Ch. 4 - Forgetting sac study Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is a retrieval cue?
any stimulus that assists in locating and receiving info stored in your memory eg. sound, smell
What is an example of interference theory?
if you learnt to speak Italian in primary school and then french in High school, it might be difficult to access the Italian words
What are the two forms of interference?
- retroactive interference (going backwards)
- proactive interference (PON)
What is retroactive interference? plus eg
interference goes backwards, causing difficulty with retrieval of info learn in the past (eg. learning new students names interferes with a teachers recall of previous students names)
How can you avoid retroactive interference?
- reduce the number of interfering events by going to sleep shortly after you learn new info
- the hour before going to sleep is a good time to commit info to memory
What is proactive interference? plus e.g.
P - previous info
O - obstructs
N - new
eg. learning a new dance routine then the instructor makes a change to the routine, you may find that you keep performing the old steps instead of the new
What is motivated forgetting? (2)
- we forget info because it is threatening to us in some way
- blocking traumatic or painful info from conscious mind
what is an example of repression?
returned soldiers who do not remember some of the horrors they witnessed during combat (can be retrieved later by a cue)
What is an example of suppression?
tripping down the stairs, later your friends want to relieve the moment, you ask them not to mention it and you try to forget it
what are limitations of the theory of motivated forgetting?
- there might be other reasons for memory loss, such as blow to the head
- remembering traumatic memories may help us to learn from our mistakes, so blocking them does not enhance chances of survival
what is a limitation of the decay theory?
does not explain why some memories formed long ago can still be recalled
What is 1 strength and 2 limitations of the forgetting curve?
- supports idea that slow and fast learners tend to forget at the same rate
- when info is meaningful forgetting occurs more slowly
- when recalling the syllables proactive interference may have occurred
What are the three measures of retention from least sensitive to most sensitive?
recall (least sensitive)
recognition
re-learning (most sensitive)
what are the 3 types of recall? (least sensitive at producing info)
free recall - no cues
cued recall - some cues
serial recall - have to recall in order with no cues
what is recognition plus a limitation of this?
when you identify the correct info from a list of possible alternatives (downside can just guess)
eg. multiple choice
what is relearning?
previously learnt info that can not be recalled is relearned faster than when first learnt initially
(most sensitive because demonstrates that some info is retained in memory even if we think there is none)
what is savings score used for?
to help us determine how much info was retained or ‘saved’ from the first time
what is the formula for savings score?
savings score = time/trials of original learning - time/trials to relearn divided by time/trials of original learning x 100
what are context-dependent cues?
environmental - present in the environment that matches learning/encoding which actes as a prompt to remember eg. environmental cues in our class
what are state-dependent cues?
internal - relate to your physical and psychological state which acts as a prompt to remember eg. emotion affects retrieval
what are the 3 types of mnemonic devices?
acronyms
acrostics
narrative chaining
What are acronyms? plus eg
pronounceable word where the letters act as a retrieval cue for each word to be remembered eg. ‘LOL’ = laugh our loud (pronounceable word)
what are acrostics? eg
a phrase or rhyme where the first letter of each word acts as a retrieval cue for the words (to recall things in order) eg. “never eat socky weatbix” = north south east west (phrase not word)
what is narrative chaining?
a story that you create to link pieces of info together eg. guys in video imagine collecting items as they walk through their house