cognitive psych
the connection of episodic and semantic memory
(a) Episodic memories can be lost, leaving semantic memory; (b) semantic memory can be enhanced by association with episodic memory; (c) semantic memory can influence attention and therefore what information we take in and potentially remember later.
different mechanisms of episodic and semantic memory
(a) double dissociation of episodic and semantic memory in patients with brain damage; (b) brain imaging, which indicates that overlapping but different areas are activated by episodic and semantic memories.
One function of ____ is controlling the suppression of irrelevant information.
. the central executive
the effective duration of short-term memry, when rehearsal is prevented, is
15-20 seconds
the "magic number" according to Miller, is
7 plus or mins 2
George Miller, STM
According to George Miller's classic seven plus or minus two paper, the capacity of short-term memory is 5 to 9 items. According to more recent experiments, the capacity is about 4 items. The amount of information held in short-term memory can be expanded by chunking - combining small units into larger, more meaningful ones. Examples of chunking are the memory performance of the runner S.F. and how chess masters use their knowledge of class to remember chess piece positions.
episodic memory
According to Tulving, the defining property of the experience of episodic memory is that it involves the mental time travel (self-knowing or remembering). The experience of semantic memory (knowing) does not involve mental time travel.
principle of state-dependant learning
According to the principle of state-dependent learning, a person's memory will be better when his or her internal state during retrieval matches the state during encoding. Eich's mood experiment supports this idea.
Atkinson and Shriffin's modal memory
Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model of memory consists of three structural features - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Another feature of the model is control process such as rehearsal and attentional strategies.
working memory behavior
Behaviors that depend on working memory can be disrupted by damage to the prefrontal cortex. This has been demonstrated by testing monkeys on the delayed-response task.
brain imaging experiments
Brain imaging experiments in humans reveal that a large number of brain areas are involved in working memory. Event-related potential (ERP) studies have provided physiological evidence supporting the idea that a more efficient working memory is associated with the ability to focus on relevant information and filter out irrelevant information.
classical conditioning
Classical conditioning occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that elicits a response, so that the neutral stimulus then elicits the response. Classically conditioned emotions occur in everyday experience.
retrograde amnesia
Concussions can cause retrograde amnesia. This retrograde amnesia is graded, so that memory loss is greatest for events that happened closest in time to the trauma. This indicates that newly formed memories are fragile.
consolidation
Consolidation transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption. Synaptic consolidation occurs at synapses and is rapid. Systems consolidation involves the reorganization of cortical circuits and is slower.
evidence of encoding
Evidence that encoding influences retrieval includes research looking at the effect of (a) placing a word in a complex sentence; (b) forming visual images; (c) linking words to yourself; (d) generating information (the generation effect); € organizing information; (f) testing (the testing effect).
explicit memory
Explicit memory is our conscious recollections of events we have experienced or facts we have learned. There are two types of explicit memory: Episodic memory is memory for personal events in our lives; semantic memory is memory for facts and knowledge.
Which of the following is an example of a semantic memory?
I remember the big island of Hawaii has many active volcanoes.
implicit memory
Implicit memories are memories used without awareness. Types of implicit memory are priming, procedural memory, and classical conditioning.
implicit memory example
Implicit memory is not just a laboratory phenomenon, but also occurs in real life. The propaganda effect is one example of real-life implicit memory.
implicit memory
Implicit memory occurs when previous experience improves our performance on a task, even though we do not remember the experience. Tulving calls implicit memory nonknowing.
STM
Information can be coded in short-term memory in terms of sound (auditory coding), vision (visual coding), and meaning (semantic coding). Auditory coding was illustrated by Conrad's experiment that analyzed the type of errors made in memory for letters. Visual coding was illustrated by Della Sala's recalling visual patterns experiment, and semantic coding by Wickens' release from proactive interference experiment.
levels of processing theory
Levels-of-processing theory states that memory depends on how information is encoded or programmed into the mind. According to this theory, shallow processing is not as effective as deep processing. An experiment by Craik and Tulving showed that memory was better following deep processing than following shallow processing.
LTM
Long-term memory is an "archive" of information about past experiences in our lives and knowledge we have learned, but it is important to consider the dynamic qualities as well, such as how long-term memory coordinates with working memory to help create our ongoing experience.
According to the levels of processing theory, which of the following tasks will produce the best long-term memory for a set of words?
