4. Episodic Memory

Question 1

What is episodic memory?

Answer 1

• memory of personal experiences that can be explicitly stated consisting of autobiographical events and their context

Question 2

What is the basis of episodic memory (mental time travel/chronesthesia)?

Answer 2

• capacity to mentally reconstruct personal events from the past as well as to imagine possible future scenarios

Question 3

What are the 6 fundamental components of mental time travel?

Answer 3

• early memories
• recent memories
• imagined events
• reminiscence bump
• future events
• flashbulb memories

Question 4

What is the reminiscence bump?

Answer 4

• superior memory for all events that occurred in adolescence and early adulthood

Question 5

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 5

• emotionally significant/shocking
• e.g 9/11, pandemic

Question 6

What is hyperthymesia?

Answer 6

• feel like you are living 2 lives at once
• emotions associated with previous upsetting situations with perfect recall of events and situations

Question 7

How are direct memory tests used?

Answer 7

• instructed encoding: PPs instructed to memories information
• explicit retrieval: PPs instructed to retrieve the info they memorised

Question 8

How are indirect memory tests used?

Answer 8

• incidental encoding: participants think about the information but are not instructed to memorise it
• implicit retrieval: during testing, they are asked to complete an activity seemingly unrelated to memory

Question 9

What are the 3 types of recall?

Answer 9

1. free recall: recall as many items as possible
2. serial recall: recall items in order of their presentation
3. cued recall: recall items with a help of a cue (recall all odd digits first, then all even digits)

Question 10

What are the encoding-retrieval interactions?

Answer 10

• encoding specificity
• transfer-appropriate processing

Question 11

What are the levels of processing from shallow to deep?

Answer 11

1. structural
2. phonemic: what it sounds like
3. category: what does it mean

Question 12

As the depth of processing gets deeper what improves?

Answer 12

retrieval from memory

Question 13

What is massed practice vs distributed practice?

Which is memory generally better for?

Answer 13

• massed: single, lengthy study period (cramming)
• distributed: multiple short study periods
• distributed practice is more likely to benefit performance
• the longer the spacing, the better memory

Question 14

What is the serial position effect?

Answer 14

• how well we encode depending when info is presented
• primacy effect: first thing learnt
• recency effect: last thing learnt
• middle not well remembered

Question 15

How did Roediger and Kapicke assess the testing effect?

Answer 15

• PPs study 1 of 2 texts
• they re-study or recall text
• recall after 5 min, 2 days or 1 week
• retrieval practice improves for delays longer than a few mins

Question 16

What is the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 16

• matching context at encoding and retrieval aids episodic memory

Question 17

How did Godden & Baddeley assess the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 17

• learning above water = better recall above water
• learning underwater = better recall underwater
• memory is best for matched encoding and retrieval context

Question 18

What is transfer-appropriate processing?

Answer 18

• matching processing at encoding and retrieval aids episodic memory

Question 19

How can we improve our memory?

Answer 19

• levels of processing: think critically about learning materials and question understanding
• spacing effect: learn in shorter but frequent sessions
• testing effect: test knowledge in exam-similar conditions
• serial position effect: vary the learning order to reduce effect disorders
• encoding specificity: