Intro to Psychology - Chapter 7 Exam Study Guide

What are the major areas of the brain and their involvement in memory?

*Amygdala: emotional memories *Basal ganglia and cerebellum: Creation and storage of basic memory and implicit/nondeclarative LTM (such as skills, habits, and simple classically conditioned responses) *Hippocampal formation (hippocampus and surrounding area): Explicit/declarative and implicit/nondeclarative LTM, as well as sequences of events *Thalamus: Formation of new memories and spatial and working memory; implicit/nondeclarative and explicit/declarative LTM *Cerebral cortex: Encoding, storage, and retrieval of explicit/declarative and implicit/nondeclarative LTM

Why does forgetting occur?

*Decay: memory deteriorates over time; memory is processed and stored in a physical form—for example, in a network of neurons. Connections between neurons probably deteriorate over time, leading to forgetting. This theory explains why skills and memory often degrade if they go unused ("use it or lose it") *Interference: forgetting due to proactive or retroactive interference; forgetting is caused by two competing memories, particularly memories with similar qualities. At least two types of interference exist: retroactive and proactive (Figure 7.10). When new information disrupts (interferes with) the recall of OLD, "retro" information, it is called retroactive interference (acting backward in time). Learning your new home address may cause you to forget your old home address. Conversely, when old information disrupts (interferes with) the recall of NEW information, it is called proactive interference (acting forward in time). Old information (like the Spanish you learned in high school) may interfere with your ability to learn and remember material from your new college course in French; This so-called backward-acting interference occurs when new information interferes with old information. This example comes from a story about an absent-minded ichthyology professor (fish specialist) who refused to learn the name of his college students. Asked why, he said, "Every time I learn a student's name, I forget the name of a fish!"; Referred to as forward-acting, this type of interference occurs when old information interferes with new information. Have you ever been in trouble because you used an old partner's name to refer to your new partner? You now have a guilt-free explanation—proactive interference *Motivated forgetting: painful memories forgotten; people forget unpleasant or anxiety-producing information, either consciously or unconsciously, such as the box of cookies you ate last night. Interestingly, in the first few moments after finishing a marathon race, athletes often rate the intensity and unpleasantness of their pain about a 5.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. However, when these same people are asked 3 to 6 months later to report how they felt after the race, they've forgotten their initial level of pain, and guess that it was about a 3 (Babel, 2016). Do you see how the runners probably enjoyed the overall experience of the event and are motivated to forget the pain? For similar reasons, this motivated forgetting theory may even help explain why all children aren't only children—mothers tend to forget the actual pain of childbirth! *Encoding failure: material from STM to LTM never encoded; our sensory memory receives information and passes it to STM. But during the short time the information is in STM, we may overlook precise details and may not fully encode it, which results in a failure to pass along a complete memory to LTM *Retrieval failure: information is momentarily inaccessible; memories stored in LTM aren't forgotten. They're just momentarily inaccessible. The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon—the feeling that a word or an event you are trying to remember will pop out at any second—is an example of retrieval failure that results from interference, faulty cues, and high emotional arousal

What are the 4 major models of memory?

*ESR: memory is a process, roughly analogous to a computer, where info goes through three basic processes - encoding, storage, and retrieval; more deeply processed, the better we remember *Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP): *Levels of Processing: memory is distributed across a wide network of interconnected neurons located throughout the brain. When activated, this network works simultaneously in a parallel fashion to process info *Three-Stage Memory: sensory memory, short-term, and long-term required to hold and process info for various lengths of time

What are the strategies for each component of the ESR model?

*Encoding: pay attention and reduce interference; strive for a deeper level of processing; counteract the serial-position effect *Storage: use chunking; create hierarchies *Retrieval: engage in practice testing; distribute practice; employ self-monitoring; overlearn essential material; recreate the original learning environment

What are the several types of LTM?

