module 8 Flashcards
(62 cards)
What is a useful way to form a response concerning memory?
Using information about the past combined with information about the present
True or false; our memories are like recording devices and allow for a simple ‘search and retrieve’ system?
F
What is a better metaphor for memory than search?
reconstruction
What is the process of memory in terms of reconstruction?
Take info from the environment to help trigger useful memories, creating a useful response given the situation presented and what you have stored.
What is the true usefulness of memory:
a) to help you learn
b) to help you in the present
c) to help you focus on what is important and ignore what is not
b) to help you in the present
What is the example of a reconstructive metaphor Neisser gives?
Palaeontologists making educated guess of what missing dinosaur bones were like. Similar to us making ‘best guesses’
What is the best way to think in order to understand how memory works?
a) functionally
b) rationally
c) empirically
a) functionally
What are the three main properties of immediate memory?
representation (how it is ‘coded’), duration, and capacity
which property of immediate memory is addressed from the question: “What kind of information can immediate memory contain?”
representation
(it is answered through experience)
what mental experience proves that information in immediate memory can be represented verbally?
the inner voice
what is the most compelling evidence of people having an inner voice?
errors people make in immediate recall
ex. sound alike errors (ie T instead of P, G, B etc.)
What is the primary mode of coding information in immediate memory?
auditory/verbal information (proven by sound alike errors being most common)
How do we consume and produce most meaningful information?
Speech and written text
what are the inner voice and inner eye responsible for?
inner eye: visual representation of immediate memory, the act of ‘seeing’ something with your imagination
inner voice: auditory representation of immediate memory, the act of ‘hearing’ your voice in your head (ie when reading, counting etc)
When imagining a seagull and asked if the seagull has legs, which scenario would take you longer to respond to the question:
a) if the seagull is imagined to be beside an elephant
b) if the seagull is imagined to be beside a fly
a) if the seagull is imagined to be beside an elephant
you have to mentally ‘zoom in’ to see the details
same thing is true for visuals, smaller details are often missed and take more time to respond to
What did Stephen Kosslyn ask people to imagine?
Two animals standing next to eachother
he then asked them to answer a question about one of the animals
mental imagery (ie inner eye) taps into the same brain structures as what
a) occipital functions
b) sensation
c) perception
c) perception (proves inner eye is like perception in general)
what takes longer to respond to: smaller mental images or larger mental images?
smaller mental images
How long can information stay in immediate memory before it is forgotten?
forever, BUT you have to engage in rehearsal for it to remain there
what is rehearsal
process of repeating information to yourself, ‘rehearing’ info over and over
How did Lloyd and Margaret Peterson investigate limits of memory?
asked people to remember groups of three consonant letters, interrupted the rehearsal (count backwards as soon as letters were given), and tested accuracy of recall after set amount of time
what is memory capacity?
how much info able to be held in a memory system at a time. capacity typically = what you can rehearse in 2 seconds
What did George Miller suggest about the average persons ability to remember?
the average person can hold about 7 separate peices of information at a time.
7 plus or minus two
led to 7 digit phone number
why are Chinese students able to remember one more digit than their american student counterparts?
chinese numbers take less time to pronounce
