How much information can
be stored in long term memory?
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No limit to information
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New info may replace older info
but long-term memory can’t be lost
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Lacking the proper cues
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Transferring info. from short-
to long-term memory
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More often rehearsed more likely
to be transferred
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Maintenance Rehearsal-
repeating info to prevent decay
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Elaborative Rehearsal-
a method for increasing retention of new info by relating it to info that
is already well known
Organization in long-term memory
Memories organized like “storehouses”-
group like things together
Organize according to hierarchical
structure (hierarchy- arrangement of items into groups or classes according
to features, pg. 241)
Retrieval of info
Tip-of-the-Tongue-Phenomenon-
the feeling that info is stored in memory although it cannot be retrieved
(a.k.a the feeling-of-knowing)
Usually occurs because of incomplete
learning
Context-Dependent Memory-
info that is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and
stored, or learned
Being in proper context can
enhance recall
State-Dependent Memory-
info that is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in
which it was encoded and stored, or learned
State of emotion a person is
in may affect retrieval
The Levels-of-Processing
Model of Memory
-
Not about memory in terms of
stages (sensory, short-term, and long-term) but more in terms of one stage
with different degrees of processing info (Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart)
Forgetting
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Nonsense Syllables- Meaningless
sets of two consonants with a vowel in the middle, that are used to study
memory
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Provide a means of measuring
simple memorization ability in three basic memory tasks: recognition, recall,
and relearning
Memory Tasks Used in Measuring
Forgetting
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Recognition- the easiest
memory task, involving identification of objects or events encountered
before
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Recall- retrieval or
reconstruction of learned material
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Read lists of nonsense syllables
and recall as many as possible
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Retrieval is easier if linked
meaningfully to something (Ex: words in foreign languages can often be
linked to words that have related meaning in English)
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Posthypnotic Amnesia-
inability to recall material presented while hypnotized, following the
suggestion of the hypnotist
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Relearning- a measure
of retention. Material is usually relearned more quickly than it is learned
initially
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Method of Savings- a
measure of retention in which the difference between the number of repetitions
originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required
to relearn the list, after a certain amount of time has elapsed, is calculated
(Developed by Ebbinghaus)
-
Savings- the number of
repetitions to learn - the number of repetitions to relearn after a given
amount of time (Ex: 20 times to learn - 20 times to relearn = no savings.
20 times to learn - 10 time to relearn = 1/2 the savings
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Most retention is lost soon
after learning (retention drops by half after the first hour then becomes
more gradual)
Interference Theory
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The view that we may forget
stored material because other learning interferes with it
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Retroactive Interference-
the interference of new learning with the ability to retrieve material
learned previously
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Proactive Interference-
the interference by old learning with the ability to retrieve material
learned recently
Repression
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Psychogenic Amnesia-
amnesia thought to stem from psychological conflict or trauma (repression
is thought to be the cause of disorders like this)
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We do things in order to avoid
situations that produce anxiety, guilt, and shame (motivated to forget
painful memories - Sigmund Freud)
Childhood Amnesia
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The inability to recall events
that occurred prior to the age of three
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Probably reflects the interaction
of physiological and cognitive factors
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Structures of the limbic system
are still in the developmental stages at age two and most children cannot
use language until two years so they cannot organize info to store it
Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia
-
Anterograde Amnesia-
the failure to remember events that occur after physical trauma
-
Retrograde Amnesia- the
failure to remember events that occur prior to physical trauma
The Biology of Memory
-
Early in the study many used
that concept of engram in studies of memory
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Engram- (1) an assumed
electrical circuit in the brain that corresponds to a memory trace (2)
an assumed chemical change in the brain that accompanies learning
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Thought they found it in RNA
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Changes in the Neural Level
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The storage of experience requires
that the number of avenues of communication among brain cells be increased
(Ex: changes occur in visual cortex as a result of visual experiences)
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Adrenaline hormone- generally
stimulates bodily arousal and activity
-
Also strengthens memory when
released into blood after instances of learning
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Alzheimer’s Disease-
a progressive disease that is associated with degeneration of hippocampal
cells that produce acetylcholine and symptomized by confusion and inability
to form new memories
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Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH)-
is also known as vasopressin and can improve recall if not used in excess.
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Changes at the Structural Level
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Hippocampus- relays incoming
sensory info to parts of the cortex and is important to storage of new
info
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Thalamus (located near center
of brain)- involved in formation of verbal memories
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