Human Learning and Memory

Why is memory not a single system?

A single event creates multiple, dissociable memory traces (e.g., sensory, working, declarative, and nondeclarative), each supported by different brain systems.

What types of memory can arise from a single event?

• Sensory memory

• Short-term / working memory

• Declarative memory (episodic + semantic)

• Nondeclarative memory (procedural, priming, conditioning)

What is iconic memory?

A brief visual sensory memory that represents ongoing perceptual processing in visual cortex (occipital lobe), allowing perception to continue briefly after a stimulus disappears.

MUST COME FROM OUTSIDE, CANNOT BE INTERNAL (processing something outside your brain)

What are the key properties of iconic memory?

• Raw visual form before semantic meaning

• Duration ≈ 250–300 ms unless masked

• Extremely large capacity

• Reflects continued perceptual processing after stimulus offset

what is the key functional role of iconic memory (beyond “brief storage”)

It reflects continued perceptual processing in visual cortex after the stimulus disappears.

Why is iconic memory described as “pre-semantic” in lecture?

Because it represents raw visual form before meaning or identification is assigned.

Why does masking eliminate iconic memory?

Because new visual input overwrites ongoing perceptual processing in visual cortex.

What is echoic memory?

Auditory sensory memory that preserves sounds for ~1–2 seconds, allowing us to “hear” what was just said

What is short-term (working) memory?

A limited-capacity system that temporarily holds and manipulates information.

Why did lecture frame working memory as a workspace rather than a storage bin?

Because its defining feature is manipulation and comparison of active representations, not passive holding.

Why does holding multiple shark-escape scenarios rely on working memory?

Because it requires maintaining and comparing several active representations simultaneously .

What is declarative memory?

Memory that can be consciously and voluntarily brought to mind, including recall and recognition

• Requires awareness

Why is declarative memory tied to recall and recognition tasks?

Because these tasks require conscious access to stored information

What are the two major types of declarative memory?

Episodic memory and semantic memory

What is episodic memory?

Memory for events and their context (time, place, personal experience)

What is semantic memory?

Memory for facts, general knowledge, and word meanings, independent of personal experience

What defines nondeclarative memory?

Memory expressed through performance rather than conscious recollection; often unconscious and automatic

What is procedural memory?

Memory for skills and habits acquired through gradual learning and expressed through action

(Form of non declarative memory)

What are defining characteristics of procedural memory learning?

• Slow, incremental improvement

• Slow forgetting

• Does not require conscious awareness

Why does procedural memory show slow forgetting?

Because it is encoded through repeated performance rather than explicit recall.

Why is learning to ride a bike procedural memory?

Because performance improves gradually without requiring explicit recall of facts

What does the mirror-tracing task demonstrate?

That procedural memory can improve even when declarative memory for the task is absent

Demonstrates skill learning can improve even when declarative memory is absent

What key dissociation does mirror tracing illustrate?

Preserved procedural memory despite impaired declarative memory.

What brain systems support declarative memory?

Medial temporal lobe and diencephalon

What brain systems support nondeclarative memory?

Striatum, cerebellum, amygdala, neocortex, and reflex pathways

What principle do medial temporal lobe examples illustrate?

That declarative memory depends on a specific neural system that can be selectively damaged.

Why are multiple brain systems listed for nondeclarative memory?

Because nondeclarative memory is not a single process but a collection of learning systems.

Why is the serial position curve emphasized as evidence, not just a phenomenon?

Because it provides behavioral evidence for multiple memory systems.

Why does a distractor task selectively eliminate recency but not primacy?

Because recency depends on short-term memory, whereas primacy depends on long-term encoding.

Why did lecture emphasize timing at recall rather than encoding for recency?

Because recency reflects what remains active at retrieval, not how deeply items were encoded.

Why was the Atkinson & Shiffrin model historically important?

It formalized memory as a system of distinct stores and explained serial position effects

How did information flow in the modal model?

Sensory memory → STM → LTM, with rehearsal determining long-term storage

What was the total time hypothesis?

The idea that the amount of time spent rehearsing in STM determines LTM storage

What is the serial position effect?

