Recording-2025-03-03T19:16:59.731Z

State Dependent Learning

Definition: Learning and memory recall is influenced by the state of the learner at the time of encoding and retrieval.
- Can be physical state (e.g., temperature, location) or emotional state (e.g., happy, sad).
Example: A student struggles to recall information during an exam if they are seated in a different location than where they learned the material.
- Personal Anecdote: A student felt disoriented on exam day due to a change in seating arrangement.

Higher Recall: Memory recall is generally better when in the same emotional state as during learning.
- Studies: Recall is improved when recalling memories in a positive state after initial emotional stimuli compared to negative states.

Positive Transfer: Skills or knowledge acquired from one task helps in learning a new but similar task.
- Example: A skilled skateboarder finds it easier to learn snowboarding due to similarities in body mechanics.
Negative Transfer: Skills or knowledge from one task interferes with learning a new task due to differences.
- Example: Learning to drive in the UK (opposite side) is confusing for someone used to driving in the US.

Types of Interference:
- Retroactive Interference: New information hinders the ability to recall previously learned information.
  - Example: Overwhelming new material (like the limbic system) can cause students to forget previously studied material (brain function).
- Proactive Interference: Older information hampers the acquisition of new information.
  - Example: Procrastinating students might find it hard to retain new material because they are cramming.

Hippocampus Function: Essential for consolidating memories from short-term to long-term and affected by drugs, age, and emotional states.
Health Implications: Proper diet, exercise, and avoiding drugs can preserve the hippocampus's health and function.

Definition: Vivid recollections of significant events often linked with intense emotions, typically traumatic.
- Memory Accuracy: Despite their vividness, flashbulb memories can be inaccurate due to external narratives and constant discussion.

Suppression: A conscious effort to forget painful memories (e.g., avoiding thoughts of an ex or a failed exam).
Repression: An unconscious process where one forgets painful events, often due to traumatic experiences.
- Example of Repression: Difficult experiences during childhood that a person cannot recall not out of choice, but because the memory was subconsciously blocked.

Trauma and Memory: With PTSD, memories associated with trauma are overly accessible and can cause significant distress.
- Active Recall: The memory remains fresh and haunting due to overactivity in the amygdala, which processes memories related to fear and sadness.

Retrograde Amnesia: Loss of memory for events before injury.
- Example: Not remembering experiences from the past following an accident.
Anterograde Amnesia: Inability to form new memories after a brain injury.
- Example: Person can recall past experiences but cannot remember events from after the injury.