Psychology Unit 3: The Conscious Self
Area of Study 2: Memory
Study Design:
1. Mechanism of memory formation:
- Neurons in memory formation including the role of axons, dendrites, synapses and neurotransmitters
- Role of the temporal lobe including the hippocampus and the amygdala
- Consolidation theory
- Memory decline over the lifespan
- Amnesia resulting from brain trauma and neurodegenerative diseases including dementia and Alzheimer's disease
2. Models for explaining human memory:
- Atkinson-Shiffrin's multi-store model of memory including maintenance and elaborative rehearsal, serial position effect and chunking
- Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch's model of working memory: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer
- Levels of processing as informed by Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart
- Organisation of long-term memory including declarative (episodic and semantic) and procedural memory, and semantic network theory
3. Strengths and limitations of theories of forgetting:
- Forgetting curve as informed by the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus
- Retrieval failure theory including tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
- Interference theory
- Motivated forgetting as informed by the work of Sigmund Freud including repression and suppression
- Decay theory
4. Manipulation and improvement of memory:
- Measures of retention including the relative sensitivity of recall, recognition and relearning
- Use of context dependent cues and state dependent cues
- Mnemonic devices including acronyms, acrostics and narrative chaining
- Effect of misleading questions on eye-witness testimonies including the reconstructive nature of memory informed by the work of Elizabeth Loftus
Terms : Hide Images
| 878352877 | Motor Neuron | Carry neural information about movement away from the brain and spinal cord, towards the body, enabling movement. | |
| 878352878 | Sensory Neuron | Carry neural information about the senses away from the body, towards the spinal cord and brain. | |
| 878352879 | Interneuron | Connect sensory neurons with motor neurons. They exist only in the spinal cord and brain. | |
| 878352880 | Axon | Nerve fibre which transmits an electrical impulse with information from that neuron to other neurons or to the cells of a muscle, gland or organ | |
| 878352881 | Dendrites | The extension of the nerve (resembles a branch) that receives information from other neurons | |
| 878352882 | Synapse | The gap between two neurons | |
| 878352883 | Neurotransmitter | Chemicals that help the communication across nerve synapses. | |
| 878352884 | Cell body | Contains the nucleus within the nerve cell | |
| 878352885 | Terminals | Extensions of the axon where information is transmitted to other neurons | |
| 878352886 | Role of the Hippocampus | - Plays a major role in memory, learning and recognition. - Involved in the formation of new long-term memories. - They are NOT storage sites - Important for forming explicit memory and for difficult tasks which draw upon declarative memory - Involved in establishing the background or context for each new memory, such as the location, situation and memory for places. - Damage to this area: people can often remember events that occurred BEFORE the damage, but cannot form new long-term memories of events that occurred after the damage. | |
| 878352887 | Role of the Amygdala | - Regulates emotions such as fear and aggression and plays a more general role in the formation of emotional memory. - Major role in the memory for emotions shown on faces, which is important because the emotions it regulates enhance the memorability of an event which is stated as declarative memory. | |
| 879423599 | Consolidation Theory | - A theory that proposes that memory is permanently stored in the brain through a process where there are physical changes to neurons. - Consolidation takes 30 minutes, so the material learned is vulnerable to disruption for at least 30 minutes. If the consolidation process is interrupted, then consolidation does not occur and the item will not be stored in LTM. - Research shows that mental inactivity assists in consolidation. Forgetting is reduced when the learner sleeps between learning and recalling. | |
| 879423600 | Memory Decline over the Lifespan | - Memory decline is not inevitable for all people - Individuals who constantly use their memory and engage in mentally challenging activities experience less memory decline. Motivation and confidence also play a major role. Long-Term Memory - Episodic memory declines sharply after middle age - Semantic memory tasks is equal to that of younger people, however, the speed of encoding and retrieval of semantic memory can decline. - Procedural memory does not decline much Short-Term Memory - Verbal recency memory (memory for recently learnt verbal info) is most affected by ageing. - Visual recency memory (memory for recent visual info) is less likely to be affected by age. - Complex working memory tasks (e.g. saying a string of digits backwards, dividing one's attention while ignoring distractions) is likely to be affected by age. - The prefrontal cortex (responsible for working memory) is less active and efficient in old age | |
| 879423601 | Amnesia | - Any loss of memory, either partial or complete, temporary or permanent. - Amnesia can be caused by any reason associated with brain trauma: * Inflicted brain injury. E.g. A deliberate blow to the head * Acquired brain injury. E.g. Accidents, brain infection - Two common kinds of amnesia: Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia | |
