Psych test 3

Encoding

taking in external stimuli and creating internal memory

Engram

a mythical place where a specific memory is stored in the brain

Storage

we store/hold our internal memories

Retrieval

retrieving memory from storage and bringing it to consciousness

structural processing

focusing on the visual components of what you are trying to remember, weak for creating strong memory

Phonemic processing

focusing on the sound of the word you are processing, weak for creating strong memory

Semantic processing

focusing on the meaning of what you are trying to remember, deeper level of processing

organizational processing

The process of grouping items in memory into larger units based on specific relationships among the items

Craik and Tulving

found that semantically processed words were remembered more than the others

Encoding specificity principle

the best way to encode and recall a memory is to use the same sense organs, memories are linked to the context in which they are created

Elaboration

rather than putting information to your memory, you add details to your encoding and build on it

dual code theory

better to encode information using multiple sense modalities

self-referent encoding

if you can connect/relate information to yourself you will encode it better and remember it more

cocktail party phenomenon

we care so much about ourselves that we are always looking to hear our name, in complex environments, if we hear our name being said across a room we will pick up on it because we care so much about ourselves

motivation to remember

putting in extra effort to attend to and organize the information to facilitate future recall

Pegwords

picturing things with objects, creating mental associations between two concrete objects

method of loci

A mnemonic device that involves taking an imaginary walk along a familiar path where images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations, associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations

chuncking

The process of grouping items to make them easier to remember or organizing items into familiar & manageable units

spacing/testing effect

if you space out your encoding you are more likely to remember it

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of memory

assumes three different memory systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information

Sperling, 1960

Measuring the capacity and duration of sensory memory

An array of letters flashed quickly on a screen, participants were asked to report as many as possible sensory memory has a large capacity but short duration

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten, 30 secs to 1 min

Miller 7 +- 2 rule

the average person can remember 5 or 9 pieces of information

long-term memory

the relatively permanent storage of information, can store a vast/limitless amount of information for as as long as a lifetime

Procedural memory

memory on how to do things or muscle memory, is effortless

declarative memory

It refers to memories which can be consciously recalled such as facts/events/words

semantic memory

factual information and general knowledge of the world

episodic memory

memory for one's personal past experiences or events

autobiographical memory

memories about yourself (semantic and episodic)

HSAM (highly superior autobiographical memory)

the term used to describe people who remember every moment of their life

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future or something for the future, we are not very good at it, difficult since we are on the lookout for ques, the more complicated and farther in the future the harder it is

restrospective memory

remembering information from the past

maintenance rehearsal

keeping informatinon in short term memory

Alan Baddeley

proposed the concept of a working memory

maintenance rehearsal (working memory)

A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself, can fade quickly

Elabroative rehearsal (working memory)

forming deeper connections to increase storage potential of memory

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information, responds to both visual and spacial information

phonological loop

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

central executive of working memory

controls attention and other mental resources, decides what info to retrieve

episodic buffer

keeps information in sequence in order to keep the memory successful, important for collaboration of visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop, storage component of working memory that combines the images and sounds from the other two components into coherent, story-like episodes

Benefits of working memory

positively correlated to having good overall memory, a higher likelihood of succeeding in school, and decision making

consolidation of memory

turning short term memory into stable long term memory

Hippocampus and memory consolidation

critical for consolidation, when hippocampus is not working properly new memories are unable to be created; the neutral storage of a long-term memory comes from the hippocampus

REM and consolidation

when in a deep level of sleep and give your brain time for REM you will have more stable long term memory

reconsolidation

the process of returning information to long-term memory, when memories are retrieved, they can be potentially altered before being stored again

implicit versus explicit memory retrieval

implicit is unconscious effortless retrieval (procedural memory) basal ganglia
explicit conscious, effortful retrieval of memory, hippocampus/prefrontal cortex

state-dependent retrieval

the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same emotional state during encoding and retrieval, your emotional state is acting as an additional memory queue

associative network

a memory network that organizes individual units of information according to some set of relationships, mental pathways linking knowledge within memory

schemas

shortcuts that our brain uses to process information, a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Recall (testing memory)

retrieval of memory with little or no queues

recognition (testing memory)

given a lot of codes or queues to guide retrieval (ex multiple choice exam), easier task but opening yourself to chance

relearning (testing memory)

how long does it take you to relearn a task/information you learned previously, more used with animal testing

