HLM Exam #3 Flashcards

1
Q

How does semantic memory change with old age?

A

Semantic memory is preserved over aging

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Performance declines with age for…

A

1) speed of processing
2) working memory
3) long term memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

When does age-related memory decline start?

A

your 20s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

considerations with timed studies

A

Older adults take 1.5x as long to do all tasks as younger adults so timed studies may need to be adjusted to compensate for this
- problem: this may cancel out the effect so this is hard

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Designs for aging studies

A

1) cross sectional: compare compare 20yrs to 60 yrs
2) longitudinal: follow people across lifespan

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Problems with cross-sectional designs

A

1) individual differences (variability across people)
2) cohort effects: major life events can influence results
3) correlational: you can not manipulate age so can not say cause and effect
4) confounding variables: can not be sure age is causing the effects you see (may be education or economic status)
5) physical health: older adults are overall less healthy and may be on medications that confound effects or have visual or auditory problems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Problems with longitudinal designs

A

1) practice effects: you may get better at a task as you practice over the years
2) drop-out effects: lose power
3) very expensive and requires commitment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

STM and aging (+ how it is tested)

A
  • STM generally declines with age
  • tested with the Brown-peterson distractor paradigm
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Episodic Memory and Aging (+ how it is tested)

A

study: recall 2 lists of unrelated words
- number of items recalled decreased with age
- however there is quite a bit of variability so it may not just be age

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Individual variation in age and memory

A
  • there is a strong decline in cognitive performance right before death (changes depending on lifespan for individuals)
  • major life events: can cause a dip in memory but some people can recover (cognitive resilience)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Types of test and age

A
  • free recall: age-related decline
  • recognition: little to no age-related decline
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Remembering vs. knowing and age

A
  • remembering decreases with age
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

False Recall and age

A

worse memory for real events, more false recall
- hard to remember where they got information from

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Presentation time and aging

A
  • older adults: make many errors for quickly presented words
  • if you slow presentation down, older adults have the biggest benefit
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Self-pacing and aging

A
  • older adults are aware that they need more time to complete cognitive tasks so if it is self paced, they will take this time (metacognition)
  • different from children who recognize a task is harder but do not allot more time
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Aging and Prospective Memory

A
  • event based memory is in tact
  • time based memory: challenging for older adults
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Aging and Implicit Memory

A

no decline in implicit memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Perspectives for why age-related memory decline occurs

A

1) speed of processing: we know this declines with age and we know speed of processing affects memory
2) reduced processing resources: deficits in attention - hard to engage in demanding tasks
3) automatic vs. controlled processing: related to attention / focus (recall requires control and this declines with age whereas recognition is automatic and does not decline)
4) contextual / environmental support: recognition vs. recall (what cues are you given?)
5) inhibition: hard time ignoring distracting information
- all of these are related to the frontal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Neurology of aging

A
  • frontal cortex most involved
  • orbital frontal cortex: most involved with age
  • overall cortical volume declines with age (drives attention, focus, general processing and resources)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

How do we prevent age-related effects from happening?

A
  • this is a cumulative effect: older = more time for habits
  • behavioral, environmental and genetic factors
  • behavioral factors: diet, exercise, social engagement
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Functional threshold

A

when you can no longer live along

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

exercise and cognition

A

cardiovascular exercise improves cognition (most in executive, controlled, and spatial processing + speed of processing)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Collective Memory

A

a representation of the past that is shared by members of a group
- membership often forms a part of the individual’s identity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Individual memory

A

based on personal experience
- it can be shaped by the social group you are in but is specific to you

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Flashbulb memory

A

very vivid memory of a moment in the past
- common ones: 9/11, Trump’s election, 1st covid lockdown

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

individual mixed with collective memory

A

a national event mixed with your personal experience of that event

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Viewing collective memory as fixed

A
  • looking at it as facts about our collective past (i.e. George Washington was the first president, Trump was elected in 2016 etc)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Collective Remembering

