Psych 240 Snodgrass Exam 2 Michigan

Memory

Processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information when the original information is no longer present

How long is sensory memory held?

200 ms

Different types of Sensory Memory

Iconic (visual), echoic (auditory)

Short-term memory

Attentionally selected, very limited capacity, 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds

Long-term memory

retains a huge amount of information indefinitely

Sensory Memory

very brief initial retention of large (maybe all) amounts of sensory stimuli

When does sensory memory decay

.2-2 seconds

Sperling's classic paradigm

participants presented with arrays of letters and asked to report all of the letters or just one row

Whole report method

report as many letters as you remember (37.5%)

Partial report method

report one row of letters (82%), shows capacity of sensory memory is larger than we thought

How do we find the duration of STM

prevent rehearsal (present three letters to people, ask them to count back from 105 by 3's, then ask them to recall the initial material)

Proactive interference

when previously learned information interferes with learning new information

Retroactive interference

when new learning interferes with remembering old learning

What is the capacity of short term memory

5-8 items

Chunking

small units can be combined into larger (but less numerous) meaningful units

What affects STM capacity

chunking and complexity of items

Encoding

transfer from WM to LtM

Working Memory

STM + Control Processes (a limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning)

Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory

Phonological loop, Central executive, Visuospatial sketchpad

phonological loop

STM store for verbal and auditory information (even written verbal information)

Phonological Similarity Effect

Letters or words that sound similar are confused, whereas those that sound different don't

Word length effect

memory better for lists of short words than long words (bc takes longer to auditorially rehearse long words and to produce them during recall)

Articulatory suppression

the process of inhibiting memory performance by speaking while being presented with an item to remember.

visual memory

the creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a visual stimulus

Visuospatial sketchpad

the part of working memory that holds and processes visual and spatial information

Central Executive

controls attention (focus, divide, switch attention), suppresses irrelevant information

Episodic Buffer

(newest addition to Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory) back up store that communicates with LTM and WM, holds info longer and has greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad

Where in the brain is working memory

Prefrontal Cortex

Primacy Effect

memory is better for first thing(s) on list

Recency Effect

memory is better for last thing(s) on list

semantic encoding

encoding meaning

Wickens et al

different semantic meaning in set = easier to remember (professions and fruit); release from proactive interference effect

What are the two kinds of conscious LTM?

Episodic, Semantic

Episodic Memory

memory for personally experienced events

Semantic Memory

facts and knowledge

Relationship between episodic and semantic memories

you need semantic for episodic, episodic may fade to semantic

Remember/Know procedure

remember = episodic, know = semantic, don't know

Where are episodic and semantic memories located in the brain?

hippocampus, temporal lobe respectively

Explicit memory

Episodic and semantic memories; memories we are aware of.

implicit memory

procedural memory, priming, conditioning; memories we are not aware of

procedural memory

aka skill memory; memory for doing things that usually involve learned skills

recall vs recognition explicit memory tasks

recall = remember w/o cues, recognition = present information, ask if they remember

implicit memory is AKA

nondeclarative memory

priming

when prior presentation affects performance on same (or similar) stimulus when it is presented again

propaganda effect

we are more likely to rate statements read or heard before as being true (even when we are told statements were false when they were initially presented)

retrieval

transferring information from LTM to WM

maintenance rehearsal

repeating information so it becomes encoded (ie a cell phone number); somewhat effective, better w more reps

elaborative rehearsal

using meanings and generating connections to target information

shallow processing

little attention to meaning; focus on physical features (yields poor memory)

deep processing

close attention to meaning; relate stimulus to something else (yields better memory)

paired-associate learning

list of word pairs is presented and task is to remember the word it was paired with

self-reference effect

memory is better when you are asked to relate a word to yourself

generation effect

generating material yourself (rather than passively receiving it) enhances learning and attention

retrieval cue

a word or other stimulus that helps a person remember information stored in memory

cued-recall

cue presented to aid recall

encoding specificity

we encode information along with its context

state-dependent learning

learning that is associated with a particular internal state, such as mood or state of awareness

transfer-appropriate processing

better performance when the type of processing matches in encoding and retrieval

consolidation

the process that transforms new memories from a fragile state to a more permanent state

fragile state

memories can be disrupted

permanent state

memories more resistant to disruption

synaptic consolidation

structural changes at synapses; happens rapidly

systems consolidation

involves gradual reorganization of circuits in the brain; occurs over months/years

Long Term Potentiation (LTP)

enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation

Standard model of consolidation

Three stage process to consolidation. Proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation, but that once consolidation is complete, retrieval no longer depends on hippocampus

stage 1 of standard model of consolidation

strong connection between hippocampus and various areas in the cortex (corresponding to aspects of current experience)

stage 2 of standard model of consolidation

reactivation: these interactions are replayed

stage 3 of standard model of consolidation

interconnections between cortex areas grow; hippocampus involvement drops out or reduces

retrograde amnesia

memory loss for events prior to trauma

graded amnesia

memory loss for recent event worse than for remote events

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new memories for events after trauma

autobiographical memory

memory for specific experiences from our life, which we can include both episodic and semantic components

reminiscence bump

enhanced memory for adolescence and young adulthood (ages 10 to 30) found in people over 40

self-image hypothesis

memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person's self-image or life identity is being formed (explanation for reminiscence bump)

cognitive hypothesis

periods of rapid change that are followed by stability cause stronger encoding of memories (explanation for reminiscence bump)

cultural life script hypothesis

events in a person's life story become easier to recall when they fit the cultural life script for that person's culture (explanation for reminiscence bump)

narrative rehearsal hypothesis

we may remember events like those that happened on 9/11 not because of a special mechanism but because we rehearse these events after they occur

constructive nature of memory

what people report as memories are constructed based on what actually happened plus additional factors such as person's knowledge, expectations, and experience.

repeated reproduction

same subjects tried to remember the story at longer and longer intervals after they had first read it

source monitoring

process of determining the origins of our memories, knowledge, and beliefs

source monitoring error

misidentifying source of memory

cryptomnesia

unconscious plagiarism of others' work

pragmatic inference

when reading a sentence leads a person to expect something that is not explicitly stated or implied by the sentence

schema

a person's knowledge about some aspect of the environment

script

typical events that usually occur during a particular experience

advantages of construction of memories

allows us to fill in blanks, useful for solving problems and making decisions

disadvantages of construction of memories

make errors, misattribute source of information

misinformation effect

misleading information presented after a person witnesses an event can change how the person describes that event later

misleading postevent information

misleading information presented after a person witnesses an event

post-identification feedback effect

increase in confidence due to confirming feedback after making an identification

modal model of memory

theory proposes three types of memory: sensory, short term, long term

visual imagery

creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimuli

serial position curve

used to demonstrate and present data on how proactive and retroactive interference can affect our ability to recall items from memory

semanticization of remote memory

the loss of episodic detail for memories of long-ago events

release from proactive interference

a situation in which conditions occur that eliminate or reduce the decrease in performance caused by proactive interference

mental time travel

bringing long term memories into short term memory and analyzing them

the multiple race hypothesis

presenting a stimulus multiple times will result in new memories being formed rather than simply updating the current memory

illusion of learning

familiarity does not mean comprehension/retention

amygdala

area of the brain that is particularly active when forming memories based on highly emotional experiences

flashbulb memories

highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshots' of the moments and circumstances in which pieces of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) information was heard or seen