Week 3 PSYC 1100: Memory (Ch.8)

Which age group is most likely to believe the truth is obvious?

Children, because they are less mature (therefore they may think less critically about events)

Steps of memory function

1. Encoding: Input of information

2. Storage: Information retention

3. Retrieval: Retrieving information back into awareness

How does the brain encode information?

It converts sensory experiences into electrical signals that neurons understnad

How does the brain store information?

It creates, strengthens, and connects networks of neurons to preserve information over time

How does the brain retrieve memory?

It re-activates the original neuron pathway activated when the memory was first formed

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory

Model of memory that describes it as flowing through three stages:

1. Sensory memory

2. Short-term memory

3. Long-term memory

Sensory memory

Storage of sensory events, e.g. sounds

How is sensory information stored?

If not important, it is discarded. If valuable, it moves to short-term memory

Short-term memory

Temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory. Lasts 20~ seconds, capacity is about 7 items

Consolidation (in memory)

Process by which short-term memory moves to long-term memory. Includes rehearsal, elaboration, etc

Elaboration (in memory)

Combining new information with information already in memory. E.g. Apple logo is an apple, so I recognize it

Self-reference effect

Relating information to some aspect of the self, to improve memory and understanding

Long Term Memory

Continuous storage of information. Has no limit, and has two components: explicit and implicits

Explicit (declarative)/semantic memory

Memories of facts and events we can consciously remember and recall/declare

Episodic memory

Information about events we have personally experienced. E.g. 5th birthday party

Implicit memory

Memories that are not part of our consciousness. We don’t realize we know this

Procedural memory

Memory that stores information about how to do things. E.g. tying shoelaces and driving

3 ways of retrieving memory:

1. Recall: access information without cues

2. Recognition: identifying previously learned information

3. Relearning: relearning information previously learned

Long-term potentiation

Increasing tendency for activation of one neuron to activate the next, often from frequent/intense stimulation (e.g. flashcards)

Amygdala role in memory

Involved in fear and fear memories (memory storage is influenced by stress hormones)

Hippocampus role in memory

Associated with consolidation, explicit memory, recognition memory and spatial memory

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to remember new information after point of trauma. Often from brain trauma

Retrograde amnesia

Loss of memory (partial or complete) for events that occurred prior to the trauma

Cerebellum role in memory

Forming procedural memories. Damage prevents classical conditioning, e.g. twitch from jumpscare

Prefrontal cortex role in memory

Remembering semantic tasks. Left side encodes information, right side retrieves

Flash bulb memory

A record of an atypical and unusual event that has very strong emotional associations

Suggestibility (in false memory creation)

Suggestibility can cause people to claim memories that never existed. E.g. recalling “sleep” when it was never said

Why is eyewitness testimony unreliable?

Because human memories are highly susceptible to changes occurring during the three main stages of memory

Forgetting type sins (Schnacter’s 7 sins of memory)

1. Transience → storage decay

2. Absentmindedness → forgetting because of distraction

3. Blocking → AKA tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Distortion type sins (Schnacter’s 7 sins of memory)

1. Misattribution → false memory source

2. Suggestibility → false memories

3. Bias

Intrusion type sin (Schnacter’s 7 sins of memory)

Persistence → Inability to forget undesirable memories

False memory syndrome

Vivid recall of traumatic events that never happened, but are believed to be true

Repressed memories

Traumatic experiences unconsciously blocked from awareness as a defense mechanism

The misinformation effect

Occurs when information after an event distorts one’s original memory of an event. Studied by Elizabeth Loftus

Stereotypical bias

Bias involving racial, gender, and wealth biases

Egocentric bias

Bias where people tend to overly rely on their own perspective

Proactive interference

Where old information hinders recall of new information

Retroactive interference

Where new information hinders recall of old information

Arousal theory

Strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories

Automatic processing (in memory)

Encoding of informational details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words

Chunking (in memory)

Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks. E.g. how phone numbers are split into chunks of three

Engram

Physical changes in brain state induced by an event, serving as the memory trace. E.g. car crash

Equipotentiality hypothesis

Suggests that parts of the brain can take over memory functions lost due to damage in another area

Memory-enhancing strategy

Technique to ensure information goes from short-term memory to long-term memory

Mnemonic

Memory aids that help organize information for encoding. E.g. HOMES for the five Great Lakes

Persistence (in memory)

Failure of the memory system that involves the involuntary recall of unwanted memories, particularly unpleasant ones