Making a connection between each word and something you've previously learned
memory
Memory is the process involved in retaining, retrieving and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present. It is important for dealing with day-to-day events, and cases such as Clive Wearing's illustrate the importance of memory for normal functioning.
memory loss
Memory loss has been depicted in movies in a number of ways, some of which bear at least a resemblance to actual cases of amnesia, and some of which are totally fictional conditions.
priming
Priming occurs when the presentation of a stimulus affects a person's response to the same or a related stimulus when it is presented later. There are two main types of priming: repetition priming and conceptual priming.
procedural memory
Procedural memory, also called skill memory, has been studied in amnesiac patients. They are able to learn new skills, although they do not remember learning them. Procedural memory is a common component of many of the skills we have learned.
recent research
Recent research indicates that memories can become susceptible to disruption when they are reactivated by retrieval. After reactivation, these memories must be reconsolidated. This process may be a mechanism for refining and updating memories. Recent experiments have provided evidence for reconsolidation in humans and for the usefulness of reconsolidation therapy in treating conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
Research on the physiological basis of memory
Research on the physiological basis of memory indicates that the formation of memories is associated with structural changes at the synapse. These structural changes are then translated into enhanced nerve firing, as indicated by long-term potentiation.
retrieval
Retrieval can be increased by matching conditions at retrieval to conditions that existed at encoding. This is illustrated by encoding specificity, state-dependent learning, and transfer-appropriate processing.
retrieval of LTM
Retrieving long-term memories is aided by retrieval cues. This has been determined by cued recall experiments and experiment in which participants created retrieval cues that later helped them retrieve memories.
Shepard and Metzler's mental rotation experiment, Brooks's "F" experiment
Shepard and Metzler's mental rotation experiment illustrates visual imagery, which is one of the functions of the visuospatial sketchpad. Brooks's "F" experiment showed that two tasks can be handled simultaneously if one involves the visuospatial sketchpad and the other involves phonological loop. Performance decreases if one component of working memory is called on to deal with two tasks simultaneously.
STM (brown, peterson, and peterson
Short-term memory is our window on the present. Brown, and Peterson and Peterson, determined that the duration of short-term memory is about 15-20 seconds. They interpreted the short duration of short-term memory as being caused by decay, but a later reanalysis of their data indicated it was due to proactive interference.
6 memory princples
Six memory principles that can be applied to studying are (1) elaborate, (2) generate and test, (3) organize, (4) take breaks, (5) match learning and testing conditions, and (6) avoid "illusions of learning."
mechanisms of encoding
Some mechanisms of encoding are more effective than others in transferring information into long-term memory. Maintenance rehearsal helps maintain information in short-term memory but is not an effective way of transferring information into long-term memory. Elaborative rehearsal is a good way to establish long-term memories.
Sperling
Sperling used two methods, whole report and partial report, to determine the capacity and time course of visual sensory memory. The duration of visual sensory memory (iconic memory) is less than 1 second, and of auditory sensory memory (echoic memory) about 2-4 seconds.
central executive
The central executive coordinates how information is used by the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, and can therefore be thought of as an attention controller. Patients with frontal lobe damage have trouble controlling their attention, as illustrated by the phenomenon of perseveration.
demonstration of implicit memory
The demonstration of implicit memory depends on showing that a particular change in behavior has occurred without participants' consulting their episodic memory (because then the memory would not be unconscious, as required if it is an implicit memory). Various techniques can be used to achieve this; the most effective is to use amnesiac patients as participants.
phonological loop
The following effects can be explained in terms of operation of the phonological loop: (a) phonological similarity effect; (b) word length effect; and (c) articulatory suppression.
separate processes of STM and LTM
The following evidence supports the idea that short-term memory and long-term memory are two separate processes: (a) differences in the primary mode of coding, with long-term memory more likely than short-term memory to be coded semantically; (b) neuropsychological studies that demonstrate dissociations between short-term memory and long-term memory; and (c) brain imaging studies that demonstrate different patterns of activity for short-term and long-term memory.
hippocampus
The hippocampus is crucial for forming new long-term memories. Davachi's fMRI experiment shows that the perirhinal cortex is involved in recognizing a stimulus as having been experienced earlier, whereas the hippocampus has other functions. Other areas involved in memory include parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, and the amygdala.
issues with levels of processing theory
The idea of levels of processing, while influential, suffered from the problem of circularity, because it is difficult to define depth of processing independently of memory.
MTL
The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is an important brain area for long-term memory. The medial temporal lobe contains the hippocampus and other structures.
