AP Psych - unit 2 test (cognition/memory)

Eric Kandel and James Schwartz

(1982) Observed such changes in the sending neurons of a simple animal, the California sea slug, Aplysia.

Eidetic Memory

A person has visual images clear enough to be retained for seconds and realistic in their vividness.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

All the memories we hold for periods of time longer than a few seconds. It has an incredibly vast storage capacity and some memories here can last from the time they are created until we die.

P.O.R.N acronym

Proactive - old info prevents you from remembering new Retroactive - new info prevents you from remembering old info

Correlational Study

Researchers repeatedly presented a picture of a goat along with other animals and asked participants to rank how closely the picture of the goat matched their prototype of a "mammal." Participants used a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning "not at all like my prototype of a mammal" to 5 meaning "exactly like my prototype of a mammal." The graph depicts the rankings of each participant based on the number of exposures. What type of research has been conducted?

Random Assignment

Researchers want to examine if there is a difference between the retention of implicit versus explicit memories. To conduct this research as an experiment, which of the following would be necessary?

Photographic memory

The ability to recall an image for a much longer period.

Echoic Memory

The branch of sensory memory used by the auditory system. It is capable of holding a large amount of auditory information for 3-4 seconds.

Retrieval

The calling back of stored information on demand when it is needed. The information is located and returned back to our conscious.

Shallow Processing

Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words. No relevance is assigned to this information. Structural - encode physical qualities Phonemic - encode sound

Deep Processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention. We attach meaning to information and create new associations between new and existing memories.

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. You must purposely try to remember and engage in any technique to help remember information better.

Primacy Effect

Refers to better recall of the first items of a list (from greater rehearsal).

Recency Effect

Refers to better recall of the last items of a list (in working memory).

Iconic Memory

Sensory input to the visual system goes into iconic memory, duration of less than a second.

Interference Theory

Some memories interfere with the retrieval of other memories, forgetting in long-term memory.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Straight repeating of information in order to memorize it to prolong its presence in STM; increase the length of time information can be stored to 30 secs.

Baddeley's Working Memory

System in your brain that allows you to temporarily retain and manipulate the stored information involved in a complex process.

Haptic Memory

The branch of sensory memory used by the sense of touch. Sensory receptors all over the body detect sensations which are briefly held in this memory before vanishing or being transported to short-term memory. It seems to decay after about two seconds.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The capacity for holding a small amount of information in an active, readily available state for a brief period of time (about 20 to 30 seconds). Very sensitive or vulnerable to interruption/interference.

Storage

The creation of a permanent record of the encoded information. It is for a period of time, ranging from a moment to a lifetime.

Forgetting Curve

The exponential loss of information shortly after learning it. Around 70% of info is lost within 24 hours of learning it.

Retrieval Failure "Why We Forget"

The failure to recall a memory due to missing stimuli or cues that were present at the time the memory was encoded to help trigger the memory.

Tip-of-the-Tongue State

The feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable. Often experienced when trying to recall a particular word or name.

Source Amnesia

The inability to remember the source of a memory while retaining its substance. False memories created this may feel real as true memories. - Explains Deja Vu

Short-Term Memory

The information we are currently aware of or thinking about. Information found here comes from paying attention to sensory memory.

Encoding

The process of putting information into the memory system; Sensory receptors send impulses that are registered by neurons in our brain.

Elaborative Rehearsal

A method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way.

Eyewitness Testimony

An account given by people of an event they have witnessed. Recently, it has been found to be unreliable and many convicts are misjudged due to it.

Memory Reconstruction

Approach to understanding memory as a cognitive process and the errors that occur within it. - We construct our memories as we encode them. - Memories are updated due to new info, perception, imagination, and cultural biases.

Recall

Being able to access the information without being cued. Example: fill in the blank test w/ no word bank.

Synaptic Pathways

By rehearsing or recalling information over and over again, neural networks become strengthened. The repeated firing of the same neurons makes it more likely that those same neurons will be able to repeat that firing again in the future.

Retrograde Amnesia

Cannot remember things that happened before the event that caused their amnesia. (the past)

Semantic Encoding

To help himself remember the name of his new colleague, Hope, Jose thinks about the meaning of her name—the feeling of hopefulness. Which of the following concepts best corresponds to Jose's strategy?

Flashbulb Memory

Vivid and detailed memories that people create during times of personal tragedy, accident, or emotionally significant world events. Can develop in response to big events in our own lives.

Automatic Processing

We process an enormous amount of information effortlessly at once where you don't think about it, such as the following: space, time, frequency.

Chao Lu

World record for recalling 67,890 digits of π.

Retrieval Cues

stimuli that help you retrieve a certain memory or piece of information form your long-term memory.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

strengthening of a synaptic connection that happens when the synapse of one neuron repeatedly fires and excites another neuron.

Misinformation Effect

Exposed to misleading information, we tend to misremember.

Elizabeth Loftus (1944)

Extensive research on memory construction and false memories and how although memory is changeable, it is not always accurate.

