Memory

Memory

1. • Memory- learning that has persisted over time.

   • • Short-term memory- Memory that has limited capacity and duration and will, therefore, be lost if not rehearsed
     • • George Sperling- demonstrated sensory memory by flashing a grid of 9 letters for 1/20th of a second
       • sensory memory- the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system
   • • Long-term memory- Memory that has no capacity limits but it takes a fair amount of effort to store information
     • • Serial positioning effect- our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
     • • Recall- a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
     • • Repression- the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
   • • Amnesia- the loss of memory
   • confirmation bias- the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.
     • • Peter Wason- confirmed confirmation bias
   • • Richard Atkinson- put a theory of memory on a mathematical basis for the first time

2. • Encoding- getting information into the brain.

   • • Flashbulb memory- memories of learning something so shocking or surprising that it creates a strong and seemingly very accurate memory
   • retrieval- getting memory out of the brain
     • • Mnemonics- memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
     • priming- recalling memories due to a key event occuring in your mind.
     • selective attention- the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

3. • Storage- retaining encoded information over time.

   • • Chunking- organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
   • • Eric Kandel- earning and memory are evidenced by changes in synapses and neural pathways.
   • • Language- our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
     • • Rehearsal- the repetition of verbal information
     • • Benjamin Lee Whorf- his hypothesis is that language determines the way we think
     • • Noam Chomsky- Psychologist that specialized in language development

4. episodic memory- Memory of one's personal experiences

   • sematic memory- your memory for meanings and general (impersonal) facts

5. Misc.

   • • Endel Tulving- differentiate episodic memory from other kinds of learning and memory systems in the brain.
   • • BF Skinner- studied operant conditioning and especially schedules of reinforcement
   • Robert Sternberg- devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence