Unit4Studyguide

Learning Activity

Unit 4 Study Guide: Long-Term Memory

Use this study guide to help you understand the concepts better. Complete each of the activities below to create a study guide that can be used to study for your Unit 5 Exam. The best way to use this guide is to complete this after you have read and participated in discussion. Do not consult your notes so that you use your long-term memory during recall. As you will learn, this is the most effective method for learning and understanding new information.

1. How is long-term memory different from working memory?

WM is where memories are created or modified. Information that travels through the WM is sent to LTM to be permanently stored. WM has limited capasity whereas LTM is unlimited. WM is more like the factory and LTM is the storage unit where the products are stored, retrieved, and sent back.

2. What is automated memory? How do these memories form (write an example)?

Once you learn something “by heart” meaning that it becomes automatic, it is called Automated memory. These memories form through repetition. For example, learning to play a song on the piano takes a lot of effort and attention to learn how to play the song, and the more you practice the song the easier it is to play. Eventually you will not have to think about where to place your fingers, they will automatically go to where they need to.

3. Long-term memory for experiences is often inaccurate. Explain the statement and provide an example.

Memories that are have personal value and are personally interpreted are called Episodic. These types of memories are unstable and may not represent the actual events or experiences. Each time we remember these they are subject to change. I can think of a memory that I shared with my twin brother but we did not talk about it for years. I shared the story with friends and family and by the time we were able to sit and talk about the memory, our versions were very different. Some details we both had right, which were the meat of the story but all the side dishes to the memory were completely different. We had to call our sister to hear her version and somehow piece it all together. In the end, no one really knew what happened!

4. What is implicit memory?

These are procedural memories. The things we learn how to do and then they just become a part of life. These memories do not require conscious awareness (WM) and originate in LTM. They are memories that we store and retrieve unconsciously. They aid us in preformed tasks that we don’t have to think about like typing on a keyboard or riding a bike.

5. What is explicit memory and how does it help us in our lives?

Explicit memories are memories that we retrieve consciously. This type of memory includes our memories that occurred in our lives (episodic memory) and factual information about the world in which we live (semantic memory). Both of these two categories of explicit memory must be retrieved intentionally. In other words, we do not express these memories unconsciously as we do with implicit memory. Humans store explicit memory by encoding stimuli consciously for later retrieval. Explicit memory is often associative, that is, we tend to link our explicit memories together in a way in which we relate memories to one another in a way that makes sense to us.

6. How can we keep from having an action slip? Describe a recent example from your life.
By bringing attention to the present moment and what we are doing. Often times when I am lost in my head thinking about something, I can forget whether or not I did something. Just the other day I drove to a friends house in a hurry and as I was rushing out the door to put the kids in the car, I forgot to grab the overnight bag I had packed for them. This happened because my attention was focused on the thoughts of worry and fear that were racing in my head (my friends were in a car accident). If I had taken a minute to stop and think if I had everything I needed, I might have remembered to grab the bag.
Making lists and taking a moment to stop and be present in my surroundings can help prevent action slips. Also, for people that continuously forget things like where they place their keys, they can adopt a habit of saying to themselves “I am putting my keys on the table by the door” This way the memory is rehearsed and will be easier to retrieve.

________________________________________________________________________
Check your answers by using the reading and class discussions. Make note of the ones that you missed and study those concepts further. You do not need to study the ones that you got correct.