*Explicit/declarative memory: a subsystem of LTM that involves conscious, easily described (declared) memories; consists of semantic memories (facts) and episodic memories (personal experiences) *Semantic memory: a subsystem of LTM that stores general knowledge; a mental encyclopedia or dictionary Episodic memory: a subsystem of LTM that stores autobiographical events and the contexts in which they occurred; a mental diary of a person's life

Why is memory not a single process?

Different types of memory involve different neural systems (Foerde & Shohamy, 2011). For example, the basal ganglia are important in implicit/nondeclarative memory (motor skills and habits, conditioned responses, and priming). In contrast, the temporal lobes are key to explicit/declarative memory (facts and general knowledge, as well as personal experiences)

What was the early research on memory versus today?

Early memory researchers believed that memory was localized, or stored in a particular brain area. Today, research techniques are so advanced that we can identify specific brain areas that are activated or changed during memory processes by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans. From these scans and other research methods, we now know that, in fact, memory tends to be distributed in many areas throughout the brain

Describe the steps of the ESR model?

1.) Encoding: process info into our brain's internal memory system; in a similar manner, data are enters on a keyboard, and encoded in a way that the computer can understand and use 2.) Storage: store the info in our brain, just like a hard drive 3.) Retrieval: we can recover and view stored info in our brain, just like files can be retrieved

How does encoding begin?

Encoding begins with a focusing of our attention, which is controlled by our thalamus and frontal lobes. The encoded neural messages are then decoded (interpreted) in various areas in our cerebral cortex. Next, they're sent along to the hippocampus, which "decides" which of these messages will be stored in LTM. As you will see, emotional arousal tends to increase attention, and those messages and resulting memories are primarily processed and stored in the amygdala, a brain structure involved in emotion

What are the biological processing behind attention narrowing?

What are the biological processes behind this type of attention narrowing? When stressed or excited, we naturally produce neurotransmitters and hormones that arouse the body, such as epinephrine and cortisol (Chapter 3). These chemicals also affect parts of the brain, including the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the cerebral cortex. Research has shown that these chemicals can interfere with, as well as enhance, how we encode, store, and retrieve our memories *Surprisingly, some studies suggest that sexual arousal due to exposure to pornography can also disrupt memory. Researchers in one study asked men to view a series of both pornographic and nonpornographic images and judge whether they had previously seen each image (Laier et al., 2013). Men who saw the nonsexual images gave 80% correct answers, whereas men who saw the pornographic images gave only 67% correct answers.

Dave was told the same childhood story of his father saving his neighbor from a fire so many times that he is now sure it is true, but all the evidence proves it never happened. This is an example of ______. a repressed memory deluded childhood fantasies a false memory early-onset juvenile dementia

a false memory

Your vivid memory of what you were doing when you were first informed about your parents' impending divorce might be an example of ______. encoding specificity long-term potentiation (LTP) latent learning a flashbulb memory (FBM)

a flashbulb memory (FBM)

What is mood congruence?

a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with a similar mood

Distributed practice is a learning technique in which ______. students are distributed (spaced) equally throughout the room learning periods are broken up into a number of short sessions over a period of time learning decays faster than it can be distributed several students study together, distributing various subjects according to their individual strengths

learning periods are broken up into a number of short sessions over a period of time

How does the brain recall the information for testimony?

memories are retrieved from neurons in the cerebral cortex

Rather than disrupting memory, what can emotional arousal sometimes lead to?

memory enhancement

What is amnesia?

memory loss, which may be caused by brain injuries; real-life amnesia generally doesn't cause a complete loss of self-identity. Instead, the individual typically has trouble retrieving more widespread and general old memories or forming new ones

What is infantile amnesia?

reflects the fact that memory in the first few years of life is primarily implicit/nondeclarative. Research suggests that the development of a concept of self and sufficient language, as well as growth of multiple brain regions, may be necessary for us to recall early events many years later; In other words, we start with implicit/nondeclarative memory and only later develop explicit/declarative memory, which is necessary for us to encode, store, retrieve, and later discuss early memories. But even with this later development, some memories are more lasting than others. A case in point, many older adults describe their most lasting memories as occurring between the ages of 17 and 24, in part because our most notable life transitions—such as getting married, attending college, starting a first job, and having children— often happen during this period of time

