Question

1.Debate the issue of having drug to enhance the performance of brain while you are studying? Are you with or against? Give your own insight?

  2. Explain in detail the process of sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory? Give examples?

3. Rehearsal is vital to memory, explain this issue with Examples?

4. Differentiate between the declarative memory and procedurals memory and give example for each?

5. What are the two main components of interference that affect forgetting? Explain and provide example?

Answer 1

• 1.Proponents of brain enhancement drugs say they are no different than using caffeine, a socially accepted psychoactive substance that makes you more alert and focused.With brain enhancing drugs being used by so many intelligent, educated people, there’s plenty of doubt as to whether these drugs work as intended.In fact, some research has found that these drugs impair, rather than boost, mental performance.When healthy students were given modafinil, their thinking slowed down with no improvement in performance and they showed a decline in creative thinking.I feel that these brain boosting pills can give you a false sense of confidence.Even some studies have repeatedly shown that they don’t make you smarter, but they’re pretty good at making you think you’re performing better.
• 2.Sensory memory allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased. One of the most common examples of sensory memory is fast-moving lights in darkness.The first information we receive is thorough our senses.This is because of “iconic memory,” the visual sensory store. Two other types of sensory memory have been extensively studied: echoic memory (the auditory sensory store) and haptic memory (the tactile sensory store).
• While this information is important, there is simply no way to remember each and every detail about what you experience at every moment. Instead, your sensory memory creates something of a quick "snapshot" of the world around you, allowing you to briefly focus your attention on relevant details.
• Sensory memory plays a vital role in your ability to take in information and interact with the world around you. This type of memory allows you to retain brief impressions of the vast amount of information around you.
• Short-term memory, also known as primary or active memory, is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. The information found in short-term memory comes from paying attention to sensory memories.Most of the information kept in short-term memory will be stored for approximately 20 to 30 seconds.
• The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two," psychologist George Miller suggested that people can store between five and nine items in short-term memory. More recent research suggests that people are capable of storing approximately four chunks or pieces of information in short-term memory.
• "Chunking" of information can lead to an increase in the short-term memory capacity. Chunking is the organization of material into shorter meaningful groups to make them more manageable. For example, a hyphenated phone number, split into groups of 3 or 4 digits, tends to be easier to remember than a single long number.
• Long-term memory (LTM) the final stage of the multi-store memory model proposed by the Atkinson-Shiffrin, providing the lasting retention of information and skills.
• Procedural memory is a part of the long-term memory is responsible for knowing how to do things, i.e. memory of motor skills. It does not involve conscious (i.e. it’s unconscious - automatic) thought and is not declarative. For example, procedural memory would involve knowledge of how to ride a bicycle.
• Semantic memory is a part of the long-term memory responsible for storing information about the world. This includes knowledge about the meaning of words, as well as general knowledge. For example, London is the capital of England. It involves conscious thought and is declarative.
• Episodic memory s a part of the long-term memory responsible for storing information about events (i.e. episodes) that we have experienced in our lives. It involves conscious thought and is declarative. An example would be a memory of our 1st day at school.
• Through the process of association and rehearsal, the content of short-term memory can become long-term memory.While long-term memory is also susceptible to the forgetting process, long-term memories can last for a matter of days to as long as many decades.
• 3.Rehearsal is definitely vital for improving memory especially if the information needs to be stored in long term memory.Elaborative rehearsal helps in storing information in detail.It is a technique in which you think about the meaning of the new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory.This helps in retaining he information of a long period of time.Maintenance rehearsal is repeating information over and over to keep it active in short-term memory.Elaborative rehearsal is effective because it involves thinking about the meaning of the information and connecting it to other information already stored in memory.
• For example, you need to remember the term "neuron." In order to permanently commit the term to your memory, you look up what it means (it is a nerve cell), find out its purpose (transmit information from or to the central nervous system), look at a diagram and study its parts, and think about how it relates to things that you already know (like how different it its from other kinds of cells, assuming you are familiar with other cells). If you do this several times (rehearsal), then you will be more likely to remember the term.
• 4.Declarative memory (“knowing what”) is memory of facts and events, and refers to those memories that can be consciously recalled (or "declared"). It is sometimes called explicit memory, since it consists of information that is explicitly stored and retrieved, although it is more properly a subset of explicit memory. Declarative memory can be further sub-divided into episodic memory and semantic memory.One component of episodic memory is based on specific events, or "episodes" that are part of your personal history like your sister's wedding
• Procedural memory (“knowing how”) is the unconscious memory of skills and how to do things, particularly the use of objects or movements of the body, such as tying a shoelace, playing a guitar or riding a bike. These memories are typically acquired through repetition and practice, and are composed of automatic sensorimotor behaviours that are so deeply embedded that we are no longer aware of them. Procedural memory is sometimes referred to as implicit memory, because previous experiences aid in the performance of a task without explicit and conscious awareness of these previous experiences, although it is more properly a subset of implicit memory.
• 5.Forgetting refers to failure to either recall or retain information into present consciousness.
• A mix up of previously learned information with new and similar information is called Retroactive information.Example: A student studies and understands the events and causes of World-War I thoroughly. After few weeks, the student studies events and causes of World-War II.If the student then fails to remember the events and causes of First World-War, this would be an example of Retroactive Interference.
• The phenomenon where the student fails to remember new information having mixed it with similar previous information is called Proactive Interference.Example: a student studies and understands the events and causes of World-War I in depth. After few weeks, the student studies events and causes of World-War II.If the student then fails to remember the events and causes of Second World-War, this would be an example of Proactive Interference.
• Proactive interference (pro=forward) occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task that had been learnt. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.
• Retroactive interference (retro=backward) occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the learning of a new task. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning - where new memories disrupt old memories.