Memory

Retention

The of information over time.

Reconstructed, reproduced

Memory is actively , not passively .

Sensory Memory

Holds sensory information with large capacity and short duration.

Short-Term Memory

Holds information temporarily for analysis; also known as working memory.

Long-Term Memory

Information acquired across a lifespan.

Explicit Memory

Consciously recalled information including episodic and semantic memories.

Implicit Memory

Does not require conscious thought; includes procedural and priming memory.

Encoding

The process of getting information into our memory.

Storage

Maintaining information over time.

Retrieval

Accessing information when needed.

Engrams

Physical basis of memory; structural and functional changes in the CNS as a result of experience

Consolidation

Stabilizes memory traces in the CNS.

Schemas

Mental models or knowledge structures gained through experience.

Recall

Generating remembered information on your own.

Recognition

Selecting previously remembered information from several options.

Context-Dependent Memory

Best retrieval when external context matches between encoding and retrieval.

State-Dependent Memory

Best retrieval when internal context matches between encoding and retrieval.

Karl Lashley

Studied engrams; concluded they are distributed throughout the brain.

Donald Hebb

Defined LTP and LTD in neuronal connections affecting memory.

Hippocampus role in memory

Acts as a 'memory index,' in temporal lobe, memories stored across brain

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories after a trauma.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to access old memories before a trauma.

Misinformation Effect

When misleading information influences memory recall.

Flashbulb Memories

Vivid and detailed emotional memories.

Neisser & Harsch (1992) Study

Showed that 75% of flashbulb memories 2 years later did not match the original memory.

Short-term memory span

5-9 items

Short-term memory duration

20-30 seconds without rehearsal

episodic memory

events in our lives

semantic memory

facts of the world (knowledge and concepts)

engrams and consolidation

are related to storage

primacy

remembering things at the start of a list well

recency

remembering things at the end of a list well

priming

exposure to stimulus influences future response

encoding, storage, retrieval

three memory processes

mnemonics

learning aids or strategies that enhance later recall

mnemonics

are a part of encoding

recall, recognition and retrieval cues

are related to retrieval

retrieval cue

hints that make it easier for us to recall information

mood-dependant memory

match in mood between encoding and retrieval

study lesioning rat brains

tried to find where engrams are stored, trained rats to run mazes to create lesions in the brain

what lesioning in rat brains says about memory

no one area when lesioned created memory problems, engrams are not stored in a single place, are distributed across the brain

long-term potential

strengthening connections between two neurons after they are both activated

long-term depression

weakening of connections between two neurons after low or no activation between them

neurons that fire together lead to an increase in vesicles containing neurotransmitters and more receptors on the post-syaptic dendrite

how LTP and LTD affect synapses

hippocampus

codes explicit memories, forming new memories

cerebellum

related to implicit memories

prefrontal cortex

semantic memory, working/short-term memory

H.M.’s learning task

H.M. went to a lobotomist looking to cure his severe seizures. The lobotomist removed most of his medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex. This cured his seizures but left him with anterograde amnesia (can’t form new memories). Scientists studied him, soon discovering that the medial temporal lobe played a large part memory creation, but they get stored in other places. His other attributes were left unaffected by the surgery.

stop/yield sign example

If it was suggested in the question that there was a yield sign, the person answering was more likely to mention there being a yield sign even if there was a stop sign.

Car collision and verb choice example

When asking about the speed the car was going at, if the word “smashed” was used over a word like “hit” or “bumped,” the person answering was more likely to report faster speeds and include details that were not there like smashed glass.

Lost in the mall example

Loftus was able to implant memories that didn’t happen, like getting lost in a mall, and 6 out of 24 thought the memory was real.

testimonies are better at the time of the alleged crime, and get worse as time goes on

factors that affect eyewitness testimony; confidence

factors that affect eyewitness testimony; race

testimonies are worse when the person is of a different race

witnesses tend to fixate on weapons, not the person appearance

factors that affect eyewitness testimony; fixation on weapons