Psych- Memory
What are examples of chunking? (2)
-Letters into words (abbreviations) -Numbers into dates or phone numbers
What are four types of rehearsal to try to retain information?
-Vocal rehearsal -Sub-vocal rehearsal -Verbal rehearsal -non-verbal rehearsal
How do mnemonic devices work?
-provides ways of improving coding, storage and retrieval of information from LTM -Assist us to associate new information with existing information in LTM and providing retrieval cues to make information easier to recall
What does memory depend on? (3)
-the conversion (encoding) of information into a form in which it can be stored -its storage after encoding -its retrieval at a later time
How long is the iconic memory?
1/3 of a second
What are rhymes
A rhyme is a collection of words that have similar sounding key words
What is an acronym?
An abbreviation made up of the first letters of different words, which together form a pronounceable word
What is declarative memory
Declarative memory is our memory of facts or events that we can consciously recall Psychologist sometimes refer to this type of memory as 'knowing that' rather than the 'knowing how' of procedural memory
does the maintenance rehearsal method result in long-term retention?
Does not necessarily result in long-term retention - it simply 'maintains' it in STM
What are two types of memory in sensory memory?
Echoic and Iconic memory
What is effortful encoding?
Effortful encoding is needed to store and retain other types of information. This often involves considerable concentration and some additional mental effort, especially if the information to be retained is complex or very boring.
What does elaborative rehearsal involve?
Elaborative rehearsal involves reorganising new and existing information in a meaningful way to aid storage and retrieval. Eg, learning mnemonics
How does elaborative rehearsal compare to maintenance rehearsal?
Elaborative rehearsal requires more effort than does maintenance rehearsal, however it ensures information is better encoded and hence more likely to be remembered.
What is episodic memory
Episodic memory is the declarative memory system that stores events ('episodes') involving personal experiences Memories include information about: Context (where and when) State (physical and psychological condition)
How do the short term memory and the long term memory differ? (3)
How information is stored How information is retrieved How information is 'lost' or forgotten
What is an acrostic?
Involves constructing a meaningful phrase formed from the first letters of words to be remembered
What is narrative chaining?
Involves joining otherwise unconnected items to one another by incorporating them into a meaningful story
What information does the short term memory hold?
It holds all information you are currently thinking about, or are consciously aware of.
What are two types of rehearsal that psychologists distinguish?
Maintenance rehearsal and Elaborative rehearsal
What is memory?
Memory is commonly described as a group of related and interacting processes that enable us to acquire, retain and retrieve information
What is procedural memory
Procedural memory is our memory of how to perform different actions, operations and skills. Eg.Your movements are so automatic, you are drawing on skills you had stored in your procedural memory
What is the semantic network theory suggest about the LTM?
Semantic network theory suggests that organisation of information in LTM is both systematic and meaningful.
What are serial position effects?
The effect that items at a beginning (best remembered) and end of lists (next best) are recalled the best
Why are the words at a beginning of a list remembered the best?
The primary effect- beginning words are remembered the best
What does the semantic network theory propose?
This theory proposes that information is stored as groups of concepts (or nodes); these nodes are meaningfully linked and form part of overlapping networks
What is the method of loci?
Uses a sequence of locations, which have been very well learned, as retrieval cues for information to be remembered
What happens when the STM has reached its capacity?
a new piece of info can be stored only if an existing piece of info is discarded.
What is the duration of the echoic memory
approximately 2-4 seconds
What is the function of the echoic memory?
brief temporary storage of verbal sensory information - until we pay attention to it to store it in a more permanent form
What is the function of the iconic memory?
brief temporary storage of visual sensory information - until we pay attention to it to store it in a more permanent form
What is the capacity of the LTM
can be described as limitless
What is the information processing model?
describes memory as an information processing system with three separate, but related, stages involving different types or subsystems of memory - sensory memory, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
How can items be lost from the short term memory?
displacement (being pushed out by new incoming information) or by decay (fading over time)
What does non-verbal rehearsal require?
does not use words (an image)
What are the three stages of memory encoding?
encoding, storage, retrieval
What are the two types of declarative memory
episodic memory and semantic memory
What is the duration of the short term memory?
generally information is held in STM for up to about 6 seconds. The ability to recall declines after about 12 seconds and has gone altogether after about 20 seconds.
What is the peg word method?
involves associating items to be recalled with objects that rhyme with numbers 1,2,3 etc The numbers act as retrieval cues
What is required for the recognition of information
involves correctly identifying or selecting previously learned information from a set of alternatives.
What does rhyming involve in remembering things?
involves incorporating information to be remembered in a rhyme for information to be remembered.
What does vocal rehearsal require?
involves repeating information aloud (eg learning multiplication tables
What does maintenance rehearsal involve?
involves repeating information over and over in a rote fashion, without adding new meaning to it.
What does sub-vocal rehearsal require?
involves repeating it in your head
What is semantic memory
is the declarative memory system that stores information about the world It includes general knowledge such as facts, word meanings, rules, concepts, everyday knowledge and specialised knowledge
What is chunking?
it involves the clustering of smaller bits of information into larger, more meaningful single units of information
what happens to the information if not attended to in the sensory memory
it is lost
what happens to the information if not rehearsed or encoded to in the short term memory
it is lost
According to the information processing model, what is required for new information to be retained?
it must be transferred successfully from sensory memory to STM and then to LTM. However, information may also be transferred from LTM to STM when there is a need to use it
According to the semantic network theory, is the LTM retrieval of information a random process?
no
Do people have conscious control over sensory memory?
no
What are the two types of LTM systems?
procedural memory and declarative memory
According to George Miller, how much information can be stored in the short-term memory
psychologists refer to the capacity as 7±2
Where are memories retrieved from?
the long-term memory
What is Echoic memory?
the memory of auditory sensory information
What does the short term memory do?
the memory system that receives and encodes new information from the sensory memory AND receives information from the LTM for temporary use.
What does long term memory mean?
the memory system that stores huge amounts of information for considerable periods of time.
What is encoding?
the process of converting information into a form (or code) that can be represented and retained in memory
What is the retrieval of information
the process of locating and recovering information stored in memory so that we are consciously aware of it.
What is the storage of information?
the process of retaining or keeping information in memory so that it can be used at a later time
What is rehearsal?
the process whereby something is consciously done to retain information in memory
Why are the words at a end of a list remembered well?
the recency effect- words most recently heard are recalled well
What does verbal rehearsal require?
uses words
What is the capacity of the echoic memory?
very large
What is the capacity of the iconic memory?
very large
What type of information does Iconic memory store?
visual
How is information transferred from the sensory memory to the short term memory?
when you pay attention to the information being given
What is required to recall information?
you have to retrieve the information from memory with few, if any, cues.
What is automatic encoding?
you made no conscious effort to encode information. This is effortless encoding
What is a difference between episodic memories and semantic memories
you store semantic memories without necessarily remembering the time and place it was learned