PSYCH 104 - CHAPTER 7: Memory

memory

the process involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information after the original information is no longer present

information processing approach

a processing system that encodes, stores, and retrieves information

encoding (a process of memory)

translating information into a neural code so that it can be stored for later use

storage (a process of memory)

the process by which information is retained over time

retrieval (a process of memory)

pulling information back out of your mind for use

three-component model

there are 3 types of memory

1. sensory memory

2. short-term/working memory

3. long term memory

> can go in either order, 123 or 321

sensory memory

briefly holds sensory information

sensory registers

subsystems of sensory memory; initial information processors

> they will filter out important information

> has a limit to how much it can hold

types of sensory registers

iconic and echoic

iconic memory (sensory register)

holds visual information

> lasts a fraction of a second

echoic memory (sensory register)

holds auditory information

> lasts about 2 seconds

short-term memory

temporarily stores and processes a limited amount of information in consciousness

> limited capacity (7 +/- 2 bits of info)

> limited duration (~20sec)

ways information is stored in STM/WM

visually, phonologically (sounds), semantically (meaning), action (motor patterns)

chunking

group a large piece of information into smaller 'bits'

ways to increases STM duration

maintenance rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal

maintenance rehearsal

simple repetition

> every time you repeat it the 20sec timer resets

elaborative rehearsal

focus on meaning

working memory

limited capacity system for storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks

> holding information in active memory to 'work on'

> lasts ~20sec

long-term memory

durable storage of past events and learned knowledge

> large capacity

> can endure for a lifetime

types of long-term memory

declarative memory, procedural memory

declarative memory (explicit memory)

can be verbalized, saying it out loud

procedural memory (implicit memory)

cannot be verbalized, skills and actions

> muscle memory

types of declarative memory

episodic, semantic

episodic memory

personal experiences; episodes of your life

> ex. "what did you do today?"

semantic memory

general factual knowledge

> ex. "what is the capital of Canada?"

anterograde amnesia

loss of ability to assimilate and retain new knowledge

> cannot form new long-term memories

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory for events that have happened in the past

> cannot retrieve old memories (in theory they are present but cannot be brought forward)

serial position effect

describes the relationship between a word's position in a list and its probability of recall

primary effect

it's easy to remember things at the beginning of a list

recency effect

it's easy to remember things you've encountered most recently

effortful processing

intentional, effortful conscious process

> ex. studying

automatic processing

unintentional process requiring minimal attention

> ex. "what did you do yesterday?"

levels of processing (encoding)

structural (structural properties), phonemic (what it sounds like), semantic (does the word fit in this sentence)

organizing information

arranging information in a meaningful way to enhance memory of it

> ex. mnemonic

mnemonic devices

mental strategy that aides in remembering information by storing it in LTM in a meaningful way

types of mnemonic devices

simple (ex. chunking)

semantic (ex. first letter technique, narrative)

visual based (ex. bizarre/interactive imagery)

complex (ex. method of loci)

hierarchies

organize items based on how they are related

method of loci

link what you need to remember with a place that you know well

associative networks

theory that memory can be represented as a network of associated concepts

> each concept is represented as a node

> lines b/w nodes represent associations (shorter lines mean stronger associations)

priming

the activation of a concept by another

> exposure to one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious intention

neural networks (parallel distributed processing model)

describe linked nodes, but instead concepts the nodes are physical and do not contain a single unit of information

> 1 piece of info will be stored in multiple parts of the brain, all those parts will fire when that piece of info is called forward

retrieval

process of transferring information from LTM back into working memory

value of distinctiveness

things that stand out are more easily recalled

flashbulb memories

memory for the circumstances in which you first learned about a very surprising and emotionally arousing event

> grow less accurate with time

cues

stimuli that lead to activation of information sored in LTM

> multiple cues lead to better retrieval

matching conditions

retrieval can be increased by matching the conditions at retrieval to the conditions that existed at encoding

ways to achieve matching conditions

encoding specificity, state-dependent learning, transfer-appropriate processing

encoding specificity

we learn information together with its context

state-dependent learning

learning is associated with a particular internal state

transfer-appropriate processing

memory performance better if type of task at encoding matches type of task at retrieval

encoding failure

the information was never encoded, it never went to long-term

decay of memory trace

the information is there but you cannot access it

interference theory

information forgotten because other items in LTM impair ability to retrieve it

proactive interference

past material interferes with recall of newer material

> new being blocked

retroactive interference

new information interferes with ability to recall older information

> old being blocked

repression

may protect us by blocking the recall of anxiety-arousing memories

> no access to the memories

dementia

refers to impaired memory and other cognitive deficits that accompany brain degeneration and interfere with normal functioning

alzheimer's disease

severe retrograde and anterograde amnesia

> spreads across temporal and frontal lobes and other cortical regions