Chapter 6 Study Guide

memory

ability to store and retrieve information over time

3 key functions of memory

1. encoding: process of transforming perception, thought, and feelings into enduring memory

2. storage: maintaining info in memory over time

3. retrieval: process of bringing info that has been encoded and stored

semantic encoding

process of relating new info in a meaningful way to knowledge that is already stored in memory

effect of semantic encoding on memory

long-term retention greatly enhanced by semantic coding

brain activity and semantic encoding

the more activity in the lower left part of the frontal lobe and inner part of left temporal lobe = more likely to retrieve

visual imagery encoding

process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures

2 reasons visual encoding works

1. relating incoming info to knowledge already in memory

2. two mental placeholders, visual and verbal

organizational encoding

process of categorizing info according to the relationships among a series of items

3 types of mnemonics

encoding strategies that improve subsequent retrieval

1. semantic encoding

2. visual encoding

3. organizational encoding

relationship between natural selection and encoding

evidence that survival encoding results in higher levels of recall (overall observations of planning related tasks are enough)

3 major kinds of memory storage (listed by time stored)

1. sensory

2. short-term

3. long-term

sensory storage

holds sensory information for a few seconds or less

2 types of sensory storage

1. iconic memory: fast-decaying visual info

2. echoic memory: fast-decaying auditory info

flow of info through the memory system

short-term memory

holds non-sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute

what turns sensory storage into short-term memory

ATTENTION!

rehearsal

process of keeping info in short-term memory by mentally repeating

serial position effect

observation that the first and last few items in a series are more likely to be recalled than middle

capacity and time limit: sensory storage

TIME LIMIT not capacity

capacity and time limit: short-term memory

CAPACITY LIMIT not time

capacity and time limit: long-term memory

NEITHER capacity or time limit

chunking

combining small pieces of info into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term

another name for short-term memory and meaning

working memory: active maintenance of info in short-term memory

long term storage

type of storage that holds info for hours, days, weeks, or years

location of long-term memory

hippocampus (explicit); striatum (implicit)

effect of damage to hippocampus

anterograde amnesia: inability to transfer new info from short-term store into long-term

retrograde amnesia: inability to retrieve new info before particular date

consolidation

process by which memories become stable in the brain

process of longer-term consolidation

involves transfer of information from hippocampus to more permanent storage sites in the cortex

reason why retrograde amnesia might not affect childhood memories

longer-term consolidation allows people to recall memories that are more permanent, but forget those that happened just a few years prior to time they became amnesic

how memory becomes consolidated

recalling a memory, thinking about it, talking about it, SLEEPING!

reconsolidation

memories becoming vulnerable to disruption again when recalled, required consolidation again

relationship between synaptic connections and long-term memory

long-term potentiation; long-term memory storage depends on the growth of new synaptic connections b/w neurons; firing b/w two neurons make it easier to transmit the next time

retrieval cue

external information that is associated with stored info helps bring it to mind

encoding specificity principle

retrieval cue can be helpful when it re-creates the specific way memories were encoded

state-dependent retrieval

process in which info tends to be better recalled when person is in the same state (ex. mood) during encoding and retrieval

retrieval induced forgetting

process by which retrieving an item from long-term memory impairs subsequent recall of related item

part of brain activated by trying to retrieve

left frontal lobe

part of brain activated by successfully retrieving

hippocampus

explicit memory

when people consciously or intentionally retrieve past experiences

implicit memory

“knowing how”; past experiences influence later behavior and performance, even without effort to remember them

location of implicit memory

outside hippocampus; evidence points toward striatum

priming

enahnced ability to think of a stimulus, as a result of a recet exposure to the stimulus earlier

semantic memories

network of associated facts and concepts that make up the general knowledge of the world

episodic memory

collection of past experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

semantic vs. episodic memory locations

semantic: primarily temporal and frontal lobe

episodic: primarily hippocampus

location of brain involved in remembering the (episodic) past vs. imagining the future

both hippocampus!

transience

forgetting what occurs with the passage of time

absentmindedness

laspe in attention that results in memory failure

blocking

failure to retrieve info available in memory even though you are trying to produce it

memory misattribution

assigning a recollection or idea to the wrong source

effect of damage to frontal lobe to memory failure

prone to memory misattribution error

suggestibility

tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections

bias

distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences

persistence

intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget

3 ways to enhance memory:

1. encoding strategies’

   1. visual imagery encoding

   2. organizational encoding

   3. elaborative encoding

2. emotional strategies

   1. curiosity

   2. fear

3. consolidation strategies

   1. retrieval

   2. SLEEP