Better recall for early (primacy) and late (recency) list items

What causes the primacy effect?

Early items receive more rehearsal and are encoded into long-term memory

What causes the recency effect?

Late items remain active in short-term memory at recall

What happens to the recency effect after a 30-second distractor task?

It disappears because short-term memory contents decay

Why are perception and attention critical for memory encoding?

Because unattended information is poorly encoded into long-term memory

• Inattention blindness: You can filter out things you are not paying attention to. We don't have the capacity to process everything at once

Why does the course emphasize attention as a gatekeeper to memory?

Because information not attended to is poorly encoded regardless of exposure time.

Why does multitasking impair memory?

Because divided attention reduces effective encoding

inanttention blindness: filtering out what you don’t pay attention to

Why do people forget things like where they park?

Attention wasn’t allocated during encoding

When is it ok to multitask?

When they are two different types of sensory inputs like listening to music and reading

What was a key shortcoming of the modal model?

It overemphasized rehearsal time and ignored the quality of processing.

What is maintenance rehearsal?

Rote repetition without semantic processing

What is elaborative rehearsal?

Processing information by meaning and linking it to prior knowledge

What did Glenberg et al. (1977) show?

That repeating items many times without semantic processing produces minimal memory benefit, contradicting the total time hypothesis

What did Craik & Lockhart (1972) argue?

That memory depends on depth of processing, not memory stores

What defines “deep” processing?

Semantic processing that relates information to existing knowledge

Evidence from Craik & Tulving (1975)?

Words processed semantically were remembered better than visually or phonologically processed words

Why were “YES” responses better remembered?

Because they required richer semantic integration, strengthening memory traces

How is declarative memory primarily organized?

Declarative memory is mainly organized according to meaning (semantics) rather than perceptual features.

Why does deep (elaborative) processing at encoding usually improve episodic memory?

Because it integrates new information into existing meaning-based memory structures, creating multiple retrieval routes.

Why does category-based recall (e.g., “foods,” “cars”) improve memory performance?

Because memory is organized semantically, allowing category cues to efficiently access stored items.

What is elaborative rehearsal?

A process that connects new information to existing knowledge, enhancing long-term episodic memory.

Why is learning people’s names especially difficult for episodic memory?

• Names are arbitrary labels

• Faces lack intrinsic semantic meaning

• Few meaningful “hooks” for association

• Often learned under poor encoding conditions (divided attention, single exposure)

Which brain regions support elaborative processing during encoding?

Left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC)

• Hippocampus

How do the vlPFC and hippocampus interact during elaborative encoding?

The vlPFC supports controlled semantic processing, which boosts hippocampal binding of new episodic memories through functional connectivity.

What do fMRI studies show when comparing shallow vs. elaborative encoding?

Elaborative encoding produces simultaneous increased activation in both vlPFC and hippocampus.

What specific assumption of the modal model was challenged

That rehearsal time alone determines long-term memory storage.

Why was the total time hypothesis criticized?

Because repetition without meaning produces minimal memory benefit.

Why did lecture emphasize “quality over quantity” of rehearsal?

Because semantic processing, not repetition count, predicts long-term retention.

What is a major limitation of Levels of Processing theory?

It focuses only on encoding, ignoring the critical role of retrieval conditions.

What is Transfer-Appropriate Processing?

Memory performance is best when there is a match between encoding processes and retrieval processes.

What does TAP predict about long-term memory performance?

Memory improves as overlap between study and test processes increases.

How do rhyme vs. sentence encoding tasks demonstrate TAP?

• Rhyme encoding → better performance with rhyme cues

  • if you encoded with rhymes, you did better with rhyme cues

• Sentence encoding → better performance with semantic cues

  • if you did semantic encoding you do better with semantic cues

• Shows both TAP effects and semantic superiority

Why doesn’t deeper processing always lead to better memory?

Because retrieval success depends on encoding–retrieval match, not depth alone.

What is context-dependent memory?

Memory is improved when learning and retrieval contexts match.

Godden & Baddeley (1975)

Q: What did the scuba diver study demonstrate?

