Agenda To Get: To Do: Handout from the back Opener Notes on memory – forgetting and improving Activities Memory Draft – ONE 25 points

Opener 1. Name the three stages of memory. 2. Define: Memory Trace 3. Primacy and Recency are part of what stage of memory? 4.The capacity of LTM is what?

Tuesday – Open note “TEST” 20 questions using your notes on memory. We are required to give 5 summative assessments per semester – this will serve as number 4 and your writing assignment will serve as number 5.

Forgetting and Memory Improvement Can occur in any of the three stages – sensory, short-term, or long- term Sensory decays almost immediately unless used Short-term disappears after 10-12 seconds unless transferred to LTM Lost when displaced or crowed out by new information Long-term holds so much information in abstract form that it can be forgotten or recalled incorrectly. Information can also get mixed with things you already know. (trois, tres, tre)

Basic Memory Tasks 3 Basic tasks Recognition Recall Relearning Frist studied by Hermann Ebbinghaus, in the late 1800’s, by using nonsense syllables. DAL, RIK, KAX required the use of acoustic coding as they have no other meaning

Basic Memory Tasks Recognition Identifying objects or events that have been encountered before Multiple choice tests are easier for this reason – only have to recognize the right answer, not recall it. Bahrick Study – 1975 – Summarize… Mixed photos from a yearbook with 4x as many images of strangers Recent grads picked out former classmates at a rate of 90% Those graduated 40 years had a rate of 75% Remembered faces (recognition) far better than names (recall) Ability to remember faces is strong and long lasting

Basic Memory Tasks Recall Being able to bring something BACK to mind; reconstruct without seeing it or being triggered by given information Ability to recall a list drops dramatically after an hour of learning it Half of information is lost within first hour – then becomes more gradual unless stored in LTM Paired Associates improves recall Psychologists studied this using nonsense syllables DUS-----TEL GOR------NIF XAR--------MUP Study participants could recall a syllabic pair, after study, just by being given its partner. Ex. When learning languages: Spanish – Mano is Hand in English To do something manually means to do it by hand

Basic Memory Tasks Relearning Not remembering things we once knew I need to relearn Pythagorean Theorem ‘cause last class I said it was for finding the area of a triangle… Can usually be relearned quickly and easily

Different Kinds of Forgetting Usually caused by interference or decay Interference – when new information shoves aside or disrupts what has been placed in memory Decay – the fading away of a memory Both are normal occurrences of memory – occur when memory traces fade from sensory or short-term memory Can occur in LTM as well – as when something stored can no longer be retrieved.

Repression Sigmund Freud suggested that sometimes we forget things on purpose without even knowing we are doing it. Usually unpleasant or painful experiences Protective mechanism that pushes memories to our subconscious so we are not anxious, guilty, or fearful of past behavior or experiences. Still a controversial idea in contemporary psychology

Amnesia (movie clip examples?) Can be caused by brain injury, shock, fatigue, or illness. Dissociative amnesia is a severe form of repression Thought to be caused by psychological trauma (extremely upsetting experience or series of upsetting experiences) Infantile Amnesia People cannot remember events from before 3 years of age Freud explained it as repressing violent and sexual tendencies towards our parents. (eeewww…) Most likely reflects biological and cognitive factors such as an undeveloped hippocampus, myelination of brain pathways are incomplete and language is not developed enough to symbolize and classify events. Anterograde Amnesia Caused by head trauma, electric shock or brain surgery Prevents formation of NEW memories as there is damage to hippocampus Retrograde Amnesia People forget the period leading up to a traumatic event Ex. Auto accidents, athletics, severe cases have documented years of memory loss!

Real or Fictional? What the provided clips and determine if they are real or fictional accounts of memory loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTZaFzfEFxY 3:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GstoS5T2P9U 13:30

Improving Memory Memory can be improved with devices and strategies Drill and Practice Going over something again and again, ex. Flash cards Saying someone’s name as much as you can after first meeting them “Glad to meet you, Sam.” “Where do you live, Sam?” “What sort of work do you do, Sam?” “See you later, Sam.” “I like green eggs and ham, do you, SAM?” Relate to Things You Already Know Requires you to think more deeply about new information, thus improving retention Ex “i before e except after c except if it is weird cause it is just ‘weird.’” Form Unusual Associations The stranger or funnier the more likely you will remember Grocery List example – imagine different meals hanging from different parts of you body… Construct Links Peso (PAY-soh) is Mexican money and people PAY for things with money.

Systems for remembering information Mnemonic Devices Systems for remembering information All the methods discussed have been mnemonic devices Camels – Dromedary (one hump) Bactrian (two humps) Ex. “Her name is KATE and she will be my next DATE!” (make your own) The book says numbers are more difficult to create mnemonic devices with, I disagree and apologize in advance… 867-5309

Did it work? What was the phone number from that DISTURBING music video from 1981?

Rough Draft Additions/Changes By next class you should…