A

the active process of retrieving the past and using it in the present
- can change over generations (whether you remember the Vietnam war as justified or not)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Example of collective remembering: Invasion of Iraq

A
  • some will say it was good: often those with WWII in their past because involvement in that war stopped Hitler
  • some will say bad because it reminds them of the Vietnam war which did not end well
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Ukraine and russia

A

due to conflicting memories of Ukraine’s past

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Russian history and collective memory

A

often contested and changed - textbooks change under putin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

History parameters

A
  • aspires to be an objective account of the past
  • recognizes complexity and ambiguity
  • revises narrative based on new evidence
  • is constrained by archival materials
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Collective Memory of History

A
  • involves identity and often favors an uplifting narrative
  • not much space for ambiguity: relies on schemas that simplify the past and ignore counter evidence
  • resistant to change
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

National Memory

A
  • every nation promotes a different version of history
  • very self-centered: how did events in the past affect US?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

New Nationalism

A
  • was a surge of neoliberalism: globalization with internet
  • reemergence of nationalism now
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

constructivism

A

nations are socially constructed
- they are imagined but they have real world consequences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What is a nation defined by?

A
  • history of collective memories
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Self-centered national memory

A
  • ethnocentrism: we overestimate our home country’s contributions to the world
  • American exceptionalism: the idea that we are the example for other nations
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Measuring Narcissism

A
  • look at over-claiming of responsibility for nations and states –> always over 100% when added up (true for winning and losing too)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Can you reduce narcissistic bias?

A
  • took a history quiz before and results the same - it doesn’t seem so
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

Why does nationalistic memory occur?

A

1) Possibly the availability heuristic (your country comes to mind most frequently making it seem larger)
2) ego-protection or ingroup bias: people believe groups they are a part of are above average
3) poor statistical reasoning: neglecting logic skills

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Overview on techniques for studying Prospective Memory (PM)

A

1) present participants with an ongoing task (ex: words and rank their pleasantness)
2) Present PM instructions: if you see a key, press a different button
3) provide a delay + distraction
4) reintroduce ongoing task without PM instructions - do participants still do it?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

Event based PM

A

an event provides a cue (put gas in car after school)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

Time-based PM

A

time is the cue (put gas in car at 2:00pm)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

Is event-based or time based easier?

A

event based is easier

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

experiment to discover event vs time based PM

A

Sellen (1997)
- people wear an active badge for 3 months
- event: click when you enter ___ room
- time: click at a specific hour of the day
- also indicate when thinking of tasks
- findings: better at event-based, thought about time more

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

Why is time-based harder?

A

there is no retrieval cue for time based memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

Can we turn time-based into event-based memory?

A

YES - with extra motivation people do this naturally

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

Aging and PM Study

A

Study: Maylor (2002)
- older + Alzheimer’s + younger adults watched a movie: time based (if a clock hits 3 minutes press a button), event-based (if you see an animal press a button)
- findings: younger adults could do both perfectly
- older adults medium and Alzheimer’s worse overall but biggest gap in time-based (younger adults turned around for clock right before 3 minute mark, older adults had to keep turning around)
all participants could remember instructions when asked after the task

50
Q

Theories for PM

A

1) monitoring theory: we have to keep thinking of our intention in order to complete it (heavy cognitive load)
2) multiprocess theory: monitoring can accomplish PM but not necessary (spontaneous retrieval is possible) - can focus on other things and still remember

51
Q

Evidence for monitoring

A

study premise: lexical decision task (is ___ a real word) + PM task (press F1 if you see any target words)
- embedded condition: press F1 immediately when it comes up
- delayed condition: press F1 if you saw target word at anytime during the task after the final task
- findings: embedded slowed people down (longer reaction time) –> monitoring for the target slowed people down

52
Q

Evidence for Multiprocess theory

A

study premise: does the word fit the sentence yes/no
- press if you see 1 or 6 target words
findings:
- the number of target word matters: 6 targets, shows cognitive load, 1target no difference from control (shows spontaneous retrieval)

53
Q

Focal vs. nonfocal targets

A
  • Focal: press enter when you see tornado (word/tangible) - spontaneous retrieval
  • nonfocal: press enter when you see “tor” (syllable with no meaning) - doesn’t jump out so monitoring required
54
Q

PM of secondary interest

A

if you are told the PM task is of secondary interest, the is only a slight cost - suggests some people may to monitor and others may be able to spontaneously retreieve

55
Q

Suspended intention in PM

A
  • give an ongoing and PM task, complete disruptor task with no PM but the original PM target still appeared
  • told to stop the PM task (stop monitoring)
    findings: target word had much slower reaction time - shows spontaneous retrieval because you are still taking the PM task into account even though not monitoring
56
Q

background for HSAM

A

more recent topic (2006)
- called hyperthymnesia
- first major paper about AJ (jill price)

57
Q

AJ and HSAM

A
  • able to remember specific events about her life since puberty (not sure if this is when they started or when she noticed it)
  • kept a detailed diary but did not consult it
  • collected / categorized things (OCD tendencies but studied by cognitive not clinical psychologists so no diagnosis)
58
Q

Self-reference effect

A

thinking about something in relation to yourself is always the best way to remember

59
Q

Stages to findings people with HSAM

A

stage 1: public events quiz
stage 2: dates test
stage 3: cognitive test

60
Q

Stage 1: public events

A
  • over the phone
  • asked dates about major public events
  • easy to cheat
  • eliminated those who got below 50%
61
Q

Stage 2: Dates Test

A
  • identify the day of the week for a specific date, come up with public and personal events given a date
  • control group (chance): 1/7 correct
  • of scored above 70% came into lab for testing
62
Q

Stage 3: cognitive testing results

A

1) no difference in HSAM and controls for STM
2) HSAM: better at linking names to faces and usual memory recall ON AVERAGE but the distributions overlapped

63
Q

HSAM and false memory

A

HSAM have better accurate memory and the same likelihood to recall a false memory (studied using a DRM paradigm)

64
Q

Are HSAM and mnemonicists the same?

A

NO - HSAM do not have to work for this effect and excel only at things related to themselves and dates

65
Q

Are there deficits for HSAM?

A

we are unsure

66
Q

Why does HSAM emerge?

A

not well understood

67
Q

Ways to go about studying episodic memory

A

1) Lab-based
2) autobiographical memory

68
Q

Lab-based episodic memory tests

A
  • in the tradition of Ebbinghaus
  • recognition tests
  • good for experimenter control (can know if it is a false memory /false alarm)
  • use memory lists; may not be accurate for episodic memory - scans found different brain regions activated
69
Q

Autobiographical episodic memory tests

A
  • in the tradition of Bartlett
  • given a word and asked for an event either in the past or future that would relate to the word
  • primarily used now
  • more ecological validity
70
Q

Amnesia and Episodic future thought

A

deficits in one result in deficits in another (ex: patient KC has amnesia and could not imagine what he would be doing tomorrow)

71
Q

Episodic future thought definition

A
  • mental time travel (“simulation of specific personal events that may occur in the future”)
  • note: differes from planning
72
Q

Autonoetic (self-knowing) consciousness

A

Name given to the core cognitive capacity that controls past and future thought

73
Q

EFT in children

A

are able to do this mental time travel around age 4 (when past memories start)

74
Q

EFT and schizophrenia

A
  • patients often have deficits in autobiographical memory (remembering the past): also show more pronounced deficits in EFT
  • more severe the positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations) more severity of EFT deficiency
75
Q

EFT and older adults

A
  • more problems with memory in general, also show deficits in EFT
  • they generate fewer internal details when asked about a past or future event
  • generate more external details (going on tangents)
76
Q

Relationship between internal details in past and EFT

A

if you give more internal details for the past, you will give more when imagining the future (strong relationship)

77
Q

Zimbardo time-perspective inventory

A
  • given 56 general statements and asked to which extent does it describe you - given if you have a…
    1) future orientation: behavior based on ideas of the future
    2) present-hedonistic orientation: risk taking /present indulgent
    3) past-negative orientation: think about missed opportunities
    4) present-fatalistic: life controlled by fate
    5) past-positive: nostalgia
78
Q

relationship with future time perspective and EFT

A

study: have people talk for 3 minute about past or future and then rate clarity of memory / feeling
finding: one’s time perspective affects feeling of mentally time traveling back/forward, feeling of re-experiencing or pre-experiencing an event (subjective experience)
- high in future orientation: more vivid
- do not know the direction of this correlation (what comes first)

79
Q

fMRI studies conditions for EFT

A
  • ask people to remember an event for 10 sec
  • ask people to think about a well-known person doing something for 10 sec (control as no mental time travel)
  • ask people to think about a future episode for 10 sec
80
Q

Neurology of EFT

A

similar brain regions are activated for past remembering and EFT
- however, more active in EFT

81
Q

Constructive episodic simulation hypothesis

A

memory is inherently reconstructive so in EFT, elements of past memories recombine
- con: this does not explain the feeling: you know this hasn’t really happened and you are creating it (not the same feeling for remembering)

82
Q

Differences in past memory and EFT

A
  • more contextual associations / clarity for past remembering
  • more effortful to imagine
83
Q

contextualized objects and processing

A
  • strongly and weakly contextualized objects are processed differently
84
Q

contextual associations

A
  • things that co-occur
  • ex: roulette wheel: think of casino, lights, smoke (high CA)
  • ex: cherry: think of just a cherry and maybe a tree (low CA)
85
Q

Brain regions in the contextual association network

A

1) retrosplenial cortex
2) parahippocampal cortex
- overlap in regions with remembering (they both bring to mind many contextual associations)

86
Q

Functional importance for EFT

A
  • EFT prepares us to deal with the future
  • implements intentions
87
Q

simulate process

A

using EFT to imagine working through a problem
- this is helpful in setting yourself up for success as it often leads to better planning
- could also be an imaginary plan you don’t have to follow through with

88
Q

simulate outcome

A

using EFT to imagine successfully resolving a problem

89
Q

Does simulate process or outcome lead to more positive affect?

A

thinking about solving the problem (simulate process) led to more positive affect and better coping strategies - can be similar to planning

90
Q

Autobiographical memory definitions

A

a record of discrete experiences localized in time and place
- information related to the self

91
Q

Forms of AB memory

A

1) personal memories: episodic memories specific to you
2) autobiographical facts: information about you (where you grew up, where you were born etc) - semantic

92
Q

Functions of AB memory

A

1) directive: memories of past events guide current / future behavior
2) social: used to bond with others
3) integral to identity

93
Q

Methods of Study for ABM

A

1) diary studies
2) memory-probe tests `

94
Q

Marigold Linton and AB memory

A
  • recorded 2 events per day on index cards for 5+ years and then tested herself every month on two random index cards with replacement (could get same event multiple times)
95
Q

Findings from Marigold Linton

A

1) repeated memories became generalized and blended BUT not the first events
2) 30% of events completely forgotten after 6 years
3) benefit of retrieval practice: more a card came up and she tried to remember, the less she forgot over time

96
Q

What was on Marigold Linton’s index cards?

A

1) description of events
2) date
3) importance / salience
4) emotionality

97
Q

What did Marigold Linton test herself on?

A
  • the date and relative positions of the events
98
Q

Willem Wagenaar and AB memory

A
  • recorded 2400 events over 6 years
  • recorded salient events of each day and with a various amount of cues, tried to remember the rest of the info on the card (without replacement)
99
Q

What did Willem Wagenaar record?