The multiple trace hypothesis
The multiple trace hypothesis states that the hippocampus is involved both when memories are being established and during the retrieval of remote episodic memories.
serial position curve
The primary and recency effects that occur in the serial position curve have been linked to long-term memory and short-term memory, respectively.
the principle of encoding
The principle of encoding specificity states that we learn information along with its context. Godden and Baddeley's "diving experiment" and Grant's studying experiment illustrate the effectiveness of encoding and retrieving information under the same conditions.
encoding
The process of acquiring information and transferring it into long-term memory is called encoding. The process of transferring information from long-term memory into working memory is called retrieval.
Baddeley
The short-term memory component of the modal model was revised by Baddeley to deal with results that couldn't be explained by a single short-term process. In this new model, working memory replaces short-term memory.
The standard model of consolidation
The standard model of consolidation proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation but that after consolidation is complete, retrieval involves the cortex and the hippocampus is no longer involved.
working memory model
The working memory model has been updated to include an additional component called the episodic buffer, which helps connect working memory with long-term memory and which has a greater capacity and can hold information longer than the phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad.
neurons
There are neurons in the prefrontal cortex that fire to presentation of a stimulus and continue firing as this stimulus is held in memory.
evidence
There is a greater deal of evidence that having a larger or more efficient working memory is associated with better comprehension, reasoning ability, and intelligence.
supporting evidence
There is evidence supporting the standard model, and also evidence supporting the idea that retrieval of episodic memories can involve the hippocampus.
transfer appropriate processing
Transfer-appropriate processing refers to the finding that memory performance is enhanced when the type of coding that occurs during acquisition matches the type of retrieval that occurs during a memory test. The results of an experiment by Morris support this idea.
Working memory
Working memory is a limited-capacity system for storage and manipulation of information in complex tasks. It consists of three components: the phonological loop, which holds auditory or verbal information; the visuospatial sketchpad, which holds visual and spatial information; and the central executive, which coordinates the action of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.
the word-length effect shows that it is more difficult to remember
a list of long words than a list of short words
mental time travel
according to Tulving, the defining property of the experience of episodic memory, in which a person travels back in time in his or her mind to re-experience events that happened in the past
spacing effect
advantage in performance caused by short study sessions separated by breaks from studying
anterograde amnesia
amnesia for events that occur after an injury - that is, the inability to form new memories
the inability to assimilate or retain new knowledge is know as
anterograde amnesia
medial temporal lobe
area in the temporal lobe that consists of the hippocampus and a number of surrounding structures; damage to area causes problems in forming new long-term memories
According to levels of processing theory, deep processing results in better memory. However, studies have shown that shallow processing can result in better memory when the individual encodes _____ and is tested _____.
auditorially; auditorially
Carrie answers her phone with "Hello?" A response, "Hi, Carrie!" comes from the other end of the line. Carrie responds back with "Hi, Dad!" Carrie processed "Hi, Carrie" using a(n)
auditory code in long term memory
echoic memory
brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts for a few seconds after a stimulus is extinguished
iconic memory
brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after a stimulus is extinguished; corresponds to the sensory memory stage of the modal model of memory
visual icon
brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after a stimulus is extinguished; corresponds to the sensory memory stage of the modal model of memory
priming
change in response to a stimulus caused by the previous presentation of the same or a similar stimulus
visual coding
coding in the mind in the form of a visual image
semantic coding
coding in the mind in the form of meaning
chunking
combining small units into larger ones, such as when individual words are combined into a meaningful sentence; can be used to increase the capacity of memory
episodic buffer
component added to Baddeley's original working memory model that serves as a "backup" store that communicates with both long-term memory and the components of working memory; holds information longer and has greater capacity than the phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad
phonological store
component of the phonological loop of working memory that holds a limited amount of verbal and auditory information for a few seconds
Jocelyn is in an experiment where she is presented words representing categories. She is presented the word "furniture" in an earlier trial, which makes it easier for her later to recall the word "chair" because of the similarity of meaning. Jocelyn's memory enhancement for "chair" due to seeing the word "furniture" illustrates
conceptual priming
korsakoff's syndrome
condition caused by prolonged vitamin B1 deficiency that leads to destruction of areas on the frontal lobes and causes severe impairments in memory
systems consolidation
consolidation process that involves the gradual reorganization of circuits within brain regions and takes place on a long time scale, lasting weeks, months, or even years
persistence of vision
continued perception of light for a fraction of a second after the original light stimulus has been extinguished
Memory for a word will tend to be better if the word is used in a complex sentence (like "the bicycle was blue, with high handlebars and a racing seat") rather than a simple sentence (like "he rode the bicycle"). This probably occurs because the complex sentence
creates more connections
