Human Memory
The Peterson task
short-term forgetting task in which a small amount of material is tested after a brief delay filledy a rehearsal-preventing task
immersion method
strategy for foreign language teaching whereby the learner is placed in an environment where only the foreign language is used
subjective organization
strategy whereby a learner attempts to organize unstructured material so as to enhance learning
fugue
sudden loss of autobiographical memory, usually accompanied by wandering
spatial working memory
system involved in temporarily retaining information regarding spatial location
long-term memory
system or systems assumed to underpin the capacity to store information over long periods of time
semantic memory
system that is assumed to store accumulative knowledge about the world
episodic memory
system that is assumed to underpin the capacity to remember specific events
object memory
system that temporarily retains information concerning visual features such as color or shape
magnetoencephalography
system whereby the activity of neurons within the brain is detected through the tiny magnetic fields that their activity generates
stem completion
task whereby retention of a word is tested by presenting the first few letters
fragment completion
technique whereby memory for a word is tested by deleting alternate letters and asking participants to complete the word
articulatory suppression
techniue for disrupting verbal rehearsal by requiring participants to continuously repeat a spoken word
working memory span
tem applied to a range of complex memory span tasks in which simultaneous storage & processing is required
phonological similarity effect
tendency for immediate serial recall of verbal material to be reduced when the items are similar in sound (easier to recall pit,day,cow,pen,hot than cat,map,man,cap,mad)
total time hypothesis
amount learned depends on time spent learning
Gestalt psychology
an approach to psychology that was strong in Germany in the 1930s that attempted to use perceptual principles to understand memory and reasoning
amygdala
area of the brain close to the hippocampus that is involved in emotional processing
echoic memory
auditory sensory memory
mood-congruent memory
bias in the recall of memories such that negative mood makes negative memories more readily available than positive, and vice versa. Unlike mood dependency, does not affect recall of neutral memories
hippocampus
brain structure in the medial temporal lobe that is important for long-term brain functioning
distributed practice
breaking practice up into number of shorter sessions, in contrast to cramming, which comprises fewer, long learning sessions is more efficient
sensory memory
brief storage of information within a specific modality
iconic memory
brief storage of visual information
latent inhibition
classical conditioning phenomenon whereby multiple prior presentations of a neutral stimulus will interfere with its involvement in subsequent conditioning
episodic buffer
component of B&H model which assumes a multidimensional code, allowing the various subcomponents of working memory to interact with long-term memory
cell assembly
concept proposed by Hebb to account for the physiological base of long-term learning, which is assumed to involve the establishment of links between the cells forming the assembly
long-term working memory
concept to account for the way in which long-term memory can be used as a working memory to maintain a complex cognitive activity
electroencephalogram(EEG)
device for recording electrical potentials of the brain through a series of electrodes placed on the scalp
chaining
each number associated or linked to the next, which is linked to the next, etc.
PTSD
emotional disorder whereby a dramatic and stressful event such as rape results in persistent anxiety, often accompanied by vivid flashback memories of the event
mental time travel
emphasizes the way in which episodic memory allows us to relive the past and use this information to imagine the future
autobiographical knowledge base
facts about ourselves and our past that form the basis for autobiographical memory
change blindness
failure to detect even quite dramatic changes in a scene, given a brief delay
delusions
false beliefs, often found in schizophrenic patients, that seem well founded to the patient but implausible to a neutral observer
visual cache
forms a counterpart to phonological store and is maintained by inner scribe, a counterpart to phonological rehearsal
inhibition
general term applied to mechanisms that suppress other activities. Term can be applied to a precise physiological mechanism or to a more general phenomenon, as in proactive & retroactive inhibition, whereby memory for an item is impaired by competition from earlier or later items
dual-coding hypothesis
highly imageable words are easier to learn because they can be encoded both visually and verbally
levels of processing
items that are more deeply processed will be better remembered
classical conditioning
learning procedure wherey a neutral stimulus is paired repeatedly with a response-evoking stimulus, will come to evoke that response
expanding retreival
learning schedule whereby items are initially tested with a short delay, with pretest delay gradually increasing across subsequent trials
incidental learning
learning situation in which th learner is unaware the test will occur
intentional learning
learning when the learner knows there will be a test of retention
mere exposure effect
tendency for neutral stimulus to acquire positive value with repeated exposure
infantile amnesia
tendency for people to have few autobiographical memories from below the age of 5
primacy effect
tendency for the first few items in a sequence to be better recalled than most of the following items
recency effect
tendency for the last few items in a list to be well recalled
long-term recency
tendency for the last few items to be well recalled under conditions of long-term memory
irrelevant sound effect
tendency for verbal STM to be disrupted by concurrent fluctuating sounds, including speech and music
word length effect
tendency for verbal memory span to decrease when longer words are used
phonological loop
term applied by Baddeley and Hitch to the component of their model responsible for temporary storage of speech-like information
false memory syndrome
term applied to cases, particularly of child abuse, in which the rememberer becomes convincd of an event that did not happen
modal model
term applied to model of memory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin
flashbulb memory
term applied to the detailed & apparently highly accurate memory of a dramatic experience
binding
term used to refer to the linking of features into objects(e..g color red, shape square=red square) or of events into coherent episodes
nonword repetition test
test whereby participants hear and attempt to repeat back nonwords that gradually increase in length
semantic memory
the memory of meanings, understandings, and other concept-based knowledge unrelated to specific experiences, e.g. how man months in a year? Who's the president of the US?