| 879423602 | Anterograde Amnesia | - Memory loss for events AFTER the brain is damaged. - Inability to encode and store new memories. - Often associated with damage to the hippocampus. - Typically, people can retrieve memories they had prior to the trauma but cannot learn anything new. - This amnesia is commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease. | |
| 879423603 | Retrograde Amnesia | - Loss of memory for events that occurred BEFORE the brain is damaged. - Patients usually have no memory of the period just prior to the injury, but sometimes the amnesia can go back several years. - Often caused by a blow to the head, strokes, surgery and Alzheimer's disease. - Older memories are less affected and usually return first. | |
| 879423604 | Dementia | - A disorder characterised by deterioration of higher mental functions such as thinking ability, social skills and emotional responses. - Dementia usually develops over a number of years, gradually worsening - It is NOT a part of the ageing process - Can be caused by disease or brain damage, many neurodegenerative which are irreversible. | |
| 879423605 | Alzheimer's Disease | - Neurodegenerative disease causing gradual, severe memory loss, deterioration in cognitive and social skills leading to death 8-10 years after onset. - It involves both anterograde and retrograde amnesia because the disease affects both the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. | |
| 879423606 | Memory | An active information-processing system that receives, stores, organises, alters and retrieves information. MEMORY PERFORMS THREE FUNCTIONS: 1. ENCODING 2. STORAGE 3. RETRIEVAL | |
| 879423607 | Encoding | Converting incoming sensory information into a form that can be stored and represented, in some form - sound, visual image, touch or meaning. | |
| 879423608 | Storage | The retention of information over time. | |
| 879423609 | Retrieval | Locating and recovering the stored information from memory so that we are consciously aware of it. | |
| 879423610 | Atkinson-Shiffrin's Multi-Store Model of Memory | According to this model of memory, there are 3 separate levels of memory that interact with one another to enable encoding, storage and retrieval: 1. Sensory Memory 2. Short Term Memory 3. Long Term Memory | |
| 879423611 | Sensory Memory | - The entry point for all new information into memory from the external environment - We have a sensory store for each of the five senses. - Transferred to short term memory store if attended to but decays and disappears if not attended to - Capacity = UNLIMITED - Duration = 0.2 - 4 seconds Two examples of sensory memory: - ICONIC memory (The temporary store for information that is received from the visual system. 0.2-0.4 seconds) - ECHOIC memory (Auditory information held in sensory memory for a brief period after the stimulus has ceased. 3- 4 seconds) | |
| 879423612 | Short Term Memory | - Second, most active memory system. - Limited storage capacity in which information is stored for a short period. - Stores information temporarily, but longer than SENSORY memory. - When capacity is reached, new information can only be added by pushing out old information. - Capacity = limited to 7 ± 2 bits of information - Duration = approximately 18 - 20 seconds | |
| 879423613 | Long Term Memory | - Relatively permanent memory system that holds vast amounts of information for a very long time, possibly a life time. - Information is organised to meaning. - Transferred into LTM through REHEARSAL. - CAPACITY: Virtually unlimited - DURATION: Up to a lifetime - relatively permanent Types of long-term memory : 1. Procedural memory 2. Declarative memory (episodic and semantic memory) | |
| 879423615 | Rehearsal | The process of actively manipulating information so that it can be retained in memory. There are two types of rehearsal: 1. Maintenance 2. Elaborative | |
| 879423616 | Maintenance Rehearsal | - Involves repeating the information being remembered over and over again to retain it in STM - Pro => Allows information to be stored in STM for longer than normal. Very effective for storing meaningless information. - Con => Does not add to understanding. Restricts entry of new information to STM, and when there is new entry, it is easily interrupted. Limited effectiveness in transferring information from STM to LTM | |
| 879423617 | Elaborative Rehearsal | - Linking new information in a meaningful way with already stored, or other new information - Involves more complex mental consideration of the material to be remembered than simply repeating it, and usually involves associating it with information already contained in long-term memory. - Pro => Increases understanding, which means deeper processing level. Adds more details, which increases the chance of retrieval and makes information more accessible. Increases possibility of long term retention. - Con => Takes longer and requires more conscious effort than maintenance. Relies on ability to retrieve information from LTM. Difficult to practise when information entering STM keeps changing. | |
| 879423618 | The Serial Position Effect | - The finding that the recall of items in the serial list tends to be better at the beginning and end of the list than for items in the middle of the list. Findings: - If recall occurs immediately after the list is learned, items at the beginning of the list are remembered well (primacy effect) because they received more attention and rehearsal and are therefore transferred into long term memory. The last few items are also remembered well (recency effect) because they are still in short term memory. Items in the middle of the list are most likely forgotten because there is too much information in STM to allow any more. (7 + 2 items) | |
