Summary of Concepts
LO 1 Define memory.
Memory refers to the information collected and stored in the brain that is generally available for later use. Exactly how the brain absorbs information from the outside world and files it for later use is still not completely understood. However, scientists have proposed many theories and constructed various models to help explain how the brain processes, or works on, data on their way to becoming memories.
LO 2 Identify the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval in memory.
Encoding is the process through which new information enters our memory system. Information is taken in by our senses and converted into neural activity that travels to the brain and, if successfully encoded, it is stored. Storage preserves the information for possible recollection in the future. Retrieval is the process of accessing information stored in memory.
LO 3 Explain the stages of memory described by the information-processing model.
According to the information-processing model, the brain has three types of memory storage associated with the stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. The levels of processing framework suggests there is a hierarchy of processing stages that corresponds to different depths of information processing.
LO 4 Describe sensory memory.
Data picked up by the senses enter sensory memory, where sensations are registered. Here, almost exact copies of our sensations are processed for a very brief moment of time. Information from the outside world floods our sensory memory through multiple channels. Although this stage of memory is fleeting, it is critical to the creation of memories.
LO 5 Summarize short-term memory.
Short-term memory is the second stage of the original information-processing model. Information is temporarily maintained and processed, hosting current thoughts and whatever activities the brain is engaged in. Short-term memory has a limited capacity, and what is held there depends on how much distraction is created by other cognitive activities. We can only concentrate on a small proportion of data flooding our sensory memory.
LO 6 Give examples of how we can use chunking to improve our memory span.
Grouping numbers, letters, or other items into meaningful subsets, or “chunks,” is an effective strategy for juggling and increasing the amount of information in short-term memory. In addition, chunking can help nudge the same information into long-term memory.
LO 7 Explain working memory and how it compares with short-term memory.
The active processing component of short-term memory, working memory, has four important parts. The phonological loop is responsible for working with verbal information for brief periods of time. The visuospatial sketchpad is where visual and spatial data are briefly stored and manipulated. The central executive directs attention, makes plans, coordinates activities, and determines what information should be ignored. The episodic buffer is where information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory can all be brought together temporarily, as directed by the central executive.
LO 8 Define long-term memory.
Long-term memory is a stage of memory with essentially unlimited capacity. Explicit memory is the type of memory you are aware of having and can consciously express, and it can be further be divided into semantic and episodic memory. Semantic memory pertains to general facts about the world and is theoretically available to anyone. Episodic memory is the personal form of memory that records personal experiences. Implicit memory is the memory of something you know or you know how to do, but that might be automatic or unconscious, and therefore difficult to articulate.
LO 9 Illustrate how encoding specificity relates to retrieval cues.
Retrieval cues are stimuli that help you retrieve stored information that is difficult to access. The encoding specificity principle states that memories are more easily recalled when the context and cues at the time of encoding are similar to those at the time of retrieval. Thus, the context (external or internal) at the time of encoding and retrieval strengthens retrieval cues. Priming, recall, and recognition also play a role in the retrieval of stored information.
LO 10 Identify some of the reasons why we forget.
Memory failure may occur during any of the three stages of memory processing. There are a variety of reasons why; these can include encoding failure, retrieval failure, and the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, as well as interference.
LO 11 Explain how the malleability of memory influences the recall of events.
Eyewitness accounts are not always reliable because people’s memories are far from perfect. Memories can change over time, which means we should be careful when questioning people about crimes and other events they have witnessed. Studies on the misinformation effect suggest that information obtained after an incident can distort one’s memory of it.
LO 12 Define rich false memory.
Rich false memories are experienced as true recollections of an event, including details, emotions, and confidence that the event occurred, although the event never happened. Some researchers have implanted memories of events that never occurred.
LO 13 Compare and contrast anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
There are different types or degrees of amnesia, or memory loss, due to medical or psychological condition, ranging from extreme loss of memory to less severe forms. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to “lay down” or create new long-term memories, and is generally caused by damage or injury to the brain, resulting from surgery, alcohol, head trauma, or illness. Retrograde amnesia is an inability to access memories created before the occurrence of a brain injury or surgery. Retrograde refers to the inability to access old memories, and anterograde refers to the inability to create new memories.
LO 14 Identify the brain structures involved in memory.
Researchers have identified many structures in the brain involved in the processing and storage of memory. The hippocampus is essential for creating new explicit memories, as are the temporal lobes and frontal cortex. Other areas, such as the cerebellum and amygdala, are integral in the processing of implicit memories.
LO 15 Describe long-term potentiation.
Long-term potentiation refers to the increased efficiency of neural communication over time, resulting in learning and the formation of memories. The communication among neurons improves and strengthens, allowing for new skills to develop and become more natural. These new pathways represent how a skill, for example, is learned and thus becomes an implicit memory.
anterograde amnesia
chunking
distributed practice
echoic memory
effortful processing
elaborative rehearsal
encoding
encoding specificity principle
episodic memory
explicit memory
flashbulb memory
iconic memory
implicit memory
long-term memory
long-term potentiation
maintenance rehearsal
massed practice
memory
memory trace
misinformation effect
mnemonic
primacy effect
priming
proactive interference
procedural memory
recall
recency effect
recognition
relearning
retrieval
retrieval cues
retroactive interference
retrograde amnesia
rich false memories
semantic memory
sensory memory
serial position effect
short-term memory
storage
working memory
1. You try to remember the name of a movie you watched last year, but you are struggling. When you do finally remember it was Lincoln, which stage of memory were you using?
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d. retrieval
2. According to the levels of processing framework, there is a __________ that corresponds to the depth at which information is processed, as well as reflect how durable and retrievable a memory may be.
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a. hierarchy of processing
3. Using the partial report method, Sperling (1960) showed that participants could recall 76% of the letters briefly flashed on a screen. The findings from this study indicate the capabilities of:
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c. iconic memory.
4. Miller (1956) reviewed findings on the Digit Span test and found that short-term memory capacity is limited to between 5 and 9 numbers, that is, the “magical seven, plus or minus two.” However, through the use of __________, we can improve the span of our short-term memory.
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d. chunking
5. Baddeley and colleagues proposed that the purpose of __________ is to actively maintain information while the mind is performing complex tasks. The phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and episodic buffer all play a role in this process.
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b. working memory
6. In a classic study, Godden and Baddeley (1975) asked participants to learn lists of words under two conditions: while underwater and on dry land. Participants were better able to recall the information in the same context in which it was encoded. This finding supports:
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a. the encoding specificity principle.
7. Your friend tells you she does much better on multiple-choice tests because she is able to recognize an answer when she sees it listed as one of the choices for a question. She is describing her __________, which is the process of matching incoming data to information stored in long-term memory.
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c. recognition
8. __________ causes problems with the retrieval of memories because of information you learned in the past and __________ causes problems with retrieval due to recently learned information.
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c. Proactive interference; retroactive interference
9. According to __________, memories can fade over time, becoming more vulnerable to new information. Thus, your memory of an event might include revisions of what really happened.
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d. a reconstructionist model of memory
10. In studies by Loftus and colleagues, around 25% of participants are able to “remember” an event that never happened. This type of __________ shows us how the malleability of memory can influence our recall of events.
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b. rich false memory
11. In one study, Loftus and Palmer (1974) found that when they told participants two cars had “smashed” into each other, these same participants were more likely to report they had seen broken glass in a previously viewed film than participants who were told the cars had “hit” each other. This tendency for new and possibly deceptive information to distort one’s memory of a past incident is known as.
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a. the misinformation effect.
12. Traumatic experiences that are thought to be pushed out of consciousness are often referred to as __________ memories.
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c. repressed
13. Retrograde amnesia is generally caused by some sort of trauma to the brain. People with retrograde amnesia generally cannot:
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b. access memories of events created before the trauma.
14. __________ refers to the increased efficiency of neural communication over time, resulting in learning and the formation of memories.
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b. Long-term potentiation
15. The __________ is essential for creating new explicit memories, but not implicit memories.
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d. hippocampus
16. A friend says, “My grandmother has terrible short-term memory. She can’t remember anything from a couple of hours ago.” This statement represents a very common mistake people make when discussing memory. How would you explain this confusion about short-term memory versus long-term memory?
Information enters sensory memory, which includes an overwhelming array of sensory stimuli. If it is not lost in sensory memory, it enters the short-term memory stage. The amount of time information is maintained and processed in short-term memory can be about 30 seconds. And short-term memory has a limited capacity. Because short-term memories cannot last for a couple of hours, it is more likely his grandmother is having difficulty encoding, storing, and/or recalling information that should be held in long-term memory.
17. How are iconic memory and echoic memory different from each other?
Iconic memories are visual impressions that are photograph-like in their accuracy but dissolve in less than a second. Echoic memories are exact copies of the sounds we hear, lasting about 1–10 seconds. Iconic memory uses our visual system, whereas echoic memory uses our auditory system.
18. How does working memory differ from short-term memory?
Short-term memory is a stage of memory that temporarily maintains and processes a limited amount of information. Working memory is the active processing of information in short-term memory. Working memory refers to what is going on in short-term memory.
19. Provide two examples of mnemonics you’ve used in the past.
Answers will vary. Examples may include Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally to help remember the order of operations (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction); Roy G. Biv to help remember the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet); Every Good Boy Does Fine for remembering the notes of the treble clef in music (E, G, B, D, F).
20. Imagine you are a teacher creating a list of classroom rules in case of an emergency. If you were expecting your students to remember these rules after only reading through them once, where in the list would you position the most important rules? Why?
The teacher should list the most important rules first and last in the list. The serial position effect suggests items at the beginning and at the end of a list are more likely to be recalled. The primacy effect suggests we are more likely to remember items at the beginning of a list, because they have a better chance of moving into long-term memory. The recency effect suggests we are more likely to remember items at the end of a list because they linger in short–term memory. Students are likely to remember rules at the beginning of the list, as these would be encoded into long-term memory.
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