Sensory Memory

External events from our senses are held just long enough to be perceived. (Selective attention)

Pseudo-Memories

False memories that a person believes to be true.

Storage Decay, Hermann Ebbinghaus

First to conduct experimental studies on memories by using himself as a subject.

Patient H.M.

He had hippocampi removed; showed that removing hippocampi destroyed the ability to form new memories.

Ben Pridmore

He memorized 96 historical dates in 5 minutes.

Levels-of-Processing Model

How long and how well we remember information depends on how deeply we process the information when it is encoded. Structural -> Phonemic -> Semantic

Procedural Memories

How to perform a specific task, you don't have to consciously recall how to perform these tasks. Example: riding a bike, walking

Recognition

Identifying information after experiencing it again. Example: multiple choice test

Context-Dependent Memory

Improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

Experiment

In a research study, participants were randomly assigned to two conditions. One group of participants received a drug once per day for four weeks. The drug increases the speed of communication between neurons. Other participants did not receive the drug. Researchers found that those who took the drug demonstrated an increased memory recall. What type of research design was conducted in this scenario?

Explicit "Conscious" Memory (Declarative Memory)

Information that you have to consciously work to remember. It requires recall of the information and can be verbalized. These are encoded through effortful processing.

Implicit "Unconscious" Memory

Information that you remember unconsciously and effortlessly.

Amygdala

Involved in declarative and episodic memory; Primary processor of emotional reactions.

Cerebellum

Involved in implicit memories (conditioned associations).

State-Dependent Memory

The phenomenon through which memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed.

Three-Stage Model of Memory

(Atkinson and Shiffrin) Three different memory systems characterized by time frames - sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory.

Limits to Working Memory

- Distraction; Interruption causes contents of working memory to be rapidly lost - Trying to hold in mind too much information - Engaging in a demanding task may cause loss of other information

Memory

Learning that has persisted over time, information that has been stored and can be retrieved.

Episodic Memory

Long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences. - Autobiographical memory - Influences self-identity

Dominic O'Brien

Memories 54 decks of cards, totaling 2808 cards - world record.

Basal Ganglia

Memory retrieval and procedural memory (creating and maintaining habits).

Amygdala, Cerebellum, Basal Ganglia

Memory systems where memory is distributed.

Information-Processing Model

Model of memory that compares our mind to a computer in a series of three stages. 1. Encoding 2. Storage 3. Retrieval

Retroactive (Recent) Interference

Newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older memories. More difficult to recall things we already know due to new info.

Memory Span

Number of items a person can remember and repeat back using attention and short-term memory. - George Miller 7 +/- 2

Encoding Failure

Occurs when a memory was never formed in the first place (without effort, many memories never form). We cannot learn or recall what we do not perceive and attend to. Example: penny face

Amnesia

Occurs when a person experiences the full or partial loss of memory, injury or trauma can create problems with various brain functions.

Proactive (Previous) Interference

Older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories. Often easier to recall previously learned info rather than new.

Trace Decay Theory

Over time, our memories biologically degenerate. Short term memory assumes that memories leave a trace in the brain (physical/chemical change). Forgetting occurs as a result of the automatic decay or fading of the memory trace.

Muscle Memory

Procedural memory in the brain, not muscle.

Chunking

Process of taking individual pieces of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. This improves the amount of information you can remember.

Memory Consolidation

Process where our brains convert short-term memories into long-term ones.

Hippocampus

LTP occurs here and information is transferred from short-term to long-term.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The storage of information over an extended period. It is susceptible to the forgetting process. Can last from days to decades.

Mood-Congruent Memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.

Semantic Memory

These are memories of facts, concepts, names, and other general knowledge. Can be used when taking a test.

Long-term memory, because Catherine failed to encode the word; therefore, the word did not become a part of her long-term memory.

When studying for a vocabulary test, Catherine read one of her vocabulary words and its definition aloud several times. About twenty seconds later, she still remembered the word's meaning, but then she moved on to the next word in the list without engaging in any further strategies to enhance her memory. The next day, she tested herself on the same vocabulary word at the same time, in the same mood, and in the same location as when she had first studied the word, but she could not remember its definition. It is most likely that Catherine could not remember the word because she failed to engage which of the following memory functions?

Serial Position Effect

When we try to retrieve a long list of words we usually recall the last words and first words best, forgetting the words in the middle.

D. Colleen and Leo

Which of the following scenarios is best explained by long-term potentiation? Responses A. Erik and Harry don't like each other when they are first assigned to the same a room during a class trip, but after spending a great deal of time together, they begin to like each other more. B. When Sruthi first enters a dark room after coming in from outside, she can't see anything, but her eyes adjust after a few minutes. C. At first, Benjamin needs to drink only a small amount of a caffeinated beverage to feel its effects, but after drinking it regularly for a while, he needs more to feel the same effects. D. The first time Colleen tries to remember Leo's name it takes her a long time, but over time she remembers it more quickly.

"Active State"

Working memory that contains information of which you are immediately aware.