Week 8: Expert Memory

Question 1

How does semantic meaning influence memory?

Answer 1

We’re more likely to remember a list of items if they are highly associated

Question 2

Who came up with the 3 levels of processing?

Answer 2

Craik and Lockhart

Question 3

What are the 3 levels of processing? (Craik and Lockhart)

Answer 3

Structural - what it looks like
Phonetic - what it sounds like
Semantic - what it means

Question 4

What does it mean to be an expert in something?

Answer 4

Being an expert in something means we are able to recall a large quantity of information on a certain subject. They can understand large quantities of information which then enables them to develop new theories and build on existing knowledge.

Question 5

Are memory and intelligence the same thing?

Answer 5

Remebering and manipulating information are seperate skills so while memory helps, it isn’t everything

Question 6

Is expert memory learnt or innate?

Answer 6

Learnt

Question 7

Is extraordinary memory learnt or innate?

Answer 7

Innate

Question 8

What are some stratergies used to improve memory?

Answer 8

Categorisation
Method of loci
Pegword method
Interacting images

Question 9

How does catergorisation affect memory?

Answer 9

Items arranged into catergories are easier to remember.

The degree of organisation in the catergory correlates with retention

Question 10

What is the method of loci method for enhancing memory?

Answer 10

Each item is paired with a location on a path

Spacial locations and visual imagery are used to help encoding

Question 11

Why does visuospatial information aid in memory encoding?

Answer 11

They both take place in the hippocampus

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of using the method of loci for enhancing memory?

Answer 12

Training can be time consuming
It relies on memories being recalled in order
You need to ensure you have enough spaces on the route for the number of items that need to be remembered
There are many individual differences in the length of training and everyone having different routes, making the method difficult to study in a lab

Question 13

How did Legge aim to study the method of loci in a standardized lab and what were the results?

Answer 13

Everyone used the same setting for remembering things. This was compared to using their own settings and a control group

Both Loci groups did better than the control but there was no difference between them

Question 14

What is the pegword method for enhancing memory?

Answer 14

Items are linked to an imaginary or already learned sequence. The already learned sequence is combined with the new one to create serial images

Question 15

What is the interacting images method for enhancing memory?

Answer 15

Items are pictured together interacting in a bizzare way so that an association forms between them and they are recalled together

Question 16

What are the advantages of using memory stratergies?

Answer 16

More active learning
Allow us to recall difficult information
Allows new ways of working which can improve interest

Question 17

What are the disadvatages of using memory stratergies?

Answer 17

Must be practiced correctly
Requires time to create and learn
Reies on route memory rather than elaborative rehersal so the meaning may be lost
Not useful for deeper processing, only shallow

Question 18

Why are memory stratergies effective?

Answer 18

They typically involve deliberate, effortful learning which then improves memory encoding
They connect new knowledge to established schemas in long term memory, supporting successful retrieval through use of a cue
They often require the integration of multiple modalities which enhances memory by providing multiple routes to encoding and retrieval

Question 19

What is an alternative to memory stratergies to help us remember?

Answer 19

Extternal aids where they cue us to remember things

They require less effort to start and maintain than stratergies

Question 20

What is expert memory?

Answer 20

Experts have a very accurate memory of new experiences within their domain such as how a musician can reproduce a piece from only auditory memory alone.

Question 21

What did a study of expert chess players show about their memory?

Answer 21

Memory of where the peices are on the board improves with extertise but not if the peices are put in random positions

Experts were better at looking and chunking than ametures

Question 22

How are London Taxi drivers an example of expert memory?

Answer 22

The structural changes in the hippocampus was due to their acquired expertise

Question 23

What is eidetic memory?

Answer 23

Big memory go big fuck you

Question 24

What percentage of children are thought to have eidetic memories?

Answer 24

2-15%

Question 25

Why don’t more adults have eidetic memory?

Answer 25

synaptic pruning or the acquisition of verbal skills which then allows more abstract thinking and less reliance on the visual system

Question 26

What is synaesthesia?

Answer 26

Stimuli in one sense can cause an automatic and involuntary experience in another sense

Question 27

What is synaesthesia thought to be caused by?

Answer 27

Developmental changes in the brain where pruning is ineffective

Question 28

How is synaesthesia linked to eidetic memory?

Answer 28

Higher performance on remembering the locations of objects

Question 29

What is savant memory?

Answer 29

People with savant memory have an exceptional ability to recall details that are not personal and may be considered meaningless; however these are often confused to art, maths, music or mechanics.

Question 30

When does savant memory typically occur?

Answer 30

When people have a developmental disorder or brain damage

Question 31

What is one explanation for savant skills?

Answer 31

Savants may lack top down inhibition that prevents us from accessing information - a lack of concept formation or central coherence leading them to being able to access less processed information

Question 32

What is hyperthymesia?

Answer 32

This is when people have extremely detailed and almost perfect autobiographical memory. The memory is involuntary and people show atypical recall of personal events.