Researchers have demonstrated that it is ______ to create false memories. relatively easy rarely possible moderately difficult never possible

relatively easy

______ memories are related to anxiety-provoking thoughts or events that are supposedly prevented from reaching consciousness. Suppressed Flashbulb Flashback Repressed

repressed

What is a recognition task?

requires you only to identify the correct response, as in a multiple-choice exam

In answering this question, the correct multiple-choice option may serve as a ______ for recalling accurate information from your long-term memory. specificity code retrieval cue priming pump flashbulb stimulus

retrieval cue

Ralph can't remember anything that happened to him before he fell through the floor of his tree house. His lack of memory of events before his fall is called ______ amnesia. retroactive proactive retrograde anterograde

retrograde

Information in ______ lasts only a few seconds or less and has a relatively large (but not unlimited) storage capacity. perceptual processes working memory short-term storage sensory memory

sensory memory

The ______ effect suggests that people will recall information presented at the beginning and end of a list better than information from the middle of a list. recency latency serial position primacy

serial position

What is the controversy of TBI?

severe or repeated blows to the head during sports participation; Both professional and nonprofessional athletes frequently experience concussions, a form of TBI, and multiple concussions can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Sadly, the frequency of sports-related brain injuries may have been grossly underestimated (Baugh et al., 2015), and a growing body of research connects these multiple brain injuries to diseases and disorders like Alzheimer's, depression, and even suicide; can cause amnesia, various diseases can alter the physiology of the brain and nervous system and thereby disrupt memory processes *For example, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive mental deterioration that occurs most commonly in old age. The most noticeable early symptoms are disturbances in memory, which become progressively worse until, in the final stages, the person fails to recognize loved ones, needs total nursing care, and ultimately dies

How do police tell eyewitnesses to identify suspect in a lineup?

suspects should never "stand out" from the others i the lineup; witnesses also are cautioned to not assume that the real criminal is in the lineup, and they should never "guess" when asked to make an identification

What are the biological bases of memory?

synaptic and neurotransmitter changes, where memories are stored, the effects of emotional arousal, and the biological factors in memory loss

How do FBMs happen?

t's as if our brains command us to take "flash pictures" of these highly emotional events in order for us to "pay attention, learn, and remember." As we've seen, a flood of neurotransmitters and hormones helps create strong, immediate memories. Furthermore, as discussed in Chapter 3, the flood of the hormone cortisol that happens during traumatic events has been studied as a contributor to long-lasting memories and, sadly, to PTSD. Along with these chemical changes, we actively replay these memories in our minds again and again, which further encourages stronger and more lasting memories

What is maintenance rehearsal?

the act of repeating info over and over to maintain it in STM

Who were Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart?

the first to suggest that encoding can be influenced by how deeply we process and store information; levels of processing model

How does the brain store memory for testimony?

the hippocampus plays a major role in the formation and consolidation of new memories, and it is also activated when we recall old memories of facts and events

What is forgetting?

the inability to remember information that was previously available; generally adaptive *If we remembered everything we ever saw, heard, or read, our minds would be overwhelmed with useless information *the ability to forget is essential to the proper functioning of memory

What is sensory memory?

the initial memory stage, in which holds sensory info; it has relatively large capacity, but the duration is only a few seconds *Visual info (iconic memory) stays in sensory memory about 1/2 second before rapidly fading away

What is elaborative rehearsal?

the most efficient way to link the new material to previously stored info; a memory improvement method that makes the info more meaningful, and thereby transfers info from STM to LTM

What is memory?

the persistence of learning over time; process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

What is the encoding-specificity principle?

the principle that retrieval of info is improved if cues received at the time of recall are consistent with those present at the time of encoding

What is STM?

the second memory stage, which temporarily stores sensory info and transmits info to and from LTM; its capacity is limited to 5-9 items, and it has a duration of about 30 seconds; STM does not store exact duplicates of information but rather stores a mixture of perceptual analyses; STM either is transferred quickly into the next stage (LTM), or it decays and is theoretically lost *To extend the capacity of STM, use chunking *To extend the duration of STM, use maintenance rehearsal *a working, active system that allows us to hold information temporarily while also performing cognitive tasks

What is the PDP model?

the theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in web-like connections among interacting processing units operating simultaneously, rather than sequentially; also known as connectionism *Consistent with neurological info about brain activity thanks our interconnected synapses, activation of neurons can influence many other neurons; explains perception, language, and decision making; faster response time for survival

What is LTM?

the third stage of memory, which stores info for long periods of time; the capacity is virtually limitless, and the duration is relatively permanent; storehouse for long-kept info; When we need the information, it is sent back to STM for our conscious use. Compared with sensory memory and short-term memory, long-term memory has relatively unlimited capacity and duration

The leading cause of memory loss among young U.S. men and women between the ages of 15 and 25 is ______. age-related amnesia (A-RA) long-term potentiation (LTP) Alzheimer's disease (AD) traumatic brain injury (TBI)

traumatic brain injury (TBI)

To improve your encoding, you should ______. pay attention and reduce interference strive for a deeper level of processing counteract the serial-position effect use all of these options

use all of these options

Memory formation begins when____________________

we pay attention to certain stimuli *This attention then triggers synaptic and neurotransmitter changes that result in encoding, which, in turn, produces neural messages that are processed and stored in various areas of our brains. Interestingly, high levels of emotional arousal appear to lead to a type of attention narrowing. This results in details directly connected with the source of the arousal being more strongly encoded than the peripheral details, which are often fuzzy or lost. Does this help explain why if you're attacked by a mugger with a knife you might remember a lot about the knife but little about the attacker or the surroundings?

What is state-dependent retrieval or state-dependent memory?

when we are in the same state of consciousness as when the memory was formed

When our everyday errors come into play in the criminal justice system, what may it lead to?

wrongful judgments of guilt or innocence with possible life or death consequences

What is the difference between false and repressed memories?

*False: elaborated ideas and details of experience that didn't occur; a recent meta-analysis found that when presented with totally fabricated (but plausible) events that had supposedly happened to them when they were children, 46% of participants believed they had actually experienced the fake event, such as trouble with a teacher or taking a hot-air balloon ride; Even more worrisome is the fact that 30% of these believers went on to invent further details that supposedly happened to them during the fictitious event; can influence our attitudes and behaviors, as well as our interpersonal relationships *Repressed: refers to the rare psychological phenomenon in which memories of traumatic events may be stored in the unconscious mind and blocked from normal conscious recall; according to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, a basic coping or defense mechanism that prevents anxiety-provoking thoughts, feelings, and memories from reaching consciousness; repressed memories are actively and consciously "forgotten" in an effort to avoid the pain of their retrieval

What are the types of memory under implicit/nondeclarative memory?

*Implicit/nondeclarative: a subsystem within LTM that contains memories independent on conscious recall; consists of procedural motor skills, priming, and simply classically conditioned responses; automatic encoding without conscious awareness *Procedural: motor skills and habits *Classically conditioned: responses to conditioned stimuli (phobias) *Priming: an exposure (often unconscious) to previously stored info that predisposes (or primes) one's response to related stimuli

In addition to the five basic theories of forgetting, why do we forget?

*Misinformation effect: a memory error resulting from misleading information presented after an event, in which alters memories of the event itself; example of retroactive interference *Serial-position effect: a characteristic of memory retrieval in which information at the beginning and end of a series is remembered better than material in the middle; primacy and recency effect *Source amnesia: a memory error caused by forgetting the origin of a previously stored memory; also called source confusion or source misattribution *Spacing of practice: lumosity; distributed practice: in which studying or practice is broken up into a number of short sessions spaced out over time to allow numerous opportunities for "drill and practice." *Culture: cultural factors can play a role in memory and how well people remember what they have learned

How can we improve LTM?

