Memory Study Guide PDF

MEMORY - There are three (main) processes in memory. The first is called encoding which involves forming a memory code, it can be represented as entering data through a keyboard. The second process is called storage and it involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time li...

MEMORY - There are three (main) processes in memory. The first is called encoding which involves forming a memory code, it can be represented as entering data through a keyboard. The second process is called storage and it involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time like saving the data on a hard drive. The final process is called retrieval and it involves recovering the information from memory stores, like pulling up the information and displaying it on the screen - A memory illusion is a memory that is feels real but is actually false - Forgetting is the decline in a learned behavior after a period of time without practice or reinforcement, the retention interval is a period during which the learning or practice of a behaviour does not occur - Sensory memory is a brief storage of perceptual information before it is passes to short term memory, for visual sensory information that lasts about a second it is called iconic store/memory, for auditory sensory information that lasts about 5-10 seconds, it is called echoic store/memory - Short term/working memory is memory that retains information for limited durations, it includes information you are currently focusing on, thinking about, or working with. Short term memory is short because of decay which is the fading of information from memory over time, interference which is the loss of information from memory because new additional information is being competed with the old information, retroactive interference which is interference with the retention of old information due to the gathering of new information and proactive interference which is interference with learning new information due to previous learning expirence, an example of proactive interference is forgetting your new phone number because you keep on remembering your old phone number. The magic number is 7(+/-) 2 (or like 5-9), this is the pieces of information one can memorize in short term memory, although researchers do not all agree on this. - There are some ways to extend short term memory, one way is through chunking which is organizing information into meaningful groups, for example the digits on a credit card are split up rather than all together. Another way to extend the span of short term memory is through rehearsal which is repeating information, there are two more specific types of rehearsal, maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal, maintenance rehearsal is repeating stimuli in its original form, while elaborate rehearsal is linking stimuli to each other in a meaningful way (linking the word ‘apple’ to the word ‘pie’ can be an example of elaborate rehearsal) - Levels of processing or depth of processing is a model of memory that argues the more “deeply” we think the better we are at remembering it and therefore transferring it to long term memory, however there is a problem with it as it is no falsifiable. Levels of processing has three levels: structural (visual), phonological (auditory) and semantic (its meaning) - Long term memory (LTM) is a relatively long lasting retention of information stored regarding out facts, experiences, and skills. It has a large capacity (which is unlike short term memory), it also lasts for hours to years. A type of LTM that appears to be permanent is called permastore - Primary effect is the tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well and is thought to reflect LTM, which recency effect is the tendency to remember words at the end of a list particularly well which is thought to reflect STM processes - Repeated retrieval is repeatedly trying to recall or use the material overtime, for example quizzing yourself on your notes rather than just reading/skimming them - Semantic memory is our knowledge of facts about the world and is also referred to as declaritive memory, knowing that a dog is a type of animal is an example of this - Episodic memory is a recollection of events in our lives, like remembering a concert that you went to - Explicit memory are memories we recall intentionally and of which we have conscious awareness, remembering facts for a test (like what the fuck i’m trying to do now) is an example of this - Implicit memory are memories we do not deliberately remember or reflect on consciously, like walking into a room and feeling anxious although you can not remember what happened exactly in that room that made you feel that way - Procedural memory is memory for how to do things, this includes motor skills and habit, riding a bike would be an example of this - Priming is the activation of one concept by another for example when you are shown the word “doctor” and then you are presented with “n__se”, you are are more likely to put the word “nurse” down rather than something else, this is more specifically semantic priming and semantically related words will result in faster reaction times - Memory as a network of associations is a theory that memory can be represented as a network of associated concepts, each concept is represented by a node, there are lines between the nodes that represent associations and shorter line mean a stronger relationship, this theory is unfalsifiable which is a problem - An engram is a hypothesized, physical trace os a memory within the brain - Donald Hebb hypothesized that neurons that fire together wire together - Long term potentiation of synapses (LTP) is a when two brain cells "talk" to each other at the same time, they get better at talking to each other, and this helps your brain remember things better. Potentiation is when brain cells get better at sending messages to each other - retrograde amnesia is the loss of memories from out past - Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form new memories - Consolidation is the idea that memories slowly turn into lasting ones that are stored in your brain for a long time - Alzheimer’s disease is a degerenative brain disease that results in dementia, language ability deteriorates along with other bodily processes and risk increases with age. There is a strong genetic component, is associated with a number of neurological abnormalities like the deterioration of acetylcholine neurons in the cortex. Early lifestyle may play a large part in the progression of alzheimers - Infantile amnesia is the inability to remember personal experiences that took place at an early age (before 2-3 years old) and this may be due to an underdeveloped hippocampus or having no sense of self - Cryptomnesia is failure to recognize that our ideas originated with someone else, like saying a joke but you heard it somewhere else but can not remember where you heard it - Misinformation effect is the creation of fictitious memories by providing misleading information about an event after it takes place like seeing a cookies by george sign in toronto when there is no cookies by george in toronto :( (this is true and actually very upsetting) - Implanted information example is if someone repeatedly tells you that you got lost in the mall as achild even though you do not remember getting lost in the mall as a child you may begin to create memories of yourself getting lost at the mall