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Three Types of Memory
Sensory memory, Short-term memory, and Long-Term Memory
Sensory Memory
Information is gathered by our five senses and has a very short duration and a very large capacity
Short-term Memory (Working)
Recognized information from sensory memory enters consciousness, has a 30-second duration, and the capacity is 5-9 chunks. Think of this as your computer
Maintenance Rehearsal
A type of rehearsal that works with short-term memory. Information is repeated over and over to maintain it. This is the less useful rehearsal as you do not store 50% of the information in long-term memory
Memory Span
The average number of items remembered across memory span trials
Chunk
Meaningful unit of information. Foods, Colors, Drinks…etc.
Distractor Task
An immediate distraction that deters concentration like counting backward aloud by 3s
Long-Term Memory
The encoded information from short-term memory that stores information for a long period of time, perhaps permanently. The capacity is essentially unlimited. Think of this as the hard drive of your computer
Explicit Memory (Declarative)
Long-term memory for factual knowledge and personal experiences that require conscious recall
Semantic Memories
Memories for factual knowledge that is true for everyone
Episodic Memories
Memories for personal life experiences
Implicit Memory (Nondeclarative)
A type of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought to recall. It involves skills and procedures that are remembered unconsciously, such as riding a bike or tying shoelaces.
Procedural Memories
Have a physical procedural aspect to them
Priming
Influence of an earlier presented stimulus on the response to a later stimulus
Explicit Memory Formation
The hippocampus is important for the formation of these memories
Implicit Memory Formation
Other areas, such as the cerebellum, seem to be important for the formation of these memories
Anterograde Amnesia
Inability to form long-term memories for events following brain surgery or trauma
Retrograde Amnesia
Inability to remember events before, especially just before, surgery or trauma
What type of amnesia did H.M. have?
Anterograde Amnesia
Free Recall Task
Participants are given a list of words one at a time, then asked to recall them in any order they wish
Primacy Effect
A cognitive bias where people tend to remember information presented at the beginning of a list better than information presented later.
Recency Effect
A cognitive bias where people tend to remember the last few pieces of information, they encountered better than information from the past.
Encoding
Transferring information from one memory stage to the next
Think of this as file names in your computer or hard drive
Storage
Maintaining information is a particular stage
Retrieval
Bringing stored information from long-term memory to the conscious level in short-term memory
Effortful Processing
Occurs consciously and requires attention
Automatic Processing
Occurs subconsciously and does not require attention
Levels-of-Processing Theory
Describes what type of encoding lead to better retrieval
Which level of processing is the best for retrieval?
Semantic: learning what the information means
Elaborative Rehearsal
Rehearsing information by relating new information to information already in long-term memory
Self-Reference Effect
Better memory for information you have related to yourself, these connections provide more retrieval cues and lend more meaning to the new information
Encoding Specificity Principle
Proposes that cues present during encoding serve as the best cues for retrieval
State-Dependent Memory
Depends on the similarity of one’s physiological state at the time of encoding and at the time of retrieval
Being calm during studying and then calm during the exam
Mood-Congruence Effect
Memory is better for experiences that are congruent with a person’s current mood
Mnemonics
Memory aids that require elaborative rehearsal
Method of Loci
Sequential pieces of information to be remembered are first associated with sequential locations in a very familiar room or location
Peg-Word System
Items to be remembered are visually associated in a memorized jingle
Spacing Effect
Contends that memory will improve if you study for an exam over an extended time interval rather than just a few days before the exam
Overlearning
Involves studying material past the point of initial learning
Recall
Requires reproduction of information without retrieval cues
Remembering without having anything to help guide you
Recognition
Requires identification of information in the presence of retrieval cues
Exactly how multiple-choice questions work on an exam
Relearning (Savings Method)
Amount of time saved when learning information for a second time
Storage Decay Theory
Suggests that forgetting occurs because of a problem in the storage of the information
Has the least amount of research to back it up
Cue-Dependent Theory
Suggests that people forget because the cues necessary for retrieval are not available
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Interference Theory
Proposes that other similar information interferes and makes the forgotten information inaccessible
Proactive Interference
Occurs when information you already know makes it hard to retrieve newly learned information
Retroactive Interference
Occurs when information you just learned makes it hard to retrieve old information
Encoding Failure Theory
Forgetting is due to the failure to encode the information into long-term memory
Retrieval Reconstruction
Guided by schemas
Schemas
Organized frameworks of knowledge about people, objects, and events that tell us what normally happens in a given situation
How people think about things, everyone is different
Source Misattribution and Misinformation
Occurs when we do not remember the true source of memory and attribute the memory to the wrong source
Can create false memories
False Memories
Can occur because of misinformation effect (when a memory is distorted by subsequent exposure to misleading information)