MEMORY PART TWO Dr Mushtaq T Hashim Dr Mushtaq T Hashim

LONG- TERM MEMORY  Information is retained for periods from few minutes to lifetime.  There are two important points: 1.There are important interactions between encoding & retrieval. 2.It is difficult to know whether forgetting from long –term memory is due to loss from storage or to a failure in retrieval.

Encoding  Encoding meaning : -For verbal material; encoding is neither acoustic nor verbal. Instead it is based on the meaning. -For verbal material; encoding is neither acoustic nor verbal. Instead it is based on the meaning.  Other types of encoding can be used like phonological, visual, taste,odor,….etc.  Adding meaningful connections -often the items we need to remember are meaningful,but the connections between them are not. In such cases memory can be improved by creating real or artificial links between the items. -often the items we need to remember are meaningful,but the connections between them are not. In such cases memory can be improved by creating real or artificial links between the items. Example : the five lines in printed music are referred to as EGBDF Example : the five lines in printed music are referred to as EGBDF may be converted to the sentence :Every Good Boy Does Fine. may be converted to the sentence :Every Good Boy Does Fine.

 One of the best ways to add connections is to elaborate on the meaning of the material while encoding it. The more deeply or elaborately one encodes the meaning, the better the resulting memory will be.  This means that there is an intimate connection between understanding & memory. The better understanding,the more connections we see between the parts of the subject.

Retrieval  Many cases of forgetting from long – term memory result from loss of access to the information rather than from loss of the information itself.  Trying to retrieve an item from LT memory is like trying to find a book in a large library.  Poor memory often reflects a retrieval failure rather than a storage failure.

Evidence for retrieval failures  How many times have you taken an exam and not been able to recall a specific name, only to remember it later?  Experiment of two groups given many different items to memorize ; those provided with retrieval cues did better than those who were not.  Recognition tests versus recall tests.

Interference  Among the factors that impair retrieval ; the most important one is interference.  If we associate different items with the same cue, when we try to use that cue to retrieve one of the items ( the target item),the other items may become active and interfere with our recovery of the target.  Example :a new telephone no. of your friend.

Models of retrieval  Search processes :  Activation processes :

Forgetting – loss of information from storage  The fact that some forgetting is due to retrieval failures does not imply that all forgetting is.  Some information is almost certainly forgotten – lost from storage.  Some evidence comes from people who receive electroconvulsive therapy.  Hippocampus and consolidation of new information.  Permanent long – term memory storage is almost certainly localized in the cortex, particularly in the regions where sensory information is interpreted.

Interaction between encoding and retrieval  Operations carried on during encoding, such as elaboration,make retrieval easier.  Two other encoding factors also increase the chances of successful retrieval: 1.Organizing the information at the time of encoding. 2.Ensuring that the context in which the information is encoded is similar to that in which it will be retrieved.

organization  The more we organize the material we encode, the easier it is to retrieve. Suppose you were in a conference where you meet various professionals- doctors, lawyers and journalists, when you later try to recall their names, you will do better if you initially organize the information by profession.

context  It is easier to retrieve a particular fact if you are in the same context in which you coded it. For example, it is a good bet that your ability to retrieve the names of your classmates in the first & second grades would improve if you were to walk through the corridors of your elementary school.  Context is not always external ; it can include what is happening inside us when we encode information – that is our internal state.

Emotional factors in forgetting  Emotion can influence long term memory in five distinct ways : 1.Rehearsal. 2.Flashbulb memories. 3.Retrieval interference via anxiety. 4.Context effects. 5.Repression.

Implicit memory  We have been concerned mainly with situations in which people remember personal facts. In such case memory is a matter of consciously recollecting the past and is said to be expressed explicitly.  There is another kind of memory, which is often manifested in skills and shows up as improvement in the performance of some perceptual,motor, or cognitive task without conscious recollection of the experiences that led to the improvement. In such cases the memory is expressed implicitly.

 Memory for facts ( explicit memory).  Memory for skills ( implicit memory).  Amnesia: -anterograde -anterograde -retrograde. -retrograde.  Amnesia can result from : 1.Head injury 2.Stroke 3.Encephalitis 4.Alcoholism 5.Electroconvulsive therapy ( ECT ) 6.Surgical procedures ( removal of the hippocampus ).

 In amnesia,implicit memory is usually spared.  This suggests that there may be separate systems for explicit & implicit memory.  Research with normal individuals also suggest that there may be separate systems for explicit & implicit memory.

 Brain scanning studies with normal individuals show that explicit memory is accompanied by increased neural activity in certain regions, whereas implicit memory is accompanied by a decrease in neural activity in critical regions.

Constructive memory  The memory is a constructive and reconstructive process.  The memory for an event can and does depart systematically from the objective reality that gave rise to it, both at the time it is formed ( via constructive processes) and then later over time (via reconstructive memory).  Memory reconstruction forms the basis of memories that, although systematically incorrect, seem very real and are recounted with a great deal of confidence.

Improving memory 1.Chunking & memory span. 2.Imagery and encoding. 3.Elaboration and encoding. 4.Context and retrieval. 5.Organization. 6.Practicing retrieval.

Imagery and encoding  Meaningful connections can improve memory. Mental images have been found to be particularly useful for connecting pairs of unrelated items, and for this reason imagery is the major ingredient in many mnemonic systems, or systems for aiding memory. Mental images have been found to be particularly useful for connecting pairs of unrelated items, and for this reason imagery is the major ingredient in many mnemonic systems, or systems for aiding memory.  mnemonic mne·mon·ic [ni mónnik] mne·mon·ic [ni mónnik] noun (plural mne·mon·ics) memory aid: a short rhyme, phrase, or other mental technique for making information easier to memorize. noun (plural mne·mon·ics) memory aid: a short rhyme, phrase, or other mental technique for making information easier to memorize.

 A well known mnemonic system is the method of loci ( loci is the Latin word for places).  Key word method

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