Chapter 7 - Human Memory Flashcards
(49 cards)
What is the tip of tongue phenomena?
- Tip-of-the tongue phenomenon - the temporary inability to remember something you know accompanied by a feeling that it’s just out of reach.
What are the three probing questions psychologists ask about working memory?
- encoded into memory?
- stored in memory?
- retrieved from memory?
What encoding memory?
- Encoding into memory - involves forming memory code. ex. when you form a memory code for a word, you might emphasize how it looks, how it sounds, or what it means. Requires attention.
What is attention? What is selective attention?
◦ Attention = focusing awareness on a narrowed set of stimuli
◦ selective attention = selection of input (critical to everyday functioning)
‣ Attentions is often likened to a filter that screens out most potential stimuli while allowing a select few to pass through into conscious awareness.
What is stimulus? How is it processed?
◦ stimulus (someone says hi) -> sensory detection -> recognition of meaning -> response selection -> response
What are early and late selection models like?
‣ Early = ignore surrounding conversations, no access to their meaning
‣ Late = cocktail party phenomenon, hear the name despite ignoring surrouding conversations
What do we know how about the levels of processing?
◦ Deeper processing=longer lasting memory codes (Craik+Lockhart)
* deeper processing should produce better memory results!
* not the strongest theory
There are three levels of processing: shallow, intermediate and deep
What is shallow processing?
‣ shallow processing (structural encoding, emphasizes the physical structure of the stimulus) ex. is the word written in capital letters?
What is intermediate processing?
‣ intermediate processing - (phonemic encoding, emphasizes what a word sounds like) ex. does the word rhyme with weight?
What is deep processing?
‣ deep processing - (semantic encoding, emphasizes the meaning of verbal input) ex. can it fit in the sentence?
What are four ways to enrich encoding?
◦ Elaboration - linking a stimulus to other information at encoding
◦ Self-reference encoding = make it personally meaningful (if you relate it to something yourself you are much more likely to remember)
‣ Visual imagery = creation of visual images to represent words to be remembered
‣ eidetic - incredibly rare - photographic memory - visual imagery in crisp detail.
‣ S used a formula that described the formula - could remember it years later!
What did Paivio and his collegues discover?
‣ high-imagery vs low imagery words
* some words like jugglers you could easily thing of an image. But a word like duty - we don’t think of an image.
* The higher the imagery words the more you will recall!
* Duel coding theory - holds that memory is enhanced by forming semantic and visual codes, since either can lead to recall.
What does Atkinson’s model present?
◦ Model - atkinson model - three different stores
‣ sensory - external world information, everything is temporarily encoded –>
‣ short-term memory - rehearsal could help maintain it, if you don’t you could lose it, if you elaborate and use that information you can store it in —->
‣ long term memory
What is sensory memory? What are the two types?
brief presentation of information in original sensory form.
‣ Iconic - visual 1/4 second - all available for short period and fades away.
‣ Echoic memory - auditory - originally said 4-5 second - it’s probably closer to 1-2 seconds.
* sperling’s classic experiment on visual sensory store
◦ if you played the tone really soon - they could report it
◦ even about half a second it becomes very difficult - to repeat the number
* **For a short period of time we have access to everything
What is short term memory?
‣ Limited-capacity store that can maintain unrehersed information for up to about 20 seconds
‣ limited duration - about 20 seconds without rehearsal
* rehearsal - process of repetitively verbalizing/thinking about information.
* how do we know we only have about 20 seconds? Peterson & peterson (1959)
◦ count backwards from 3 while maintaining CJL
How long can we remember things? How many at once?
◦ limited capacity - magical number 7 plus or minus 2
◦ recent view of short term memory - limited to as few as 4 items (+/- 1)
◦ it depends on the person!
◦ Chunking - grouping familiar stimuli for storage as a single unit (makes it easier!)
What is another view on short term memory?
Baddeley (1986)
‣ short-term memory as “working memory”
What are the four component’s of Baddeley/s “working memory model”
- phonological rehearsal loop* - repeating it to yourself! Recitation to remember.
* executive control system* - Controls development of attention, delegates information - has control over how things are stored.
* Episodic buffer* - A temporary limited capacity store that allows the various components of working memory to integrate informaiton and serves as an interface between wokring and long term memory. Pulling up long term information. Allows us to access LT information
* visuospatial sketchpad* - permits people to temporarily hold and manipulate visual images. This element is at work when you try to mentally rearrange the furniture in your bedroom or map out a complicated route you need to follow to travel somewhere.
What is long term memory?
‣ unlimited capacity store that holds information for a long time
‣ Permanent storage?
* flashbulb memories - thought be unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous moments, provide an example of how seemingly permanent storage is. (bad memories - what stands out?). But we found these are neither as accurate nor as special as we thought. Like other memories they become less detailed and complete with time and are often inaccurate.
* hypnosis
What are some ways knowledge is represented and organized in memory?
- clustering - tendency to remeber similar or related items in groups. (organizing helps!)
* conceptual hierarchies - is a multilevel classification system based on common properties among items. (ex. minerals and minerals help out to remember)
* Semantic network - consists of nodes representing concepts, joined together by links between concepts. Information is connected to one and another.
* Schemas - organized cluster of knowledge about an object/event abstracted from previous experience with the object or event. (organized cluster of knowledge about. ex. what would you expect in this type of office)
* Scripts - special type of schema
What is an example of a retrieval failure?
- Tip of the tongue - about to say something and you lose it, can’t think of it. It’s a retrieval failure. It’s in memory but we can’t get it out.
What are some retrieval cues?
- Retrieval cues - stimuli that help gain access to memories (ex. last birthday, thing about things related to your birthday to help you remember)
◦ Specific type of retrieval cue: Recalling an event - use context cues (context of the last place you used that item. ex. lost keys think about what you were wearing, were they in that pocket?)
How can there be errors in memories? What are some examples?
- Memories are reconstructed, which often leads to errors (uses schema of doctors office)
◦ examples:
‣ War of ghosts (read story twice in a row, then explain what happened. People had the just of the story and sometimes inserted new information)
‣ Elizabeth Loftus - misinformation effect
What is Elizabeth Loftus’s “misinformation effect”?
when participants’ recall of an event occurs when participants’ recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading post-event information.
* Post-event information disrupts memory
* Participation watched a video of a car hitting another car. Asked about what they saw in two different ways. Hit - said glass on 14%. Smashed - said 32% glass. Saw the same thing, asked different question and interpret experience in a whole different way. We don’t want to bias things with questions.