| 879423614 | Chunking | - The grouping or 'packing' of separate bits of information into a larger single unit or 'chunk' of information. - Increasing STM's capacity | |
| 879423619 | Primacy Effect | - Superior recall of items at the BEGINNING of the list. - These items have been rehearsed more and therefore, more likely to enter LTM. | |
| 879423620 | Recency Effect | - Superior recall of items at the END of the list. - Items are still in STM => increase in rehearsal and retrieval chances. | |
| 879423621 | Baddeley and Hitch's Model of Working Memory | - They viewed working memory as a more complex processing system - Proposed that working memory is made up of four components: 1. Central Executive 2. Phonological Loop 3. Visuospatial Sketchpad 4. Episodic Buffer | |
| 879423624 | Central Executive | - The main co-ordinating system. - Monitors, coordinates and integrates information from the other two sub-systems and LTM. - Plays a major role in attention; plays the 'decider' role. - In everyday life, the central executive helps you decide what to do next and what not to do. - It has a limited capacity. | |
| 879423622 | Phonological Loop | - Stores and rehearses speech information. - By actively rehearsing sound based information, it allows verbal information to prevent its loss when we are speaking. Contains 2 subsystems: 1. The Inner Voice - Sub-vocal rehearsal method. Holds information for approx. 1.5 - 2 seconds by silently repeating. 2. The Inner Ear - Holds speech for approx. 1.5 - 2 seconds, then fades unless silent repetition. | |
| 879423623 | Visuospatial Sketchpad | - The 'INNER EYE' - Temporarily stores VISUAL and SPATIAL information - E.G. the location and nature of objects in the environment - Has a limited capacity. | |
| 879423625 | Episodic Buffer | Briefly stores a limited amount of information from phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad with information retrieved from LTM. | |
| 879423626 | Craik and Lockhart's Levels of Processing | - This model of memory storage suggests that memory does not comprise any specific number of separate memory stores but instead is a continuous dimension in which memories are encoded related to the ease with which they can be retrieved: the deeper the processing of information, the greater the chance of it being retrieved. Types of processing: 1. STRUCTURAL - SHALLOW 2. ACOUSTIC - MODERATE 3. SEMANTIC - DEEP | |
| 879423627 | Levels of Processing | Refers to the number and types of associations made between new knowledge and previous knowledge | |
| 879423628 | Structural Processing | Words are learnt by remembering their physical features, such as whether they were in upper or lower case, started with a vowel or consonant, or were long or short. | |
| 879423629 | Acoustic Processing | Words are learnt by their sounds. | |
| 879423630 | Semantic Processing | Words are encoded by their meaning, which allows them to be placed directly in our semantic networks. | |
| 879423632 | Declarative memory | - Knowledge of facts and events. - Enables you to 'declare' the way you believe things to be, or to state that a particular event took place. Divided into two types of long-term memories: 1. Episodic memory- Refers to your memory for past events or episodes, such as how you felt on your first day of high school, or what you ate for lunch yesterday. 2. Semantic memory- Refers to knowledge of facts about the world, including general knowledge, word meanings and associated concepts. | |
| 879423631 | Procedural Memory | - Knowledge of how to perform certain skills and procedures, such as cleaning teeth, using a pencil, riding a bicycle or swimming. - Once these skills are well established, they do not require much conscious effort to recall, and they are resistant to forgetting. | |
| 879423633 | Semantic Network Theory | - Proposes that information in LTM is organised in a hierarchical structure with links between related concepts, or nodes - When we retrieve information, the activation of one node causes other related nodes to be activated | |
| 879423634 | Spreading Activation | - Proposes that activating one node during retrieval increases the likelihood that associated nodes become activated - The short the links between the nodes in the network, the stronger the association between them and means that less time is needed to activate related nodes - The more nodes that are activated, the quicker the retrieval of information from LTM | |
| 886195124 | Forgetting | The inability to remember; including the inability to retrieve, recall or recognise information that was previously stored as memory. | |
| 886195125 | The Forgetting Curve | A graph that shows the typical rate (how fast) and amount (how much) of forgetting occurs after varying lengths of time. It shows that forgetting is rapid soon after original learning, then the rate of memory gradually declines, followed by stability in the memories that remain. Results: After 20 minutes - recall was 58% After 1 hour - retention was 44% 1 day later - recall was 34% 1 week later - recall was around 21% | |
