MEMORY AND LEARNING UNIT 6 & 7

cognitive psychology vs behavior analysis? 2 pts

1. cognitive psychology- concerned with describing and explaining memory through theoretical structures/models derived from observations using metaphors

2. behavior analysis- concerned with describing the functional relation between the behavior under study and its controlling variables

difference between STM and LTM according to the behavior analytic perspective? 2 pts

viewed as different patterns of behaviour controlled by past experiences whose main difference is how much time has passed between the original stimulus and the behaviour it influences.

As Palmer (1991) explained, what lasts is not the memory itself, but the influence (stimulus control) that the past experience has on current behaviour.

cognitive psychology: learning and remembering definition? 2 pts

1. memory- different systems where acquired behavior is stored and at a later time retrieved

2. learning- a process of how the events or stimuli are encoded, stored, and afterward retrieved

behvaior analysis: learning and remembering? 2 pts

1. learning- a process of change in behavior that will maintain over time

2. remembering- endurance of the selected environment-behavior relations

descriptions of behavior in functional relation to the environment

definition of remembering according to palmer? 3 pts

defined in two categories:

1. behavior that is brought under control of a stimulus (one at a time) and is still under the control of that stimulus/ the control of a stimulus of the same class when presented at a later time

2. behavior is brought under control of a stimulus and reinforcement is later made contingent on appropriate behavior in the absence of the stimulus

differences lie in whether the behavior is shown in the presence/absence of the stimuli that is conditioned to the response

doanhoe and palmer: reminding vs remembering? 2 pts

1. reminding- stimuli presented after a delya reminds participants of the correct responses

2. remembering- no such stimuli no remind the participants of the correct responses

behavior analysis: remembering definition? 1 pts

behavior under stimulus control and STM and LTM are distinguished between thorugh the time between the stimuli presentations and emitted reponses

functions of remembering? 5 pts

1. concerned with how an organisms present behavior can be occasioned by past event ; between a stimulus and an opportunity to respond

2. rehearsal- repetition of information to keep it in memory or help transfer it into long-term memory; what is reproduced on all occasions after the first is not the original but one’s own reproduction of it

3. memory as a response can both be a classical response or an operant one

4. memory is not only linked to emotions but also places

5. although response to past stimuli can be the same it can be controlled by various factors; if the event is not present to evoke the response then the description of the event can be used instead an that can be shaped to improve accuracy

mnemonics? 5 pts

1. techniques for increasing the likelihood of remembering e.g. rehearsal

2. mnemonic systems make the learner less dependent on rehearsal

3. an example of such a technique would be the conversion of a sequence of symbols into a sentence

4. mnemonics show that what the learner remembers depends on what the learner does

5. function by either organising info or providing additional memorable Sd that will be emitted during recall

metaphor of storage, retention, retrival? 4 pts

1. an episode of remembering is defined by the inital learning of an item, the passage of time, and the opportunity for recall

2. initial learning is said to result in storage of the item which determines how the item is retained over time

3. a period of retention is followed by the opportunity for recall

4. recall of the item is retrieval from storage

dual model? 4 pts

1. proposed by william james (1890)

2. memory would be composed of primary memory and secondary memory

3. primary memory- immediate memory; conscious with a short duration

4. secondary memory- longterm duration; permanent but less accessible

information-processing approach? 3 pts

1. the human mind worked as a computer program

2. info stored in the states or representation of the system to be retrieved and manipulated later

3. requires the capacity to encode/enter info into the system, the capacity to store it, and the capacity to find and retrive it

structural memory models? 1 pt

memory is composed of different structures with differnt functions

modal model? 5 pts

1. representative of many similar models

2. establishes the distinction between STM, LTM and sensory memory

3. assumes that info flows from left to right

4. sensory memory represents the initial senso-perceptive process of info that is processed in parallel

5. senso-perceptive processes involve different brain areas

sensory memory? 4 pts

1. very brief storage (1/4-1/2 a second) of info within a specific modality e.g. visual or auditory

2. sensory effects of a stimulus continue briefly after the stimulus has been removed

3. iconic memory- brief storage of visual info; visual sensory memory

4. echoic memoyy- brief storage of auditory info; auditory sensory memory

short term memory? 6 pts

1. limited capacity and duration

2. info fades quickly but not as fast as sensory memory

3. the longer the info is held in short term memory the better the learning

4. rehearsal loop- process through which we maintain info in the STM longer

5. recall is determined more by our behavior with respect to past stimuli than by the stimuli itself

6. the more overtly one rehearses the better their recall

digit span task? 1 pt

used to measure the capacity of STM and requires remembering items and the order in which they are presented; longest sequence that can be repeated without error

primacy vs recency? 2 pts

1. primacy- the first elements of a series are best remembered because they are more repeated and more attention is paid to them indicating that they have been transferred to the LTM

2. recency- the last elements of a series are best remembered because they are still contained in the STM

long-term memory? 5 pts

1. a system/systems assumed to underpin the capacity to store info over long periods of time

2. explicit/declarative memory- knowledge that you can declare and you are aware of this knowledge e.g. data and facts, specific events etc and is related to memories of declarative knowledge

3. episodic memory- a system that is assumed to underpin the info capacity to remember specific events; has spatial and temporal components

4. semantic memory- a system that is assumed to store general knowledge of the world; has no spatial and temporal components

5. autobiographic memory- episodic and semantic info about ourselves

explicit memory? 4 pts

1. can be learnt quickly but is also forgotten faster

2. involves an intentional and conscious remembering process whether based on personal events (episodic mem) or facts (semantic mem)

3. episodic and semantic memory

4. knowing “WHAT”

episodic memory? 10 pts

1. memory for a specific autobiographical evento

2. learned in a single exposure

3. tagged with spatial and temporal context

4. consciously accessible

5. can be communicated flexibly

6. info is orgnaized by time

7. episodic memory allows us to relive the past and use this info to imagine the future

8. it is more vulnerable to interferences; to be forgotten and changed espeically when emotions are involved

9. develops in late childhood and is more vulnerable to age and neurological deterioration

10. affected by amnesia

semantic memory? 5 pts

1. memories for facts or general knowledge about the world

2. can be learned with single exposure but can also be strengthened by repetition

3. consciously accessible

4. not necessarily tagged with a context

5. can be communicated flexibly

implicit/non-declarative memory?

1. related to knowledge you can just do rather than declare e.g. physical and motor skills such as cooking and driving

2. memory related to procedural knowledge

3. knowing “HOW”

4. acquires through practice and repetition

5. slowly learned but once acquires it is difficult to forget

6. involves an automatic recall from past experiences (no effort)

7. unconscious

8. not affected by amnesia and does not worsen with age

relation between declarative and non-declarative knowledge? 2 pts

1. when learning a new procedure we need declarative knowledge to make sense of the procedure

2. once we have become experts in the given skill our declarative memory is free and the procedure is almost automatic

the forgetting curve? 5 pts

1. most forgetting occurs in the first few hours or days after learning

2. info that survives this stage might last in memory indefinetly

3. the forgetting curve describes how memory fades over time without review and how spaced repetition dramatically slows that decay

4. retention drops steeply in the first 24 hrs then levels off

5. each reiew rests the curve at a higher baseline so that the decay becomes progressively slower

depth of processing? 5 pts

1. memory strength was proposed to be a byproducts of how deeply you process info rather than which “box” it ends up in

2. processing is hypothesized to happen on a continuum from shallow to deep

3. deep processing was found to produce better memory after an experiment where ppts had to answer either semantic questions or structural questions showed than those who were answeting semantic questions later recalled more words

4. even at the semantic level more elaborate processing produced better recall than enncoding it in a simple sentence

5. elaborative encoding- the more connections and contexts you build around a memory the more retrieval hooks you create

transfer-appropriate processing? 6 pts

1. states that memory is best when the mental processes used at learning match those used at retrieval

2. challenges the LOP theory and found that deeper processing is not as important as the overlap between encoding and retrieval of a memory

3. classic experiment- two groups studied the same word list; one semantically (does it mean something pleasant?) and the other phonologically (does it rhyme with "train?"); on a standard recall test, semantic group won but on a rhyme-recognition test, the phonological group won

4. context-dependent memory- the environment at learning becomes part of the memory trace itself and when testing environment matches learning environment the contextual cues act as retrieval hooks that make the target memories easier to access

5. state dependent memory- the internal physiochological state becomes part of the trace meaning retrieval is better when one’s internal state matches their internal state during learning

6. mood congruent memory- goes a step further and states that not only do you recall memories better in the same mood but retrieval of memories that match one’s current mood is easier

the fading effect? 1 pt

emotional intensity associated with neagtive memories fades faster over time than the emotional intensity associated with positive memories of comparable original strength; memories remain accessible but the feeling they elicit in you decays

the depression memory loop? 1 pt

depressed mood→ biased retrieval e.g. failures and losses→ negative e self-schema e.g. retrieved memories act as evidence of confirmed failure→ mood deepens i.e. negative affect intensifies widening the retrieval bias

interference? 5 pts

1. explains forgetting as competition between old and new memories rather than passive decay

2. proactive interference (PI)- earlier learning projects forward in time and impairs your ability to recall something learned later

3. retroactive interference (RI)- more recently acquired material reaches back and degrades memory for something learned earlier

4. ppts who slept between learning and testing forget far less than those who stayed awake because sleep prevents RI

5. steep early drop in retention is partly driven by the interference of waking experience in the hours after learning

source amnesia? 4 pts

1. the failure to remember where or when you learned something even when you retain the content itself

