Chapter 7 Memory

Memory The basics Encoding – how info becomes part of memory Storage – maintaining memory Retrieval – recall People think in 2 ways – via language & visually

Encoding Semantic encoding – meanings, concepts, associations, facts - uses elaboration – link new memories to other memories, information > we use examples, experiences - uses visual imagery – some terms easier than others

Encoding Dual Coding Theory – these methods make recall more likely Have a word + picture > know it better - remember

Storage Information-processing theories 3 levels Sensory & short-term storage – both for temporary (temporary at first, may/may not go into long-term)

Storage Sensory memory Original input > afterimages Brief For visual, auditory - .25 sec Some psychologists/neuroscientists say no such thing > just sensory processing

Storage Short-Term Memory (STM) Holds memory for 20 sec, without doing anything (like rehearsing) Will fade unless you rehearse (keep repeating) Rehearsal only keeps it in STM STM ends because of decay & interference

Storage STM How much does it hold ? 4-7 items 1950s – Miller claimed 7 2000s – 4 > said subjects give impression of holding more by grouping items (chunking) New items push out/displace others

Storage STM 2000s – new conceptualization of STM – it can do more than hold 4-7 items (phonemes ~ words/sounds) STM is really working memory ~ work on your desk,maybe an iPad - Baddeley

Storage STM as working memory – has functions Phonological loop – works w sounds/words – may help us dev language Visuospatial sketchpad – work w images Central executive system – manages attn Episodic buffer – stores info for short time, helps encode it permanently

Storage STM as working memory Makes STM more important Typically weakens as we age

Storage Long-Term Memory (LTM) How we hold memories permanently In theory, unlimited > ??????? People have difficulty retrieving ~ “can’t remember” “Flashbulb memories” – a moment held, virtually complete - vivid > this theory disputed – not typical memories, not complete & do fade

Storage LTM Flashbulb memories – special b/c they are emotional LTM questionable – healthy individuals – there is likely some fading – may/may not be retrieval

Organization of Memory Different forms Remembering a formula/rules of poker/when to pick up children all different Schema – assumes subject is familiar with this event/idea/experience – subject organizes memory w related things Contradictions – studies show that some remember better if memory fits schema/others say distinctions better

Organization of Memory Semantic networks How concepts become linked (not physical) but certain nerves involved Explains word associations Spreading activation within a semantic network – think of one word > move to others

Organization of Memory Connectionist networks Based on parallel distributed processing (PDP) PDP ~ way a PC works – handles same info via many networks – different jobs at same time Brain > excitation & inhibition manage this What is believed: Each memory coded with a specific activation pattern

Organization of Memory PDP Connectionism – strength of memory ~ strength of those connections

Retrieval How we remember something Cues help Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon – unable to remember, but know you know Cues – powerful - give clue - contextual cues – often place, witnesses

Retrieval Reconstruction of memories May not be accurate Misinformation effect – what happened later colored the memory Wording of the story may Δ memory Style of questioning may Δ memory

Retrieval Source monitoring Where we think (infer) memories come from M. Johnson blames most memory errors on this Memories not coded w/ provenance As people remember – they tag a source to it Source-monitoring error – mistake @ source of memory

Retrieval Source-monitoring error Unsure about where you learned something Eye-witness accounts

Forgetting Has + function > discard useless info Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve – 1880s Only studied himself Memorized nonsense syllables Sharp drop immediately > more than ½ (20min-9hr) Material more likely to be retained if meaningful

Forgetting Measures Retention - % retained Retention interval – time between stimulus and forgetting How to measure Recall, recognition & relearning Recall measure – reproduce w/o cues

Forgetting Recognition measure – material already learned, so subject must pick it out – other incorrect material present Relearning measure – subject learns material (esp memorized) & learns it again – how much time saved

Forgetting Reasons 1. Ineffective encoding – pseudoforgetting – S never paid attention, so never learned - Phonemic v semantic encoding 2. Decay – fading b/c time – inconclusive @ decay & LTM > maybe interference ??? 3. Interference – other material more demanding

Forgetting 3. Interference – 2 types A. retroactive interference – later material blocks B. proactive interference – earlier material blocks 4. Retrieval failure – like a PC – cue/encoding mismatch – encoding specificity principle – cue needs to be close to the encoding

Forgetting 5. Motivated forgetting – Freudian – repression – Unc blocks off certain material - Repressed memories 6. Physical issues – mostly head injuries Amnesia Retrograde amnesia – unable to remember before injury

Forgetting 6. Amnesia Anterograde amnesia – can’t remember what happened after injury

Types of Memory Declarative memory system – facts Procedural (Non-declarative) memory system – skills, how-to, emotional Declarative memory system – medial temporal lobe, amygdala, cerebellum - Tulving divided declarative mem: semantic & episodic

Types of Memory Declarative memory Episodic memory – personal material, chronological, temporal Semantic memory – facts – not concerned @ when learned Help: mnemonic device

Mnemonic Device Balkan League Cranial nerves: olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory, hypoglossal = On Mount Olympus’s towering tops, a fat-eared giant viewed some hops