Memory

Question 1

Memory Process

Answer 1

• encoding: representation of information in memory
• storage: maintaining of information in memory
• retrieval: extracting information from memory for use

Question 2

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory

Answer 2

• Sensory Memory: takes information from perception and unattended information is lost quickly
• Short Term Memory: takes information from things that were paid attention to in sensory memory and unrehearsed information is lost after a couple of seconds
• Long Term Memory: encodes information from short term memory, short term memory can retrieve information from here, and information is never lost but can become inaccessible

Question 3

Short Term Memory Capacity

Answer 3

• memory span: number of items that can be held in short term memory
• chunking: grouping items into smaller groups of meaningful segments to enhance recall

Question 4

Short Term Memory Components

Answer 4

• visuospatial sketchpad: visual information
• episodic buffer: events
• phonological loop: hearing and language
• phonological interference: memory difficulty caused by similar-sounding material

Question 5

Short Term Memory Duration

Answer 5

• serial position curve: memory performance as a function of relative position
• primacy effect: remember items from the beginning of a list better
• recency effect: remember items at the end of a list better

Question 6

Rehearsal Process

Answer 6

• maintenance rehearsal: repeating information to refresh it in short term memory
• elaborative rehearsal: developing connections between what is being rehearsed and what you know (makes it easier to retrieve later)
• Craik and Tulving Experiment: deep processing helps memory more than shallow processing

Question 7

Encoding Specificity

Answer 7

• most effective cues at retrieval are same as those used for encoding
• context helps with retrieval (more similar retrieval situation is to encoding situation, the better the retrieval)

Question 8

Explicit vs Implicit Memory

Answer 8

• explicit memory (effortful) is conscious memory that can be tested via direct recall tests (Frontal Lobes store these and Hippocampus forms and consolidates new ones)
• implicit memory (automatic) is revealed via indirect tests (basal ganglia stores procedural memory, amygdala stores emotional associations, cerebellum primes these memories)

Question 9

Long Term Potentiation

Answer 9

• memories for specific information is represented as patterns of activation across many neurons
• when these patterns are repeatedly activated, they are strengthened and take less stimulation to activate