Psychology Chapter 7 Human Memory

STM How much (capacity)?

"four, plus or minus two"

STM How long (durability)

20 seconds; interfering material may cause info to be lost; rehearsed info will stay in the STM longer

Encoding

How info gets into your memory Attention and Filtering: divided attention reduces the ability to remember (built in spam filter); decreases performance (cocktail party example)

Sensory Memory

Preserves info in its sensory form for a very brief time (seconds of time) Someone drawing pics with lights, it disappears quickly Talking on the phone while on computer

Context/State Dependent Learning

Retrieval comes more easily when the same context/mental state that occurred during encoding EX: being in a different room when taking the final makes a difference

Retroactive v. Proactive

Retro: new info knocks out old info Proactive: new info gets in the way of sorting old info

Amnesia (3)

Retrograde Amnesia, Anterograde Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue

Enriching Encoding (4)

Elaboration, Visual Imagery, Dual-Encoding Theory, Self-Referent Encoding

3 Main Steps in Memory

Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Contextual Cues

Environmental or internal cues that facilitate the retrieval of info

Motivated Forgetting

Forgetting things you don't want to think about (repression) I.e. traumatic experiences, block it out

Dual-Encoding Theory

Forming semantic AND visual codes (either code can lead to recall)

Conceptual Hierarchy

Multilevel classification system based on common properties among items

Intermediate Processing

Phonemic encoding (similarity to other things, i.e. rhyming

Four Components of W.M.M.

Phonological Loop, Visuospatial Sketchpad, Central Executive System, Episodic Buffer

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Temporarily hold and manipulate visual images (picturing how to arrange your room)

Clustering

Tendency to remember similar or related items in groups

Dissociative Fugue

The inability to recall some or all of one's past or identity, or the formation of a new identity co-occurring with sudden travel

Memory

the process by which information is taken in, kept, and made available for later use

Short Term Memory

A limited-capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed info for a short amount of time

Working Memory

Actively hold pieces of transitory info in the mind

Schema

An organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event, abstracted from previous experience with it (in other words, an organized set of expectations)

Long Term Memory

An unlimited capacity store that can hold info over lengthy periods of time; procedural (things we do regularly i.e. ride a bike) and episodic (friend did something one time)

Chunking

Breaking info into manageable or meaningful segments (phone numbers)

The Working Memory Model

Chunking, working memory

Organizing Memories (4)

Clustering, Conceptual Hierarchy, Semantic Network, Schema

Semantic Network

Concepts joined by pathways that link related concepts or similar meaning->Spreading Activation (bitter=beer-->resentful (kind of synonym of bitter)-->spiteful-->angry, etc.)

LTM How long?

Conflicting evidence, retrieval failure or storage failure?

Episodic Buffer

Consolidation before long-term memory (Shrinking (vacuum bag) info to store it easier)

Central Executive System

Coordinates switching and focusing attention

Visual Imagery

Creating a visual image of the stimuli ("swimming" is easier to imagine than "lies")

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to recall memories for events PRIOR to the onset of amnesia

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to recall memories for events that occur AFTER the onset of amnesia

Forgetting (5)

Ineffective Encoding, Decay, Interference, Retrieval Failure, Motivated Forgetting

Elaboration

Linking the stimulus to other information (Hillary telling stories so we remember)

Self-Referent Encoding

Making material personally meaningful (relating it to your life)

Ineffective Encoding

Material was never fully stored in memory

Retrieval Failure

May be due to mismatch of retrieval cue and encoding info (Hillary putting different definition on the test than what she gave us in lecture)

Reconstructing Memories

Memories are reconstructions of past events; misinformation effect

Decay

Memories traces fade over time (Remembering locker combo after years)

Retrieval Definition

Re-accessing info from the past that has been encoded and stored in memory (brain "replays" the pattern of neural activity)

Retrieval Components (6)

Recall, Recognition Retrieval Cues, Tip of the tongue phenom, Contextual Cues, Context/State Dependent Learning

Deep Processing

Sematic encoding (meaning to words, i.e. is it pleasant) *best way people remember

Storage (2)

Sensory Memory, Short Term Memory

Levels of Processing (3)

Shallow, Intermediate, Deep

Retrieval Cues

Stimuli that help gain access to memories

Shallow Processing

Structural encoding (counting number of E's)

Phonological Loop

Verbal rehearsal

Interference

We forget because memories are competing with other material Learning Languages: mix the 2 together

Misinformation Effect

When recall of witnessed event is altered by introducing misleading post event information; false memories: telling a friend a story and they think they remember, but turns out it was a different friend