*Organization: arranging a number of related items into broad categories that we further divide and subdivide. (This organizational strategy for LTM is similar to the strategy of grouping and chunking material in STM.) For instance, we arrange content throughout this text in subheadings under larger, main headings and within diagrams, tables, and so on in order to make the material in the book more understandable and memorable *Rehearsal: If you need to hold information in STM for longer than 30 seconds, you can simply keep repeating it (maintenance rehearsal). But storage in LTM requires deeper levels of processing through methods such as elaborative rehearsal. As described earlier, this simply involves making new information more meaningful in some way. For example, to remember the exact order of the colors of the rainbow, teachers often use the acronym "Roy G. Biv."; he researchers suggested that students who take notes using a laptop tend to just transcribe lectures verbatim (shallow processing), rather than reframing lecture material in their own words (deeper processing).; elaborate, linking new information to self, find meaningfulness *Retrieval: critical to LTM

What is the difference between retrogade and anterograde amnesia?

*Retrograde: have no trouble forming new memories, but do experience amnesia (loss of memories) for segments of the past; The person has no memory (is amnesic) for events that occurred before the brain injury because those memories were never stored in LTM; However, the same person has no trouble remembering things that happened after the injury. As the name implies, only the old, "retro," memories are lost; We learned earlier that during long-term potentiation (LTP), our neurons change to accommodate new learning. In addition, we know that it takes a certain amount of time for these neural changes to become fixed and stable in long-term memory, a process known as consolidation. Like heavy rain on wet cement, the brain injury "wipes away" unstable memories because the cement has not yet had time to harden. In cases where the individual is only amnesic for the events right before the brain injury, the cause may be a failure of consolidation; normally temporary and somewhat common *Anterograde: have no trouble recovering old memories, but they do experience amnesia (cannot form new memories) after an accident or other brain injury; The victim has no memory (is amnesic) for events after the brain injury. This type of amnesia generally results from a surgical injury or from diseases, such as chronic alcoholism or senile dementia—a form of severe mental deterioration in old age. Continuing our analogy with cement, anterograde amnesia would be like having permanently hardened cement, which prevents the laying down of new memories

What does encode mean? What does stored mean? What does retrieved mean?

*The first step of the ESR memory model; process of moving sensory information into memory storage (sound, visual images, other senses into neural code to understand and use) *The second stage of the ESR memory model; retention of encoded information over time *The third step of the ESR memory model; recovery of info from memory storage

Explain the three-stage memory model?

*When information is not transferred from sensory memory or STM, it is assumed to be lost *modern research has discovered other routes to memory formation, such as through automatic encoding *some information from the environment bypasses Steps 1 and 2 and gets into our long-term memory without our conscious awareness -Sensory Memory Storage: holds sensory info with 1/2 sec for visual, 2-4 for auditory; capacity is large -STM: holds in info temporarily for analysis and retrieves info from LTM; 30 sec w/o rehearsal; capacity limited to 5-9 items -LTM: receives and stores info from STM; relatively permanent duration; unlimited capacity

What is the visuospatial sketchpad? What is central executive? What is phonological loop?

*creates and stores visual and spatial info - the mental image of the customers, their food orders, and the layout of plates on their table *coordinates material phonologically and visuospatially with LTM, which helps this food server take customer orders and remember who ordered what; sends info to and from LTM *stores and mentally repeats the speech-based info from the customers' food orders

What is one of the native, and uncommon FBMs?

AT Flight 236 running out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean *research shows that our FBMs for specific details, particularly the time and place the emotional event occurred, are fairly accurate; however, these FBMs also suffer the same alterations and decay as all other forms of memory. They're NOT perfect recordings of events *FBMs, like other forms of memory, are subject to alterations. What separates them from ordinary, everyday memories is their vividness and our subjective confidence in their accuracy. But confidence is not the same as accuracy—an important point we'll return to in the last part of this chapter. Perhaps the most important take-home message is that our memory processes are sometimes impaired during high emotional arousal

How does a sea slug learn and remember?

