LOGIC CHAPTER 6: MEMORY

What is a chunk and why is it helpful in memory?

A chunk is a meaningful unit of information. Grouping small bits of information into larger units, a process called chunking, can help us remember large units of information that have many smaller components.

Explain what the term "flashbulb memory" means.

A flashbulb memory is the vivid recollection of an emotional event that can be very detailed, even when much time has passed since the event.

Discuss two different views of "childhood amnesia".

Childhood amnesia might be explained by the fact that children do not have language capabilities early in life. Another explanation is that children do not have a sense of self to remember in the first place.

Describe the three circumstances under which confabulation is likely to happen.

Confabulation is likely to happen when you have thought, heard, or told others about the imagined event many times, if the image of the event contains lots of details that make it feel real, or if the event is easy to imagine.

Describe confabulation and use your own example to illustrate this.

Confabulation is the formulation of false memories. It occurs if there is some detailed, emotional story you have heard over and over again in your childhood. Even if the story did not happen to you, you attribute this to your own memory as though you know of the story through personal experience. If as a child you hear a story over again about a fire destroying a neighbor's house, after time you may start to remember it as something that actually happened to you.

Describe the difference between explicit and implicit memory.

Explicit memory is the conscious and intentional recollection of an event or of an item of information. Implicit memory is the memory of information we came in contact with in the past but were not consciously aware of it.

Explain briefly why eyewitness testimony often unreliable.

Eyewitness testimony is often unreliable because memory is reconstructive and vulnerable to suggestion, so what people describe being able to remember might not actually be what happened during the event they're describing.

Describe what mnemonics are and what they are not.

Mnemonics are strategies and tricks for adding meaning to information so that it will be easier to remember. Mnemonics are not really memory tricks.

Define and give an example of source misattribution.

Source misattribution is the inability to distinguish an actual memory of an event from information you learned elsewhere about the event. An example would be thinking you remembered certain details about a party you attended as a small child, when you actually know these details from seeing photographs of the party.

Describe what parallel distributed processing is.

The parallel distributed processing model is a model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connection among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network and all operating in parallel.

What can we do to remember most effectively to retain information for a long time?

Ways that we can remember most effectively for the longest time are: reading and listening actively, assigning meaning to new information, chunking, fluency, and using feedback.

Why do we say that memory is reconstructive?

We say that memory is reconstructive because we usually change complex information in ways that help us make sense of the material.