Chapter 6
Memory
Learning Objectives
Introduction: What Is Memory? p. 238-239
1.
Define memory, and explain the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval.
The Stage Model of Memory, pp. 239-249
2.
Describe the stage model of memory, and describe how each of the three stages functions.
3.
Discuss the function, duration, capacity, and types of sensory memory, and explain how Sperling’s
experiment advanced the understanding of sensory memory.
4.
Describe the function, duration, and capacity of short-term memory, and explain the usefulness of
chunking.
5.
Give examples of maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal, and explain why one is more
effective in encoding long-term memories.
6.
Describe the types of information in long-term memory, and explain the differences between implicit
memory and explicit memory.
7.
Discuss the organization of information in long-term memory.
Retrieval: Getting Information from Long-Term Memory, pp. 250-255
8.
Define retrieval, noting how retrieval cues work, and describe what happens when retrieval fails, as
in a tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experience.
9.
Describe how retrieval is tested, and explain the serial position effect.
10.
Discuss the different forms of the encoding specificity principle, and evaluate the accuracy of
flashbulb memories.
Reconstructing Memories: Sources of Potential Errors, pp. 255-259
11.
Explain how schemas and source confusion can contribute to distorted or false memories.
12.
List the factors that can reduce the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, and discuss how those factors
affected the case of the “Gentleman Bandit.”
13.
Define cryptomnesia, and explain how it might play a role in some claims of reincarnation memories.
Forgetting: You Forgot the Plane Tickets?! pp. 260-265
14.
Discuss Ebbinghaus’s studies of forgetting, noting the basic pattern of the forgetting curve.
15.
Identify the various explanations that have been postulated to account for why forgetting occurs.
16.
Discuss the controversy surrounding repressed memory therapy, noting the objections of memory
experts.
The Search for the Biological Basis of Memory, pp. 266-274
17.
Explain how research by Karl Lashley and by Richard Thompson demonstrated that memories can be
both localized and distributed in the brain.
18.
Discuss how research on Aplysia has demonstrated the physical changes associated with forming a
new long-term memory.
19.
Define memory consolidation, retrograde amnesia, and anterograde amnesia, noting what has been
learned about memory from the famous case of H.M.
20.
Describe the roles of different brain structures in normal memory.
21.
Discuss the notion that cultural beliefs about the elderly can influence memory performance in old
age.
Application: How to Make Those Memories Last, p. 275
22.
Identify several strategies you can use to enhance your ability to remember information