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Chapter 8
Memory and Information Processing
57
Psychology
Undergraduate 4
07/31/2012

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Term
memory
Definition
our ability to store and later retrieve information
Term
information processing approach to human cognition
Definition
emphasized the basic mental processes involved in attention, perception, memory, and decision making
-minds are like computers and convert input into output
Term
sensory register
Definition
logs input; much quickly disappears without much processing but some is processed
Term
short term memory
Definition
can hold a limited amount of info for several seconds
Term
working memory
Definition
refer to a mental "scratch" pad that temporarily stores info while actively operating on it
-its whats "on ones mind"
Term
long term memory
Definition
relatively permanent store of info that represents what most people mean by memory
Term
steps to learning and remembering something
Definition
-encoding: getting it into the system
-consolidation: process and organize material in a form suitable for long term storage
-storage: refers to holding info in a long term memory
-retrieval: the process of getting info out when it is needed
Term
recognition memory
Definition
recognizing right answer among options
Term
recall memory
Definition
requires active retrieval without the aid of cues
Term
cued recall memory
Definition
given a hint or cue to facilitate retrieval
Term
implicit memory
Definition
occur unintentionally, without awareness (procedural memory)
-often persists even if the person suffers amnesia, unlike explicit memory
-develops earlier than explicit and stays the same throughout life
-mediated in the forebrain in a part called stratium
Term
explicit memory
Definition
deliberate, effortful recollection of events (declarative memory)
-further divided into semantic memory and episodic memory
-deeply involved with language
-develops later and increases through adulthood then declines
-mediated in the medial temporal lobe of brain
Term
semantic memory
Definition
general facts
Term
episodic memory
Definition
specific experiences
Term
implicit memory is mediated by:
Definition
-mediated in the forebrain in a part called stratium
Term
episodic memory is mediated/consolidated by:
-is retreived from:
Definition
-mediated in the medial temporal lobe of brain
-the cortical area (or sensory area) that first registers the into
Term
problem solving
Definition
use of the info processing system to achieve a goal or arrive at a decision
Term
executive control processes
Definition
are involved in planning and monitoring what is done with information
-"run the show" guiding selection, organization, manipulation and interpretation of data
Term
deferred imitation
Definition
the ability to imitate a novel act after a delay which clearly requires memory ability
-infants as young as 6 months can do this
-early form of explicit memory?

-piaget claimed that infants cannot imitate actions until about 1 year when they have some ability to represent mentally what they have seen
Term
habituation and memory
Definition
through this infants display some explicit memory because they get tired of old sights
Term
early memories and operant conditioning
Definition
-early memories are cue dependent and context specific
-babies remember better w cued recall and if the context is similar
-ribbon tied on leg and moving mobile
-taps into implicit memory
Term
when can infants actively recall?
Definition
-at 6 months can display deferred imitation and at age 2 can recall months after and are more flexible w recall
-2 year olds can also use some words to reconstruct events
Term
hypothesis about why older children learn better than a younger child?
Definition
1. changes in basic capacities: better hardware
2. changes in memory strategies: better software, use effective methods for learning
3. increased knowledge about memory: know how long they must study now, which tasks are harder, etc
4. increased knowledge about the world: are more familiar w material bc of more expertise
Term
do basic capacities of the mind change?
Definition
-basic capacities of the sensory register and long term memory do not change much w age
-there are improvements in efficiency of working memory (especially consolidation) and operating speed

-these changes correspond w maturational changes in brain such as working memory finding its "home" in the front lobes of brain
Term
do memory strategies change?
Definition
-young children rely on more external cues like putting their toothbrush next to their pj's
-older children may still use external cues in elementary school
-path of effective strategy use is characterized by jumps not steady increases
Term
perseveration errors
Definition
continuing to use the same strategy that was successful in the past despite the strategies current lack of success

