Psychology Memory Mechanisms

Memory Mechanisms

• Long-term memory: Stores large amounts of information for extended periods.
• Serial position curve: A graphic representation of the relationship between the position of a word in a list and the probability of recall.
• Primacy effect: Enhanced recall for items at the beginning of a list.
• Recency effect: Enhanced recall for items at the end of a list.
• Hippocampus: Crucial for forming long-term memories, playing a role in remote episodic memories and short-term storage of new information.

Types of Memory

• Episodic memory: Memory for personal experiences.
• Semantic memory: Memory for facts about the world, independent of personal experience.
• Explicit memory: Conscious recollection of past events or facts.
• Implicit memory: Memory that influences behavior without conscious awareness.
• Procedural memory: Implicit memory for carrying out well-practiced skills, often without conscious recall.

Memory Processing

• Priming: Exposure to a stimulus influences subsequent responses to related stimuli.
• Repetition priming: Previous encounters with a stimulus make it easier to recognize or respond to it later.
• Propaganda effect: Repeated exposure to statements increases perceived truthfulness, even if they are false.
• Double Dissociation: Evidence showing two cognitive functions operate independently, often through brain damage studies.

Levels of Processing

• Levels of Processing Theory: Memory is influenced by how deeply information is encoded.
• Depths of Processing: Shallow processing involves repetition without meaning, while deep processing focuses on meaning and connections.
• Shallow processing: Repetition with minimal attention to meaning.
• Deep processing: Focus on meaning and relating information to existing knowledge.
• Paired-associate learning: Learning task where pairs of words are presented, followed by recall of one word when presented with the other.
• Self-reference effect: Enhanced memory for information related to oneself.

Retrieval

• Retrieval cue: Stimulus that helps retrieve information from memory.
• Spacing effect: Memory performance benefits from spacing out study sessions.
• Maintenance rehearsal: Simple repetition of information without deeper processing.

Memory Testing

• Free recall: Recalling previously presented items in any order without hints.
• Cued recall: Recalling previously presented items with hints or prompts.

Encoding Specificity

• Encoding specificity: Memory is best when the context of retrieval matches the context of encoding.
• State-dependent learning: Memory is better when the internal state at retrieval matches the internal state during encoding.
• Transfer appropriate processing: Enhanced memory when the type of processing at encoding matches the type of processing at retrieval.

Memory Consolidation

• Consolidation: The process of transforming new memories into a more stable state.
• Synaptic consolidation: Rapid structural changes at synapses to strengthen memories.
• Systems consolidation: Gradual reorganization of memory circuits within brain regions over a longer time scale.
• Long-term potentiation (LTP): Increased neuronal firing due to prior activity in synapses.
• Reactivation: Replaying of neural activity associated with a memory during consolidation, often in the hippocampus and cortex.

Explore the fascinating world of memory mechanisms in this quiz. Test your knowledge on long-term memory, the types of memory, and key concepts like the primacy and recency effects. Discover how the hippocampus plays a crucial role in forming memories.