psych final study guide chap 8

memory

set of processes in brain allowing us to access information

three activities of memory

1. encoding

2. storage

3. retrieval

encoding

getting info into memory in the first place

storage

retaining memories for future use

retrieval

recapturing memories when you need them

automatic processing

encoding of information with little conscious awareness of effort

effortful processing

encoding of information throguh careful attention and conscious effort

types of encoding

1. semantic codes: cognitive representation of information or an event based on the meaning of the information

2. visual codes: cognitive representations of information or an event based on teh image

3. acoustic (phonological) codes: cognitive representations of information or an event based on teh sounds of words

self-reference

better memory for information that relates to the self

atkinson-shiffrin model

suggests information moves among three memory stores during encoding, storage, and retrieval; is analogous to a computer

three stages information must pass through to be put into memory

1. sensory memory

2. short term memory

3. long term memory

how memory functions - atkinson-shiffrin model

sensory input becomes sensory memory, which becomes short term memory, which becomes long term memory

information not transferred from sm to stm becomes lost, info not tranferred from stm to ltm gets lost

asm - sensory memory

message is fleeting, holds everything we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell for a few seconds or less, assumed to have a large capacity

if all goes well, information will move along to next stage

asm - rehearsal

temporary storage lasting between 15-30 seconds

george miller’s magic number

rehearsal

attending to information to move it from stm to ltm

memory trace decay = 18 sec

interference

baddeley and hitch model

holds informatino for 30 seconds, capacity of 5-9 items

three subsystems

1. central executive

2. phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

3. episodic buffer

central executive

supervisory role, monitors and coordinates the working memory sustem

phonological loop and visuospatial ketchpad

processes spoken and written information (“little voice”) and keeps track of images and spatial locations (“inner eye'“)

asm - long term memory

unlimited nad forever lasting stoarage

organized by concepts or semantic networks (individual variabilit)

spreading activation - ripple effect

parallel-distributed processing theory

suggesting that information is represented int eh brain as a pattern of activation across entire neural networks

new pieces of information immediately join with other (already acquired) information and grow netwrks of information

activates related neurons

episodic memory

events we have personally experienced

typically reported as a narrative (hence declarative memory)

what, where, when type of events

type of long-term, explicit memory

semantic memory

knowledge of words and concepts

typically reported as facts

type of long-term, explicit memory

procedural memory

memory for how we do something

type of long-term, implicit memory (performance/behavioral)

priming

exposure to. a stimulus affects later behavior

words, pictures, sounds

type of long-term, implicit memory (performance/behavioral)

conditioning

knowledge of words and concepts

often unknowingly linked to other stimuli (ex. images, sounds, smells0

type of long-term, implicit memory (performance/behavioral)

retrieval cues

words, sights, or other stimuli that remind us of the information we need to retrieve from our memory

serial position effect - ebbinhaus

demonstrates two basic retrieval effects

1. primacy - tendency to remember words on a list near the beginning

2. recency: tendency to remember words on a list near the end

recall tasks

memory tasks in which people are asked to produce information using no or few retrieval cues

recognition tasks

memory tasks in which people are asked to identify whether or not they have seen a particular item before

relearning

learning information previously learned

context dependent learning

the original location where you first learned a concept or idea, rich with retrieval cues that will make it more likely to recall that information later if you are in that same location or context

(ex. returning to an old school, or back home, we experience a flood of memories associated with that place)

state dependent learning

you remember things better when you are in the same state of mind you were in when you first learned it

spatial memory

memory involving a location (physical space) for specific information or an event

non-human animals rely on spatial memory for survival (food, predators, mating)

cognitive maps and memory palaces

can enhance memory

narrative that follows a path (ex. using space to aid in learning a large word list)

morris water maze

often used in spatial memory studies

spatial learning is often measured by escape time ro path lengths (ex. from location in water maze to platform)

amnestic

memory loss due to disease or trauma

anterograde amnesia

ongoing inability to form new memories after an amnesia-inducing event

may be able to form new procedural memories

retrograde amnesia

inability to remember things that occurred before an organic event (episodic memories impacted)

