Questions and Concepts
For each of the following areas of the brain, list what part of memory it is involved in: prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, amygdala, cerebellum, and the hippocampus
temporal lobe: explicit
amygdala: implicit (learning)
cerebellum: implicit (procedural)
hippocampus: consolidation and spatial memory
Positive punishment vs. positive reinforcement
Positive punishment: Add an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior
Positive reinforcement: Add pleasent stimulus to increase/maintain a behavior
Explain schemas and their purpose in long-term memory
Mental frameworks that organize, interpret, and simplify info based on past experiences
What is the difference between implicit and explicit memory?
Implicit: A system for long-term storage of unconscious memories that cannot be verbally described
Explicit: A system for long-term storage of unconscious memories that can be verbally described
Negative punishment vs. negative reinforcement
Negative punishment: Remove a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior
Negative reinforcement: Remove unpleasant stimulus to increase/maintain behavior
What are networks of associations?
Mental maps in our brains where concepts, ideas, or memories are linked together like a web
How do selective and limited attention differ, and how do each impact our memory?
Selective: The ability to pay attention to relevant info while ignoring irrelevant info
Limited: The brain can only process a small amount of info simultaneously
Briefly describe Pavlovs experiment
By repeatedly ringing a bell (nuetral stimulus) just before feeding (unconditioned stimulus), the dogs learned to associate the sound with food, eventually salivating to the bell alone.
What are some ways people can help their prospective memory?
Use alarms, digital calendars, and place items in high visibility spots
Maintenence vs elaborative rehearsal
Maintenance: Using the working memory process to repeat info based on how it sounds (short-term)
Elaborative: Using working memory processes to think about how new info relates to yourself or prior knowledge (long-term)
Schedules of reinforcement and which works best
Continuous: Behavior that is reinforced every time the said behavior occurs
Partial: When positive reinforcement only occurs intermittently
Partial is better because it leads to us being more consistent, because you cannot predict when you'll be reinforced
What sorts of things impact memory loss?
Chronic stress, poor sleep, nutritional deficiencies, age, substance misuse, concussion, etc.
Types of long-term memory: semantic, episodic, declarative, procedural
Semantic: A person's knowledge about the world
Episodic: A person's personal experiences in chronological order
Declarative: Stored knowledge that can be called forth consciously as needed
Procedural: Permanent storage of learned skills
Understand the differences between the following: unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, conditioned response
Unconditioned stimulus: Something that naturally triggers a response without any prior learning
Unconditioned response: An event that brings out a predictable response without training
Conditioned stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that, after repeatedly being paired with an unconditioned stimulus, begins to trigger the same response
Conditioned response: A learned response to a stimulus