retrieval cues
cues that help a person remember information that is stored in memory
physiological approach to coding
determining how a stimulus or experience is represented by the firing of neurons
mental approach to coding
determining how a stimulus or experience is represented in the mind
perseveration
difficulty in switching from one behavior to another, which can hinder a person's ability to solve problems that require flexible thinking; observed in cases in which the prefrontal cortex has been damaged
brief sensory memory for sound is know as
echoic memory
The principle that we learn information together with its context is known as
ecoding specificity
phonological similarity effect
effect that occurs when letters or words that sound similar are confused
According to the levels of processing theory, memory durability depends on how information is
encoded
Hebb's idea of long-term potentiation, which provides a physiological mechanism for the long-term storage of memories, includes the idea of
enhanced firing in the neurons
testing effect
enhanced performance on a memory test caused by being tested on the material to be remembered
Phoebe steps up to the golf ball and hits it down the fairway. She sees that the ball is heading towards someone, so she yells "Fore!" After her two partners hit their balls, they pick up their bags and start walking to the next hole. But Phoebe says, "Wait a minute, I haven't teed off yet." This behavior shows that Phoebe has a problem with ____ memory.
episodic
Two types of declarative memory are _____ and _____ memory.
episodic;semantic
coding
form in which stimuli are represented in the mind
Students, beware! Research shows that _____ does not improve reading comprehension because it does not encourage elaborative processing of the material.
highlighting
levels of processing theory
idea that memory depends on how information is encoded, with better memory being achieved when processing is deep than when processing is shallow
depth of processing
idea that the processing that occurs as an item is being encoded into memory can be deep or shallow
mutiple trace hypothesis
idea, associated with memory consolidation, that the hippocampus is involved in retrieval of remote memories, especially episodic memories
recognition memory
identifying a stimulus that was encountered earlier; stimuli are presented during a study period and then, later, the same stimuli plus other, new stimuli are presented; participants' task is to pick the stimuli that were originally presented
control process
in Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model of memory, active processes that can be controlled by the person and may differ from one task to another
recency effect
in a memory experiment in which a list of word is presented, enhanced memory for words presented at the end of the list
primacy effect
in a memory experiment in which a list of words is presented, enhanced memory for words presented at the beginning of the list
serial position curve
in a memory experiment in which participants are asked to recall a list of words, a plot of participants remembering each word against the position of that word in the list
long term potentiation
increased firing that occurs in a neuron due to prior activity at the synapse
articulatory suppression
interference with operation of the phonological loop that occurs when a person repeats an irrelevant word such as "the" while carrying out a task that requires the phonological loop
paired-associate learning
learning task in which participants are first presented with pairs of words, then one word of each pair is presented and the task is to recall the other word
working memory
limited- capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory for something that happened prior to an injury or traumatic event such as concussion
the emphasis of the concept of working memory is on how information is
manipulated
reading span
maximum number of sentences that a person can read while simultaneously holding the last word of each sentence in memory; has been used to measure both the storage and processing functions of working memory
self-reference effect
memory for a word is improved by relating the word to the self
remote memory
memory for events that occurred long ago
procedural memory
memory for how to carry out highly practiced skills; type of implicit memory because although people can carry out a skilled behavior, they often cannot explain exactly how they are able to do so
semantic memory
memory for knowledge about the world that is not tied to any specific personal experience
sensory memory
memory for knowledge about the world that is not tied to any specific personal experience
generation effect
memory for material is better when a person generates the material him- or herself, rather than passively receiving it
episodic memory
memory for specific events that have happened to the person having the memory; events are usually remembered as a personal experience that occurred at a particular time and place
short term memory
memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, usually around 30 seconds of time, unless there is rehearsal that can maintain information in short-term memory; one of the stages in the modal model of memory
LTM
memory mechanism that can hold large amounts of information for long periods of time; one of the stages in the modal model of memory
declarative memory
memory that involves conscious recollection of previously experienced events (episodic memory) or facts (semantic memory)
explicit memory
memory that involves conscious recollections of events or facts that we have learned in the past
implicit memory
memory that occurs when an experience affects a person's behavior, even though the person is not aware that he or she has had the experience
nondeclarative memory
memory that occurs when an experience affects a person's behavior, event though the person is not aware that he or she has had the experience
modal model of memory
model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin that describes memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, including short-term memory and long-term memory; contained features of many models that were being proposed in 1960s
word length effect
notion that is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words
digit span
number of digits a person can remember; used as a measure of the capacity of short-term memory
central executive
part of working memory that coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad
phonological loop
part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information
visuospatial sketchpad
part of working memory that holds and processes visual and spatial information
levels of processing
parts of levels-of-processing theory that states that there are different depths of processing that can be achieved as information is being encoded
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
conceptual priming
priming that occurs when the enhancement caused by a priming stimulus is based on the meaning of the stimulus
state dependent learning
principle that memory is best when a person is in the same state for encoding and retrieval; related to encoding specificity
encoding specificity
principle that we learn information together with its context; means that presence of the context can lead to enhanced memory for the information
cued recall
procedure for testing memory in which a participant is presented with cues, such as words or phrases, to aid recall of previously experience stimuli
free recall
procedure for testing memory in which the participant is asked to remember stimuli that were previously presented
classical conditioning
procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit a response
whole report method
procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report all of the stimuli they saw in a brief presentation
partial report method
procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display; cue tone immediately after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report
delayed partial report method
procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display; cue tone that was delayed for a fraction of a second after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report
decay
process by which information is lost from memory due to the passage of time
encoding
process of acquiring information and transferring it into memory
synaptic consolidation
process of consolidation that involves structural changes at synapses that happen rapidly, over a period of minutes
retrieval
process of remembering information that has been stored in long-term memory
rehearsal
process of repeating a stimulus over and over, usually for the purpose of remembering it, that keeps the stimulus active in short-term memory
reconsolidation
process proposed by Nader and others that occurs when a memory is reactivated; similar to the consolidation that occurs after initial learning, although it apparently occurs more rapidly
reactivation
process that occurs during memory consolidation, in which the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with memory; during reactivation, activity occurs in the network connecting the hippocampus and the cortex; results in the formation of connections between the cortical areas
consolidation
process that transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption
memory
processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills, after the original information is no longer present
deep processing
processing that involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else; usually associated with elaborative rehearsal
shallow processing
processing that involves repetition with little attention to meaning; usually associated with maintenance rehearsal
standard model of consolidation
proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation, but that once consolidation is complete, retrieval no longer depends on the hippocampus
the primacy effect is attributed to
recall information stored in long term memory
This multiple choice question is an example of a ____ test.
recognition
articulatory rehearsal process
rehearsal process involved in working memory that keeps items in the phonological store from decaying
maintenance rehearsal
rehearsal that involves repetition without any consideration of meaning for making connections to other information
elaborative rehearsal
rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowlege
Elaborative rehearsal of a word will LEAST likely be accomplished by
repeating it over and over
auditory coding
representation of the sound of a stimulus in the mind
Information remains in sensory memory for
seconds or a fraction of a second
The predominant type of coding in LTM is
semantic
if you remember something in terms of its meaning, the type of encoding you are using is
semantic
The three structural components of the modal model of memory are
sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory
release from proactive interference
situation in which conditions occur that eliminate or reduce the decrease in performance caused by proactive interference
structural features (modal model)
stages in the modal model of memory; stages are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
The primary effect of chunking is to
stretch the capacity of STM
The standard model of consolidation proposes that the hippocampus is
strongly active when memories are first formed and being consolidated but becomes less active when retrieving older memories that are already consolidated.
delayed response task
task in which information is provided, a delay is imposed, and then memory is tested; has been used to study short-term memory by testing monkeys' ability to hold information about location of a food reward during a delay
recall test
test in which participants are presented with stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to remember as many of the stimuli as possible
Memory performance is enhanced if the type of task at encoding matches the type of task at retrieval. This is called
transfer-appropriate processing
visual imagery
type of mental imagery involving visión, in which an image is experienced in the absence of a visual stimulus
chunk
used in connection with the idea of chunking in memory; collection of elements that are strongly associated with each other, but are weakly associated with elements in other chunks
The defining characteristic of implicit memory is that
we are not conscious we are using it
graded amnesia
when amnesia is most severe for events that occurred just prior to an injury and becomes less severe for earlier, more remote events
repetition priming
when an initial presentation of a stimulus affects the person's response to the same stimulus when it is presented later
proactive interference
when information learned previously interferes with learning new information
transfer appropriate processing
when the type of task that occurs during encoding matches the type of task that occurs during retrieval; can result in enhanced memory