chunking
the process of combining a number of items into a single chunk typically on the basis of long-term memory
Reductionism
the view that all scientific explanations should aim to be based on a lower level of analysis: psychology in terms of physiology, physiology in terms of chemistry, and chemistry in terms of physics
reappearence hypothesis
the view that under certain circumstances, such as flashbulb memory and PTSD, memories can be created that later reappear in exactly the same form
consolidation
time-dependent process by which a new trace is gradually woven into the fabric of memory and by which its components and their interconnections are cemented together
frame
type of schema in which information about objects and their properties is stored
script
type of schema relating to the typical sequences of events in various common situations
resource sharing
use of limited attentional capacity to maintain two or more simultaneous activities
corsi block tapping
visuo-spatial counterpart to digit span involving an array of blocks that tester taps in a sequence and the patient attempts to copy
digit span
longest sequence that could be repeated back without error
autobiographical memory
memory across the lifespan for both specific events and self-related information
working memory
memory system that underpins our capacity to keep things in mind while performing complex tasks
explicit/declarative memory
memory that is open to intentional retrieval, whether based on recollecting personal events(episodic memory) or facts(semantic memory)
magnetic resonance imaging
method of brain imaging that relies on detecting changes introduced by a powerful magnetic field
event-related potentials
method using EEG in which electrophysiological reaction of the brain to specific stimuli is tracked over time
typicality gradient
ordering of the members of a category in terms of their typicality ratings
masking
process by which perception and/or storage of a stimulus is influenced by events occurring immediately before presentation or more commonly after
maintenance rehearsal
process of reheasal whereby items are 'kept in mind' but not processed more deeply
task switching
process whereby a limited capacity system maintains activity on two or more tasks by switching between them
elaborative rehearsal
process whereby items are not simply kept in mind but are processed either more deeply or more elaborately
priming
process whereby presentation of an item influences the processing of a subsequent item, either making it easier to process or more difficult
long-term potentiation
process whereby synaptic transmission becomes more effective following a cell's recent activation
semantic coding
processing an item in terms of its meaning, hence relating it to other information in long-term memory
nonsense syllables
pronounceable but meaningless consonant-vowel-consonant items designed to study learning without the complicating factor of meaning
depth of processing
proposal by Craik and Lockhard that the more deeply an item is processed, the better will be its retention
transfer-appropriate processing(TAP)
proposal that retention is best when the mode of encoding and mode of retrieval are the same
schema
proposed to explain how our knowledge of the world is structured and influences the way in which new information is stored and subsequently recalled
confabulation
recollection of something that did not happen
short-term memory
retention of small amounts of material over a period of a few seconds
visio-spatial STM
retention of visual and/or spatial information over brief periods of time
implicit/nondeclarative memory
retreival of information from long-term memory through performance rather than explicit conscious recall or recognition
HERA(Hemispheric Encoding & Retrieval Asymmetry)
Tulving's proposal that the encoding of eposidic memories involves the left frontal lobe whereas their retrieval depends on right frontal areas
life narrative
a coherent and integrated account of one's life that is claimed to form the basis of autobiographical memory
visio-spatial sketchpad
a component of Baddeley & Hitch model that is assumed to be repsonsile for the temporary maintenance of visual & spatial information
working self
a concept proposed by Conway to account for the wayin which autobiographical knowledge is accumulated and used
model
a method of expressing a theory more precisely, allowing predictions to be made and tested
free recall
a method whereby participants are presented with a sequence of items, which they are subsequently required to recall in any order they wish
positron emission tomography
a method whereby radioactively labeled substances are introduced into the bloodstream and subsequently monitored to measure physiological activation
reminiscence bump
a tendency in participants over 40 to show a high rate of recollecting personal experience from their late teens and 20s
neuroimaging
a term applied to a range of methods whereby the brain can be studied, eithr in terms of its anatomical structure or its operation
verbal learning
a term applied to an approach to memory that relies principlly on the learning of lists and words and nonsense syllables
double-dissociation
a term particularly used in neuropsychology when two patient groups show opposite patterns of deficit, e.g. normal STM and impaired LTM, vs. normal LTM and impaired STM
autonoetic consciousness
a term proposed by Tulving for self-awareness, allowing the rememberer to reflect on the contents of episodic memory
supervisory attentional system
accounts for attentional control of action