Memory Basics
What are the three basic processes of memory?
Encoding, storage, retireval
What are the three stages of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model?
Sensory, short-term, long-term
What is chunking?
Grouping information into meaningful units
What brain structure is critical for forming new explicit memories?
Hippocampus
What are retireval cues?
Triggers that help access memories
What type of memory measure involves retrieving information with no cues?
Recall
What is the difference between implicit and explicit memory?
Explicit = conscious (e.g., facts)
Implicit = automatic (e.g., skills)
What is the spacing effect?
Studying over time improves memory (compared to cramming)
Which brain region is involved in emotion and memory?
Amygdala
What is priming?
Unconscious activation of associations
What is the central executive?
A control system in WM that directs attention. The "boss" of WM, decided what to focus on, ignore, etc.
Which type of memory includes skills like riding a bike?
Procedural memory
What is a mneumonic?
Memory aids. E.g., PEMDAS, ROYGBIV, HOMES
Which brain structures are involved in implicit memory?
Cerebellum and basal ganglia
What is the serial position effect (i.e., primacy and recency effect)
How we tend to remember things in a list: Remembering first (primacy) and last (recency) items best
Why is recognition easier than recall?
Because it provides cues that help retrieve information (e.g., might not remember it on your own, but recognize it when you see it)
What is the difference between short-term and working memory?
Refers to same thing, but working memory is the newer term. Short-term memory is seen more as temporary storage, whereas WM is active processing and manipulation of information.
What is the WM capacity?
7 +/- 2
What is LTP?
Long-term potentiation = strengthening of synaptic connections, involved in learning
What is the misinformation effect?
False memories from misleading information
Why is memory not a perfect recording of events?
Because memory is reconstructed, not replayed.
Information can be lost, changed, or influenced at any stage: during encoding, storage, or retrieval.
What is "rehearsal?" Can you give an example?
Keeping information in WM
What type of memory is sound-based?
Echoic
What are flashbulb memories?
Vivid emotional memories
What is the difference between proactive and retroactive interference?
Retroactive = newer memories interfering with old ones