| 886195127 | Retrieval Failure Theory | Asserts that forgetting results from a failure to use appropriate retrieval cues. Forgetting may be due to an inability to retrieve information, rather than being due to the loss of information. | |
| 886195126 | Retrieval Cues | Any bit of information that aids the process of locating and recovering information stored in memory. It acts as a prompt or a hint that guides the search and recovery process. | |
| 886195128 | Tip-of-the-tongue Phenomenon | Knowing that your memory does have the name, item or material you are trying to remember but you just cannot retrieve it at that moment. | |
| 886195129 | Interference Theory | Failure to retrieve particular information due to the disrupting effects of other information. Applies to STM & LTM. It is assumed that forgetting occurs as a result of the material being retrieved becoming confused with other information in memory. There are 2 kinds of interference: retroactive and proactive. | |
| 886195130 | Retroactive Interference | Newly learnt material inhibits our ability to retrieve previously learnt material. Interference goes 'back.' | |
| 886195131 | Proactive Interference | Interference due to existing, old memories disrupting the recollection of more recently formed memories | |
| 886195132 | Motivated Forgetting | Forgetting occurs because of an unconscious or conscious desire to block out painful or threatening memories. This type of forgetting can occur in two forms: repression & suppression. Con => It has not been extensively tested in the labs, and there could be other reasons for memory loss. | |
| 886195133 | Repression | A form of forgetting that happens UNCONSCIOUSLY or without our awareness. Painful, embarrassing or threatening memories are held out of consciousness. | |
| 886195134 | Supression | A CONSCIOUS refusal to access memories which are available. By not thinking about it, we have suppressed a memory. Some adults have reported they have suddenly remembered abuse which occurred when they were children, even though many years may have elapsed since. | |
| 886195135 | Decay theory | Memory traces gradually fading or disintegrating with lack of use over time. Decay appears to be a factor in information loss from sensory and STM. Con => Disuse does not seem to account for our ability to recover forgotten memories. Evidence that contradicts the idea of decay from LTM is the fact that we can sometimes recall old memories despite not having retrieved the memory for many years. | |
| 886223369 | Measures of Retention | A method of measuring the amount of information retained in memory. The 3 measures are recall, recognition and relearning. | |
| 886223370 | Recall | Involves being asked to reproduce information with the fewest possible cues to assist retrieval. During recall, we use a general cue to retrieve information associated with the cue by searching through our long term memory storage system to find something that matches the cue. It is the least sensitive measure of memory | |
| 886223371 | Free Recall | Involves participants simply asked to remember as much information as they can, in no particular order | |
| 886223372 | Serial Recall | Involves participants being asked to recall a list of words in the order in which they were presented | |
| 886223373 | Cued Recall | Involves making use of more specific cues to aid retrieval | |
| 886223374 | Recognition | Involves identifying the correct information from among alternatives. We can retrieve more information when tested by the recognition method than the recall method because the recognition method provides more cues that assist in the locating and retrieval of information from LTM. | |
| 886223375 | Relearning | Involves learning information again that has been previously learned and stored in LTM. Typically, relearning something takes less time than it did to learn originally. It is the most sensitive measure of memory. | |
| 886223376 | Context-Dependent Cues | Environmental Cues in a specific context (setting), where a memory was formed, which acts as a retrieval cue. May include sight, sound, smell. | |
| 886223377 | State-Dependent Cues | Associated with internal physiological and/or psychological state at the time the memory was formed, which acts as retrieval cues to help access those memories. E.g. if information learned when you are sad, that information is more likely to be retrieved when you are in the same state. | |
| 886223378 | Mnemonic Devices | Techniques for enhancing or improving memory. They make use of information that is already stored in LTM and make it more elaborate. They tend to organise new information into a cohesive whole, so that retrieval part of the information generally assists retrieval of the rest of it. Include: acronyms, acrostics and narrative chaining | |
| 886223379 | Acronyms | Pronounceable words formed from the first letters of a sequence of words. They are often pronounceable abbreviations. e.g. WHO (World Health Organisation). Acts as a retrieval aid in the recall of more complex material. | |
| 886223380 | Acrostics | Involves making verbal associations for items to be remembered by constructing phrases or sentences using the first letters of the informations to be remembered. | |
| 886223381 | Narrative Chaining | Involves linking otherwise unrelated words to one another (sequence) to form a meaningful sequence or story (narrative). Very useful mnemonic device to remember things in a particular order | |
| 886223382 | Leading Question | A question that has content or is phrased in such way as to suggest what answer us desired or to lead to the desired answer. |
