Psych101: Chap 6 Flash
Level of Processing Model
Proposes that differences in memory are due to differences in depth of processing rather than to separate memory stops and distinguishes between three levels of processing: structural, phonemic, and semantic
Ex: when memorizing a word, you can focus on its structural or physical properties (is the word capitalized?); on its phonemic or sound properties (what does it rhyme with?); or on its meaning, which is the semantic level (the deepest level of processing and produces the greatest amount of recall)
Long-term Memory
Long-term memory is conceptualized as consisting of procedural and declarative components
Procedural memory (tells us how to do things… procedure): stores info about how to do things (the procedures, how to do something, learning how) and is used to acquire, retain, and employ perceptual-cognitive, and motor skills, and habits
Ex: learning how to ride a bike, tie shoes, cook without a recipe
Declarative memory: mediates the acquisition of facts and other information (learning that or what) and is further subdivided into semantic memory and episodic memory
Semantic memory: includes general knowledge that is independent of any content and is responsible for the storage of facts rules, and concepts
Ex: recalling the names of the previous presidents, name of new classmate
Episodic memory (autobiographical): consists of information about events that have been personal experiences
Ex: graduation, wedding, etc.
We have flashbulb memories, which are vivid detailed images of what one was doing at the time a dramatic event occurred are stored in episodic memory
Ex: what were you doing when you heard about 9/11 or lockdown
Affected more by normal aging than are semantic and procedural memory
Some researchers also distinguish between implicit and explicit aspects of long-term memory, which roughly correspond, respectively, to procedural and declarative memory
Implicit memory is automatic, while explicit memory requires conscious recollection
Implicit and explicit memory involve different brain structures: the hippocampus and frontal lobes seem to mediate explicit memory while the basal ganglia and cerebellum are important for implicit memory
Prospective memory: responsible for the capacity to remember to do things in the future.. remember to remember
Role of NEURONS: long term potentation which suggests that a strength in synapse makes communication between the neurons more likely
Retrieval
Retrieval is the process of accessing stored informaiton
The ability to retrieve sttored info/memories depends on appropriate retrieval cues
retreival cues are clues, prompts, and/or hints that triggered recollection of a stored memory
Cues can be sounds, smells, and sights
You can alos experience retrieval cue failure, which refers to the inability to recall long-term members because of inadequate retrieval cues
Common retrieval glitch is the tip of the tongue experience:
The tip-of-the-tongue experience (TOT): a memory phenomenon that involves the sensation of knowing that specific information is stored in long-term memory, but temporarily unable to retrieve it
On average, people have about one TOT experience per week, and it tends to be more common among older adults than younger adults
There are different types of retrieval methods: recall, cued recall, and recognition
Recall: involves retrieving information without the aid of a retrieval cue. No cues to jog your memory
Ex: fill in the blank/short answer test
Cue recall: involves remembering an item of information in response to a retrieval cue
Recognition: involves identifying the correct information from several possible choices
Ex: multiple choice test
The Encoding Specificity Principle
The encoding specificity principle suggests that re-creating the original learning condition makes retrieval easier
The thought is if you are having difficulty retrieving information think about where you were at the time you learned the information.
The context effect is the tendency to remember information more easily when the retrieval occurs in the same setting in which you originally learned the information
Ex: in a classroom, the room acts as a retrieval cue during a quiz
Then we have mood congruence, which is the idea that a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with that mood
Ex: depressed individuals increase their severity in depression because when they feel sad, they start to think of all the other times they were sad
Conversely, when in a good mood, you’ll recall positive memories
Forgetting
One of the first significant studies on forgetting was conducted by Ebbinghaus in 1885
Using himself as the research subject, nonsense syllables as the stimulus material, and the relearning (savings) method as the criterion
Several theories were subsequently formulated to explain forgetting: trace decay theory, interference theory, and cue-dependent forgetting
Trace decay theory: suggests that learning produces a trace, or engram, which is a physiological change in the brain that decays over time as the result of disuse
Interference theory: proposes that forgetting occurs when the ability to recall certain information is affected by information acquired previously
Interference is most likely when new and old information are similar; when the task involves recall (vs. recognition); and when the information to be recalled is unimportant to be recalled is unimportant or meaningless
There are two types of interference that impact memory: retroactive interference and proactive interference
Retroactive interference: occurs when recently learned (new) material interferes with the recall of previously learned (old material)
Proactive interference: occurs when prior (old) learning interferes with learning or recall of subsequent (new) material
Cue-dependent forgetting: forgetting results when cues needed to retrieve information form long-term memory are insufficient or incomplete. TOT example
There is also perspective memory… why we forget
Prospective memory is remembering to do something in the future, which is an encoding failure (never encoded the information into long-term memory—example of absentmindedness, or when you’re not paying enough attention to the information)
Imperfect memories suggest that memories can be easily distorted so that they contain inaccuracies—confidence in memory does NOT guarantee it’s accurate
Elizabeth Loftus: published the misinformation effect which states a memory distortion phenomenon in which your existing memories can be altered if you are exposed to misleading information
The Search for the Elusive Trace
Karl Lashley researched memory trace or engram, which suggests the brain changes that were presumed to occur in forming long-term memory. He believes that memory was stored in a specific brain area
Lashley researched rats, he removed different parts of the cerebral cortex and noticed that the rats were able to complete the maze
He concluded that memory is stored throughout the brain
Processing Memories in the Brain
To understand the processing of memories in the brain, researchers used individuals who had sustained a brain injurty or had part of their brain surgically removed for medical reasons
Found that each individual experiences some form of amnesia or severe memory loss
Two types of amneisa: retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia: a loss of memory, especially for episodic information
Unable to recall all or some of the past, and often results from a blow to the head
Memories of the events that immediately preceded the injury are completely
Anterograde amnesia: the inability to form new memories
Some of the common disorders associated with memory are:
dementia (progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and othe cognitive functions as the result of disease, injury, or substance use
Alzheimer’s disease (a progressive disease that destroys the brain’s neurons, gradually impairing memory, thinking, and language, and the complete inability to care for oneself