Module 05: Memory Structures

Question 1

encoding

Answer 1

acquiring info which is held in storage for later retrieval

Question 2

retrieval

Answer 2

calling to mind previously experienced info

Question 3

what is the case of clive wearing

Answer 3

had brain damage from encephalitis

caused severe amnesia

remember nothing more than a few minutes before

Question 4

what did plato compare memory to

Answer 4

wax tablet on which impressions are made

Question 5

modal model of memory

Answer 5

info is received, processed, and stored differently for each kind of memory

unattended info presented quickly stored briefly in sensory memory

attended info in STM for periods up to 20 or 30 seconds

info needed for long periods of time in LTM

Question 6

describe sensory memory

Answer 6

the initial brief storage of sensory info, closely connected to perception

there is visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensory memory

Question 7

what is the partial report technique

Answer 7

participants informed only to recall a single row but wouldn’t know which row until after display was shown (informed by pitch)

recalled 9/12 letters in sensory memory right after display, recall dropped if tone delayed

Question 8

what is the icon and how many items can be stored

Answer 8

brief/sensory visual memory (Neisser)

visual store could only hold around 9 items briefly

Question 9

masking in icon

Answer 9

items can be ‘erased’ by other stimuli presented right after

Question 10

what is the echo

Answer 10

sensory memory for auditory material

Question 11

what did moray find in his study on whole report and partial report listening task

Answer 11

people giving partial reports could proportionally report more letters => info is stored briefly

Question 12

does the icon or the echo have larger capacity

Answer 12

visual memory has larger capacity, but length of time info can be stored is longer in auditory store

Question 13

what is the suffix effect

Answer 13

auditory masking, harder to recall words spoken if cue is a word

the more auditory similarity between the suffix and items on the list, the greater the suffix effect

Question 14

how long does STM last

Answer 14

1 to 2 minutes

Question 15

describe the serial position effect

Answer 15

recall more words at the beginning or end of a list than they do in the middle

Question 16

describe the primacy effect

Answer 16

improved recall of words at beginning of a list

Question 17

describe the recency effect

Answer 17

improved recall of words at end of list

results from using sensory or STM memory

Question 18

what is the capacity of the short term store

Answer 18

7+- 2

Question 19

what is chunking

Answer 19

chunk individual units into larger units

helps overcome limitation of 7 units in STM

Question 20

what is the dominant code in STM

Answer 20

acoustic

Question 21

what is interference in memory retrieval

Answer 21

info can displace other info, making it harder to retrieve

accounts for forgetting rather than decay

Question 22

describe proactive interference

Answer 22

material learned first can disrupt retention of subsequently learned material

Question 23

describe release from proactive interference

Answer 23

the greater the similarity among pieces of info, the greater interference

Question 24

describe the four theories for the types of searches for retrieval of info from STM

Answer 24

• parallel search: examine items at the same time
• serial search: comparisons done one at a time
• self terminating search: stops when match is found, successful search takes less time
• exhaustive search: if match found, continue looking

Question 25

how is info retrieved in short term memory

Answer 25

high speed, serial, exhaustive search

Question 26

what is the capacity of long term memory

Answer 26

virtually unlimited

Question 27

_____ similarity affects STM; _____ similarity affects LTM

Answer 27

acoustic, semantic

Question 28

what did henry bahrick find when plotting forgetting curves

Answer 28

recall declined at beginning, stayed flat, final decline, large portion still accessible after 50 years even though not rehearsed (permastore state)

Question 29

what did herman ebbinghaus find when he taught himself nonsense syllables

Answer 29

plotted a forgetting curve for time it took for him to relearn a list of nonsense syllables after initial learning followed by retention interval of varying amounts of time found that forgetting was rapid at first but levels off (not linear)

Question 30

describe retroactive interference

Answer 30

learning of first material is affected by your learning of material afterwards learning of first material is 'contaminated'

Question 31

T/F: interference plays a role in most forgetting material from LTM

Answer 31

true

Question 32

what is it called when an object or stimulus points to and leads to the recovery of a target memory

Answer 32

retrieval cue

Question 33

what is the fan effect

Answer 33

as participants study more facts about concept, time needed to retrieve fact about that concept increases

Question 34

what are mnemonics

Answer 34

techniques to improve memory

Question 35

what is the encoding specificity principle

Answer 35

memory improved when info available at encoding also available at retrieval context

Question 36

what is the context effect

Answer 36

recall best when environment same as learning environment note that recognition memory does not show same context effect

Question 37

state dependent learning

Answer 37

recall better when person recreates state they were in during learning not with recognition tasks

Question 38

T/F: info in STS activates relevant info from LTS and relays some of that info into STS

Answer 38

true

Question 39

what is working memory

Answer 39

limited capacity workspace divided between storage and control processing

Question 40

what are the components of working memory and describe them

Answer 40

central executive -- directs flow of info, chooses which info is operated on and how phonological loop -- carry out subvocal rehearsal to maintain verbal material (learning to read, understand language, acquiring vocab) visuospatial sketchpad -- maintain visual material through visualization, creation and use of mental images episodic buffer -- required when remembering specific events from the past, requires more storage capacity

Question 41

what are the 2 separate and distinct interacting systems

Answer 41

episodic memory -- specific events in which you yourself participated, temporal organization semantic memory -- holds info that entered general knowledge base, organized on basis of meanings and meaning relationships

Question 42

what was the case of gene (damage in frontal and temporal lobes)

Answer 42

shows anterograde and retrograde amnesia (no episodic memories) can still recall facts (has semantic memory intact)

Question 43

what does removing the inner sector of temporal lobes in brain, including hippocampus and amygdala do

Answer 43

lost ability to transfer episodic memories to LTM

Question 44

anterograde amnesia

Answer 44

amnesia for new events, inability to form new memories

Question 45

retrograde amnesia

Answer 45

amnesia for old or past events

Question 46

what does damage to the frontal lobe cause

Answer 46

disrupts attention, problem solving, and planning more distractible and harder to ignore irrelevant stimuli

Question 47

what is hebbs rule

Answer 47

cells that fire together wire together

Question 48

long term potentiation

Answer 48

neural circuits in hippocampus that are subjected to repeated and intense electrical stimulation develop hippocampal cells that become more sensitive to stimuli