Psychology- Memory

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

When Lisa earns a perfect score on a(n) _____ test in history, she passes a _____ test of memory.

essay; recall

Nine-year-old Jade has just discovered something very interesting. She can look at a picture in a book and, when she closes her eyes, she can still see the picture very clearly for a few tenths of a second. Jade is experiencing _____ memory.

iconic

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Hippocampus damage typically leaves people unable to learn new facts or recall recent events. However, they may be able to learn new skills, such as riding a bicycle, which is an

implicit memory

What type of memory is not consciously accessible to us?

implicit memory

As strange as it may seem, James has run into the same co-worker four times today, in four different locations. He gets a little nervous, wondering if she is following him. His ability to unconsciously keep track of the number of times he has run into the co-worker is known as

automatic processing.

right frontal lobe

calling up a visual party scene; depression and general negativity

It is easier to remember information that is organized into meaningful units than information that is not. This is known as _____.

chunking

automatic processing

Procedural memory: motor skills and habits Priming: prior exposure to stimuli affects the processing of new information even when you don't have any conscious memory of the initial learning and storage Classically conditioned memory: conditioned responses to conditioned stimuli like fears

damage to hippocampus

disrupts recall and formation of explicit memories

Jamal's brother often pretends to listen to what Jamal is saying when his brother is really focused elsewhere. When Jamal asks him, "What did I just say?" his brother can sometimes repeat Jamal's last few words. This MOST likely reflects his _____ memory.

echoic

Studying for a psychology test requires _____. It takes attention and conscious work, but pays off with lasting and accessible memories.

effortful processing

Jamaal has to make an important phone call. Unfortunately, his cell phone is not charged and he has to use his landline, which does not store phone numbers. To make the call, he has to get the number from his cell phone and remember it long enough to dial on his landline. For this task, _____ memory is MOST important.

working

EFFORTFUL PROCESSING

•Explicit/declarative memory: consciously stores facts, info, and personal life experiences •Semantic memory: facts & general knowledge •Episodic memory: personal experiences & events

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

left frontal lobe

positive emotions; location of the Broca's area; Recalling a password and holding it in working memory

If one has NOT studied well for a test, in which format is one likely to get a higher score

recognition

The spacing effect

refers to the finding that long-term memory is enhanced when learning events are spaced apart in time, rather than massed in immediate succession

Tarik has a chemistry test in two days. He has to memorize the elements on the periodic table, so he writes them on index cards. He keeps the cards with him at all times and frequently reads through them. Tarik is using _____ to encode information in short-term memory for longer-term storage.

rehearsal

Through conscious repetition of information in short-term memory, humans can encode information for long-term storage. This is known as _____.

rehearsal

Phone companies created seven-digit phone numbers because this amount BEST suits the capacity of one's:

short term memory

After Maya gave her friend the password to a protected website, the friend was able to remember it only long enough to type it into the password box. In this instance, the password was clearly stored in her _____ memory.

short-term

In a movie the main character has to write everything on his body and take notes, otherwise he quickly forgets. This is because he has sustained an injury that has left him without _____ memory.

short-term

stress hormones

stress hormones focus memory. Stress provokes the amygdala (two limbic systems, emotion-processing clusters) to initiate a memory trace that boosts activity in the brain's memory-forming areas stressful events can form unforgettable memories

The hippocampus seems to function as a

temporary processing site for explicit memories.

left hippocampus damage

trouble remembering verbal information, no trouble recalling visual designs and locations

right hippocampus damage

trouble remembering visual designs and locations

left hippocampus

verbal information

right hippocampus

visual designs and locations

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

In the Pew Survey

95 percent of American adults said they could recall exactly where they were or what they were doing when they first heard the news of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

flashbulb memory

A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event.

pre-frontal cortex

-associated w/ planning intricate cognitive functions, expressing personality, & making decisions -Receives arousal from brainstem: coordinates arousal

infintile amnesia

-no explicit memories lower than about age 3 -hippocampus is later developing we index much of our explicit memory with a command of language that young children do not possess. Second, the hippocampus is one of the last brain structures to mature, and as it does, more gets retained

Some individuals have an amazing ability to remember things. For example, college student Feng Wang could repeat back _____ digits.

200

Imagine a study in which participants are shown 2000 slides of houses and storefronts, each for only 10 seconds. Later, these same participants are shown 300 of the original slides paired with slides they have not seen before. According to research, these participants would be able to recognize _____ percent of the slides they had seen before.

90

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

sensory memory

Holds sensory information just long enough for our brain to locate relevant bits of data and transfer it to the next stage •large capacity •Short duration

implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

subregions of hippocampus

One part is active as people and mice learn social information. Another part is active as memory champions engage in spatial mnemonics. The rear area, which processes spatial memory, grows bigger as London cabbies navigate the city's complicated maze of streets

Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage. The memories are not permanently stored. acts as a loading dock where the brain registers and temporarily holds the elements of a to-be-remembered episode—its smell, tough, sound, and location. Then, like older files shifted to a basement storeroom, memories migrate to the cortex for storage. This storage process is called memory consolidation

basal ganglia

a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements; facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills. receives input from the cortex, but does not return the favor of sending information back to the cortex for conscious awareness of procedural learning.

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

long-term potentiation

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

frontal lobe

associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving

Consolidation

is the process where our brains convert short-term memories into long-term ones

tunnel vision

loss of peripheral vision, can be triggered by emotional events. They focus our attention and recall on high-priority information, and reduce our recall of irrelevant details

Cerebellum

the "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning With a damaged cerebellum, people cannot develop certain conditioned reflexes, such as associating a tone with an impending puff of air—and thus do not blink in anticipation of the puff. Implicit memory formation needs the cerebellum.

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory Sleep supports memory consolidation. In one experiment, students who learned material in a study/sleep/restudy condition remembered material better