Memory The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information. (Dryer Sheets)

Fact/Falsehood Complete

On a ½ sheet of paper: Respond & Discuss What would your life be like with no memory? With no memory, how would you answer the question: How are you today? With no memory, who would you be? How would your identify be affected? If you could, would you want to erase some of your memories? Why? What would your life be like if you could remember everything?

Woman who remembers everything? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2wYcFnTkgo&feature=related Would you want to? Why/Why not?

Take out a piece of paper….. Name the seven dwarves….. Now name them…..

Was it easy or hard? It depends on several things…. If you like Disney movies? When was the last time you have seen the movie? Are people around you being loud pain in the butts so you cannot concentrate?

Flashbulb Memories Write down your 3 most vivid memories. Why are memories personally rather than nationally significant? Flashbulb Memory – a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. Can they be wrong? Caption pg 350 about Pres. Bush

The Memory Process: How we make memories Three step process…. Encoding: The processing of information into the memory system. Storage: The retention of encoded material over time. Retrieval: The process of getting the information out of memory storage.

Three Stage Processing Model of Memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin)

Simplified memory model External events Sensory memory Short-term Long-term Sensory input Attention to important or novel information Encoding Retrieving

Sensory Memory A split second holding tank for ALL sensory information. Sensory Memory registers incoming information, allowing your brain to capture for a fleeting moment a sea of faces.

Short Term/Working Memory The stuff we encode from the 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. Short Term Memory Activity Bolt pg 14

Short Term/Working Memory We pay attention to and encode important or novel stimuli – in this case an angry face in the crowd If we stare at the face long enough (rehearsal) or if we are disturbed by it (deemed “important”), we will encode it for long-term storage, and be able to retrieve later (an hour or so) the image of the face .

Long Term Memory Unlimited storehouse of information.

Flashlight Attention Because we are bombarded daily with sensory information, we cannot possibly focus on everything at once. We shine a “flashlight beam” of our attention on certain incoming stimuli (usually novel/important stuff)

Encoding: Getting Information In encoding: the processing of information into the memory system. Putting information into your brain. HOW? Automatic & Effortful Processing

Encoding: Getting Information In Automatic Processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings. Parallel processing allows this. Examples??? You can’t help that you automatically process lots of stuff—words on billboards, sounds, etc. Gets easier with time – driving, texting, a new language, etc.

Encoding: Getting Information In Effortful Processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. rehearsal: how we do effortful processing. The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage. 12 Days of Christmas demo (Bolt pg 8)

Encoding: Getting Information In Hermann Ebbinghaus German philosopher; leader in study of memory. Studied himself. He tried to memorize nonsense syllables. JIH BAZ FUB YOX SUJ XIR DAX LEQ VUM PID KEL WAV TUV ZOF GEK HIW The next day, he forgot a lot. He found that the more repetitions he did on the first day, the better his memory was on the second day.

Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve 20 15 10 5 8 16 24 32 42 53 64 Time in minutes taken to relearn list on day 2 Number of repetitions of list on day 1 What kind of correlation is this?? High negative

Encoding: Getting Information In Results of Ebbinghaus’ study: the amount of information you remember depends on the time spent learning overlearning: additional rehearsal increases retention even after initially learning material.

Practice Makes Perfect (in effortful processing) Interesting phenomenon in memory processing: next-in-line-effect: when we go around in a circle saying our names, we are least likely to remember the person’s name right before us. We’re focusing on what we’re going to say and not processing the person before us. info we learn in the hour before sleep – well remembered. Once Stage one sleep hits– don’t remember.

Practice Makes Perfect (in effortful processing), con’t spacing effect: we learn better when we space information out over time than when we cram. The longer the space between study sessions, the more we remember (it’s better to study over a period of a week than a few times in one day)

Spacing Effect DO NOT CRAM!!!!!!!!!!!! Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

Take out a piece of paper and name all the Presidents…

Encoding Information Primacy Effect Recency Effect Serial Positioning Effect

Practice Makes Perfect (in effortful processing), con’t serial position effect: you remember the first (primacy) and last (recency) terms in a list best. Later, you will remember the first ones best.

Implications of Ebbinghaus’ study for YOU: Can this be applied to your current position as a student? How? Knowing this, will cramming for an exam help you get a better score? Maybe… But will you remember that information for the final/AP exam? Doubt it.

The Ways we can encode… Visual Encoding: the encoding of picture images. Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words. Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning. (syntax is what a language looks like; semantics is what a language means) Encoding Exercise Bolt 9-3 Discuss: What does this tell you about how you should be studying?

Which is best for encoding?? Semantic is best, then visual, then acoustic (on average) You won’t remember the information if you just look at the info—you need to experience it, give it meaning. Semantic Meaning Activity – Bolt 11 Meaning & Memory Left Side of room: Close your eyes/put head on desk Right Side of room: THE CONTEXT IS KITE FLYING!!! DON’T TELL ANYONE ON THE OTHER SIDE TILL THE END

Self-Reference Effect we remember stuff better if we can relate it to ourselves Why do you think I give you study guides asking you to apply the principles to YOUR life? Why do I ask you in class “How does this relate to YOU?” as discussion. BECAUSE IT WILL HELP YOU REMEMBER IF YOU GIVE IT PERSONAL MEANING & WRITE THEM DOWN

Ways to remember things in STM…so they go to LTM Rosy Retrospection: Tendency to recall events more positively than you did originally at the time. Visual Encoding Tricks Imagery: mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding Practice: What are Some things you could Visualize to help you study for your test/quiz?

Ways to remember things in STM…so they go to LTM Chunking: Organizing items into familiar, manageable units. Mnemonic devices: (yes, there is a point to doing them for vocab) especially helpful when combined with organization and imagery. Some use “peg words,” memorizing a jingle to remember something (One is a bun, two is a shoe, etc.) Michael Scott: How to be a good salesman 1-4-9-2-1-7-7-6-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1 “CORN PICKED IN LOUISVILLE…REALLY NUTRITIOUS" Hierarchies: Organizing items into like categories facilitates memorization, and recall is 2-3 times better. (Gordon Bower study) -chapter outlines are hierarchies 

Method of Loci - Mnemonics associate objects with certain places, for example, in your house. As someone is saying a bunch of objects/words, mentally walk through your house and place the objects at different places in your house GROCERY LIST ACTIVITY Eggs Milk Cheese Bread Butter Chips Apples Ground beef Cookies Dog food

Discussion Give me a specific example of how you have used or could use these encoding techniques to help you with school or daily life.

Storage: Retaining Info. What is the capacity of Sensory, Short/Working, and Long Term Memories?

Sensory Memory A split second holding tank for ALL sensory information. Sperling’s research on Iconic Memory: a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more that a few tenths of a second Memory Capacity demo – Bolt 14

Sensory Memory Echoic Memory: momentary (3-4 sec) sensory memory of auditory stimuli. E.G. If you’re not paying attention in class, and I say “what did I just say?” you can still recall the stuff I said in the last 3-4 seconds.

Short Term/Working Memory The stuff we encode from the 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. Short Term Memory Capacity Activity Bolt 14

Long Term Memory Unlimited storehouse of information. Karl Lashley studied rats’ memories & found certain memories don’t sit in certain parts of the brain – train a rat to do a maze, cut out a part of his brain, he can still do it—retained memory of how to solve the maze

Physically, Where are our Memories??? Memories begin as impulses. Long-term potentiation (LTP): when a neural firing happens frequently and it becomes learned (easier, faster). Some drugs block LTP, making it difficult to form memories The firing potential between neurons is increased after it’s fired multiple times quickly. This might be where learning/memory occurs. Drugs are currently being tested that enhance LTP; could make our memories better/help cure alzheimer’s.

Stress Hormones & Memory stronger emotions (hormones) usually make for stronger memories (trauma, really happy times, etc.) you remember them better than boring, mundane, average days flashbulb memories are often formed b/c of those stress/excitement hormones

Explicit/Declarative Memories memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” Episodic Memories-personally experienced events Semantic Memories- facts, general knowledge

Implicit/Procedural Memories Retention independent of conscious recollection Skills (procedures) & classically-conditioned responses

Long-Term Memories

Hippocampus hippocampus--neural center in limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage Processes explicit memories – then sent to multiple different regions.

Cerebellum Cerebellum Process implicit memories Ex: classical- conditioned eye- blink disappears when you remove cerebellum

Amnesia Amnesia--the loss of memory Multiple Types mass forgetting of old information inability to form new memories Oliver Sacks – “Jimmie” pg. 367 (earth from the moon example), H.M., Clive Wearing What research shows with amnesia patients: Deny having seen an article and then read it faster Deny abilities to solve puzzle then complete it easily

Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Recall Versus Recognition: A Practical school application you must retrieve the information from your memory fill-in-the blank or essay tests you must identify the target from possible targets multiple-choice tests

Retrieval Cues Bits of information that are like tags, hints, or ID marks – help you associate with memory to help you successfully retrieve. Can be experiences – tastes, smells, sights Priming – “wakening of associations”

Context Effects It helps to put yourself back in the same context you experienced (encoded) something. If you study on your favorite chair at home, you will probably score higher if you also took the test on the chair. Bolt 18 activity for next slides

Take a look at these words Bolt pg 18

Rest

Snore

Sound

Tired

Bed

Comfort

Awake

Eat

Wake

Dream

Slumber

Night Last

Recall: Was Aardvark on the list?

Recall: What about Sleep?

DeJa Vu The feeling that you think you saw/experienced something, but did not.

The Context Matters!!! Mood Congruent Memory - your current mood can color/affect how you view memories State Dependent Memory – What you learn in one state is more easily recalled if you are again in that state.

Constructive Memory Memories are not always what they seem. Elizabeth Loftus Eyewitnesses and trials interview clip A constructed memory is a created memory. Misinformation effect Memory Construction & Court

Forgetting

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. Proactive Interference Old info gets in the way of new Retroactive Interference New info gets in the way of old Calling your new girlfriend by old girlfriends name.

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.