Word recall was better when learning and testing occurred in the same environment (land–land or water–water).

What ultimately determines memory performance according to TAP?

The degree of overlap between encoding and retrieval processes.

How does organization benefit memory?

• Increases amount retained

• Makes retrieval more efficient

• Benefits memory beyond LOP effects

What is event segmentation?

The process of dividing continuous experience into discrete episodic events.

What defines an event boundary?

A meaningful change (location, action, person, goal).

What is the hippocampus’s role in event segmentation?

It rapidly binds who, what, where, and when into a coherent episodic representation.

How is information within the same event remembered?

Elements within an event are bound together and tend to be retrieved together.

Why are concrete words easier to remember than abstract words?

Because they are encoded using both visual and verbal codes, providing multiple retrieval paths.

What are the two major historical approaches to studying memory discussed in lecture?

• Highly controlled laboratory experiments using meaningless materials (Ebbinghaus tradition)

• Naturalistic studies of meaningful material (Bartlett tradition)

What was the goal of Ebbinghaus’s use of meaningless materials?

To uncover universal principles of memory by eliminating meaning and prior knowledge.

What was Bartlett’s goal in studying complex, meaningful materials?

To understand how meaning and schemas shape memory encoding and recall.

What does Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve show about long-term memory?

• Most forgetting occurs very soon after learning

• After time passes, the rate of forgetting slows dramatically

What is the main takeaway from Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve?

A large amount of information is lost quickly, but what remains becomes relatively stable.

According to lecture, why is it insufficient to focus only on encoding conditions?

Because retrieval conditions play a major role in determining memory performance.

What major conceptual shift led from Levels of Processing to Transfer-Appropriate Processing?

A shift toward focusing on the overlap of cognitive operations between encoding and retrieval, not encoding alone.

Why is it difficult to recite the alphabet backwards, even though it is well learned?

Because it is highly organized for forward retrieval, not backward retrieval.

Why is event segmentation necessary for episodic memory?

Because experience is continuous, but episodic memory requires discrete events.

How is event segmentation similar to visual segmentation?

Both involve dividing continuous input into meaningful, discrete units.

Why did lecture emphasize the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) specifically?

Because it supports controlled semantic processing that strengthens hippocampal encoding during elaboration.

What does “functional connectivity” between vlPFC and hippocampus mean?

These regions show coordinated activation, indicating they work together during successful encoding.

How did early models like the modal model influence later memory theories?

They motivated the development of process-based models focusing on encoding and retrieval operations.

What did Transfer-Appropriate Processing add that Levels of Processing did not?

Explicit emphasis on retrieval processes and encoding–retrieval overlap.

What does Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve demonstrate?

Most forgetting from long-term memory occurs shortly after learning (minutes to hours), with the rate of forgetting slowing substantially over time.

Why did Ebbinghaus use nonwords, and why does his forgetting curve still matter?

He used nonwords to reduce prior semantic knowledge, but the forgetting curve generalizes to meaningful material like stories and course content.

How did Bartlett’s work differ fundamentally from Ebbinghaus’?

Bartlett emphasized meaning and semantics, whereas Ebbinghaus focused on rote learning and retention of meaningless material.

What is a schema?

A structured representation of semantic knowledge used to understand, encode, and retrieve new information.

How are schemas formed?

Through repeated or similar episodic experiences that abstract common structure into semantic memory.

Why are schemas a good example of episodic–semantic interaction?

Episodic memories contribute to schema formation, and schemas later influence episodic retrieval.

What was the goal of the “War of the Ghosts” study?

To examine how meaning and schemas influence memory recall.

What changes occurred with repeated recall, in the war of ghosts study?

Participants:

• Omitted confusing details

• Added information to increase coherence

• Altered content to fit cultural expectations

What did Bartlett conclude from repeated recall experiments?

War of ghosts study showed Memory is reconstructive and shaped by activated schemas during retrieval.

What is the halo effect?

The tendency to attribute positive traits (e.g., intelligence, morality) to attractive individuals.

Why is the halo effect considered a schema?

It reflects a generalized knowledge structure applied automatically to individuals.