After repeated squirting with water, followed by a mild shock, the sea slug Aplysia releases more neurotransmitters at certain synapses. These synapses then become more efficient at transmitting signals that cause the slug to withdraw its gills when squirted. As a critical thinker, can you explain why this ability might provide an evolutionary advantage? Although it is difficult to generalize from rats, mice, and sea slugs to humans, such research does show that synaptic and neurotransmitter changes within neurons are the biological bases of encoding—the essential first step to creating a new memory. Normal, everyday encoding begins with somewhat "unconscious" attention to a particular sensory message, such as a visual image, a sound, a taste, or some other sensation. This attention causes our neurons to fire more frequently and release more neurotransmitters, which makes the experience more intense. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that the event will be encoded and sent along to be stored in LTM

A progressive mental deterioration characterized by severe memory loss that occurs most commonly in elderly people is called ______. retrieval loss syndrome deterioration prefrontal cortex disease (PCD) Alzheimer's disease (AD) age-related amnesia (A-RA)

Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Describe the effects of Alzheimer's on the brain?

In this PET scan of a person with AD, note how the reduced activity in the brain is most significant in the temporal and parietal lobes (the mostly black areas in the center and on the sides of this AD patient's brain). These are the major areas for storing memories; Alzheimer's does not attack all types of memory equally. A hallmark of the disease is an extreme decrease in explicit/declarative memory—failing to recall facts, information, and personal life experiences; those who suffer from AD generally retain some implicit/nondeclarative memories, such as simple classically conditioned responses and procedural tasks like brushing their teeth

What was Sperling's test for iconic sensory memory?

Like the fleeting visual images in iconic memory, auditory stimuli (what we hear) is temporary. Yet a weaker "echo," or echoic memory, of this auditory input lingers for up to four seconds; We cannot process all incoming stimuli, so lower brain centers need only a few seconds to "decide" if the information is significant enough to promote to conscious awareness

How can emotional arousal threaten our survival?

News reports are filled with stories of people becoming dangerously confused during fires or other emergencies because they panic and forget vital survival tips, such as the closest exit routes; we're sometimes "not in our right minds" during times of high emotional arousal may save our lives—and our relationships!

What is a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?

One of the leading causes of neurological disorders—including memory loss—among young U.S. men and women between the ages of 15 and 25 is traumatic brain injury (TBI). These injuries most commonly result from car accidents, falls, blows, and gunshot wounds. TBI happens when the skull suddenly collides with another object. Compression, twisting, and distortion of the brain inside the skull all cause serious and sometimes permanent damage to the brain. The frontal and temporal lobes often take the heaviest hit because they directly collide with the bony ridges inside the skull

Why do we shape, rearrange and distort our memories?

One of the most common is our need for logic and consistency. When we're initially forming new memories or sorting through old ones, we fill in missing pieces, make corrections, and rearrange information to make it logical and consistent with our previous experiences or personal desires. For example, if you left a relationship because you found a new partner, you might rearrange your memories to suit your belief that you two were mismatched from the beginning and that the new partner is your true, forever "soul mate." However, if you were the one left behind, you might reconstruct your memories and now believe that you're lucky that the relationship ended because your partner was a manipulative "player" from the beginning. We also edit, summarize, and augment new information and tie it to previously stored memories for the sake of efficiency. Unfortunately, this "efficient" shaping and constructing sometimes results in a loss of specific details that we may need later on. For instance, when taking notes during lectures, you can't (and shouldn't) record every word. Instead, you edit, summarize, and (hopefully) augment what you hear and tie it to other related material. However, your note taking may occasionally miss essential details that later trip you up during exams! Despite all their problems and biases, our memories are normally fairly accurate and serve us well in most situations. Human memory has evolved to encode, store, and retrieve general and/or vital information, such as the location of various buildings on our college campus or the importance of looking both ways when we cross the street. However, when faced with tasks that require encoding, storing, and retrieving precise details like those in a scholarly text, remembering names and faces of potential clients, or recalling where we left our house keys, our brains are not as well-equipped.

How does culture affect our memory?

