Topic 7

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

Memory is the process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information

• Not static, can change over time
• Sometimes we “fill in the gaps”
• Generally adaptive and sometimes correct, but makes us prone to error

Brains go above and beyond available information to make sense of the world

Question 2

Foundation of memory

Answer 2

Encoding → Storage → Retieval

Question 3

Three-stage model of memory

Answer 3

3 different types of memory, differ in span and duration

Information must travel through all stages to be remembered

Sensory → STM(short term) → LTM(long term)

Question 4

Sensory memory

Answer 4

Storage for brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds, and tastes

• Each sense has its own sensory memory - very brief
• Iconic: visual system, < 1 sec
• Echoic: auditory, 2-3 secs
• Snapshot that stores sensory info
• Unless it is transferred to other types of memory it is lost
• High precision

Question 5

Short term memory

Answer 5

Limited capacity memory system where information is retained for only as long as 30 seconds (unless you try to retain it longer, via rehearsal)

• Capacity is 7 -+2 (magic number 7)
• STMs are either discarded or stored in LTM

Question 6

Extending our STM capacity

Answer 6

Can extend our STM span by chunking

• Organizing a large body of information into smaller, meaningful groups

Question 7

Rehearsal: transferring from STM → LTM

Answer 7

Rehearsal (repeating information)

• Is the repetition of info that has entered STM
• This leads to memory consolidation

Maintenance rehearsal

• Repeating the stimuli in the same form

Elaborative rehearsal

• Information is considered & organized
• Link stimuli to each other in a meaningful way
• Usually more effective - much more likely to be transferred
• Understand not memorize

Question 8

Working memory

Answer 8

Set of active temporary memory stores that actively manipulate & rehearse information

Working memory is thought to contain a central executive processor that is involved in reason & decision making

Mental whiteboard

Question 9

Long term memory

Answer 9

Continuous storage of information

May last decades or lifetimes

It has no limit and is like the information you store on the hard drive of a computer

Anterograde vs. retrograde amnesia evidences the distinction from STM

Question 10

What words did you recall?

Answer 10

Primary effect

• Ability to remember stimuli presented first

Recency effect

• Ability to remember stimuli present recently

Question 11

LTM: Declarative memory

Answer 11

Explicit memory

• Conscious recollection of information such as facts & events

Semantic

• General knowledge
• Knowing who the prime minister is

Episodic

• Recollection of events in our lives
• The Christmas you finally got a CD player
• Your first kiss
• The first day of university

Question 12

LTM: Non-declarative memory

Answer 12

Implicit memory

• Memory in which behavior is affected by a prior experience without a conscious relocation of that experience

Procedural memory

• Memory for how to do things

Priming

• Activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember/identify new information faster

Question 13

Neuroscience of Memory

Answer 13

Memory traces distributed throughout the brain

The hippocampus plays a role in memory consolidation

• Damage leads to the inability to process new declarative memories

Amygdala

• Heavily involved with memories involving emotions

Long term potentiation

• Certain neural pathways become easily excited while a new response is being learned
• Synapses between neurons increase, dendrites branch out

Question 14

Encoding failures

Answer 14

Stress

• Stress reduces the accuracy of eyewitness recall and correct identification
• Stress can focus attention

Question 15

Encoding failures can also happen because of

Answer 15

• Own age bias
• Cross race effect

Question 16

Retrieval failure

Answer 16

Decay

• Fades over time

Interference

• Loss of information due to competition with new information

Retroactive interference

• Leaning new information harpers something previously learned

Proactive interference

• Earlier learning gets in the way of learning something new

Question 17

Amnesia

Answer 17

The loss of long-term memory that occurs as a result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma

1. Anterograde amnesia

• Inability to remember new info after point of trauma
• Commonly caused by brain trauma
• The hippocampus is usually affected - inability to transferor info from STM to LTM

2. Retrograde amnesiaia

• Loss of memory (partial or complete) for an event that occurred before trauma

Question 18

Retrieving memories

Answer 18

Retrieval

• The act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness

Recall

• Being able to access information without cues
• short answer test

Recognition

• Being able to access information that you have previously learned after encountering it again
• Multiple choice questions

Question 19

Levels of processing theory

Answer 19

The depth of information during exposure to material is critical

• The degree to which it is analyzed & considered

The greater the intensity of the initial processing the more likely we are to remember it

Shallow

• Information process by physical and & sensory aspects

Deepest

• Analyzing information in terms of meaning thinking about the meaning and reflecting on how it relates to information we already know

Question 20

Encoding specificity

Answer 20

Remembering something better when the conditions under which we retriever the information are similar to the encoding conditions

Context-dependent learning

• Scuba study
• Students tend to do better when untested in their usual classroom

State-dependent learning

• Alcoholism

Question 21

Flashbulb memory

Answer 21

A record of an atypical and unusual event that has a very strong emotional association

• Exceptional memories are more easily retrieved

Depending on the age and awareness/interests, certain flashbulb memories act as generational refrecespoin

E.g

• Assassination of john Kennedy, Martin Luther King
• The first humans landing on the moon
• Attack on 9/11

Question 22

Memory is reconstructive

Answer 22

We forget over time

Memories change over time and can be influenced by .

• Cognitive “hardware” stereotypes, …
• Post-event information

Question 23

Schemas & scripts

Answer 23

Organized knowledge structures or mental models that we stored in memory - used to “fill in the gap”

• The memory may be distorted to conform with schema/script
• E.g robbery script study

Stereotypes can also influence memories

Question 24

Memories are suggestible

Answer 24

The effect of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories

Can cause people to claim to remember something that was only a suggestion someone made

Memories are fragile and vulnerable to suggestion
An important area of study is eyewitness testimony

Question 25

The misinformation effect

Answer 25

Where post-event information alters or becomes incorporated into the original memory

Question 26

False memories cases

Answer 26

Loftus 1997 * Participants were asked to report what they recalled about events from their past (3 true, 1 false) * After two interviews, 25% of participants remembered an implanted memory of being lost at the mall Hyman et al 1997 * Told participants they had spilled punch on a wedding guest when they were 5 * Initially, none recall this, but eventually, 27% accepted it as true, and some elaborated with details

Question 27

Laboratory induction of false childhood memories

Answer 27

Researchers have been able to implant a wide variety of false memories including some mildly traumatic ones * Being hospitalized overnight * Being attacked by a dog * Nearly drawing * Witnessing demonic possessions * Meeting Bugs Bunny at Disneyland