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memory

The mechanism that allows us to retain, retrieve, and use information (about stimuli, images, events, ideas, skills) over time

what are the stages of memory

encoding, consolidation, retrieval, reconsolidation

encoding

. The process of storing the number in long-term memory

Initial perception of the event (includes attention & pattern recognition)

Consolidation

the process by which memories become stable in the brain, Laying down and strengthening over time: Short Term and Long Term

Retrieval

the process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored (remembering)

reconsolidation

neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for retrieval....allowing new information to be integrated into the initial memory representation

Modal Model of Memory

The model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin that describes memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, including short-term memory and long-term memory. It is called the modal model because of the great influence it has had on memory research.

control processes

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dynamic processes associated with the structural features that can be controlled by the person and may differ from one task to another

EX of a control process that operates on short-term memory is rehearsal

* strategies you might use to help make a stimulus more memorable, such as relating the digits in a phone number to a familiar date in history, and
* strategies of attention that help you focus on information that is particularly important or interesting.

rehersal

repeating a stimulus over and over, as you might repeat a telephone number in order to hold it in your mind

sensory memory

an initial stage that holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second in the modal model

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Retention, for brief periods of time, of the effects of sensory stimulation, A type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.

persistence of vision

is the continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present. This persistence lasts for only a fraction of a second, so it isn't obvious in everyday experience when objects are present for long periods. However, the persistence of vision effect is noticeable for brief stimuli, like the moving sparkler or rapidly flashed pictures in a movie theater.

Whole Report Method (Sperling)

subjects were asked to report as many letters as possible from the entire 12-letter display (able to report an average of 4.5 out of the 12 letters)

Partial report method (sperling)

participants heard tone that told them which row of letters to report out of the 3 rows (reported an average of about 3.3 of the 4 letters)

delayed partial report method (Sperling)

presentation of tone delayed for a fraction of a second after the letters were extinguished

Performance decreases rapidly

iconic memory

Brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after a stimulus is extinguished.

echoic memory

Brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts for a few seconds after a stimulus is extinguished.

Short term memory

system involved in storing small amounts of information for a brief period of time, holding moment-to-moment thoughts and perceptions in mind (15-20 seconds or less)

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holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds

what is the average capacity of short term memory

9 items

chunking

Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term memory.

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

working memory

Allows manipulation of information in STM and is key for encoding of long-term memory.

limited capacity system that allows us to store and manipulate information temporarily so that we can perform everyday tasks

retroactive interference

something in the present makes it difficult to recall something that you learned previously

proactive interference

Something from the past makes it difficult to recall something that you learned recently

phonological loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

2 components of phonological loop

phonological store and articulatory rehearsal process

phonological store

holds a limited amount of verbal and auditory information for a few seconds. (stores words you hear)

articulatory rehearsal process

Rehearsal process involved in working memory that keeps items in the phonological store from decaying.

visuospatial sketchpad

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

phonological similarity effect

An effect that occurs when letters or words that sound similar are confused. For example, T and P are two similar-sounding letters that could be confused

word length effect

The notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words.

Baddeley and Hitch modell

that working memory is composed of four subsystems:

1 Central executive

2 Verbal short term memory

3 Visuospatial short term memory

4 Episodic buffer

Articulatory suppression

Prevents one from rehearsing items to be remembered•

Reduces memory span

Eliminates word-length effect

long-term memory

A memory mechanism that can hold large amounts of information for long periods of time. Long-term memory is one of the stages in the modal model of memory.

primacy effect

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well

recency effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

2 views of short term memory

slot model, vogel model

slot model

A small number of memory 'slots', each capable of storing a single visual object with fixed precision

Limited number of discrete objects

Vogel model

Efficiency of selective attention

Hippocampus

Important for forming new memories. A subcortical structure that is important for forming long-term memories, and that also plays a role in remote episodic memories and in short-term storage of novel information.

episodic memory

memory for one's personal past experiences

semantic memory

memory for facts

autobiographical memories

Memory for specific events from a person's life, which can include both episodic and semantic components.

personal semantic memories

Semantic components of autobiographical memories.

explicit memories

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" aka memories that we are aware of

implicit memories

unintentional memories that we might not even realize we have...memories of skills etc

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occurs when learning from experience is not accompanied by conscious remembering. For example, we do many things without being able to explain how we do them.

priming

occurs when the presentation of one stimulus (the priming stimulus) changes the way a person responds to another stimulus (the test stimulus)

repetition priming

occurs when the test stimulus is the same as or resembles the priming stimulus

For example, seeing the word bird may cause you to respond more quickly to a later presentation of the word bird than to a word you have not seen, even though you may not remember seeing bird earlier

propaganda effect

People are more likely to rate statements they have read or heard before as being true, just because of prior exposure to the statements.

retrospective memory

involves remembering events from the past or previously learned information (Semantic & episodic)

prospective memory

remembering to do something in the future, ability to act in the future based on plans made in the past

shallow processing

Processing that involves repetition with little attention to meaning. Shallow processing is usually associated with maintenance rehearsal.

deep processing

involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else. Deep processing is usually associated with elaborative rehearsal

paired-associate learning

A learning task in which participants are first presented with pairs of words, then one word of each pair is presented and the task is to recall the other word.

slef-reference effect

Memory for a word is improved by relating the word to the self.

generation effect

Memory for material is better when a person generates the material him- or herself, rather than passively receiving it.

