Study guide: Perception and Sensory Processes

Memory Revision Sheet

1. 📌 Essentials

• Memory involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
• The hippocampus is crucial for consolidating new memories.
• Short-term memory holds 7 ± 2 items for about 20 seconds.
• The primacy effect favors recall of early list items; recency effect favors recent items.
• Explicit memory includes episodic semantic memory.
• Retroactive interference impairs old memories; proactive interference impairs new learning.
• The forgetting curve shows rapid initial forgetting, then stabilization.
• Recognition is easier than recall due to cues.
• Context-dependent memory improves recall when environment matches encoding.
• Memory failure often results from encoding failure rather than decay.

2. 🧩 Key Structures & Components

• Hippocampus — consolidates new explicit memories.
• Amygdala — processes fear and emotional memories.
• Prefrontal Cortex — involved in working memory and executive functions.
• Short-term Memory — temporary storage of 7 ± 2 items.
• Long-term Memory — durable storage, divided into explicit and implicit.
• Encoding — rehearsal, elaboration, organization.
• Memory Trace — physical change in brain representing stored info.

3. 🔬 Functions, Mechanisms & Relationships

• Encoding failure is the primary cause of forgetting.
• Rehearsal enhances transfer from short-term to long-term memory.
• The hippocampus encodes and consolidates episodic memories.
• The amygdala modulates emotional memory strength.
• Interference (retroactive and proactive) disrupts memory retrieval.
• Recognition relies on cue-based retrieval; recall requires active search.
• Context cues aid retrieval by matching environmental stimuli.
• The forgetting curve demonstrates exponential decay of memory over time.
• Short-term memory capacity is limited; long-term memory is virtually unlimited.

4. 📊 Comparative Table

5. 🗂️ Hierarchical Diagram

Memory
 ├─ Short-term Memory
 │    ├─ Capacity: 7 ± 2 items
 │    └─ Duration: ~20 seconds
 ├─ Long-term Memory
 │    ├─ Explicit (Conscious)
 │    │    ├─ Episodic (personal events)
 │    │    └─ Semantic (facts)
 │    └─ Implicit (Unconscious)
 │         ├─ Procedural (skills)
 │         └─ Priming
 └─ Retrieval Processes
      ├─ Recognition
      └─ Recall

6. ⚠️ High-Yield Pitfalls & Confusions

• Confusing encoding failure with decay; most forgetting is due to encoding issues.
• Overestimating the duration of short-term memory.
• Assuming recognition is always easier than recall; context matters.
• Mixing up retroactive and proactive interference.
• Believing all memories are equally durable; emotional memories are often stronger.
• Confusing implicit with explicit memory.
• Overlooking the role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation.
• Ignoring the influence of context-dependent cues on retrieval.

7. ✅ Final Exam Checklist

• Understand the stages of memory: encoding, storage, retrieval.
• Know the key brain structures: hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex.
• Differentiate between short-term and long-term memory.
• Recognize the primacy and recency effects.
• Explain interference types: retroactive and proactive.
• Describe the forgetting curve and its implications.
• Distinguish between recognition and recall.
• Comprehend the role of context in memory retrieval.
• Be familiar with the types of explicit and implicit memory.
• Understand how rehearsal and elaboration improve encoding.
• Know the limitations of short-term memory capacity.
• Recognize common pitfalls in understanding memory processes.