Memory (psychology): flashcards, quiz and summary

Flashcards

1. 1What are the three processes involved in memory, and what does each one do?

   Encoding gets information into memory, storage keeps it over time, and retrieval gets it back out when it is needed.

2. 2How does information move through the Atkinson-Shiffrin model?

   Information enters sensory memory as a brief, detailed copy of sensory input. Attention moves it into short-term memory, and rehearsal and encoding move it into long-term memory.

3. 3Why does chunking increase how much short-term memory can hold?

   Chunking groups separate items into meaningful units, so fewer units need to be held at once. The string 1, 7, 7, 6, 2, 0, 2, 6 is hard to hold as eight digits but manageable as two years, 1776 and 2026.

4. 4How does Baddeley and Hitch's working memory model differ from the simple idea of short-term memory?

   Working memory treats short-term memory as an active workspace used for solving problems. It includes a central executive, a phonological loop for sounds and words, and a visuospatial sketchpad for images and locations.

5. 5How do explicit memory and implicit memory differ?

   Explicit (declarative) memories are recalled on purpose, and they include episodic memories of events and semantic memories of facts. Implicit (nondeclarative) memories work without conscious effort, such as procedural memories of skills and habits.

6. 6Why does deep processing lead to better memory than shallow processing?

   Deep processing focuses on what information means, and elaborative rehearsal connects it to existing knowledge. Shallow processing focuses only on how something looks or sounds, so the memory has fewer connections to support retrieval.

7. 7Why are the first and last items in a list remembered better than the middle items?

   The primacy effect happens because early items get more rehearsal and are stored in long-term memory. The recency effect happens because the last items are still held in short-term memory when recall begins.

8. 8Why is recognition usually easier than recall, and how does context affect retrieval?

   Recognition only requires picking the right answer from options, while recall requires producing it with few cues. Context-dependent and state-dependent memory also show that recall is better when the setting or internal state matches the one where learning happened.

9. 9What does Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve show about when forgetting happens?

   Most forgetting happens soon after learning, and the rate of forgetting then levels off. This finding was based on his memorization of nonsense syllables.

10. 10Why do short study sessions spread over several days work better than one long cramming session?

    The spacing effect shows that memories built across several sessions are stronger than those built in one session. Retrieval practice, such as quizzing yourself, also builds stronger memories than rereading.

Practice quiz

Pick an answer to check it.

1. 1According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, which stage holds information for roughly 15 to 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed?

   1. Working memory
   2. Long-term memory
   3. Sensory memory
   4. Short-term memory
   Show the answer

   D. Short-term memory Short-term memory holds information for about 15 to 30 seconds unless rehearsal keeps it active. Sensory memory lasts only a fraction of a second to a few seconds, and long-term memory can last a lifetime. Working memory is a model of how short-term memory is used, not a separate stage in the Atkinson-Shiffrin model.

2. 2A student memorizes a word list by thinking about what each word means instead of how the word looks. Which description fits this best?

   1. Maintenance rehearsal
   2. Shallow processing
   3. Recognition
   4. Deep processing
   Show the answer

   D. Deep processing Focusing on meaning is deep processing, which leads to better memory than focusing on appearance or sound. Maintenance rehearsal means repeating information to keep it in short-term memory, and it does not focus on meaning.

3. 3A student learns a new locker combination and then cannot remember the old one. Which type of interference is this?

   1. Retroactive interference
   2. Misinformation effect
   3. Retrograde amnesia
   4. Proactive interference
   Show the answer

   A. Retroactive interference Retroactive interference happens when new learning blocks old memories, which matches this case. Proactive interference is the reverse, where old learning blocks new memories. Retrograde amnesia is a memory loss caused by injury, and the misinformation effect involves misleading details added after an event.

4. 4In a long list of words, which items are people least likely to remember?

   1. The items that were rehearsed most
   2. The first few items
   3. The items in the middle
   4. The last few items
   Show the answer

   C. The items in the middle The serial position effect shows that middle items are remembered worst. The first items benefit from primacy and the last items from recency, so both are remembered better than the middle items.

5. 5Which of these is an example of implicit memory?

   1. Recalling the capital of France when asked
   2. Riding a bike without having to think about balance
   3. Stating that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level
   4. Remembering the details of your last birthday dinner
   Show the answer

   B. Riding a bike without having to think about balance Riding a bike is a procedural skill that works without conscious effort, so it is implicit memory. The other examples are explicit memories: the birthday dinner is episodic, and the boiling point and the capital are semantic facts recalled on purpose.

6. 6Which task requires recall rather than recognition?

   1. Filling in a blank with the correct term from memory
   2. Choosing the correct answer on a multiple-choice question
   3. Matching a term to its definition from a list
   4. Deciding whether a statement is true or false
   Show the answer

   A. Filling in a blank with the correct term from memory Fill-in-the-blank tasks require recall, because you must produce the answer with few cues. The other tasks are recognition tasks, because the correct answer is among the options you are given.

Test traps

What teachers like to test on this, and the mistakes students make.

• Mixing up proactive and retroactive interference: proactive is old learning blocking new learning, and retroactive is new learning blocking old learning.
• Confusing anterograde and retrograde amnesia: anterograde affects the ability to form new memories, and retrograde affects memories from before the injury.
• Assuming recognition means you could produce the answer from scratch. A multiple-choice answer you recognize may still be one you cannot recall on a fill-in-the-blank test.
• Mixing up explicit and implicit memory, or episodic and semantic memory. Episodic is about events you lived, and semantic is about facts.
• Giving the capacity of short-term memory without explaining chunking, or treating the 7 plus or minus 2 estimate as settled when newer research suggests about 4 chunks.
• Thinking that rereading is an effective study method. Research shows that retrieval practice and spaced sessions build stronger memories.

Summary

• Memory involves three processes: encoding (getting information in), storage (keeping it over time), and retrieval (getting it back out).
• The Atkinson-Shiffrin model describes three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM), with attention moving information from sensory memory into STM.
• STM holds information for roughly 15 to 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed, and its capacity is estimated at about 7 plus or minus 2 items or closer to 4 chunks.
• Chunking groups items into meaningful units, which makes them easier to hold in memory.
• Working memory, described by Baddeley and Hitch, treats STM as an active workspace with a central executive, a phonological loop, and a visuospatial sketchpad.
• Long-term memory is divided into explicit (declarative) memory, which includes episodic and semantic memory, and implicit (nondeclarative) memory, which includes procedural memory.
• Deeper processing, especially elaborative rehearsal that connects new material to existing knowledge, produces better memory than shallow processing or simple repetition.
• Forgetting happens through interference (proactive and retroactive), misinformation, and amnesia, and retrieval is easier with cues and recognition than with recall.

Key terms

Encoding

The process of getting information into memory.

Sensory memory

A brief, detailed copy of what the senses take in. Visual (iconic) memory fades in under a second, and sound (echoic) memory lasts a few seconds.

Chunking

Grouping items into meaningful units so they are easier to hold in short-term memory.

Working memory

Baddeley and Hitch's view of short-term memory as an active workspace for solving problems, with parts that include the central executive, the phonological loop, and the visuospatial sketchpad.

Elaborative rehearsal

Connecting new information to things you already know. It works better than repetition alone.

Serial position effect

In a list, people best remember the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect), and remember the middle items worst.

Retrieval cue

Anything that helps bring a memory back, such as a smell or a related word.

Proactive interference

Old learning blocks new learning. It works forward: the old combination keeps coming to mind at a new locker.

How to study it

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Questions