People raised in individualistic cultures, such as North American and Western European, tend to value the needs and goals of the individual, whereas those who grow up in collectivistic cultures, such as Asian and West African, generally emphasize the needs and goals of the group; Research has revealed several cross-cultural differences between these two groups, including variations in cognitive biases, memory for objects versus background, episodic memory, and even emotional memories evoked by music; The Ghanaian students had better recall than the Americans. Their superior performance was attributed to their culture's long oral tradition, which requires developing greater skill in encoding oral information; However, when both educated Africans and uneducated Africans were compared for memory of lists of words, the educated Africans performed better (Scribner, 1977). This suggests that formal schooling helps people develop memory strategies for things like lists of words. Preliterate participants may see such lists as unrelated and meaningless

How is eyewitness recollection being improved?

Problems with eyewitness recollections are so well established that most judges now allow expert testimony on the unreliability of eyewitness testimony and routinely instruct jurors on its limits; If you serve as a member of a jury or listen to accounts of crimes in the news, remind yourself of these problems. Also, keep in mind that research participants in eyewitness studies generally report their inaccurate memories with great self-assurance and strong conviction *research now suggests that eyewitness statements taken at the time of the initial identification of a suspect are quite reliable; the overall accuracy of eyewitness testimony can be improved if people are asked to make very fast judgments by 20-30% compared to those with a lengthy time to decide *even simply asking people to close their eyes when they're trying to remember leads to greater accuracy in both audio and visual details

The ______ theory suggests that forgetting is caused by two competing memories, particularly memories with similar qualities. decay interference motivated forgetting encoding failure

interference

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

a long-lasting increase in neural sensitivity; a biological mechanism for learning and memory *found that repeated stimulation of a synapse strengthens it by causing the dendrites to grow more spines *This repeated stimulation further results in more synapses and additional receptor sites, along with increased sensitivity. Research on long-term potentiation (LTP) in humans also supports the idea that LTP is one of the major biological mechanisms underlying learning and memory *Second, when learning and memory occur, there is a measurable increase in the amount of neurotransmitter released, which in turn increases the neuron's efficiency in message transmission. Research with Aplysia (a type of sea slug) clearly demonstrates this effect (Figure 7.14). Further evidence of the importance of neurotransmitters in memory comes from research with genetically engineered "smart mice," which have extra receptors for a neurotransmitter named NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate). These mice perform significantly better on memory tasks than do normal mice

What is the three-stage memory model?

a memory model based on the passage of information through three stages: sensory, STM, and LTM; also known as Atkinson-Shiffrin theory; leading paradigm in memory research

What is the ESR model?

a memory model that involves three processes: encoding (getting info in), storage (retaining info for future use), and retrieval (recovering info)

What is chunking?

a memory technique involving grouping separate pieces of info into larger, more manageable units (or chunks)

What is the levels of processing model?

a model of memory bases on a continuum of memory ranging from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing leading to improved encoding, storage, and retrieval

What is working memory?

a newer understanding of STM that emphasizes the active processing of info *Composed of visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and central executive

What are retrieval cues?

a prompt or stimulus that aids recall or retrieval of a stored piece of info from LTM *Specific cues require you only to recognize the correct response *General cues require you to recall previously learned material by searching through all possible matches in LTM—a much more difficult task

What is CTE?

a serious neurological disease linked to concussions—and to similar deaths of other sports players

What are mnemonic devices?

a strategy device that uses familiar info during the encoding of new info to enhance later recall; these take practice and time *Method of Ioci: tagging info to physical locations *Outlining Organization: When listening to lectures and/or reading this text, draw a vertical line approximately 3 inches from the left margin of your notebook paper *Acronym: create a new code word from the first letters of the items you want to remember

What is massed practice?

a study technique in which time spent learning is grouped (or massed) into long, unbroken intervals; also called cramming

What are flashbulb memories (FBMs)?

