Memorization is NOT a Good Learning Strategy Then,.... Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 05/04/2016: Lecture 06-3 Note: This Powerpoint presentation may contain macros that I wrote to help me create the slides. The macros aren’t needed to view the slides. You can disable or delete the macros without any change to the presentation. Testing, Spacing and Organization Promote Future Retrieval

Outline Memorization is NOT an effective learning strategy. "memorization" = "maintenance rehearsal" (psychologists' word) Depth of Processing Hypothesis Testing effect - testing enhances future recall of tested material The Spacing Effect Organizing the material strengthens memory for the memory Illusions of Learning Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr ‘16 2 Lecture probably ends here Diagram for the Modal Model of Memory - Emphasis on Processes that Strenghen Memories

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 3 Encoding, Retrieval & Consolidation Encoding – creating an LTM out of currently processed information Retrieval – bringing information that is stored in LTM back to STM Consolidation – a process that strengthens memories over time. Consolidation increases the chances for retrieval. Sensory Store Short-Term Store Long-Term Store Retrieval Encoding External World Control Processes In General, What Makes Memories Memorable?

Mere repetition (memorization) is ineffective. What is effective? Elaboration & Association Generation of Related Thoughts Creating Related Mental Images Repeated Retrievals, Reprocessing, & Re-encoding Develop Retrieval Strategies and Retrieval Cues that Will Be Useful on Future Occasions Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 4 Generation Effect Next

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 5 Maintenance Rehearsal & Elaborative Rehearsal Maintenance Rehearsal – repeating to-be-remembered information over and over (phonological loop) "Memorization" = Maintenance Rehearsal (cognitive psychologist's term) Elaborative rehearsal – drawing connections between to-be-remembered information and other information, especially connections based on meaning. ♦ Memory for meaning ♦ Form associations between what you want to remember and other ideas, facts, concepts, etc. Create retrieval cues. Mere Repetition is Ineffective for Strengthening Memory

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 6 Mere Repetition Is Ineffective for Strengthening Memory Craik & Watkins (1973): The amount of maintenance rehearsal has very little influence on the likelihood of correct recall. Subjects heard sequences of words. Subjects task was to remember the most recent word in the list that started with a particular letter, e.g., "p". Example: Study the following list of words: Correct answer = "post" Continue Craik & Watkins (1973) – Differences in Number of Rehearsals last "p" word

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 7 Mere Repetition Is Ineffective for Strengthening Memory At end of experiment, subjects were asked to recall as many of the words on the lists as they could remember. Different "p" words are rehearsed a different number of times. ♦ E.g., "peach" is rehearsed more than "pin" because "peach" has 4 non-"p" words following it and "pin" has only 2 non-"p" words following it. Finding: Likelihood of recall was unrelated to number of intervening non-p words, i.e., unrelated to the amount of maintenance rehearsal. ♦ Memorization is an ineffective learning strategy. Maintenance vs Elaborative Rehearsal – Depth of Processing Hypothesis last "p" word

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 8 Depth of Processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) Depth of Processing Hypothesis: Depth of processing at time of study is the main determinant of ease of remembering. Processing of to-be-remembered material proceeds from shallow features to deeper content. SHALLOWLetters in words Sound of words DEEPMeaning Relationship to other knowledge Another way to state the depth of processing hypothesis: Speed of processing is slower but strength of memory trace is greater when encoding occurs at deeper levels of processing. Test of Depth of Processing Hypothesis

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 9 Craik & Tulving Test of Depth of Processing Hypothesis Experimental Paradigm: On each trial, the subject sees a word and answers a question about the word. Condition 1 (very shallow processing): Example: Does the word “dungeon” contain the letter “t”? Condition 2 (moderately shallow processing): Example: Does the word “dungeon" rhyme with “engine"? Condition 3 (deeper processing of meaning): Example: Does the word “dungeon" fit into the sentence, “The prisoner was kept in a ______ for two years."? Later the subject is asked to recall the words, and the percentage of correct recall is recorded. Results re Experiment

