Stages & Models
What are encoding, storage, and retrieval?
Encoding = getting info in, Storage = keeping it over time, Retrieval = getting it back out when needed.
Maintenance vs elaborative rehearsal - what is the difference and which is better?
Maintenance = repeating over and over. Elaborative = linking to meaning and prior knowledge. Elaborative is much more effective.
What is the serial position curve?
People best remember the first and last items in a list, and worst remember the middle items.
What did the DRM paradigm class demo illustrate?
After hearing lists of related words, people falsely remember a related lure word that was never presented - false memories feel real.
Why do people forget things?
Encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference from other memories.
What are the 3 stages in Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) and their functions?
Sensory memory (briefly holds senses), Short-term memory (holds limited info briefly), Long-term memory (stores info for long periods, large capacity).
Is effortful / challenging encoding good for us? Why?
Yes. Effortful processing creates deeper, stronger memory traces and better retrieval routes than easy processing.
What are the primacy and recency effects?
Primacy = better memory for first items. Recency = better memory for last items.
Why did Loftus say memories are like Wikipedia pages, not video cameras?
Memories are constructive and can be edited by you and by others/suggestions over time; they are not exact recordings.
What is proactive interference?
Old memories interfere with learning/remembering new information.
What is Baddeley's working memory model?
Central executive (controls attention) + phonological loop (sounds/words), visuospatial sketchpad (visual/spatial), and episodic buffer (binds info together).
Why is making information personal an effective encoding strategy?
Self-reference effect: relating info to yourself makes it meaningful, organized, and easier to retrieve.
Why does the primacy effect happen?
First items get more rehearsal, so they are more likely to move into long-term memory.
What did the Loftus car accident study show?
Wording changes memory: 'smashed' vs 'hit' changed speed estimates and false reports of broken glass - leading questions create false memories.
What is retroactive interference?
New memories interfere with remembering old information.
How is working memory different from short-term memory?
Short-term memory mainly stores info briefly; working memory actively manipulates and works with that info.
What is chunking and how does it help memory?
Grouping items into meaningful units. It expands short-term memory capacity because each chunk counts as one unit.
Why does the recency effect happen?
Last items are still in short-term memory when recall begins.
What is the misinformation effect?
Misleading information presented after an event distorts or replaces memory for that event.
Retrograde vs anterograde amnesia - what is the difference?
Retrograde = loss of memories before injury. Anterograde = inability to form new memories after injury.
What is the encoding specificity principle?
Memory is best when retrieval conditions match encoding conditions - context and cues present at learning help recall.
What are effective strategies for encoding information?
Elaborative rehearsal, self-reference, chunking, imagery, organization, spacing, and testing yourself.
What are the spacing effect and testing effect?
Spacing = spread-out study beats cramming. Testing = retrieving info on practice tests strengthens memory more than re-reading.
If memory is constructive, how does that affect the legal system?
Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable and confidently wrong, so it can lead to false convictions and should be corroborated.
Do people have repressed memories? What does evidence suggest?
Evidence is weak. Most traumatic events are remembered too well (persistence), not repressed, and recovered repressed memories are often false memories created by suggestion.