AP PSYCHOLOGY: MEMORY (UNIT 5 - COGNITION)

memory

persistance of learning over time through the encoding, storage + retreival of info.

ex. remembering sounds, songs, tastes, smells, textures, faces, places

info - processing models

analogies that compare human memory to a computer’s operations

encoding

processing of info into memory systems

storage

retaining info gained from encoding over time

retrieval

getting info out of memory storage

parallel/ dual processing

simultaneously processing a multitude of sensory input

ex. walking into a lunchroom

connectionism

viewing memories as products of interconnected neural networks

richard atkinson + robert shiffrin

proposed a 3 step memory processing model

sensory memory

immediate + brief recording of instant sensory info

short term memory

activated memory that holds info briefly before it gets encoded and stored or forgotten

ex. phone digits of someone new before dialing #

long term memory

relatively permanent + limitless storehouse of memory system

baddeley + working memory

newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on active, consious processing + links it to long term memory

explicit memories (declaritive )

the facts + exp. we can consciously know + declare

• encoding done thru conscious, effortful processing

effortful processing

encoding that requires conscious effort + attention

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental info

ex. space, time + frequency + well learned info

implicit memory ( non-declaritive)

retention independent of conscious recollection

• procedural memory for automatic skills + assosiations

  • ex. riding a bike

• space (ex. while studying, visualizing info on page)

• time (ex. automatically noting sequence of daily events)

• frequency (ex. keeping track of how many times things happen)

sensory memory

feeds our working memory

ex. recording momentary images of scenes or echoes of sounds

george spalding exp.

ran an exp. where he flashed 9 words + then asked to recall all 9 - 50% success rate

then played pitch assosiated w/ row he wanted them to recall - 100% recall

iconic memory

fleeting sensory memory of visual stimuli ( tenth of a second)

echoic memory

momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli ( 3 - 4 s)

george miller + magic #

short term memory can retain about 7 info bits ( give or take 2 )

• idea that info disappears quickly from memory w/o rehearsal

working memory capacity

varies, depending on ag, intelligence level + other factors

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically and enables easier recall

mnemonics

memory aids, esp those techniques that use vivid imagery + organizational devices

peg-word mnemonic system

harness superior visual-imagery skill; memorize jingle

hierarchies

few broad concepts subdivided into narrower areas

spacing effect

tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long term retention than massed study or practice

• repeated self-testing - way to distribute learning cramming

herban ebbinghaus

founder of the retention/ forgetting curve = increased frequency of learning = lower # of repetition required

• said that “those who learn quickly also forget quickly” - cramming

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieval/ recall rather than reading info

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on structure or appearence of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on meaning of words - better retention

episodic memories

specific memory of everyday events that can be stated or conjured (esp. unique personal exp. )

ex. time + place of a b-day + detailed info about it

semantic memories

general world knowledge + meanings of words in a language

procedural memories

often unexplained knowledge of how to do things

ex. riding a bike, walking, talking, tieing shoes

self reference effect

we easily remember material that is personally meaningful

memory storage

capacity for storing ltm is essentially limitless

role of frontal lobe

network that processes + stores explicit memory w/ hippocampus

working memory resides here

left - recalling passwords; right - visual + spatial info

hippocampus

nueral center that helps process explicit memory for storage; acts as a loading dock for info to be transferred into storage later

left - verbal info; right - spatial info

info is not permanently stored

effect of sleep

sleep supports memory consolidation during deep (NREM-3) sleep

• hippocampus processes memories for later retrieval + transfers them to cortex for storage

role of cerebellum

plays a key role in forming + storing implicit memories

ex. classical conditioning ( damage - inability to form connections)

role of basal ganglia

deep brain structures involved in motor movement; faciliate formation of procedural memory for skills

ex. bike riding

role of amygdala

emotional arousal + stress hormones trigger the release of glucose to boost memory formation

• vivid recollection of traumatic exp.

  • weaker emotions = weaker memories

flashbulb memories

clear memory of an emotionally significant event/ moment

• heightened emotions = stronger memories but continued can disrupt memory + not free of error

physical basis of memory

how info becomes embedded in brain matter

• study of synaptic meeting place where neurons communicate w/ neurotransmitter

eric kandel

observed synaptic changes during learning in sea slug neurons

• when learning occurs, slug releases more serotonin into synapses that then become more efficient at transmission

long term potentiation (LTP)

as increase in cells firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation

• neural basis for learning + memory

• after - passing an electrical current won’t disrupt old memories but wipe out very recent ones

  • ex. amnesia, blow to the head, loss of consciousness

    • working memory doesnt have time to bring info over to long term memory

recall

retrieving memory from storage or previously learned

recognition

identifying items previosly learned

relearning

learning smth more quickly if learned a second or later time

priming

activation, often unconsciously of particular associations in memory like the senses ( “wakening of assosiations”)

ex. pronounce shop then ask what do u do at a green light - stop

state dependent mem

what we learn in one state may be more easily recalled in same state

ex. forgetting what is learned when drunk

mood congruent mem

tendency to recall memories + exp. consistent w/ current mood

ex. depressed teens percieve other things as gloomy + sad memories

serial position effect

tendency to recall best the last + first items in a list

primacy effect

first items in a list are more easily recalled - more time spent rehearsing

recency effect

last items in a list are more easily recalled - still in working memory

anterograde amnesia

ability to recall the past but inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

inability to recall info. from the past but able to form new memories

repression + freud (motivated forgetting)

then - basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness, anxiety- arousing thoughts, feelings + memories

now - belief that forgetting unwanted neural info is true but difficulty w/ forgetting emotional events - intrusive memory

forgetting curve

curve that shows that course of forgetting is initially rapid then levels off w/ the gradual fading of the physical mem trace

proactive interference

disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new info.

ex. past passwords interfere w/ newly learned ones

retroactive interference

when new info. disruts the rcall of old, stored info.

ex. trouble remembering lyrics of old song

• if info is learned an hour before sleep, it is protected

misinformation effect (elizabeth loftus)

incorporation of misleading info. into ones memory of event can influence later behavior + actions

• even a vivd reteeling of an event or imagining nonexistent events or actions can implant false memories

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experiences, heard about, read about or imagined ( at the heart of false memories)

ex. unintentional plagarism

deja vu

eerie sense of having exp. the same moment or seeing it unfold

• familiarity w/ a stimulus (cues) may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier exp

  • temporal lobe processing before hippo + frontal lobe causes out of sync processing

decay theory

all memories are dependent of + fade w/ time

• memories are like traces + bonds weaken (forgetting)

interference theory

one memory disrupts the learning of other, esp. if similar

maintenance rehearsal

repetition of same info encountered, in an attempt to commit it into short term memory ( easily forgotten)

elaborative memory

contextualization of info into LTM for better storage + retrieval

tip-of-tongue phenomenon

feeling of knowing info but inability to recall said info

eidetic memory

photographic memory (recall image w/ high precision)

false memory syndrome

seeming to remember emotional events that never occured

distributive practice

practice broken up into # of short sessions over time

engram

offline physical and/or chemical changes elicited by learning that produce a memory trace