itp module 6

• Memory


  A system that encodes, stores, and retrieves information
• Human memory


  • An information processing system that works constructively to encode, store and retrieve information
• Memory's three basic tasks (processes of memory)

  • Encoding
  • Storage
  • Retrieval
• Semantic encoding


  Encoding of words and their meanings
• Visual encoding


  Encoding of images
• Acoustic encoding


  Encoding of sounds
• Self-reference effect


  The tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance
• Baddeley & Hitch model


  • Short-term memory has different forms depending on the type of information received
• Atkinson-Shiffrin model


  • Assumes there are three unitary (separate) memory stores, and that information is transferred between these stores in a linear sequence
• Stroop effect


  Discovered while studying sensory memory and Describes why it is difficult for us to name a color when the word and the color of the word are different
• Short-term memory/working memory


  A temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory
• Short-term memory


  • Lasts about 20 seconds
  • Capacity is usually about 7 items +/-2 (discovered by George Miller)
  • Short-term memories are either discarded or stored in long-term memory
• Memory consolidation


  Transfer of STM to long-term memory
• Rehearsal


  The conscious repetition of information to be remembered
• Long-term memory


  • The continuous storage of information
  • Has no limit and is like the information you store on the hard drive of a computer
• Components of long-term memory

  • Explicit (declarative) memory
  • Implicit memory
• Explicit (declarative) memory


  Memories of facts and events we can consciously remember and recall/declare and personally experienced
• Types of explicit memory

  • Semantic - knowledge about words, concepts and language
  • Episodic - information about events we have personally experienced
• Hyperthymesia


  A highly superior autobiographical memory
• Implicit memory


  Memories that are not part of our consciousness, formed through behaviors
• Types of implicit memory

  • Procedural - stores information about how to do things, skills and actions
  • Behaviors learned through emotional conditioning
• Photographic memory


  Technically refers to Eidetic Imagery - a memory image as vivid as the original experience, portrayed as being "outside the head" and can last for several minutes or even days
• Equipotentiality hypothesis


  • If part of one area of the brain involved in memory is damaged, another part of the same area can take over that memory function
• Eric Kandel studied the synapse and its role in controlling the flow of information through neural circuits needed to store memories

  
• Neurotransmitters involved in memory

  • Epinephrine
  • Dopamine
  • Serotonin
  • Glutamate
  • Acetylcholine
• Arousal theory


  Strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories
• Flashbulb memory


  An exceptionally clear recollection of an important emotional event
• Amnesia


  The loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma
• Types of amnesia

  • Anterograde amnesia - cannot remember new information, can remember information and events that happened prior to injury
  • Retrograde amnesia - loss of memory for events that occurred before the trauma
• construction


  Formulation of new memories
• reconstruction


  Process of bringing up old memories, which tends to unintentionally alter and modify them, resulting in inaccuracies and distortions
• Suggestibility


  The effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories
• Eyewitness identification and testimony is often used in the prosecution of criminals. Research suggests that suggestive police identification procedures can lead to alterations in an eyewitness's memory leading to misidentification
• Misinformation effect


  After exposure to incorrect information, a person may misremember the original event
• Loftus Study - When people are asked leading questions about an event, their memory of the event may be altered
• False memory syndrome


  Recall of false autobiographical memories
• Repressed memories


  Psychologists believe it is possible to completely repress traumatic childhood memories such as sexual abuse, which can lead to psychological distress in adulthood
• Loftus challenges the idea of repressed memories and questions if recalled memories are accurate or whether the processes of questioning and suggestibility leads to the misinformation effect
• Beliefs about recovered memories

  • Belief in recovered memories - trauma in children causes repressed memories, which can be recalled through hypnosis and guided imagery
  • Opponents of recovered memories - trauma occurs but not repression, questioning by others results in false memories of abuse
• Forgetting


  Loss of information from long-term memory