Psychology Summary Final Test
Chapters 8,9,10,12,13 & 14
Chapter 8: Memory
Memory is the processes that allow us to record, store, and later retrieve experiences and
information.
Encoding Storage Retrieval
We get information into our brain by a process called encoding. During encoding sensory information
from our environment is organized and coded.
- Semantic coding, encoding of words and their meaning.
- Visual encoding, encoding of images.
- Acoustic encoding, encoding of sounds
Sensory Memory, Working Memory & Long-term memory
- Sensory memory,
o First moment information is stored
o Visual and auditory information
o G N V N
Whole report, when asked to remember all 9 you remember 3-5 E L N E
items. P Q E W
Partial report, when asked to report 1 row, you remember 3 out of
M L K R
4 items.
- Working memory
o Mental representation
o Important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-making and behaviour.
o Transfers information to long term memory by rehearsal.
Baddeley’s model of working memory,
Directs overall action, controls the focus of
attention, and integrates information in the
episodic buffer.
,Short-term memory, is a temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory. Short
term memory is component of the working memory which take information from sensory memory
and sometimes connect that memory to something in the long-term memory.
Long-term memory,
- is the continuous storage of information
- Unlimited storage capacity
- Memories can endure for a lifetime (starting from childhood amnesia)
- Associative Network, associate a memory with other things
- Episodic memory, Information about events we have personally experienced (f.e. birthdays,
world cup finals, 9/11)
- Semantic memory, knowledge about words, concepts and language based knowledge and
facts.
- Implicit memory, are long term memory that are not part of our consciousness. Cannot be
consciously recalled and is demonstrated in performance of certain tasks (f.e. playing the
guitar or driving a car).
Mnemonic Device, a memory aid that reorganizes information into more meaningful units
(ezelsbruggetjes) For example
- Chunking, is combining things to better remember like phone numbers (14064232 becomes
140 64 232)
- Hierarchies
- Visual Imagery
- Acronyms
Rehearsal, best way to remember things
- Maintenance rehearsal
o with groep 8 musical)
o practice practice practice….
- Elaborative rehearsal
o Link to things in your life
o Meaning of information
o Organize information
o Imagery
, Encoding Failure (Forgetting) much of what we sense simply is not processed deeply enough to
commit to memory
- Lack of attention
- Lack of deep processing
Decay Theory with time and disuse the long-term physical memory trace in the nervous system fades
away
Interference Theory: other items in long-term
memory impair our ability to retrieve information
- Proactive vs Retroactive
Amnesia: memory loss due to special conditions, such as brain injury, illness, or psychological trauma
- Retrograde Amnesia memory loss for events that took place sometime in life before the
onset of amnesia
- Anterograde Amnesia memory loss for events that occur after the initial onset of amnesia
(30 second memory)
- Dementia memory and other cognitive losses that accompany brain degeneration and
interfere with normal functioning
- Alzheimer Disease a progressive brain disorder that is the most common cause of dementia
Schema: a mental framework about some aspect of the world
Expertise: a process of developing schemas that help encode information into meaningful patterns
Retrieval cue, stimulus that activates info in our long-term memory to be recalled
