Memory Geddes 2015

Without Memory Everyone would be a stranger, every language would be foreign, every task would be new, you wouldn’t even recognize yourself!

3 steps of memory Encoding—getting information in Storage—Keeping it there Retrieval—getting it back out

Hermann Ebbinghaus Experiment Rehearsal of nonsense syllables JIH, BAZ, FUB, YOX, SUJ, XIR, DAX, LEQ, VUM, PID, KEL, WAV, TUV, ZOF, GEK, HIW The amount remembered depends on the time spent rehearsing (duh).

The Forgetting Curve This represents how much we forget over time if we make no attempt to retain (rehearse).

Concepts we should be familiar with already! Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval Short-term (Working) Memory Long-term Memory Automatic Processing Effortful Processing Rehearsal Attention

Spacing Effect Distributing study time produces better recall! Cramming leads to quick forgetting Testing effect—testing is a great way to improve memory, not just assess it. LESSON—space out your study time and test yourself!

Serial Positioning Effect Primacy effects—things at the beginning of a list are easier to remember Recency effects—things at the end of a list are easier to remember Stuff in the middle gets all mixed up and lost!

Visual encoding Acoustic encoding Semantic encoding Imagery + Semantic encoding is VERY powerful! We struggle to remember formulas, definitions, and dates, but it’s really easy to remember where we were yesterday, who was with us, where we sat, what we wore, etc… Lesson: If you can make a memory visual, you’ll remember it better!

Guided tour method Honey, dog food, sugar, oranges, ice cream, peanut butter, bread, pork chops, milk, and potato chips. We begin in the kitchen and see honey dripping down into the toaster on the counter and a giant St. Bernard eating his dog food on top of the kitchen table. We proceed to the living room, where sugar is embedded in the shag carpet, oranges are under the sofa pillows, peanut butter is stuck between the piano keys, and ice cream is in the roaring fireplace. We proceed up the stairs, with a slice of bread on each step. Pork chops are floating in the bathtub, milk is tipped over on the dresser in the bedroom, and potato chips are stuck between the bed sheets.

Mnemonic Devices Mnemonics are memory aids. They often involve vivid imagery and organizational devices Pegword system Keyword method Organization Chunking Hierarchies Method of Loci (the memory palace)

Chunking 423-19 267-198 390-675-2 573-291-43 721-354-456 245-619-832-2 141-384-515-89 201-315-426-762

Stuff you should know by now! Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval Sensory Memory Short-term (Working) Memory Long-term Memory Automatic Processing Effortful Processing Rehearsal Hermann Ebbinghaus Spacing Effect Testing Effect Serial Positioning Effect Primacy Effect Recency Effect Meaning/Context Effects Visual Encoding Acoustic Encoding Semantic Encoding Mnemonics Chunking

Sensory Memory Large capacity Contains info from the senses Brief retention Iconic Memory—Visual, lasts up to ½ second Echoic Memory—Auditory, lasts 3 to 4 seconds

Working/Short Term Memory The stuff we encode from sensory goes to STM. Events are encoded visually, acoustically or semantically. Holds about 7 (plus or minus 2) items for about 20 seconds. We recall digits better than letters.

Long Term Memory Unlimited storehouse of information. Explicit (declarative) memories Implicit (non-declarative) memories

Explicit Memories Episodic Memories Semantic Memories

Hippocampus and Cerebellum You need it to form explicit memories! CEREBELLUM Important in Implicit memories!

Implicit Memories Procedural Memories Conditioned Memories

Storing Memories Long Term-Potentiation long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously. In other words…they learn to fire together and get better at it…creating a memory.

Photographic Memory? The ability to recall information as if you were currently experiencing it There’s some controversy about this—some think it’s a myth Mostly, it’s just a difference in how a person processes memories Autistic Savants—rare, but some show some extraordinary memory ability

The Context Matters!!! Flashbulb Memories Mood Congruent Memory State Dependent Memory

Constructive Memory Memories are not always what they seem. Elizabeth Loftus A constructed memory is a created memory. Misinformation effect

Forgetting Getting a new bus number and forgetting old bus number. Retroactive Interference: new information blocks out old information. Proactive Interference: old information blocks out new information. Calling your new girlfriend by old girlfriends name.

Repression Freud’s Idea (motivated forgetting) Evidence? Not much We can repress meaningless, neutral material, but not if it’s something emotional (abuse, trauma, etc…) Encoding failure/Retrieval failure Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

Amnesia Amnesia means loss of memory Anterograde vs. Retrograde Source Amnesia—when you remember something, but not where you were when you experienced it (i.e. you saw it in a dream but later thought you actually experienced it) At the heart of many false memories