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 10 Results re Depth of Processing Hypothesis Finding: Reaction time is slower but percent correct recall gets better as processing gets deeper and deeper. ♦ Recall improves with deeper processing during study. ♦ Result supports depth of processing hypothesis. Confounding of Depth of Processing with Encoding Duration

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 11 Confounding of Depth of Processing with Duration of Encoding Two confounded aspects of deep processing: 1.Deep processing takes longer than shallow processing (in general). 2.Deep processing emphasizes the meaning of the to-be-learned material and its relationship to other pieces of knowledge. Question: Does deeper processing produce better memory because it takes longer or because it emphasizes meaning? Answer: Clever experiments demonstrate it is the type of processing (meaning-based) and not the duration of processing that creates the stronger memory. Outline of Effective Study Habits - END

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 12 Exception to Depth of Processing Hypothesis: Transfer-Appropriate-Processing Exception: Deeper processing at time of study is less effective if the memory test is based on cues that are not meaning related. Example: Transfer Appropriate Processing ♦ Shallow Study Task: Does the word “dungeon” contain the letter “t”? ♦ Moderate Study Task: Does the word “dungeon" rhyme with “engine"? ♦ Deeper Study Task: Does the word “dungeon" fit into the sentence, “The prisoner was kept in a ______ for two years."? Test: Can you recall a word that rhymes with “luncheon”? Result: Moderate study task produces best performance on this test because it focuses on word sound, i.e., the moderate study task requires transfer appropriate processing. Usually, in everyday life, we need to retrieve information that is meaningfully related to a current problem, so focusing on meaning during study is usually more appropriate to the context of retrieval. What Makes Strong Memories?

In General, What Makes Memories Memorable? Mere repetition (memorization) is ineffective. What is effective? Elaboration & Association Generation of Related Thoughts Creating Related Mental Images Repeated Retrievals, Reprocessing, & Re-encoding Develop Retrieval Strategies and Retrieval Cues that Will Be Useful on Future Occasions Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 13 The Testing Effect

Testing memories strengthens memories, i.e., it increases the likelihood of retrieving the memories at a later time. ♦ It is not necessary to give the student feedback whether his or her answers are correct. ♦ This is true regardless of whether the subject succeeds in retrieving the information at the time of testing. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 14 Roediger & Karpicke Experiment that Demonstrates the Testing Effect

Testing Group Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 15 Figure 7.6 Roediger & Karpicke (2006) Read prose passage for 7 minutes (study) Solve math problem for 2 minutes. (take a break) Testing group: Take a recall test for 7 minutes. Rereading group: Reread passage for 7 minutes. Both groups get a recall test following a delay (5 minutes; 2 days; 1 week) Results from Roediger & Karpicke Study Read passage Solve math problems Recall test Reread passage Delay Recall test Rereading Group 5 minutes 2 days, or 1 week 7 minutes 2 minutes 7 minutes Testing Improves Later Retrieval

Testing Group Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 16 Figure 7.6 Roediger & Karpicke (2006) Read prose passage for 7 minutes (study) Solve math problem for 2 minutes. (take a break) Testing group: Take a recall test for 7 minutes. Rereading group: Reread passage for 7 minutes. Both groups get a recall test following a delay (5 minutes; 2 days; 1 week) Results from Roediger & Karpicke Study Read passage Solve math problems Recall test Reread passage Delay Recall test Rereading Group 5 minutes 2 days, or 1 week 7 minutes 2 minutes 7 minutes Testing Improves Later Retrieval

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 17 Results for the Roediger & Karpicke (2006) Study Rereading produces better memory after 5 minute delay. Testing produces better memory after 2 day & 1 week delay. The superiority of recall test increases over time. Why does the recall test produce better memory (more successful retrieval) after the longer delays? Why Does Testing Have Greater Advantage at Longer Delays? 5 minutes 2 days 1 week Delay Rereading Testing Proportion of Idea Units Recalled

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 18 Why Does Testing Improve Memory at Longer Delays? Explanation 1: Rereading the material strengthens the episodic memory for the experience of studying the target material. Testing strengthens the semantic memory for associations between the target material and other knowledge. Testing also strengthen priming between associated ideas and the target material. Episodic memories lose strength faster than implicit memories and semantic memories. Explanation 2 for the Same Results 5 minutes 2 days 1 week Delay Rereading Testing Proportion of Idea Units Recalled Typical mistake: People think that the primary goal of study is to encode the information.

