EPPP - Learning Theory - Memory and Forgetting

Encoding - the translation of incoming stimuli into a code that can be processed by the brain

Storage - the process of maintaining information in memory

Retrieval - the recovery of stored information

describes memory as consisting of 3 components - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

AKA sensory register

Provides brief storage of sensory stimuli. 

Capable of storing a great deal of information but only for a few seconds. 

The sensory store for auditory information is call the echoic store. visual information = iconic store

When information is sensory memory becomes the focus of attention, it is transferred to STM. 

Holds a limited amount of information, and without rehearsal begins to fade within 30 seconds. 

Consists of primary memory (passive memory storage) and working memory.

Encoding in STM is primarily acoustic

Average capacity is between 5 and 9 (7 +/- 2) distinct units and the ability to hold larger amounts of information in STM is due to the chunking (grouping) of related items together.

responsible for the manipulation and processing of information.

For instance it is working memory that allows you to repeat the phone number you just found in the phone book until you dial the number on the phone.

Process involved in converting information from STM to LTM is not well understood, but likely due to the type of rehearsal.

Encoding is largely semantic 

Capacity of LTM seem to be unlimited, and some belief information is permanent 

LTM consists of recent (secondary) memory and remote memory

relating new information to existing information

Information is more likely to be transferred to LTM

Repeating information with little to no processing

Information is less likely to transfer to LTM

Items at the beginning and end of a list are recalled much better than items in the middle of the list

words at the beginning of a list are better recalled because they have been rehearsed and stored in LTM

Items at the end of a list are recalled better because they are still in STM

An alternative to the information-processing model and proposes that differences in memory are due to differences in depth of processing rather than to separate memory stores and distinguishes between three levels of processing - structural, phonemic, and semantic

physical properties such as a word being in all capital letters

sound properties such as what does a word rhyme with

the meaning of something

the deepest level of processing and produces the greatest amount of recall

Stores information about how to do things (learning how) and is used to acquire, retain, and employ perceptual, cognitive, and motor skills and habits.

mediates the acquisition of facts and other information (learning that or what) and is further subdivided into semantic and episodic memory

includes general knowledge that is independent of any context and is responsible for the storage of facts, rules, and concepts.

Autobiographical memory consisting of information about events that have been personally experienced. 

Flashbulb memories (vivid, detailed images of what one was doing at the time a dramatic event occurred) are stored in episodic memory 

More affected by normal aging than semantic and procedural memory

Same as procedural 

Mediated by the basal ganglia and cerebellum

Same as declarative memory

mediated by the hippocampus and frontal lobes.

The capacity to remember to do things in the future (remembering to remember)

A strong relationship between attention and memory

Studies have found that the ability to maintain attention in the presence of distractions accounts for the difference between people with good versus poor working memory.

Working memory consists of a central executive and 3 subsystems - the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer

The primary component of working memory and is described as an attentional control system. 

It is responsible for directing attention to relevant information, suppressing irrelevant information, and coordinating the 3 subsystems

Most adversely affected by increasing age

responsible for temporarily storing auditory-verbal information

Responsible for temporarily storing visual-spatial information

temporarily integrates auditory, visual, and spatial information

The first of the "bottleneck" theories of attention 

Based on the information-processing model and explains how information is transferred from sensory memory to STM.

a. two sensory stimuli presented at the same time are maintained for a brief period in sensory register

b. a filter selects one of the stimuli to pass through a limited sensory channel based on its physical characteristics while the other stimulus is held in a temporary buffer for later processing

c. the stimulus that passes through the channel to STM is processed for meaning and comes into conscious awareness

The purpose of the filter is to prevent overloading of the capacity of STM

The initial processing of visual information involves 2 stages

Preattentive Stage - the basic feature of the object (size, color, orientation) are perceived in parallel at an automatic or subconscious level 

Attentive Stage - the features are processed serially to form a coherent whole, and this binding of features depends on focal attention.

Affected by several factors including schemas, whare are cognitive structures or frameworks that influence how new information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. 