2. this reveals that we know and how we know it are stored and retrieved by different systems; source memory is fragile while content memory is robust

3. cryptomnesia- you believe you have had an original idea when un actuality you encountered it before but forgot this encounter

4. misattribution- you remember the content but assign it a wrong source

false memory? 4 pts

1. the phenomenon of remembering events or details that never occurred with the same subjective confidence and vividness as genuine memoriees

2. fuzzy trace theory- encoding always produces two parallel traces; verbatim trace (exact surface details) and gist trace (meaning, pattern or essence)

3. verbatim trace fades faster than gist trace and gist traces are thought to cause false memories when they are strong enough to support a recognition or recall response and their parallel verbatim trace has degraded

4. eyewitness testimonies are vulnerable because info introduced after tha fact can become incorporated into the memory itself without knowledge

memory distortions vs disorders? 2 pts

1. distortions- normal forgetfulness that should not raise alarms

2. disorders- forgetfulness that create impairment

what is transience? 1 pt

decreasing accessibility of memory over time that to some extent is normal with aging; damage to the hippocampus and temporal lobe can cuse extreme forms of it

what is absent-mindedness? 1 pt

lapses of attention and forggetting to do things that occurs during the encoding and retrieval stages

what is blocking? 1 pt

temporary inaccessibility of stored info e.g. tip-of-the-tongue syndorme

what is suggestibility? 1 pt

incorporation of misinformation into memory due to leading questions, deception, or other causes

what is bias? 1 pt

retrospective distortions produced by current knowledge and beliefs

what is persistence? 1 pt

unwanted recollections that people cant forget e.g. the intrusive memories of PTSD

what is misattribution? 1 pt

attribution of memories to incorrect sources or believing that you have seen or heard something you haven’t

amnesia? 5 pts

1. total or partial loss of memory involving grossly impaired episoduc memory and preserved working, semantic, and implicit memory + intelligence

2. cause is organic

3. anterograde amnesia- inability to acquire new info and ermember events post injury

4. retrograde amnesia- inability to remember the past/facts that occured pre injury

5. traumatic/disociative amnesia- forgetting info related to trauma and is not organic (avoidance symptoms in PTSD)

anterograde amnesia? 4 pts

1. a problem in encoding, storing, or retrieval info that can be used in the future

2. events pre injury are generally remembered without problems but memories post injuty are not retained

3. STM remains normal but when distracted they no longer know what they were talking about

4. memory of motor skills and habits is preserved (implicit) and new skills can be learned despite them not remembering that they learned this suggesting the formation of memory traces

retrograde amnesia? 3 pts

1. a problem accessing events that happened in the past

2. patients often suffer from both retrograde and anterograde amnesia however the severity of anterograde amnesia is not highly correlated with the degree of retrograde amnesia suggesting different origins

3. measuring the degree of retrograde amnesia present is difficult because the tester does not typically remember the material

dementia? 7 pts

1. umbrella term describing symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by diseases

2. typically progressive and associated with aging

3. vascular- reduced O2 supply to the brain causing cell death following a stroke or a series or strokes

4. dementia wth lewy bodies- progressive dementia caused by abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies building up in the brain leading to degeneration of the main tissue

5. fronto-temporal- deterioration of neurons in the frontal and or temporal lobes resulting in changes in behavior and personality and could lead to difficulties with language

6. semantic dementia- progressive loss of semantic memory involving fialing comprehension of bth words and pictures and is associated with atrophy of the temporal lobes particularly in the fronto-temporal region

7. alzheimers- increasingly severe deficit in episodic memory in elderly people and is the most prominent cuase of senile dementia (over 50%_

warning signs of Alzheimers? 9 pts

1. memory loss that affects jobs skills

2. difficulty performing familiar tasks

3. problems with language

4. disorientation to time and place

5. poor/decreased judgement

6. misplacing things

7. changes in mood or behavior

8. changes in personality

9. loss of initiative

diagnosis of alzheimer's?

1. requires that there is a memory inpairment together with at least two other deficits that can include problems of language, action control, perception, or executive function

2. diagnosis depends on post-mortem examination of the brain tissue revealing amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

3. typically develops through a series of stages beginning in the medial temporal lobes and hippocampus creating initial memory probelms beofre progressing to the temporal and parietal lobes and other regions

deficits in alzheimer's memory? 4 pts

1. characterized by a defective episodic memory

2. semantic memory declines as the disease progresses associated with degree of temporal lobe atrophy

3. implicit memory- intact priming on relatively automatic taks but reduced primin on more complex tasks

4. working memory deficit occurs but is typically less marked than that of episodic memory

what is reminiscence therapy? 1 pt

helps patients maintain a sense of personal identity by recollecting their past e.g. making a personal life story book with pictures and momentos of earlier moments