Psychology in Your Life 3rd Edition - Chapter 7 - Memory

Memory

The nervous system's ability to obtain and retain information and skills for later retrieval

Encoding

The processing of information so that it can be stored in the brain

Storage

the retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval

the act of recalling/accessing stored information when it is needed

selective attention

the ability to direct mental resources to relevant information in order to process that information further, while also ignoring other relevant information

filter theory

attempts to explain how we selectively attend to the most important information; attention is like a filter
- Donald Broadbent 1958

sensory memory

A memory storage system that very briefly holds a vast amount of information from the five senses in close to their original sensory formats.

short term memory

a memory storage system that briefly holds a limited amount of information in awareness

working memory

an active processing system that allows manipulation of different types of information to keep it available for current use

Memory span (capacity)

the amount of information held in working memory

maintenance rehearsal

Using working memory processes to repeat information based on how it sounds (auditory information)
- provides only shallow encoding of information and less successful long-term storage.

elaborative rehearsal

Using working memory processes to think about how new information relates to ourselves or our prior knowledge (semantic information)
- provides deeper encoding of information for more successful long-term storage.

long term memory

a memory storage system that allows relatively permanent storage, probably of an unlimited amount of information

two types of long term memory

explicit memory and implicit memory

Chunking

using working memory to organize information into meaningful units to make it easier to remember

primancy effect

Refers to the better memory people have for items presented at the beginning of a list

recency effect

Refers to the better memory people have for the most recent items, the ones at the end of the list

dual coding

occurs when information is stored in more than one form (such as encoding by using both visual and semantic sensory input)

Schemas

Decisions about how to chunk information depends on these, which are ways of thinking about the world

networks of association

a way that memories are organized in long-term storage based on the meaning of information

spreading activation model

the theory that information that is heard or seen activates specific nodes for memories in long-term memory

- people organize their memories based on how related things are in their own personal experience; lots of individual differences

Henry Molaison (H.M.)

patient where researchers found the link to the hippocampus to long term memory; his hippocampus and amygdala were removed in efforts to control his epileptic seizures

- he could not retain any new information and his intelligence was severely stunted; anterograde amnesia

retrograde amnesia

a condition in which people lose the ability to access memories they had before a brain injury

anterograde amnesia

a condition in which people lose the ability to form new memories after experiencing a brain injury

explicit memory

the system for long-term storage of conscious memories that can be verbally described

two types of explicit memory

episodic memory and semantic memory

episodic memory

a type of explicit memory that includes a person's personal experiences

semantic memory

a type of explicit memory that includes a person's knowledge (facts) about the world

implicit memory

The system for long-term storage of unconscious memories that cannot be verbally described

two types of implicit memory

classical conditioning and procedural memory

classical conditioning

a type of implicit memory that involves learning to associate two stimulus that in turn elicits a response

procedural memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits;
- also called motor memory

prospective memory

remembering to do something at some future time

- ex. using sticky notes and alarms

consolidation

a process where immediate memories become lasting memories when new neural connections are created and prior neural connections get stronger

reconsolidation

the idea that memories can change each time they are retrieved.
- Each memory is of the previous retrieval, not the original experience, because new information becomes paired with the retrieved memory to create a new one

retrieval cue

anything that helps a person access information in long-term storage

context-dependent memory

improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same

- ex. two groups of scuba divers learn a list of words, one group on land and one in water. They remembered more words if they were tested in the same environment where they had learned them.

mnemonics

learning aids, strategies, and devices that improve recall through the use of retrieval cues

method of loci

a mnemonic technique that involves associating items you want to remember with physical locations you already know

forgetting

the inability to access a memory from long-term storage

retroactive interference

when access to older memories is impaired by newer memories

proactive interference

when access to newer memories is impaired by older memories

tip of the tongue phenomenon

the temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach

absentmindedness

the inattentive or shallow encoding of events

persistence

the continual recurrence of unwanted memories from long-term storage
- related to PTSD

distortion

Human memory is not a perfectly accurate representation of the past, but is flawed.

memory bias

the changing of memories over time so that they become consistent with one's current beliefs or attitudes

flashbulb memories

vivid episodic memories for the circumstances in which people first learned of a surprising, consequential, or emotionally arousing event; an example of episodic memory

- ex. remembering where you were/what you were doing on 9/11

misattribution

occurs when we misremember the time, place, person, or circumstances involved with a memory

cryptomnesia

a type of misattribution that occurs when a person thinks he or she has come up with a new idea, yet has only retrieved a stored idea and failed to attribute the idea to its proper source

suggestibility

the tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections

- causes eyewitnesses to be less valid

false memories

memories for events that never happened, but were suggested by someone or something