Chapter 6 The Acquisition of Memories and the Working-Memory System

Memory

mental process of acquiring, encoding, storing, and retrieving information, experiences, and skills 

Acquisition

(encoding), process of gaining info and placing it into memory

Memory facilitated by organization and understanding

Contributions from the memorizer

Storage

after acquisition, memory put away until needed again

Retrieval

locating and using information stored in brain

Explicit Memory

conscious recollection, acticley trying

“ remember “ (I remember seeing it)

Implicit Memory

tasks that indirectly indicate memory, familiar but not clear

previous experiences change performance on tasks without conscious awareness(priming)

“know” (I just know because it was on the list)

Free Recall

recall all words you can from the list you saw previously

Serial Recall

recall in same order as item names

Cued Recall

participants given cue to facilitate

ex) recall all names of animals

Recall

requires memory search, relies on memory connections

generates memory after being given a broad cue identifying information sought

ex) “ WHAT was the name of that one guy from math class?”

Recognition

Information is presented and the individual must decide if this information is sought after

attribute memory to early encounter, familiarity in absence of source memory

ex) “ WAS this this name of that guy from math class?”

[blank] as a model for human cognition, thinking equivalent to [blank]

Computer, information processing

Modal Model

sensory memory plays minimal role in modern theorizing

According to the Modal Model

when information arrives to goes into…

1- sensory memory

2- short term memory

3- long term memory

Sensory memory

 form of memory that holds on to just-seen or just-heard input in a “raw” sensory form

Instead of using term “short-term” memory

working memory

the term Working Memory emphasizes that this memory is…

limited in size

easily get in/out of working status

NOT a place

Long Term Memory

vast repository that contains all your knowledge and beliefs- most of twitch you aren’t thinking/working on at this moment

Episodic Knowledge

 knowledge about events and experiences

Primacy/recency effect

 people most likely to remember the first and last items in a set

Function of Working Memory

• use it when we have multiple ideas in our minds, and multiples elements we are trying to compare or combine

• Some people able to hold onto and work with more or less elements

• Virtually all mental activities require working memory 

Articulatory Rehearsal Loop

used to maintain and process acoustic informational (rehearsing) our inner voice

Episodic Buffer

used for storage of multimodal information, integrates acoustic, visual and other information to create “ Aha-!” moment

Maintenance Rehearsal

simply focus on the to-be remembered item themselves without thinking about what the items actually mean

Relational/Elaborative Rehearsal

superior to maintenance rehearsal for test taking

involves thinking about what the to-be remembered items mean and how they connect to each other and things we already know

Incidental Learning

learning in the absence of an intention to learn

Intentional Learning

deliberate, with expectation memory will later be tested