memory - exam 1: long-term memory: structure and types

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