Psychology 101 Chapter 9: The Knowing Mind - Memory

priming

A change in a response to a stimulus as a result of exposure to a previous stimulus.

spreading activation model

A connectionist theory proposing that people organize general knowledge based on their individual experiences.

declarative memories

A consciously retrieved memory that is easy to verbalize, including semantic, episodic, and autobiographical information; also known as explicit memory.

information processing

A continuum including attention, sensation, perception, learning, memory, and cognition.

forgetting

A decrease in the ability to remember a previously formed memory.

semantic memory

A general knowledge memory. -Declarative -General knowledge -Organized by category -Sensory and motor cortex

episodic memory

A memory for personal experience. -Declarative -Personal history -Organized chronologically -Prefrontal cortex

procedural memories

A nondeclarative or implicit memory for how to carry out skilled movement. -Nondeclarative -Difficult to verbalize -Easy to demonstrate -Automated skills -Basal ganglia

encoding specificity

A process in which memories incorporate unique combinations of information when encoded.

decay

A reduction in ability to retrieve rarely used information over time. -Savings technique

schema

A set of expectations about objects and situations.

cue

A stimulus that aids retrieval.

the Atkinson-Shriffrin Model of Memory

According to this classic model of memory, information flows through a series of stages. If memory is not transferred to the next stage, it is permanently lost.

flashbulb memory

An especially vivid and detailed memory of an emotional event.

working memory

An extension of the concept of short-term memory that includes the active manipulation of multiple types of information simultaneously.

nondeclarative memories

An unconsciously and effortlessly retrieved memory that is difficult to verbalize, such as a memory for classical conditioning, procedural learning, and priming; also known as implicit memory.

interference

Competition between newer and older information in memory. -Comparison of performance in a list-learning task

motivated forgetting

Failure to retrieve negative memories. -Comparison of recall for memories associated with positive or negative emotions

Sterling's Demonstration of the Duration of Sensory Memory

George Sperling presented a matrix of letters to study participants for as few as 15 milliseconds. When asked to recall the whole matrix, most participants could remember about four or five letters. However, when tones instead of verbal commands were used to signal which row to remember, participants were able to recall whole rows at a time, which implies they could remember more than four or five items. Sperling concluded that they could "see" the entire matrix in sensory memory briefly, which allowed them to respond correctly.

the duration of short-term memory

In a classic study by Peterson and Peterson (1959), participants were given triplets of letters, like XPJ or BTP, to recall. Their ability to remember the letters decreased as the time between presentation and recall increased. These results led the Petersons to propose that short-term memory might last up to 18 seconds, but more contemporary scientists using different methods think that it lasts as little as 2 seconds.

types of long-term memory

Long-term memory can be divided into several categories, beginning with a distinction between declarative (also known as explicit, or conscious memories) and nondeclarative (also known as implicit, or unconscious memories). Declarative memories are further divided into semantic and episodic memories, which are combined when we use autobiographical memories. Examples of nondeclarative memories are procedural memories, classical conditioning, and priming.

mnemonics

Memory aids that link new information to well-known information.

the information processing continuum

Memory is located on a continuum of information processing that flows both from the bottom up and from the top down.

reconstruction

Rebuilding a memory out of stored elements.

rehearsal

Repetition of information.

autobiographical memories

Semantic or episodic memories that reference the self. -Declarative -Combines semantic and episodic memories -References self -Combination of prefrontal, sensory, and motor cortex

memory

The ability to retain knowledge.

levels of processing theory

The depth (shallow to deep) of processing applied to information that predicts its ease of retrieval.

long-term potentiation (TLP)

The enhancement of communication between two neurons resulting from their synchronous activation.

long-term memory

The final stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model that is the location of permanent memories. -Very large capacity -Very long duration

sensory memory

The first stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model that holds large amounts of incoming data for brief amounts of time. -Large capacity -Brief duration -Separate channels for different sensory types (acoustic, visual, etc.)

chunking

The process of grouping similar or meaningful information together.

retrieval

The recovery of stored information.

storage

The retention of information.

short-term memory (STM)

The second stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model that holds a small amount of information for a limited time. -Limited capacity (5-9 bits) -Limited duration (30 sec maximum) -Expansion of capacity through chunking -Expansion of duration through rehearsal -Central executive, visuospatial scratchpad, episodic buffer, phonological loop

encoding

The transformation of information from one form to another.