encoding failure

can’t remember something if it was never stored

memory errors

forgetting, distortion, intrusion

forgetting - loss of information from ltm

transience

fading of memories over time

decay theory

memories fade over time due to neglect or failure to access over long periods of time

absentmindedness

occurs due to breaks or lapses in attention

blocking

when you can’t access stored information

types of distortion

misattribution and suggestibility

misattribution

fail to record where the information origninally came from

suggestibility

when memory is affected by information from someone else

effects of misinformation from external sources leading to false memories

loftus’ misinformation effect paradigm

after exposure to an event, additional and possibly innaccurate information can distort the memory of the original event

loftus’ traffic accident

false memory syndrome

recall of false autobiographical memories (entire events not just details, recall freudian notions of repression, hupnosis or guided imagery tehcniques)

bias

your own feelings and views of the world can distort your memories

stereotype, egocentric, hindsight

persistence

involuntarily recall unwanted or unpleasant memories (ex. ptsd)

proactive interference

old information blocks memory of new information

retroactive interference

new information blocks memory of old information

(old info doesn’t always interfere with new info; ex. learning similar sports, speakers of multiple languages)

problems with memory

as we age, we become more susceptible to forgetting, distortions, and misremembering

natural decline in working memory, encoding new memories, episodic memories, stm, and source attributions

more likely to remember positive events

declines ofccur naturally

prospective memory

ability to remember content in the future (planning, ex. send that birthday card and take my meds)

retrospective memory

ability to remember content from the past (ex. did i already send that card, did i already take my meds)

dementia

severe memory problems combined with losses in at least one other ocognitive funciton, such as abstract thinking or language

most common type of neurogenerative disorder

alzheimer’s disease

most common form of demetia, usually beginning with mild memory problems, lapses of attention, and problems in language, and progressing to difficulty with even simple tasks and recall of long-held memories

neurofibrillary tangles

twisted protein fibres dound within the cells of the hippocampus and certain other brain areas

senile plaques

sphere-shaped deposits of a protein known as beta-amyloid that form in teh spaces between cells in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and certain other brain regions, and some nearby blood bessels

engram

group of neurons serving the physical representation of memory

equipotentiality hypothesis

if a part of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area will take over

parts of the brain mainly invovled in memory

amygdala, hippocampus, cerebellum/prefrontal cortex

amygdala

• regulate emotions (fear/aggression)

• memory storage is influenced by stress hormones

• memory consolidation - transferring new learning to ltm

• deeper encoding when emotionally arousing

hippocampus

• research on rat models shows deficits on object recognition and maze running after hippocampal lesions

• connects memories cortical regions to create meaning to memory - processing area for memory

• h;m had temporal lobes (hippocampi) removed

  • deficits in declarative memory, semantic knowledge, and forming new memories

episodic/autobiographical memories

stored in hippocampus temporarily before being distributed to other neocortical areas

infantile amnesia

memories for events prior to age 3 is not impressive

brain regions responsible for memory develop at different rates

areas for events develops more slowly than areas for skills

hippocampus is a late developing brain structure, may be responsible for infantile amnesia

cerebellum

rabbits with their cerebellums damaged show a lack of conditioned learning

memory for playing a musical instrument

prefrontal cortex

pet scans on humans in a memory task reveal greater activation in left interior prefrontal cortex during semantic task vs perceptual task

encoding - left frontal

retrieval - right frontal

neurotransmitters

epinephirine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, acetylcholine

increased synaptic activity faciliates memory consolidation

arousal theory

strong emotions form strong memory and weak emotions form weak memory

flashbulb memory

exceptionally clear recollection of an event

detailed and near-permanent memories of an emotionally significant event, or of the circumstances surrounding the moment we learned about the event - emotional content can be less remembered when under sedation

rehearsal

memory-enhancing strategy

consious repetition, useful for facts

rote learning - learn thorugh repeitition, just remember it

elaborative rehearsal

memory-enhancing strategy

connect new info to existing (stored) info

create a narrative

production effect

memory enhancing strategy

say things out loud

chunking

memory enhancing strategy

grouping bits of information together to enhance ability to hold that information in working memory

allows us to encode more info and store more in wm

mnemonic devises

memory enhancing strategy

techniques used to enhance the meaningfulness of informaiton as a way of making them more memorable