What is rehearsal?
The process of repeatedly practicing material, so that it enters long-term memory
What is semantic encoding?
Meaningful encoding (based on meaning)
What is sensory memory? Functions? How long does it last? What is their capacity?
Function: Holding bin for memory
Lasts: 1/2 second or less
Capacity: grabs on to everything about us but we remember only what we pay attention to
What is short-term memory? Functions? How long does it last? What is their capacity?
Functions: keep a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time
Lasts: 20-30 seconds
Capacity: we remember 5-9 things at a time
What is long-term memory? Functions? How long does it last? What is their capacity?
Function: store information for long periods of time
Lasts: typically for life
Capacity: unlimited
What is chunking?
Grouping together similar things to better remember
What are the components of Baddeley’s Working Memory model?
Phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, maintenance rehearsal –> central executive
What is the phonological loop?
We remember shorter words better than longer words
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
Hard to do large mental problems because it’s hard to go back when moving on to the next step
What are the 2 different type of long-term memory?
- Declarative memory - things you can state
- Procedural memory - memory of how to do things (muscle memory)
What are the different types of declarative memory?
- Semantic memory - memory of facts
- Episodic memory - memory of events/things you experience
What is encoding specificity? Examples?
External cues
Examples: location, sounds, and smells
What is state-dependent learning? Examples?
Internal Cues
Examples: mood, alertness/sloppiness, drug-induced states, hypnotic state, illness
What are the 7 sins of memory?
Transience, misattribution, absent-mindedness, blocking, suggestibility, bias, and persistence
What is transience?
The simple passage of time will diminish your memory
What is misattribution?
Mixing up memories, adding elements from one memory to another
What is absent-mindedness?
Not paying attention when doing something and doing the wrong thing
What is blocking?
Memories interfere with our recall
What are the 2 forms of blocking?
- Proactive interference: old information interferes with the ability to recall new information
- Retroactive interference: new information interferes with the ability to recall old information
What is suggestibility?
Someone’s suggestions can change your memory
What are the 3 forms of bias?
- Consistency bias: we are less consistent without actions and attitudes than we lead on
- Change bias (rosy retrospective): not recognizing that some things do change and some things don’t
- Egocentric bias: we remember ourselves as being better than we actually were
What is persistence?
Forget what we want to remember and remember what we want to forget
