PSYC 2301 Chapter 7 Review

What is the sensory memory time limit?

Sensory memory - the initial, momentary storage of information. It only lasts an instant, forgetting typically with in one second. Short-term memory - memory that holds information for 15 to 25 seconds. Repetitive rehearsal (retains information in short-term memory). Long-term memory - memory that stores information on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve. Elaborative rehearsal (moves information into long-term memory).

What is the serial position effect?

Serial position effect - the ability to recall information in a list depends on where in the list an item appears.

What are some general facts of short-term memory?

Short-term memory is the memory store in which information first has meaning, although the maximum length of retention there is relatively short. It can be also defined as working memory, a set of active, temporary memory stores that actively manipulate and rehearse information. Working memory contains a central executive processor that is involved in reasoning and decision making. It coordinates three storage systems, called the visual store, verbal store, and episodic buffer (contains information that represents episodes or events).

What is the purpose of the hippocampus?

A part of the brain's limbic system, it plays a central role in the consolidation of memories. Located within the brain's medial temporal lobes just behind the eyes, the hippocampus aids in the initial encoding of information, acting as a kind of neurological e-mail system. Hippocampus - encoding; passes information to the lobes in the cerebral cortex.

What are the levels of processing theory?

The theory of memory that emphasizes the degree to which new material is mentally analyzed. The greater the intensity of initial processing is, the more likely we are to remember it.

What are some general facts of Alzheimer's (not causes)?

Alzheimer's disease - an illness characterized in part by severe memory problems. Progressive illness - first signs are simple forgetfulness. Continues to forgetting of simple tasks. Later stages - basic functions. - Causes: protein beta amyloid decreased production which then deteriorate nerve cells

What are some different types of amnesia and their definitions?

Amnesia - memory loss that occurs without other mental difficulties. Retrograde amnesia - memory is lost for occurrences prior to a certain event. Anterograde amnesia - memory is lost for events that follow an injury. Korsakoff's syndrome - afflicts long-term alcoholics, leaving some abilities intact but including hallucinations and a tendency to repeat the same story.

What is the purpose of an episodic buffer?

An episodic buffer is a storage system in the working memory that contains information that represents episodes or events. For example, a car crash.

What are some examples of chunking, rehearsal, and elaborative rehearsal?

Chunk - a meaningful grouping of stimuli that can be stored as a unit in short-term memory. According to George Miller, examples are individual letters or numbers, permitting us to hold a seven-digit phone number in short-term memory. Rehearsal - the repetition of information that has entered short-term memory. Whether the transfer is made from short- to long-term memory seems to depend largely on the kind of rehearsal that is carried out. If the information is simply repeated over and over again--as we might do with a telephone number while we rush from the phone book to the phone--it is kept current in short-term memory, but it will not necessarily be placed in long-term memory. Instead, as soon as we stop punching in the phone numbers, the number is likely to be replaced by other information and will be completely forgotten. Elaborative rehearsal - occurs when the information is considered and organized in some fashion. The organization might include expanding the information to make it fit into a logical framework, linking it to another memory, turning it into an image, or transforming it in some other way. For example, a list of vegetables to be purchased at a store could be woven together in memory as items being used to prepare an elaborate salad, could be linked to the items bought on an earlier shopping trip, or could be thought of in terms of the image of a farm with rows of each item.

What are the two main types of declarative memory? Know the definitions.

Declarative memory - memory for factual information: names, faces, dates and the like. Procedural memory - memory for skills and habits, such as riding a bike or hitting a baseball; sometimes referred to as nondeclarative memory. Semantic memory - memory for general knowledge and facts about the world, as well as memory for the rules of logic that are used to deduce other facts. Episodic memory - memory for events that occurs in a particular time, place, or context.

What are flashbulb and autobiographical memories?

Flashbulb memories - memories centered on a specific, important, or surprising event that is so vivid it is as if they represented a snapshot of the event. These memories are easily retrieved but not necessarily completely accurate. Source amnesia: a person has a memory for some material but cannot recall where he or she encountered it before. Autobiographical memories - our recollections of circumstances and episodes from our own lives. We tend to forget information about our past that is incompatible with the way in which we currently see ourselves. Major life changes are more easily recalled. Some memories even as young as 6 months old.

What are iconic and echoic memories?

Iconic memory - stores information from the visual system. Echoic memory - stores auditory information coming from the ears.

Why victim testimonies can be inaccurate?

Implications for courtroom testimony: Witnesses play closer attention to the weapon and not necessarily face of perpetrator The wording of questions elicits different responses. Children's memories are highly susceptible to influence.

What are the differences between implicit and explicit memories?

Implicit memory - refers to memories of which people are not consciously aware but that can affect subsequent performance and behavior. Explicit memory - refers to intentional or conscious recollection of information. Related to prejudice and discrimination people exhibit toward members of minority groups. Studied through priming experiments- a phenomenon in which exposure to a word or concept (prime) later makes it easier to recall related information, even when there is no conscious memory of the word or concept. "retention without remembering".

How quickly do we forget new information?

Most rapid forgetting occurs in the first nine hours after learning new material, then the rate slows down considerably.

What are the two types of interference and their definitions?

Interference - the phenomenon by which information in memory disrupts the recall of other information. Proactive interference - information learned earlier disrupts the recall of newer material; the past interferes with the present. Retroactive interference - there is difficulty in the recall of information learned earlier because of later exposure to a different material; the present interferes with the past.

What are the three main parts of the memory process?

Memory is the process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information. 1. Encoding - initial process of recording information in a form usable to memory, which is the first stage in remembering something. 2. Storage - the maintenance of material saved in memory. If the material is not stored adequately, it cannot be recalled later. 3. Retrieval- the recovery of stored information.

What are the definitions of procedural memory and spreading activation?

Procedural memory - memory for skills and habits, such as riding a bike or hitting a baseball; sometimes referred to as nondeclarative memory. Spreading activation - activating one memory triggers the activation of related memories.

How to improve memory?

Remember chunking, rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal, and mnemonics (acronyms, rhymes, and jingles). Use of multiple senses. Get some sleep! Use the keyword technique: Rely on organization cues: Take effective notes: Practice and rehearse: Don't believe claims about drugs that improve memory:

What are schemas?

Schemas - organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled. Studied by Bartlett.

What is consolidation?

When the number of synapses between neurons increases as the dendrites branches out to receive messages. Makes memories become fixed and stable in long-term memory. Consolidation - dendrites branch out to receive information.