A

1) who
2) what
3) where
4) when
5) event ratings (pleasantness, emotionality, salience)

100
Q

Willem Wagenaar findings of ABM

A

1) the more cues given, the more the card was remembered over time
2) most effective cue: what — suggests theme of event is how we categorize
3) least effective cue: when (date)
4) more salient, emotional and pleasant memories were better retained

101
Q

Conclusions from diary studies

A

autobiographical retrieval is influenced by….
1) salience/ distinctiveness
2) number of retrieval cues given
3) emotional involvement
4) specific dates are not good cues unless you have HSAM

102
Q

Limitations of Diary Studies

A

1) requires dedication from participants
2) small sample sizes (usually one person)
3) item selection bias: you are picking the most salient memories from a day
4) recording memories induces rehearsal and retrieval
5) participants know memories will be tested / have hypothesis of study and may influence data

103
Q

Avoiding selection bias for memories

A
  • people wear pagers that go off at random times; record time, action, thoughts
  • cued with these random events 0-46 days later
  • findings: recall is lower for randomly sampled memories than for salient memories
104
Q

Technology study with ABM

A
  • fisheye camera records moments throughout the day (unknown to participants)
  • shown 300 images (180 their own, 120 stranger’s) and asked if they remember them
  • we know what memories are not ours, but harder to remember some that are ours (we are moderately good at own memories)
105
Q

What is a memory probe study?

A

Galton word-cuing technique: 1879
- give people a word and ask them to retrieve a memory associated with that word (recalls details and try to date it)

106
Q

Memory across lifespan with memory probe study

A
  • very few memories from 0-5 (infantile amnesia) - different from Ebbinhgaus forgetting curve as it drops off instead of plateaus)
  • reminiscence bump: elevated recall between 15-30
  • lifetime recency: we recall more memories from the last 5-10 years
  • studied by Galton word-cuing technique
107
Q

Why does a reminiscence bump occur?

A
  • many major life events occur from 15-30 (kids, graduation, house, job)
  • many emotional firsts
  • events documented and talked about with family and friends
108
Q

Types of cues (instead of Galton-word cuing technique)

A

1) time: childhood, middle school
2) event: first day of college, birthday
3) perceptual: images, sounds, smells

109
Q

Organization of ABM

A
  • older memories shift from chronological order (temporal) to being ordered by themes (thematic)
110
Q

temporal organization

A

organization by time stages (childhood, middle school, high school etc)

111
Q

thematic organization

A

organization by theme (events with neighbors, thanksgivings, movies downtown etc.)

112
Q

Self-serving ABM

A
  • memories can boost ego: asked students before a test how many hours studied, importance of test and predicted grade
  • if got lower grade than expected: said test was not as important
  • if got higher grade than expected: said test was more important
113
Q

Emotions as retrieval cues (ex: “happy”)

A
  • harder to come up with a specific memory when given this cue (longer reaction time)– tells us emotions are probably not how we organize memory since this takes effort
114
Q

manipulating emotions as cue

A

listening to happier songs will make you think of more positive memories

115
Q

False ABM

A

study: students record 240 episodes on index cards - later asked yes/no recognition for
1) original description
2) altered versions of their description
3) descriptions generated by other people
- results: false alarms occurred more frequently for altered descriptions semantically similar to the original (+ more false alarms generally as time goes on)

116
Q

False ABM for twins

A
  • twin memories often disputed: which twin was in this memory? - often both claim it happened to them when it happened to one
  • there are false alarms in autobiographical memories
117
Q

Misinformation and ABM

A

study: Denmark plane hitting building - 55% of people said they saw TV footage of attack even though it didn’t exist
- imagining and saying there was footage can change memory

118
Q

Involuntary ABM

A

when a stimuli cues a memory of something without you trying (often smell or taste)

119
Q

Similarities of involuntary memory and voluntary memory

A

1) universal experience
2) happen frequently
3) exhibits normal forgetting
4) reminiscence and infantile amnesia
5) enhanced by emotional engagement at encoding

120
Q

differences in involuntary memory and voluntary memory

A

Involuntary memories…
1) have spontaneous retrieval
2) are elicited by match to current situation
3) are often more specific