Encoding specificity

Retrieval is better when the testing environment is similar to the encoding environment

state-dependent learning

Retrieval is better when the body is in the same state/mood as it was during encoding

Consolidation

the process by which memories become stable in the brain (sleep is v important for this)

* retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation

reactivation (hippocampus)

during consolidation.....hippocampus "replays" neural activity associated with the memory (pre-consolidation)

Helps form direct connections between the various cortical areas

standard model of consolidation

Retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation; after consolidation hippocampus is no longer needed

retrograde amnesia

Loss of memory for something that happened prior to an injury or traumatic event such as a concussion.

Autobiograohical memory

Memory for specific experiences of our life

* Both episodic and semantic memory involved
* Multidimensional

flashbulb memory

Autobiographical memory of how one found out about the event

* Memory for the circumstances that surround hearing about shocking, highly charged events. It has been claimed that such memories are particularly vivid and accurate.

misinformation effect

when misleading information has corrupted one's memory of an event

* Information received after witnessing an event changes memory of the event

repeated recall

Recall that is tested immediately after an event and then retested at various times after the event.

narrative rehearsal hypothesis

The idea that we remember some life events better because we rehearse them. This idea was proposed by Neisser as an explanation for "flashbulb" memories.

source monitoring

The process of making attributions about the origins of memories. Remembering that you heard about something from a particular person would be an example of source monitoring.

source monitoring error

Misidentifying the source of a memory

Illusory truth effect

We believe information is correct if we're repeatedly exposed to it.

The acceptance of eyewitness testimony is based on two assumptions:

* the eyewitness was able to clearly see what happened
* the eyewitness was able to remember his or her observations and translate them into an accurate description of the perpetrator and what happened.

weapons focus

The tendency for eyewitnesses to a crime to focus attention on a weapon, which causes poorer memory for other things that are happening.

conceptual knowledge

knowledge that enables us to recognize objects and events and to make inferences about their properties

definitional approach to categorization

the idea that we can decide whether something is a member of a category by determining whether the object meets the definition of the category

family resemblance

the idea that things in a particular category resemble each other in a number of ways.

* features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member

prototype approach to categorization

membership in a category is determined by comparing the object to a prototype that represents the category

exemplar approach to categorization

The approach to categorization in which members of a category are judged against exemplars—examples of members of the category that the person has encountered in the past.

difference btwn prototype and exemplar approach

* While prototypes are average examples, exemplars are actual examples of members
* Instead of comparing objects to a prototype, perhaps the mind compares objects to a set of common exemplars

Heirarchal Organization

Organization of categories in which larger, more general categories are divided into smaller, more specific categories. These smaller categories can, in turn, be divided into even more specific categories to create a number of levels.

ex: furniture -> chair, table, bed

3 levels of categories

superordinate, basic, subordinate

superordinate level

The most general category level also called global level ex: "furniture."

basic level

the level below the global (superordinate) level (e.g., "table" or "chair" for the superordinate category "furniture").

subordinate level

the most specific level

semantic network approach

An approach to understanding how concepts are organized in the mind that proposes that concepts are arranged in networks.

heirarchial model

As applied to knowledge representation, a model that consists of levels arranged so that more specific concepts, such as canary or salmon, are at the bottom and more general concepts, such as bird, fish, or animal, are at higher levels.

lexical decision task

A procedure in which a person is asked to decide as quickly as possible whether a particular stimulus is a word or a nonword.

spreading activation

Activity that spreads out along any link in a semantic network that is connected to an activated node. (Collins and Quillian's Hierarchical Model)

connectionism

A network model of mental operation that proposes that concepts are represented in networks that are modeled after neural networks. This approach to describing the mental representation of concepts is also called the parallel distributed processing (PDP) approach.

sensory-functional hypothesis

living and nonliving things are represented by different systems

multiple-factor approach

like sensory-functional hypothesis, but more factors use to distinguish concepts E.g.:colour, smell, type of motion, how to use

semantic category approach

semantic categories are mapped to distinct brain networks

embodied approach

concepts (esp. sensory and action concepts) are represented by the same networks responsible for sensing them and motor interaction with them

hub and spoke model

proposes that areas of the brain that are associated with different functions are connected to the anterior temporal lobe, which integrates information from these areas.

mental imagery

Experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input.

visual imagery

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

imageless thought debate

The debate about whether thought is possible in the absence of images.

conceptual peg hypothesis

A hypothesis, associated with Paivio's dual coding theory, states that concrete nouns create images that other words can hang on to, which enhances memory for these words.

mental scanning

A process of mental imagery in which a person scans a mental image in his or her mind.

imagery debate

The debate about whether imagery is based on spatial mechanisms, such as those involved in perception, or on propositional mechanisms that are related to language.

spatial representation

A representation in which different parts of an image can be described as corresponding to specific locations in space

imagery neurons

A type of category-specific neuron that is activated by imagery. Neurons in the human brain studied by Kreiman, which fire in the same way when a person sees a picture of an object and when a person creates a visual image of the object.