Many distortions in memory are the result of interpreting information through existing schemas that may introduce systematic biases into memory

People tend to construct memories by combining elements of new information with existing knowledge, which can cause inaccuracies and distortions.

Studies on eyewitness testimony have shown that errors due to construction can be substantial since existing knowledge affects what we pay attention to and remember about an event and what we recall about the event at a later time.

Learning produces a trace, or engram, which is a physiological change in the brain that decays over time as a result of disuse (the state of not being used).

There is evidence to dispute this theory

Proposes that forgetting occurs when the ability to recall certain information is affected by information acquired previously or subsequently.

Interference is most likely when new and old information are similar; when the task involves recall (versus recognition); and when the information to be recalled is unimportant or meaningless.

There are two types of interference that adversely affect memory - retroactive and proactive

occurs when recently learned (new) material interferes with the recall of previously learned (old) material

Learning a list of words, then learning a second list of words, and trying to recall the first list. The new (list 2) info interferes with recalling the first list

Occurs when prior (old) learning interferes with the learning or recall of subsequent (new) material

Learning a list of words, then learning a second list of words, and trying to recall the second list. The old (list 1) info interferes with recalling the second list

Forgetting results when cues needed to retrieve information from LTM are insufficient or incomplete. The tip of the tongue phenomenon us believed to be due to inadequate cues.

The greater the similarity between the way information is encoded and the cues that are present at the time of recall, the better the recall.

Recall of information is sometimes better when the learner is in the same emotional state during the learning and the recall.

Information is most likely to be transferred from STM to LTM when new information is made more meaningful by relating it to existing knowledge

Formal strategies for improving memory and are classified as visual or verbal

involves visually associating items to be remembered with a series of places (loci) already in memory. Using this method, a person first forms an image of each item to be remembered and then mentally walks through a familiar room, placing the items in visible locations such as in corners and on tables and chairs. To recall the items, the person would again mentally walk through the room and look in the corners and on the tables and chairs.

Imagery technique useful for paired associate tasks in which two words must be linked. 

To remember the French word for book "livre" a person would create an image of a leaf on a book.

a word that is formed using the first letter of each item on a list

A phrase or rhyme that is constructed from the first letter of each word that is to be memorized.

"See Piaget creep forward" is an acrostic for Piaget's four stages of cognitive development (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational)

moderate levels of arousal maximize the efficiency of learning and performance, while extremely low and high levels are associated with decreased efficiency. 

The relationship between arousal and learning assumes the shape of an inverted-U

Also, the more difficult the task, the lower the optimal level of arousal

sensory memory

Focus of attention 

chunking

working memory

Rehearsal

serial position

semantic

how to do things 

facts and other information 

semantic 

episodic 

prospective

central executive

episodic buffer

sensory memory to STM

schemas

disuse

retroactive interference

Proactive interference

state-dependent

method of loci

acronym

moderate

C

The multi-store (information processing) model divides memory into three components: sensory, short-term, and long-term. While sensory memory seems to be able to hold a large amount of incoming sensory information, it does so for no more than a few seconds.

D

The terms echoic and iconic are used to describe sensory memories and refer, respectively, to memory for auditory stimuli and memory for visual stimuli. The terms echoic and iconic provide cues as to what they refer (i.e., "echo" suggests sound, while "icon" suggests an image).

Answer A: Procedural memory is "knowing how" and declarative memory is "knowing what."

Answer B: Temporary refers to a state that will last for only a limited period of time, whereas something that is permanent will remain unchanged.

Answer C: External may refer to the outer features of an object or person, and internal may refer to the inner parts or features on the inside of an object or person.

B

As its name suggests, the levels-of-processing model assumes that memory for information is affected by the depth of processing that information. The model distinguishes between three levels: structural, phonemic, and semantic. The deepest and most effective level is the semantic ("meaning") level, and elaborative rehearsal involves encoding information at the semantic level. Maintenance rehearsal involves the repetition of information with little or no processing; thus, elaborative rehearsal is more effective than maintenance rehearsal due the depth of encoding at the semantic level.