a vivid, detailed, and near-permanent memory of an emotionally significant moment or event; memory resulting from a form of automatic encoding, storage, and later retrieval *9/11 Attack *We tend to remember incredible details, such as where we were, what was going on, and how we and others were feeling and reacting at that moment in time. And these memories are long lasting. In fact, researchers have found that people have retained their FBMs of the 9/11 attack for as long as 10 years and that their confidence in these memories has remained high; We also sometimes create uniquely personal (and happy) FBMs *Most of us experience higher levels of emotionality during happy occasions, so we tend to automatically create detailed, long-lasting flashbulb memories (FBMs) of our thoughts, feelings, and actions during such momentous events *"Flashbulb": Older times

What causes AD?

brain autopsies of people with Alzheimer's show unusual tangles (structures formed from degenerating cell bodies) and plaques (structures formed from degenerating axons and dendrites). Early-onset Alzheimer's typically strikes its victims between the ages of 45 and 55, and a genetic mutation is generally the cause. In contrast, late-onset Alzheimer's normally develops from brain changes that occur over decades and from a mixture of multiple factors; Unfortunately, at this time, there is no effective means for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's. However, there is promising research based on tell-tale changes in the retina of the human eye. In addition, individuals with AD may benefit from a healthy diet and exercise program. One encouraging study found that 9 out of 10 patients with AD who adopted such a program showed substantial improvement in memory and cognitive function, yet they are still expected to continue to deteriorate over time

______ is the process of grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit. Chunking Collecting Conflation Dual-coding

chunking

The encoding-specificity principle says that information retrieval is improved when ______. both maintenance and elaborative rehearsal are used reverberating circuits consolidate information conditions of retrieval are similar to encoding conditions long-term potentiation is accessed

conditions of retrieval are similar to encoding conditions

Which of the following is not one of the key factors that contribute to forgetting outlined in the text? misinformation effect serial-position effect consolidation source amnesia

consolidation

Memory is a ___________ ________________ which means...?

constructive process; the process of organizing and shaping information during encoding, storage, and retrieval of memories *This construction often leads to serious errors and bias

What is the problem with false memory and repressed memories in abused clients?

critics of repressed memories contend that most people who have witnessed or experienced a violent crime or have survived childhood sexual abuse have intense, persistent memories. They have trouble forgetting, not remembering. Other skeptics wonder whether therapists may sometimes inadvertently create false memories in their clients during therapy. They propose that if a clinician suggests the possibility of abuse, the client's own constructive processes may lead him or her to create a false memory. The client also might start to incorporate portrayals of abuse from movies and books into his or her own memory, forgetting their original sources (a form of source amnesia) and eventually coming to see them as reliable. *complex and controversial

How can eyewitness testimony be dangerous?

even with minimal physical evidence and a single eyewitness, people can still be wrongfully convicted of a crime due to eyewitness misidentification which played in more than 70% of wrongful convictions that are overturned through DNA testing

Who was Hermann Ebbinghaus?

first introduced the experimental study of learning and forgetting in 1885. Using himself as a research participant, Ebbinghaus calculated how long it took him to learn and then forget a list of three-letter nonsense syllables, such as SIB and RAL. As you can see in Figure 7.8, his research revealed that forgetting begins soon after we learn something and then gradually tapers off *Discovered that re;earning the material of the syllables took less time than the initial learning

Who was George Sperling?

flashed an arrangement of 12 letters like the ones in Figure 7.2 for 1/20 of a second. Most people, he found, could recall only 4 or 5 of the letters. But when instructed to report just the top, middle, or bottom row, depending on whether they heard a high, medium, or low tone, they reported almost all the letters correctly. Apparently, all 12 letters are held in sensory memory right after they're viewed, but only those that are immediately attended to are noted and processed.

What are the problems with eyewitness testimonies?

if multiple eyewitnesses talk to one another after a crime, they may "remember" and corroborate erroneous details that someone else reported, which explains why police officers try to separate eyewitnesses while taking their reports. *Traumatic events, like watching a crime, often create FBMs for eyewitnesses. Despite high confidence in their personally vivid memories, they can make serious errors, such as identifying an innocent person as the perpetrator