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What is the difference between short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM)?
STM is temporary store holding information for immediate use, with limited capacity and duration (around 15-20 seconds). LTM, on the other hand, is a vast and durable store holding information for extended periods, ranging from minutes to a lifetime.
Explain the primacy and recency effects observed in the serial position curve.
The primacy effect refers to better recall for items at the beginning of a list, attributed to increased rehearsal time allowing for transfer to LTM. The recency effect, conversely, reflects better recall for items at the end of the list, attributed to their recent presence in STM.
Provide examples of visual, auditory, and semantic coding in both STM and LTM.
Visual coding: STM - visualizing a pattern to reproduce it; LTM - remembering a friend’s face
Auditory coding: STM - repeating a phone number mentally; LTM - recalling a familiar song
Semantic coding: STM - categorizing words based on meaning; LTM - recalling a movie plot
How did the Wickens experiment demonstrate semantic coding in STM?
Wickens presented participants with lists of words from the same category (gruits or professions). Proactive interference built up over trials, impairing recall. However, switching to a new category on the final trial led to release from proactive interference, indicating that meaning (semantic coding) played a role in STM.
Explain how the Sachs experiment provided evidence for semantic coding in LTM.
Sachs had participants listen to a passage and tested their recognition memory for sentences. Participants often recognized sentences conveying the same meaning, even with different words, demonstrating semantic coding in LTM.
What is the role of the hippocampus in memory formation?
The hippocampus plays a crucial role in the formation of new long-term memories, particularly episodic memories. it acts as a temporary storage site before memories are consolidated and stored in other brain regions.
What did we learn from the cases of patients HM and KF about the separation of STM and LTM?
HM, with hippocampal damage, lost the ability to form new long-term memories but retained STM, suggesting separate systems. Conversely, KF had impaired STM but intact LTM, further supporting this separation.
What is the distinction between episodic memory and semantic memory, and how do they differ in terms of mental time travel?
Episodic memory refers to personal experiences relived via mental time travel, while semantic memory involves knowledge of facts and concepts without specific event recall. Mental time travel, the subjective experience of re-experiencing a past event, distinguishes episodic from semantic memory.
What is autobiographical memory, and how does it combine both episodic and semantic components?
Autobiographical memory comprises personal experiences with both episodic (relived events) and semantic (facts related to those events) components. It represents the unique narrative of an indivudal’s life, blending personal events with factual knowledge.
Explain the concept of semanticization of remote memories.
Semanticization refers to the gradual loss of episodic details (context, emotions) associated with a memory over time, leaving behind the semantic gist or factual knowledge. Remote memories become more like semantic memories as the episodic elements fade.
autobiographical memory
memory for specific experiences from an individual’s life, combining episodic and semantic components
classical conditioning
learning process where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that elicits a response, eventually eliciting the response itself
coding
the format in which stimuli are represented in the mind, such as visual, auditory, or semantic
explicit memory
conscious, intentional retrieval of information from memory, including episodic and semantic memory
hippocampus
brain structure crucial for forming new long-term memories, especially episodic memories
implicit memory
memory that unconsciously influences behavior, including procedural memory, priming, and conditioning
long-term memory (LTM)
system responsible for storing information for long periods of time, ranging from minutes to a lifetime
mental time travel
the subjective experience of traveling back in time to re-experience past events, central to episodic memory
personal semantic memory
facts and knowledge associated with personal experiences
primacy effect
enhanced memory for items presented at the beginning of a list
priming
exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a subsequent stimulus, often without conscious awareness
proactive interference
previous learning disrupts the recall of new information
procedural memory
memory for learned skills and actions, often implicit and difficult to verbalize
recency effect
enhanced memory for items presented at the end of a list
recognition memory
ability to identify a previously encountered stimulus
released from proactive interference
reduced interference when information from a different category is introduced
remember/know procedure
a method to assess whether a memory is episodic (remember) or semantic (know)
repetition priming
improved processing of a stimulus due to previous exposure to the same stimulus
semanticization of remote memory
the gradual loss of episodic details from memories over time, leaving behind the semantic gist
serial position curve
graph depicting recall accuracy as a function of an item’s position in a list
skill memory
another term for procedural memory, emphasizing the memory for learned actions
short-term memory (STM)
temporary storage for holding information for immediate use, limited in capacity and duration
