Cognitive psych Exam 2

memory

The mental process of acquiring and retaining information for later retrieval

Forgetting

occurs when we cannot retrieve information

short term memory

Minimal storage capacity, Limited processing capacity, lost if not rehearsed

Memory span

The number of items (words) that an individual can recall immediately in the correct order - measures short term memory

how long does short term memory typically last?

20 seconds

chunking

a cognitive process that groups individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units (called "chunks") to make them easier to remember

Maintenance rehearsal

Repeating info in STM until it’s no longer needed

Elaborative rehearsal

A strategy that involves relating new information to something already known

Generation Effect

Information that a person generates is better remembered than information that is simply heard or read

 Enactment Effect

Memory is better for actions that are actually carried out compared to those that are simply described

Dual code hypothesis

Words that denote concrete objects, as opposed to abstract words, can be encoded into memory twice: once in terms of their verbal attributes, and once in terms of their image-based properties

Free Recall

The memory task in which the list items may be recalled in any order, regardless of their order of presentation

Serial Recall

A recall task in which subjects must recall the list items in their original order of presentation.

Serial Position Effect

Indicates the tendency to recall more items from the beginning and end of a list than from the middle

Recency Effects

we remember the information that we heard at the end

Proactive Interference

problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of newer information

Retroactive Interference

when newer information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information

Release from PI

When the decline in performance caused by proactive interference is reversed because of a switch in the to-be-remembered information.

Working Memory

Contains components for actively manipulating information.

The Central Executive

Responsible for assessing the needs of the different subsystems. Regulates the processes and flow of information

The Phonological Loop

Rehearsal circuit that holds inner speech for verbal comprehension

The Visuospatial Sketchpad

actively manipulate visual and spatial information. Rehearsing images and holding them briefly

The Episodic Buffer

Information from different modalities and sources are bound together

Working memory span is routinely shown to correlate strongly with….

overall measure of intelligence, especially fluid intelligence.

Fluid intelligence

How efficiently we can think and solve problems that are new to us

Crystallized intelligence

What we already know and can draw upon to solve problems

Long-term memory

The memory system with a unlimited capacity that contains a person’s permanent or relatively permanent memories.

Declarative / Explicit Memory

Long-term knowledge that can be retrieved and then reflected on consciously.

Nondeclarative / Implicit Memory

Performance affected by prior experience including memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses

Procedural memory (often called implicit memory)

memory that is not easily brought into conscious awareness

Anterograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories

Semantic memory

declarative memory containing general knowledge. knowledge of language, information learned in formal education

Episodic memory

declarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others

 Autobiographical Memory

The study of one’s lifetime collection of personal memories

Prospective Memory

Remembering to carry out some intended action in the absence of any explicit reminder to do

Enhancing Memory - when is memory best?

In general, memory is better after distributed practice than massed practice

Testing as Learning

 Being tested for information serves to boost memory- more effective than studying

 Isolation Effect or von Restorff effect:

◦Improved memory for one piece of information that is made distinct from the information around it. Such as underlining one word in a list in red ink or changing its size

Encoding Specificity

when encoding, all related information that was encoded along with it, determines how effectively the item can be retrieved

◦State-Dependent Learning

◦Memory is better when the physiological state at encoding and retrieval are similar.

◦Mood-Congruent Learning

◦Memory is better when a person’s mood at encoding and retrieval are similar.

Mnemonic Devices

memory tools that link new facts to familiar patterns, words, or images

Peg Word Mnemonic

A mnemonic device in which a prememorized set of peg words is used to remember new information; the peg words typically used are “One is a bun, Two is a shoe,” and so on

Consolidation occurs more when…

we sleep

Metamemory

a person's awareness, understanding, monitoring, and control of their own memory processes and capabilities

 Source Monitoring

The ability to accurately remember the source of a memory

 Source Monitoring Failure

◦Memory errors that are made when a person either remembers an incorrect source or cannot remember source information at all

Tip of the Tongue

◦People often can accurately report some partial information, such as the letter a word starts with, the number of syllables, or words that rhyme with it.

Automatic encoding

•tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding

Flashbulb memories

automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it

Traumatic Memories

—Generally persistent & often impressively accurate

Reminiscence bump

Tendency of older people to recall a larger # of autobiographical memories from the years of adolescence & early adulthood

Consolidation

changes that take place in the structure and functioning of neurons when a memory is formed

Hippocampus

area of brain responsible for the formation of LTMs

Constructive processing

the retrieval of memories through which those memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer information

Misinformation effect

tendency of misleading information presented after an event to alter the memories of the event itself

False memory syndrome

creation of false memories through the suggestion of others, often while the person is under hypnosis

Elizabeth Loftus - eyewitness testimony

showed that what people see and hear about an event after the fact can easily affect the accuracy of their memories of that event. ◦Memories can be altered by misleading questions

 Memory Integration- misremember

◦The tendency to sort related pieces of information into an integrated representation – often due to discussing with others such as “eyewitnesses”

 Reconsolidating

◦When a memory is retrieved, it enters a plastic, malleable state. Memories can be changed in this state prior to being consolidated again.

 Repression

Intentional forgetting of painful or traumatic experiences

Memory trace

physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed

decay

loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used

disuse

another name for decay, assuming that memories that are not used will eventually decay and disappear

memories recalled after many years are…

not explained by memory trace theory!

Amnesia

The inability to remember that goes to an extreme

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new, long-term declarative memories

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to recall past events that have already been placed in long-term memory

Alzheimer’s Disease

Progressive neurodegenerative disease that involves memory, thinking and behavior

Risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease include

high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, Type II diabetes, and lack of exercise

foods linked to increased risk of dementia

red meat, full fat dairy, butter, cheese, pastries and sweets and fried or fast foods

berries and leafy greens benefit on brain

decrease neuron loss and improve memory

Best foods for brain health

Fatty fish, Blueberries, Leafy greens, Nuts and seeds, Eggs, Broccoli, Coffee and tea

Infantile amnesia

the inability of adults to retrieve memories from much before age three

–sleep deprivation severely interferes with…

hippocampal function and memory

Hyperthymesia

•near perfect episodic memory that is usually only wrong by a mathematical miscalculation