various sensory signals to increase duration &
accuracy of working memory

Memory storage

• the ability to retain encoded neural impulses over a period of time (short term or long term)

• "storage facility" is not a structure of brain anatomy

• Memories are stored within neural circuitry → ⅔ of brain's neurons are concentrated within the cortex

Sensory memory

• initial recordings of environmental information

• filtering & screening stage - selection of stimuli

• time transitions: (RF → Pons) or (RF → Thalamus)

echoic memory

(auditory) = 2-4 second duration

Iconic memory

(vision) = ½ second duration

eidetic imagery

"photographic memory"

• permanent storage of an image after only viewing it once - Iconic

• typically associated with audition as well

• Persistent in <.07% of adult population

• < 3% of child population is "Residual Eidetic"

• ability gradually fades by the end of puberty

Short term memory

• "transitional storage" from sensory level to LTM

• Limited Capacity with Limited Duration

• Information is held 20~30 seconds w/o rehearsal

Immediate Retention Span

maximum amount of
information that can be recalled perfectly after just
one presentation
→ adult average = ± 7 items / bits of information

long-term memory

- levels of memory retention lasting from several
days, to years, to "permanence"

Synaptic consolidation

reinforcing trace
memories from sensory experience to STM

system consolidation

transferring short-term
memories through hippocampus to promote long-
term storage

maintnence rehearsal

• continual repetition of information

• Memory decay becomes delayed as information is encoded by the hippocampus multiple times

elaborative rehearsal

• relating new information into concepts that are currently part of your working memory

• building upon prior knowledge

• translating new concepts into your own words

Organizational systems

• promoting long term memory by consolidating information with habit & routine

• Establishing sequentially-ordered systems of step-by-step procedures promotes retrieval

Context dependent memory cues

-memories that are triggered by reconnecting with the place
(context) in which the memory was experienced and encoded
• Physical cues based upon sensory perception
• Recalling memories by returning to the physical location they
were created

state-dependent memory cues

• memories triggered by states of emotional cues (or similar states of consciousness, pain, illness)

• Reconnecting current states-of-mind to similar emotional states from past experiences

deja vu

• "flashback" memory illusions of past experiences

• Overwhelming sense of familiarity when something logically should not be familiar

• 89% of population has reported the experience at least once

• Highly common in patients with temporal epilepsy Biological Explanation: neurological "short circuits" within the parahippocampal gyrus regions

• Memories retrieved simultaneously when encoded

tip of the tongue phenomenon

ability to recall stored memory but retrieval delay
prevents information from becoming verbalized in
a timely manner

Recognition

basic identification of stimuli,
people, places, information, etc. (familiarity)

Recall

identification with comprehension

Memory decay

• gradual inability to retrieve previously encoded and stored memories from STM or LTM

• natural memory loss, erosion of vividness and accuracy of details over time

Hermann Ebbinghaus

• empirical
measurement of
memory & decay
• "Serial Position Effect"
• "Forgetting Curve"

forgetting curve

• Memory decay occurs most rapidly shortly after
initial learning
• Rate of decay then plateaus and slowly deteriorates
over time
• "Spaced Practice" proven more effective than
"Massed Practice"

Interference

conflicts within "working memory"
that exist when older & more recent information
"compete" for the same limited space

retroactive interference

old memories
become distorted when blurred with newer, similar
information

proactive interference

the ability to recall
recent information becomes distorted when
blurred with older, similar memories

eye witness testimony

• Human memory does NOT record events like a stop- action camera!

• Memory is an emotional interpretation of an individual's reaction to an experience and begins to decay seconds after encoding

• Every time a memory is retrieved, it's biochemistry is altered

• The more an individual discusses a memory amongst others, the more it's altered

infantile amnesia

• inability to recall information from early childhood → memory is typically limited before age 3

• Result of underdeveloped Hippocampus & LAD

• Lack of language development limits memory encoding

• Earliest memories tend to be episodic → "Flashbulb Memories"

source amnesia

The ability to retain factual knowledge but unable to
remember where, when, or how the information was
acquired

unconscious transference

memory error in which an individual misplaces the
presence of a person to an incorrect location or context

Memory repression

psychosomatic defense mechanism - Sigmund Freud

• Specific memories & information that becomes unconsciously "blocked" from retrieval

• "Motivated Forgetting" - protection from isolated memories too traumatic to deal with

• Repressed memories can sometimes be unlocked by hypnosis or context / state dependent cues

dissociative amnesia

• memory loss resulting from psychological stressors, not physical brain trauma or injury

• Similar to repression, except entire time periods of memory are blocked, not just specific details & isolated events

• Result of psychological stress disorders in which the body becomes disconnected (dissociated) from the mind → Posttraumatic Stress Disorder → Dissociative Identity Disorder

retrograde amnesia

• Memory loss due to physical brain trauma

• Inability to recall information preceding (before) the injury

• Amount of memory impairment is related to the severity of the trauma (typically cortical damage)

• Memory is typically restored as the brain heals

anterograde amnesia

• Memory loss due to physical brain trauma → damage is located within hippocampal region

• Inability to encode information and consolidate memories from STM into LTM → inability to create new memories → "Short Term Memory Loss"