Amnesia

partial or total loss of memory

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past or old information, a rare phenomenon

anterograde amnesia

the inability to create new memory, more common

serial position effect

we are more likely to remember/recall information based on when it was presented to us

primacy and recency effect

the tendency to show greater memory for information that comes first or last in a sequence
primacy - are able to devote more resources to the information so we are creating stronger/better memory, more stable
recency - works because the information is still in our short-term memory, but if you go over the duration of short-term memory, it will go away, will happen if you immediately test memory

Simmons and Chabris

showed that 1/3 of the observers failed to see the gorilla-suited assistant in a ball passing game

selective attention

the processes that allow an individual to select and focus on particular input for further processing while simultaneously suppressing irrelevant or distracting information, remember the information we attend to and forget other info

Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton

false eyewitness identification due to own race bias, reconsolidation, and false memory

own race bias

the tendency for people to more accurately recognize faces of their own race

source monitoring

the ability to remember where you heard information, or the process of making inferences about the origins of memories

cryptoamnesia

unconscious/accidental plagiarism of the work of others, associated with errors in source monitoring

processing errors of memory

error in encoding and the storage of information

tip of the tongue phenomenon

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

ineffective encoding

memories never encoded or stored due to lack of attention

Decay/transience

the pattern of forgetting things over time to make our memories more efficant

retrieval failure

the inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues, not remembering something one is certain of knowing

Interference of Memory

information can be lost or less accurate due to an overlap of similar information

proactive interference

old information interferes with new information

retroactive interference

new information interferes with old information

suggestibility

how open you are to changing you memory, effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories

- reconsolidation process

Bias of memory

memories distorted or remembered by our current belief system, more likely to forget information the go against our beliefs

persistence

the continual recurrence of unwanted memories, can lead to

Learning Styles

The different ways people naturally think and learn, not supported by research

synaptic pruning

The mechanisms behind synaptic pruning help promote efficiency by removing excess or unnecessary connections, not wasting synaptic materical

associative learning

learn based on associations

classical conditioning

more reflexive or automatic behaviors

operant conditioning

conscious effortful behaviors

Pavlov's Dogs

Pavlov discovered classical conditioning with his dogs and feeding them, Pavlov is not a psychologist but a biologist. ]

neutral stimulus

a stimulus that does not initially elicit a response or the desired response

unconditioned stimulus

stimulus that causes a natural reflexive response

conditioned stimulus

a stimulus that elicits a response only after learning has taken place, neutral stimulus becomes through repeated pairing

unconditioned response

natural reflexive response the unconditioned stimulus elicits

conditioned response

the learned response/action that the conditioned stimulus elicits

acquisition

the time period learning is occurring, where the neutral stimulus is paired with the unconditioned stimulus

extinction

once the organism stops responding to the conditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

the random reappearance of a learned response after extinction has occurred, no acquisition

generalization

the tendency once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses, responding similarly to a range of similar stimuli

Discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

Little Albert Study

Shows that fears can be conditioned and unconditioned
unconditioned stimulus - loud sound
conditioned stimulus - white rat
unconditioned response - fear
conditioned response - fear
generalization - fear of other fuzzy things

taste aversion

a learned avoidance of a particular food, A classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food that develops when you become ill after eating the food.

higher-order conditioning

occurs when a strong conditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus, causing the neutral stimulus to become a second conditioned stimulus

a conditioned stimulus can begin to act as an unconditioned for a new round of learning

latent inhibition

previous learning interfering with new learning, causes slower learning of new conditioning

renewal effect

sudden reemergence of a conditioned response following extinction when an organism is returned to the environment in which the conditioned response was acquired

Thorndike's Law of Effect

behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely to repeat , and behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

Reinforment

increasing a behavior for a desired outcome

punishment

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows