Psychology of memory

Question 1

What is memory?
How is this linked to learning?

Answer 1

Memory is the selective acquisition (learning) then selective retrival of information for future use (remembering)
It is an example of neural plasticity
Requires synchronized activity in multiple specialized brain regions.

Question 2

What are the different stages of memory?

Answer 2

The initial learning process or encoding of information
The storage and consolidation of information.
The retrieval of memory

Question 3

What causes us to forget a memory? (3 ways)

Answer 3

The retrieval processes of stored information has failed
1. unsuccessful storage
2. loss of the memory trace
3. Failure to locate the trace at retrieval

Question 4

What is meant by a memory trace?

Answer 4

A hypothetical change in the brains neurological system, the neuronal pathways.

Question 5

What are the two main subgroups of memory?

Answer 5

Short term and long term memory

Question 6

What are the two subgroups of long term memory?

Answer 6

Declarative - explicit, brought into consciousnes awareness, something recalled for a test
Non-declarative - implicit, can not be brought into conscious awareness, only demonstrated band learnt by an experience

Question 7

What are the division of declarative memory?

Answer 7

Episodic memory - personal experiences from a specific time and a space, remembered as a story or episode
Semantic memory - word knowledge, object knowledge, language and conceptual priming.

Question 8

What is meant by conceptual priming as a semantic memory?

Answer 8

A recall or schemas, cats have four legs, the next thing i see with four legs is therefore a cat
Is fact related

Question 9

What are some sub-divisions of non-declarative memory?

Answer 9

Procedural memory - learning a procedure or congtive skills (muscle memory)
Classical conditioning
Non-associative learning - habitualisation (stop responding to a stimulus), sensitisation (responds to a weaker stimulus)
Perceptual representation system - priming based on sensory stimuli

Question 10

What is meant by schemas in psychology and how does this make learning easier?

Answer 10

Schemas are association made between pieces of information, such as grouping things into categories.
This makes in easier, as rules of information are quicker to store compared to the actual information itself.

Question 11

What is short term memory?
How do we solidifying it?

Answer 11

The ability to store a small amount of information for active use for a short amount of time, is kept in short term memory by rehersal.
Short term memory may also include the information retrieved from the long term memeory

Question 12

What is the working memory?

Answer 12

A system to select, temporary store, long term encode, retrieve and manipulate information.
This aids the completion of more cogntivly demaning tasks by connecting short term memory, long term memory and actions.

Question 13

What is meant by a capacity constraint of memory?
What factors can cause it to be reached?

Answer 13

An interference in the working memory, so is not able to reach optimal functioning.
Can be caused by stress, poor sleep, excess alcohol consumption, medication, pathological injuries or consuming thoughts.
This may present through learning difficulties.

Question 14

What is cognitive load?

Answer 14

The effort required to recall or create new memories. The effort of thinking.

Question 15

What is a common subgroup of retrospect amnesia?

Answer 15

Short term memory is more fragile in its retrieval than long term retrieval
Amnesia patients can often remember their childhood years ago but struggle to remember what they had for dinner the day before.

Question 16

What is the key difference between episodic and semantic memory?

Answer 16

Episodic is related to a temporal event (specific time and place in a persons life) an episode. Specific to an individual, always in first person.
Semantic does not, pure fact recall. Shared across individuals in a culture.

Question 17

What does the semantic system allow in terms of categorisation?

Answer 17

Allows facts to be generalised to a novel concept
Allows identification of facts that do not fit within a concept.

Question 18

What is the hippocampuses main role in relation to psychology?

Answer 18

Critical role in learning, emotional responses and memory formation/storage.

Question 19

What are the three main memory functions of the hippocampus?

Answer 19

Memory formation - registers short term information into long term memory storage, influences the ability to encode and retrieve information
Informs behavioral responses - draws from memory of previous experiences to influence our actions
Spatial cognition - rembers spatial information, such as driving routes or finding a ward in a hospital.

Question 20

What pathologies can cause damage to the hippocampus?
What are the early signs of damage to the hippocampus?

Answer 20

Alzhiemers disease (most common)
Encephalitits, stroke etc
Struggle to form new episodic memory and learn the layout of unfamiliar locations.

Question 21

What does damage to the hippocampi cause?

Answer 21

Severe difficulty learning new episodic and semantic memory
Difficulty recalling episodic and semantic memory.
Loss of memory is often on a temporal gradient meaning older memories are easier to recall.

Question 22

Using the example of Clive Waring, explain the effects of hippocampal damage on memeory>

Answer 22

Clive retained implicit memory, such as perceptual memory very good on the piano. Able to recognise feeling of love towards his wife but not who she is or previous memories.
Struggled to make or recall new memories.
Seven second memory, constantly feeling as if he had just woken up

Question 23

What does the hippocampus do in relation to episodic memory?

Answer 23

Binds together sensory representations of an event in a specific spatial context
The orbitofrontal cortex contributes to the when of the event.
The hippocampus allows for mental time travel, contextual detail or recall of a sensation in a past tense.

Question 24

What is meant by the hippocampus having a role in system consolidation?

Answer 24

Strengthens episodic memory
Forms sematic memory, extracts themes are rules and makes into general world knowledge.

Question 25

What is meant by procedural memory?

Answer 25

Lay is known as muscle memory
Formed slowly by a process of trial and error.
Guides behaviour
Hard to verbalise these memories
Acquired in different ways.

Question 26

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 26

Paired associations with neutral stimuli
Dog, food, bell, salivation

Question 27

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 27

A method of learning by which behaviour is associated with a reoward or a punishment, this makes some patterns of behaviour more common than others.
This is a behaviourist view

Question 28

What are the two ways that procedural memories can be formed?

Answer 28

Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning

Question 29

What is the garcia effect?

Answer 29

Believed to be an advantagous survival mechanism, the mind associates sickness with a stimuli prior to that sickness. When this stimuli is next seen, the feeling of nausea is remembered and the food or stimuli is avoided.
This becomes stronger the more times the stimuli and the effect are repeated in concession.

Question 30

What is the alternative argument to operant condition?

Answer 30

Is an application of declerative memory, stored as a fact that doing this leads to this, rather than being a behaviour pattern it is a choice.

Question 31

What proves that the hippocampus may have a role in spatial awareness?

Answer 31

Classical maze concept.
Rats are placed in a maze with food at the end, they learn that food is at the end of the maze.
Declarative memory - the rats would learn the steps to reach the end of the maze but would not be able to leave the maze if placed in a different area
However, when placed in a different area the rats were still able to find the way out, the memory of food being at the end was motivational then used spatial awareness from the hippocampus

Question 32

How does memory retrieval vary?

Answer 32

Retrieval of older memories ore often used is often faster and more efficient.
Contextual clues can increase the rate of recall
Recall can be slow and efforful if capacity constraint of the working memory is reached.

Question 33

What role does the pre-frontal cortex have in memory retrieval?

Answer 33

Actively suppresses memories that are no longer considered relevant.
Attributes episodic memories to the context they were acquired in, e/g a sense of chronological order in relation to other memories
Distinguishes between real and imagined scenarios.

Question 34

What is meant by retrieval induce forgetting?

Answer 34

Retrieval of a memory, causes active inhibition of similar competing memories (relearning something you had wrong)

Question 35

How does memory change over time?

Answer 35

Processing of memory - increases rapidly until 20yrs then starts a medium decline
Semantic memory - increases rapidly until age 20yrs then remains relativly constant before slowly starting to decline
Episodic memory - start high and declines with age.
Age associated congitive decline starts in our early 20s.
Age only contributes for a small difference in variation of memory across the population.

Question 36

Why does memory decline have a little functional impact?

Answer 36

Most daily activties depend on knowledge and experience rather than processing.
So the rapid decline of processing has the smallest effect.
Procedural memories for basic tasks will remain for the longest.
We change our behaviour to match our level of congitive processing.

Question 37

What about the human memory provides considerable evolutionary advantage?

Answer 37

Ability to associate and link new learning experiences with current and future situations.

Question 38

What limits memory retrieval into the short term memory?

Answer 38

Time limited
Capacity constrained

Question 39

How can we improve memory encoding and knowledge recall?

Answer 39

Link knew knowledge to prior concepts, create associations, actively engaging with the information.
Reduce interference
Test the retrieval of new information