Memory and Cognition: Unit 2 "Memory"

Cued recall task

Type of Tasks Used for Measuring Memory: You must memorize a list of paired items; then when you are given one item in the pair, you must recall the mate for that item. Suppose that you were given the following list of pairs: "time-city, mist-home, switch-paper, credit-day, fist-cloud, number-branch." Later, when you were given the stimulus "switch," you would be expected to say "paper," and so on

explicit memeory

memories we recall intentionally and of which we have conscious awareness

semantic memory

memory for knowledge about the world

episodic memory

memory for one's personal past experiences

acoustic-articulatory encoding

mental representations of information as a sequence of sounds

Kinesthetic coding

movement based coding

retroactive interference

new interfering with old: the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

critical lure

non-presented word that was highly related to presented words

proactive interference

old interfering with new: the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

misinformation acceptance

people accept additional information as having been part of an earlier experience without actually remembering that information

consistency bias

perceive attitudes and behaviors consistent over time

positive-change bias

perceive things are getting better

encoding specificity

phenomenon of remembering something better when the conditions under which we retrieve information are similar to the conditions under which we encoded it. CONTEXT

Intentional learning

placing new information into memory in anticipation of being tested on it later

associative priming

reaction times are faster to a stimulus if that stimulus is preceded by a stimulus of similar meaning, related items

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future

maintenance rehearsal

repeating stimuli in their original form to retain them in short-term memory

exemplar

representative example; actual member of a category that someone has experienced

serial recall task

subject recalls as many items as possible, in the order presented

egocentric bias

we tend to see ourselves in the best possible light

misinformation effect

when misleading information has corrupted one's memory of an event. Changes how someone describes the event at a later time.

free recall task

"what do you remember?" No cues

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system

long-term memory

the relatively permanent storage of information

flashbulb memory

A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event. Not more accurate than other memories

implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information

direct memory testing

A form of memory testing in which people are asked explicitly to remember some previous event. Recall and standard recognition testing are both forms of direct memory testing. Often contrasted with indirect memory testing.

indirect memory testing

A form of memory testing in which research participants are not told that their memories are being tested. Instead, they are tested in a fashion in which previous experiences can influence current behavior. Examples of indirect tests include word-stem completion, the lexical-decision task, and tachistoscopic recognition. Often contrasted with direct memory testing.

short-term memory

A memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, usually around 30 seconds, unless there is rehearsal (such as repeating a telephone number) to maintain the information in short-term memory. Short-term memory is one of the stages in the modal model of memory.

release from proactive interference

A memory phenomenon in which proactive interference is reduced when a person switches to a new stimulus category, leading to increased recall.

repetition priming

A pattern of priming that occurs simply because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation.

category specific knowledge impairment

A result of brain damage in which the patient has trouble recognizing objects in a specific category but not others

sentence verification technique

A technique in which the participant is asked to indicate whether a particular sentence is true or false. For example, sentences like "An apple is a fruit" have been used in studies on categorization. Measures rt not accuracy

dual-task procedure

An experimental procedure in which subjects are required to carry out simultaneously a central task that demands attention and a peripheral task that involves making a decision about the contents of a scene.

semantic coding

Meaning: type of coding wherein stimuli are converted to meaning that can be expressed verbally

Systems views of memory

LOCATION: characteristics of memory reflect the specific memory structure in which the memory resides. Modal model of memory. Atkinson & Shiffrin

incidental learning

Learning without trying to learn, and often without awareness that learning is occurring. Don't know you will be tested

Processing views of memory

OPERATIONS: characteristics of memory reflect the type of processing that takes place.

propaganda effect

People are more likely to rate statements they have read or heard before as being true, just because of prior exposure to the statements.

Chunking (in STM)

Recoding; combine smaller units into larger, reduces # of items held in STM

propositional representation

Simple semantic relationship between two concepts. Basic unit of meaning

property statements

Statements in which the relationship being expressed is "X has the property or feature Y" (e.g., "A robin has wings")

exemplar approach to categorization

The approach to categorization in which members of a category are judged against exemplars, examples of members of the category that the person has encountered in the past.

Phonological loop (PL)

The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound. This includes both written and spoken material. It's divided into the phonological store and the articulatory process.

misleading postevent information (MPI)

The misleading information that causes the misinformation effect.

source monitoring

The process of making attributions about the origins of memories.

spreading activation

The process through which activity in one node in a network flows outward to other nodes through associative links. Part of hierarchal model

memory consolidation

The strengthening of the neural network that represents a memory

weapons focus

The tendency for eyewitnesses to a crime to focus attention on a weapon, which causes poorer memory for other things that are happening.

characteristic feature

a common or frequent feature, but not essential to the meaning of a concept

Schema

a conceptual framework a person uses to make sense of the world

false memory

a distorted or fabricated recollection of something that did not actually occur

recognition memory test

a measure of explicit memory that involves determining whether information has been seen or learned before

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

elaborative rehearsal

a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

serial self-terminating search

a search from item to item, ending when a target is found

parallel search

a search in which multiple stimuli are processed at the same time

prototype theory

a theory in which concepts or word meanings are formed around average or typical values

depth of processing model

a theory of memory suggesting that how deeply something is encoded has an effect on its memorability

procedural memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits

typicality effect

ability to judge highly prototypical objects more rapidly

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

long-term potentiation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

source misattribution

attributing a memory to the wrong source, resulting in a false memory

script

conception of sequence of actions that usually occurs during a particular experience

visual encoding

encoding of images

Tip of the tongue phenomenon

experience of knowing that we know something but being unable to access it

defining features

feature that is essential to the meaning of the concept

Decay

forgetting due to the passage of time

amnesia

loss of memory

serial position curve

graph depicting both primacy and recency effects on people's ability to recall items on a list

Hypernesia

hyper accurate, vivid, clear memory. A physiological response. Can't differentiate between memory and reality during a flashback. PTSD

constructive nature of memory

idea that what people recall is based on what actually happened plus additional factors

state-dependent learning

superior retrieval of memories when the organism is in the same physiological or psychological state as it was during encoding

interstimulus interval (ISI)

temporal interval between the offset of one stimulus to the onset of another.

primacy effect

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows

recency effect

tendency to remember recent information better than earlier information

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

retention interval

the amount of time elapsed since information was learned and when it must be recalled

rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

processing fluency

the ease with which something is processed or comes to mind

transfer-appropriate processing

the idea that memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when the encoding and retrieval contexts of the situations match

imagination inflation

the increased confidence in a false memory of an event following repeated imagination of the event

mood-dependent retrieval

the increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mood during both encoding and retrieval

serial exhaustive search

the memory set is scanned one item at a time (serial), and the entire set is scanned on every trial, whether or not a match is found (exhaustive)

central executive

the part of working memory that directs attention and processing

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

verbal overshadowing

the tendency of a verbal description to influence and distort perception

Individual differences approach

variations in WM across individuals; tasks to assess wm capabilities which requires simultaneous mental processing and storage of info in WM