Chapter 6: Memory- Remembrance of Things Past and Future

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

enhanced efficiency in synaptic transmission that follows brief, rapid stimulation

Repression

in Freud's psychodynamic theory, the ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from conscious awareness

Displace

in memory theory, to cause information to be lost from short-term memory by adding new information

Infantile amnesia

inability to recall events that occur prior to the age of three or so; also termed childhood amnesia

Context-dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

State-dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

Dissociative amnesia

loss of memory of personal information that is thought to stem from psychological conflict or trauma

Nonsense syllables

meaningless sets of two consonants, with a vowel sandwiched in between, that are used to study memory

Episodic memory

memories of events that happen to a person or that take place in the person's presence

Retrospective memory

memory for past events, activities, and learning experiences, as shown by explicit (episodic and semantic) and implicit memories

Explicit memory

memory that clearly and distinctly expresses (explicates) specific information

Implicit memory

memory that is suggested (implied) but not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people do but do not state clearly

Prospective memory

memory to perform an act in the future, as at a certain time or when a certain event occurs

Maintenance rehearsal

mental repetition of information to keep it in memory

Encode

modifies information so that it can be placed in memory; encoding is the first stage of information processing

Paired associates

nonsense syllables presented in pairs in experiments that measure recall

Priming

the activation of specific associations in memory, often as a result of repetition and without making a conscious effort to access the memory

Summarize Long-Term Potentiation (LTP).

LTP can occur via the action of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and glutamate at synapses. Structurally, LTP can also occur as shown in Parts A and B, when dendrites sprout new branches that connect with transmitting axons, increasing the amount of stimulation they receive.

Working memory

another term for short-term memory

Hippocampus

a structure in the limbic system that plays an important role in the formation of new memories

Define memory and differentiate between types of memories.

Memory is the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Explicit memory—also referred to as declarative memory—is memory for specific information. Two kinds of explicit memories are identified according to the type of information they hold: episodic memories are memories of the things that happen to us or take place in our presence ("I remember...") and semantic memory refers to general knowledge ("I know...") Implicit memory—also referred to as nondeclarative memory—is memory of how to perform a procedure or skill; it is the act itself, doing something, like riding a bike. Retrospective memory is the recalling of information that has been previously learned. Episodic, semantic, and implicit memories involve remembering things that were learned. Prospective memory refers to remembering to do things in the future.

Describe the biological aspects of memory.

Psychologists assume that mental processes such as the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information—that is, memory—are accompanied by changes in the brain. Much research on the biology of memory focuses today on the roles of stimulants, neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, and structures in the brain.

Identify contributors to forgetting.

Recognition, recall, and relearning are three basic memory tasks that have been used by psychologists to measure forgetting. Nonsense syllables have been used in studying each of them. According to interference theory, we forget material in short-term and long-term memory because newly learned material interferes with it. The two basic types of interference are retroactive interference and proactive interference. According to Sigmund Freud, we are motivated to repress painful memories and unacceptable ideas because they produce anxiety, guilt, and shame. Freud also believed that young children repress memories of aggressive impulses and perverse lusts toward their parents, which would explain why people could not recall episodes in their early childhoods (infantile amnesia). Adults also experience amnesia, although usually for biological reasons, as in the cases of anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Explain the stages of memory.

The Atkinson-Shiffrin model proposes that there are three stages of memory: (a) sensory memory, (b) short-term memory, and (c) long-term memory. Part a shows that sensory information impacts on the registers of sensory memory. Memory traces are held briefly in sensory memory before decaying. If we attend to the information, much of it can be transferred to short-term memory (STM). Part b: Information may be maintained in STM through maintenance rehearsal or elaborative rehearsal. Otherwise, it may decay or be displaced. Part c: Once information is transferred to long-term memory (LTM), it may be filed away indefinitely. However, if the information in LTM is organized poorly, or if we cannot find cues to retrieve it, it can be lost.

Explain the processes of memory.

The first stage of information processing is changing information so that we can place it in memory: encoding. When we encode information, we transform it into psychological formats that can be represented mentally. To do so, we commonly use visual, auditory, and semantic codes. The second memory process is storage. Storage means maintaining information over time. The third memory process is retrieval. The retrieval of stored information means locating it and returning it to consciousness. The phrase 'THUNSTOFAM' might be more easily recalled if you think of it as an acronym of the first two letters of the name of a nation.

Method of savings

a measure of retention in which the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to re-learn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed is calculated

Icon

a mental representation of a visual stimulus that is held briefly in sensory memory

Echo

a mental representation of an auditory stimulus (sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory

Chunk

a stimulus or group of stimuli that are perceived as a discrete piece of information

Schema

a way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or an expectation, that can influence perception of persons, objects, and situations

Memory trace

an assumed change in the nervous system that reflects the impression made by a stimulus

Engram

an assumed electrical circuit in the brain that corresponds to a memory trace

Anterograde amnesia

failure to remember events that occurred after physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma

Retrograde amnesia

failure to remember events that occurred prior to physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma

Semantic memory

general knowledge, as opposed to episodic memory

Savings

the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

the feeling that information is stored in memory although it cannot be readily retrieved; also called the feeling-of-knowing experience

Proactive interference

the interference by old learning with the ability to retrieve material learned recently

Retroactive interference

the interference of new learning with the ability to retrieve material learned previously

Elaborative rehearsal

the kind of coding in which new information is related to information that is already known

Retrieval

the location of stored information and its return to consciousness; the third stage of information processing

Eidetic imagery

the maintenance of detailed visual memories over several minutes

Storage

the maintenance of information over time; the second stage of information processing

Memory

the processes by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

Echoic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of auditory stimuli

Iconic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of visual stimuli

Serial-position effect

the tendency to recall more accurately the first and last items in a series

Long-term memory

the type or stage of memory capable of relatively permanent storage

Sensory memory

the type or stage of memory first encountered by a stimulus; sensory memory holds impressions briefly, but long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically continuous

Short-term memory

the type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays; also called working memory

Interference theory

the view that we may forget stored material because other learning interferes with it