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 19 Why Does Testing Improve Memory at Longer Delays? Explanation 2: Retrieval is a mental skill – it improves with practice. Attempting to retrieve information X helps you develop better retrieval cues for X. Attempting to retrieve information X will consolidate the memory of X. Organizing the Material Increases the Chance of Future Retrieval 5 minutes 2 days 1 week Delay Rereading Testing Proportion of Idea Units Recalled Typical mistake: People think that the primary goal of study is to encode the information.

Elaborate on the given information Generate associations to other knowledge Test yourself without an answer key in front of you Organize the material in a meaningful way Take breaks Beware of "illusions of learning" NOTICE: Memorization is NOT a recommended study habit! Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 20 Goldstein’s Recommendations for Effective Study Habits Organization Promotes Stronger Memory Next Goldstein's recommendations are largely the same as the one's I listed earlier in this lecture. These recommendations largely orginate in the work of Robert Bjork, a UCLA cognitive psychologist.

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 21 Organizing the Information at Encoding Improves Later Retrieval Principle: It is easier to remember information that is organized in some reasonable way than information that is disorganized. Bower, Clark, Lesgold, & Winzenz (1969): Words that are organized into categories are remembered much better than the same words in a disorganized list. Why Organizing Promotes Future Retrieval

Why Organization Promotes Future Retrieval Professors will tell you: “Try to understand the material! Don’t just memorize it.” The effort to organize the material has mnemonic value because: (i) Organizing the material causes the subject to chunk the material. It is easier to retrieve a few chunks than many separate pieces of information. (ii) Organizing the material generally requires linking it to other knowledge. These links serve as retrieval cues. (iii) Generating your own organization is more beneficial than having someone else give you an organization. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 22 The Spacing Effect

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 23 The Spacing Effect Massed practice: Many trials with the same stimuli are undertaken without interruption. E.g., study for 2 hours straight. Distributed practice: Trials with the same stimuli are separated by periods with other activities. Study for 30 minutes, take a 10 minute break (think about something else), Study for 30 minutes, take a 10 minute break (think about something else). Spacing Effect: Distributed practice produces stronger memories than massed practice. Why does the spacing effect occur? Overview Diagram: Effective Study Methods

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 24 FACTORS THAT AID ENCODING & RETRIEVAL Create Connections Active Memory Organization Interactive Imagery (boat-tree) Link to self (self-reference effect) Generate related ideas Testing Recall by groups i.e., recall related items together Present in an organized way (“tree” experiment) Meaningful framework (“balloon” experiment) Goldstein (2014), Figure 7.5, p. 184 Repeat Goldstein's Recommendations for Study - Emphasis on Illusions of Learning

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 25 Elaborate on the given information Generate associations to other knowledge Test yourself without an answer key in front of you Organize the material in a meaningful way Take breaks Beware of "illusions of learning" NOTICE: Memorization is NOT a recommended study habit! Goldstein’s Recommendations for Effective Study Habits Illusions of Learning Next

Illusions of Learning Illusions of learning - some study habits produce a false impression of having learned something. Immediate testing versus delayed testing. ♦ Immediate testing: Test immediately after a period of study. ♦ Delayed testing: Test after a delay of 20 minutes. ♦ Students who engage in immediate testing feel more confident that they have learned the material than students who engage in delayed testing. ♦ Students who engage in immediate testing later perform worse than students who engage in delayed testing. Rereading the material give students greater confidence that they know the material then testing, but it actually leads to lower performance. Goldstein has other examples. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '16 26 END