LCB exam 3

What is declarative memory?

memory that can be recalled (facts and events)

What is non-declarative memory?

implicit memory expressed through actions

What are the two types of declarative memory?

episodic and semantic

What is episodic memory?

memories for personal experience tied to time and place

What is semantic memory?

memory for general knowledge and facts

Who proposed the distinction between episodic and semantic memory?

Tulving (1983).

What test measures episodic memory?

paired-associate test

How does the paired-associate test work?

participants study pairs of words and recall the word paired with each cue

What test measures semantic memory?

free association test

How does the free association test work?

participants respond with the first word that comes to mind

What type of memory does the paired-associate test rely on?

episodic memory

What type of memory does the free association test rely on?

semantic memory

What is a recall test?

test that requires actively retrieving information without being shown the correct answer

What is free recall?

reporting as much information as you can without cues

What is cued recall?

prompts or cues to help retrieve information ie) matching

What is a recognition test?

identifying whether a stimulus was encountered before (multiple choice)

What is the Remember/Know procedure?

recognition method that distinguishes between episodic (“remember”) and semantic (“know”)

What does a “remember” response mean?

recalls the context of learning (episodic)

What does a “know” response mean?

recognizes familiarity without recalling the context (semantic)

Who developed the Remember/Know procedure?

Migo et al. (2012).

What is the Autobiographical Interview?

participants describe personal life events throughout time to measure episodic memory

Who created the Autobiographical Interview?

Levine et al. (2002).

What are participants asked to do in the Autobiographical Interview?

describe specific personal events they experienced

What have studies using the Autobiographical Interview found?

episodic details fade over time, older memories become semantic

What do studies show about imagining the future and remembering the past?

both rely on episodic memory

What is the main takeaway about declarative memory?

includes both episodic and semantic memories that can be recalled

What is the main difference between episodic and semantic memory?

episodic = personal experiences; semantic = general knowledge without context

What happens to declarative memories over time?

They often become less episodic and more semantic.

What is memory encoding?

taking in new information and converting it into a form that can be retrieved later

What are three main factors that affect encoding?

meaningfulness, spacing, and depth of processing

What is the serial-position effect?

People remember items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list better than the middle items.

What is the spacing effect?

learning is better when studying is spaced out

What did Moulton et al. (2006) find about spacing?

surgeons who spaced practice performed better on a skill test one month later

What is the isolation effect?

unique items are remembered better than items similar to others

How does meaningfulness affect encoding?

info that connects to prior knowledge or personal relevance is remembered better

What did Gobet et al. (2001) show about meaningfulness?

chess masters remembered meaningful positions better because of prior knowledge

What is imagery in memory encoding?

mentally picturing information to make it easier to remember

What is the generation effect?

remember information better when you generate it yourself

What is depth of processing?

level at which information is thought about

Who studied depth of processing?

Craik & Tulving (1975).

What types of questions did Craik & Tulving (1975) use?

capitalization (shallow), rhyming (intermediate), and meaning based (deep)

What did Craik & Tulving (1975) find?

words processed for meaning remembered best

What is the method of loci (memory palace)?

visualize items in locations and recall them by mentally walking through

What did Sousa et al. (2021) find about the method of loci?

it improves recall through spatial and visual associations.

What encoding strategies did Roediger (1980) compare?

rehearsal, imagery, link, peg, and method of loci

Which encoding strategies worked best in Roediger (1980)?

imagery-based and method of loci

What is the link method?

forming a mental image of words interacting with each other

What is the peg method?

Associating each item with a rhyming cue (e.g., “one is a bun”) to aid recall.

What are the best strategies for encoding information?

make meaningful, space it out, visualize it, and connect it to what you already know

What are the key takeaways about encoding?

meaningful, spaced, and deeply processed = best; imagery and generation improve

What is fixation consolidation?

process that stabilizes new memories in the hours after learning, involving cellular mechanisms.

What is reconsolidation?

The process of re-stabilizing a memory after it has been retrieved.

What is the similarity between fixation consolidation and reconsolidation?

Both involve cellular processes that stabilize memories over hours.

What is the key difference between fixation consolidation and reconsolidation?

fixation consolidation stabilizes new memories, reconsolidation stabilizes retrieved memories.

How can fixation consolidation be enhanced or impaired?

experimental manipulations (drugs or interventions immediately after learning) can either improve or disrupt stabilization

What triggers reconsolidation?

memory retrieval, often cued by a specific stimulus

What happens to a memory during reconsolidation?

memory is destabilized upon retrieval and then restabilized through reconsolidation

How can reconsolidation be impaired?

interventions applied during the destabilized window after retrieval can disrupt memory

What evidence supports reconsolidation impairments in animals?

rat experiments show fear memories can be reduced with pharmacological agents

What evidence supports reconsolidation impairments in humans?

traumatic memories can be weakened with therapy or drugs

Why is reconsolidation important clinically?

provides a window to modify or weaken maladaptive memories

What is the basic shape of the forgetting curve?

rapid initial forgetting after learning, followed by slower, more gradual forgetting over time

What is proactive interference?

When older memories interfere with learning or recalling newer information.

What is retroactive interference?

new memories interfere with recalling older information

How is proactive interference demonstrated in word list learning?

earlier learned lists make it harder to recall later lists.

How is retroactive interference demonstrated in word list learning?

newer word lists make it harder to remember words from earlier lists.

How is proactive interference shown in Pavlovian conditioning?

previous conditioned responses can interfere with forming new associations

How is retroactive interference shown in Pavlovian conditioning?

newly learned associations can weaken previous conditioned responses.

What is the Encoding Specificity Principle?

retrieval is most effective when the cues present at encoding are also present at retrieval

Give an example of the Encoding Specificity Principle.

recall words better when tested in same room learned

How does context influence memory?

matching physical or internal states between encoding and retrieval improves recall

What experiment demonstrated the importance of context on memory in humans?

classic context-dependent memory study

What was the purpose of Bartlett’s "War of the Ghosts" study?

to investigate how memory is influenced by prior knowledge and show remembering is reconstructive

How did Bartlett conduct the "War of the Ghosts" study?

participants read a culturally unfamiliar story and were asked to recall it

What were the main findings of Bartlett’s study?

participants’ recollections were altered;details changed to fit their own cultural expectations

What typical errors did Bartlett observe in memory recall?

omission, transformation, rationalization

How did Bartlett explain these errors?

Memory is reconstructive: we rebuild memories using schemas (prior knowledge) to make sense of new information.

What is a schema?

mental framework that helps interpret information

What is a script?

type of schema that represents the typical sequence of events (ie: at a restaurant)

How are schemas and scripts related to memory reconstruction?

They guide recall by filling in gaps and influencing how we interpret or remember events, often leading to systematic distortions.

What are flashbulb memories?

vivid and emotionally intense memories of significant events

How do confidence and accuracy relate to flashbulb memories?

people are often very confident in flashbulb memories, but not always accurate

What is the misinformation effect?

post-event information alters ones memory of an event

What causes the misinformation effect?

Source-monitoring confusion: failing to distinguish whether details came from the original event or from subsequent information.

Why is the misinformation effect important?

demonstrates that memory is susceptible to distortion

How does repeated testing compare to repeated studying?

improves long-term memory more

Why are effortful retrievals especially effective?

require deeper cognitive engagement with material

How does practicing retrieval in multiple contexts help?

enhances memory flexibility and generalization, making it easier to recall

What is one explanation for why retrieval practice improves memory?

effortful processing: hard, active retrieval strengthens memory traces and encoding.

What is the second explanation for why retrieval practice improves memory?

transfer-appropriate processing: memory improved when the mental processes match those required at final

What is the main takeaway about retrieval practice?

practicing retrieval intentionally significantly enhances memory

What is anterograde amnesia?

inability to form new memories after brain damage

What is retrograde amnesia?

inability to recall memories formed before brain damage

How do anterograde and retrograde amnesia differ?

anterograde - new memory formation, retrograde - past memories

What do cases of amnesia like H.M. tell us about the medial temporal lobes?

critical for forming new episodic memories but semantic knowledge can remain intact

How do these cases distinguish episodic vs. semantic memory?

episodic relies on hippocampus and medial temporal lobes

semantic can be preserved with medial temporal lobe damage

What experiment shows that hippocampal neurons store new episodic memories?

hippocampal neurons in animals show activity patterns corresponding to encoding of new experiences

What is the delayed non-matching-to-sample (DNMS) task?

monkey is shown an object, then after a delay must pick the novel object (non-matching) to receive a reward

Why is the DNMS task an animal model of human amnesia?

Because damage to the medial temporal lobes in monkeys produces deficits similar to H.M., specifically in forming new episodic-like memories.

What is the effect of medial temporal lobe damage on DNMS performance?

monkeys with damage fail to reliably choose novel object, showing impaired memory for recent items