The 3 Stage Memory Model
What are the three stages of memory?
sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory
What does Forgetting mean?
The inability to remember information that was previously available.
What are the two main effects of the Serial Position Effect?
Primary & Recency Effect
What is the encoding specificity principle? Please give an example.
the principle that states that retrieval of information is improved if cues received at the time of retrieval are also present at the time of encoding. An example would be sitting in the same place in a math class that you learned the material, on the day of the test
What is the duration for each of the 3 stages of memory?
Sensory memory (lasts up to ½ a second for visual memory and 2-4 seconds for auditory memory), Short term memory (up to 30 seconds w/o rehearsal), Long term memory (relatively permanent).
Who first introduced the learning curve and what is it?
Hermann Ebbinghaus first introduced the learning curve. It means that forgetting occurs soon after we learn something and then gradually tapers off.
What is Massed Practice?
A study technique in which time spent learning is grouped (or massed) into long unbroken intervals; also called “cramming.”
What is parallel processing?
The idea that memory is spread out, or distributed, throughout the brain in a web-like interacting network of units operating simultaneously, rather than sequentially; also known as connectionism.
Give a brief description of the subcategories of explicit/declarative memory.
Semantic memory (stores facts and general information, a.k.a the mental encyclopedia) & episodic memory (stores personal experiences/events, a.k.a the mental diary)
What is the decay theory and how does it work?
Decay theory focuses on the way memory is processed and stored in a physical form. Information passes through the sensory, short-term and long term memory. But when it comes time for it to go back into short term memory, it cannot be retrieved.
What is Distributed Practice?
A learning strategy in which studying or practice is broken up into a number of short sessions over a period of time; also known as spaced repetition.
What are the three levels of processing?
shallow, intermediate, deep
What are the purposes of each of the 3 stages of memory?
Sensory memory holds sensory information, Short term memory holds information temporarily for analysis and retrieves info from long term memory, and long term memory receives and stores information from short term memory.
What is the theory that says that people forget unpleasant memories? Give an example of your own
The theory is motivated forgetting. An example would be a mother enjoying the overall experience of parenting, but forgetting the actual pain of childbirth.
What theory doesn’t make it to LTM?
Encoding Failure Theory.
What is the similarity between the three-stage memory model and the encoding, storage, and retrieval model?
They both get compared to a computer, with input, processing, and output
What are the 3 ways you can improve your long term memory? Give a brief description of each. If an example would help you are welcome to give one.
Organization (the arrangement of a number of related items into broad categories that can be further divided in smaller groups, similar to chunking in STM). Elaborative rehearsal (the formation of connections between new information and information already stored in LTM and the repetition of these connections). Retrieval Cues (a prompt/stimulus that aids in the recall of info being stored in LTM).
The feeling that a word or an event you are trying to remember will pop out any second is known as what?
Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon, retrieval failure, or interference
Summarize the Wagner Study.
Wagner conducted a study on Mexican children to enhance their formal schooling skills. Participants were first presented with seven cards that were placed face down in front of them, one at a time. They were then shown a card and asked to point out which of the seven cards was its duplicate. Every child, regardless of culture or amount of schooling, was able to recall the latest cards presented.
How can you “deep-process information”?
Interacting with new information directly and applying it personally can significantly improve encoding, storage, and retention.