-young children do this a lot; stop around age 4
Term
rehearsal
Definition
repeating of items you are trying to learn and remember
-young children rarely do this but do more as they grow older
Term
organization
Definition
classifying items into meaningful groups
-mastered later than rehearsal
Term
elaboration
Definition
actively creating meaningful links between items to be remembered
-trying to remember pato is the spanish word for duck by remembering the pot was on the duck
Term
mediation deficiency
Definition
refers to children not being able to spontaneously use or benefit from strategies even if they are taught how to use them; cant grasp the concept
Term
production deficiency
Definition
refers to children being able to use strategies they are taught but cant produce them on their own
Term
utilization deficiency
Definition
children can spontaneously produce a strategy but their task performance does not yet benefit from using that strategy

-new strategy is mentally taxing and leaves no free cognitive resources for other aspects of the task
Term
four stages of learning to benefit from strategies
Definition
mediation deficiency, production deficiency, and utilization deficiency
Term
does knowledge about memory change?
Definition
yes; it increases with familiarity of the task and if they know why certain strategies are useful
p 254
Term
metamemory
Definition
knowledge of memory and to monitoring and regulating memory processes
-one aspect of metacognition
Term
metacognition
Definition
knowledge of the human mind and of the range of cognitive processes
Term
does knowledge of the world change?
Definition
yes; knowledge in a content area allows you to make better use of the limited capacity of a working area; the more you know, the more you can know
Term
knowledge base
Definition
individuals knowledge of a content area to be learned
Term
p 254 -255 is a good summary of the previous questions
Definition
Term
autobiographical memories
Definition
episodic memories of personal events
Term
childhood amnesia
Definition
few autobiographical memories of events that occurred during the first few years of life
-earliest memory is age 2
Term
why childhood amnesia?
Definition
-functional working capacity to consolidate info has not matured fully yet
-lack of language/verbal skills at the time lack what we can recall
-fuzzy trace theory
-
Term
fuzzy trace theory
Definition
children store verbatim and general accounts of an event separately
-children start out storing verbatim memory mostly to storing general memories which are more likely to be retained unlike verbatim
Term
scripts/general event representations
Definition
represent the typical sequence of actions related to an event and guide future behaviors in similar settings
-example: getting into bed...brush teeth, put on pjs, hop into bed...

-children with more experience recall richer scripts than younger children/children w less experience
Term
eyewitness memory
Definition
reporting of events witnessed or experienced
Term
young kids in court
Definition
-have high accuracy in telling generally what happened but when asked specific questions will begin to slip and fall prone to being very suggestible
-repeated questioning can result in less accurate account, unless it is general open ended questioning
Term
rule assessment approach to problem solving
Definition
assumes that childrens problem solving attempts are not hit or miss but rather governed by what rules they know how to use; also that children fail to solve problems when they do not encode all of the critical aspects of the problem
Term
overlapping waves theory
Definition
development of problem solving skills is a matter of knowing and using a variety of strategies, selecting through experience the right ones, and changing or adding strategies as needed
Term
siegler vs piaget in regards to problem solving
Definition
piaget saw it as qualitative with new, more effective strategies replacing older, less effective strategies
-siegler sees is as strategies emerge gradually and become more effective over time
Term
adolescent and episodic memory
Definition
young teens is close to that of young children, definitely room for improvement
Term
skills that adolescents gain
Definition
-memory and learning strategies such as notetaking/highlighting
-the memory strategy of elaboration is mastered
-push irrelevant info out of working memory
-perform cognitive processes faster=more capacity for working memory
Term
four factors that may influence autobiographical memories
Definition
personal significance, distinctiveness, emotional intensity, and life phase of the event
Term
does personal significance have an impact
Definition
nope! , overtime becomes less significant in life aka a breakup

BUT emotional intensity of an event has an impact
Term
distinctivenss have an impact?
Definition
yes!
Term
aging and memory
Definition
-do worse in laboratory contexts/learning new info but better than young adults in naturalistic contexts
-do worse with explicit memory than implicit
-but do better w semantic than episodic
-contextual variability
-decline in cognitive resources
Term
constraint seeking question
Definition
questions that rule out more than one item when playing 20 questions and trying to figure out which animal the experimenter is thinking of

"is it an animal?"
Term
selection, optimization, and compensation
Definition
older adults compensate for rusty skills while strengthening those skills most useful to them in everyday life (selection and optimization)

-older adults form more goal oriented solutions than younger adults
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