Answer A: The "dual store" model of memory proposes that memory is a two-stage process, comprised of short-term and long-term memory.

Answer C: The information-processing model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968) describes memory as consisting of three components: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Answer D: The levels-of-processing model implies that the depth of rehearsal is more important than the duration of rehearsal.

A

Prospective memory refers to the ability to remember to perform an action in the future. A person with deficits in prospective memory would have trouble remembering a future meeting or appointment.

Answer B: Deficits in episodic memory would affect the ability to recall a personally experienced event that occurred in the past.

Answer C: Deficits in procedural memory might affect a person's ability to recall how to play a musical instrument.

Answer D: Deficits in semantic memory might affect the ability to recall the answer to this question.

A

Retroactive interference occurs when something learned in the present interferes with the ability to recall something learned in the past.

Answer B: Proactive interference occurs when something learned in the past interferes with the ability to learn or recall something learned in the present.

Answer C: Trace decay theory suggests that learning produces a physiological change to the brain that decays over time as a result of disuse. Anterograde decay is not a term used in trace decay theory.

Answer D: Retrograde decay is also not a term used in trace decay theory.

C

According to the multi-component model, working memory consists of a central executive and three subsystems--the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer. The central executive is the primary component of working memory and acts as an "attentional control system." It is responsible for directing attention to relevant sensory information, suppressing irrelevant information, and coordinating the three subsystems.

Answer A: One of the subsystems in the multi-component model of working memory is a visuo-spatial sketchpad, not a cognitive sketchpad. The visuo-spatial sketchpad temporarily stores visual-spatial information.

Answer B: A sensory coding system is not a part of the multi-component model of working memory.

Answer D: The episodic buffer is a subsystem in the multi-component model of working memory, and its function is to temporarily integrate auditory, visual, and spatial information.

B

The method of loci ("method of places") is a mnemonic device that makes use of visual imagery. This method involves visually associating items to be remembered with a series of places (loci) already in memory.

Answer A: The keyword method is another imagery technique and is useful for paired associate tasks in which two words must be linked.

Answer C: The serial position effect posits that people are asked to recall a list of unrelated words immediately after reading the list, the items in the beginning and end of the list are recalled much better than those in the middle. If there is a delay between exposure to the list and recall, people will most easily remember the words at the beginning of the list.

Answer D: State-dependent learning predicts that recall of information improves when the learner is in the same emotional state during learning and recall.

A

According to Treisman and Gelade’s (1980) feature-integration theory, the initial processing of visual information involves two stages: the initial preattentive stage and the attentive stage. According to Treisman and Gelade, once an object has been correctly integrated, it ordinarily continues to be perceived and stored in memory as a unitary object. However, over time, “the features may disintegrate and ‘free float’ once more, or perhaps recombine to form ‘illusory conjunctions’” (p. 99) as the result of memory decay or interference.

Answer B: Kohler proposed that learning can be the result of insight that reflects an internal cognitive restructuring of the environment that allows the organism to achieve its goals.

Answer C: According to Baddeley’s multi-component model, working memory consists of a central executive and three subsystems – the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer.

Answer D: Broadbent’s (1958) filter theory was the first of the “bottleneck” theories of attention. It’s based on the information-processing model and explains how information is transferred from sensory memory to short-term memory.

A

The serial position effect is the tendency to recall items at the beginning and end of a list better than items in the middle of a list. Enhanced recall of items at the beginning of the list is referred to as the primacy effect, while enhanced recall of items at the end of a list is called the recency effect.

Answer B: Retrograde amnesia involves memory loss for events that occurred before the development of the amnesia, whereas anterograde amnesia is the inability to form new long-term memories.

Answer C: Sensory memory provides brief storage of sensory stimuli including echoic memory (auditory information) and iconic memory (visual information).

Answer D: Proactive interference occurs when prior learning interferes with the learning of new material, whereas retroactive interference occurs when recently learned material interferes with the recall of previously learned material.