memory ch:8 Q

Compare and contrast the two ways in which we encode information.

Information is encoded through automatic or effortful processing. Automatic processing refers to all information that enters long-term memory without conscious effort. This includes things such as time, space, and frequency—for example, your ability to remember what you ate for breakfast today or the fact that you remember that you ran into your best friend in the supermarket twice this week. Effortful processing refers to encoding information through conscious attention and effort. Material that you study for a test requires effortful processing.

According to a study by Yogo and Fujihara (2008), if you want to improve your short-term memory, you should spend time writing about ________.

a traumatic life experience

When you are learning how to play the piano, the statement "Every good boy does fine" can help you remember the notes E, G, B, D, and F for the lines of the treble clef. This is an example of a (an) ________.

acrostic

The three functions of memory are ________.

encoding, storage, and retrieva

This physical trace of memory is known as the ________

engram

The storage capacity of long-term memory is ________.

essentially limitless

An exceptionally clear recollection of an important event is a (an) ________.

flashbulb memory

The self-referencing effect refers to ________.

making the material you are trying to memorize personally meaningful to you

Memory aids that help organize information for encoding are ________.

mnemonic devices

________ is another name for short-term memory

working memory

According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, name and describe the three stages of memory.

According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, memory is processed in three stages. The first is sensory memory; this is very brief: 1-2 seconds. Anything not attended to is ignored. The stimuli we pay attention to then move into our short-term memory. Short-term memory can hold approximately 7 bits of information for around 20 seconds. Information here is either forgotten, or it is encoded into long-term memory through the process of rehearsal. Long-term memory is the permanent storage of information—its capacity is basically unlimited.

What might happen to your memory system if you sustained damage to your hippocampus?

Because your hippocampus seems to be more of a processing area for your explicit memories, injury to this area could leave you unable to process new declarative (explicit) memories; however, even with this loss, you would be able to create implicit memories (procedural memory, motor learning and classical conditioning).

Compare and contrast implicit and explicit memory.

Both are types of long-term memory. Explicit memories are memories we consciously try to remember and recall. Explicit memory is also called declarative memory and is subdivided into episodic memory (life events) and semantic memory (words, ideas, and concepts). Implicit memories are memories that are not part of our consciousness; they are memories formed from behaviors. Implicit memory is also called non-declarative memory and includes procedural memory as well as things learned through classical conditioning.