Memory

Agree or Disagree? “To constantly remember everything all the time, would probably be worse than remembering nothing at all.” William James (c1890) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHeEQ85m79I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en23bCvp-Fw

Do Now… Draw a penny in the top right-hand corner of your paper. On the back of your paper, draw the home screen of your cell phone. Do you think you will be able to remember this set of numbers by the end of class? 1 4 9 2 1 7 7 6 1 8 1 2 1 8 6 0 1 9 1 7 1 9 4 1 2 0 0 1

Which Penny is the Correct Penny?

A.

Memory Cognition: all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering information Memory: the capacity to register, store, and recover information over time, or more simply, the persistence of learning over time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DybifAhMA24

How Does My Memory Work? We use different “models” to explain memory. Information Processing Model Three Stage Model

Information Processing Model Compares our mind to a computer Memory a three-step process: Encoding: processing of info into the memory system Storage: retention of encoded material over time Retrieval: process of getting info out of memory storage

1.) Encoding Visual Encoding: encoding of pictures and images. Acoustic Encoding: encoding of sound, especially sounds of words. Semantic Encoding: encoding of meaning. http://www.psychbytes.com/Flash/Encoding/Encoding.htm

1.) Encoding The processing of information into the memory system (what you do to learn something). Typing info into a computer. Getting a girls name at a party.

2.) Storage The retention of encoded material over time. Pressing Ctrl+S to save the info. Trying to remember her name when you leave the party.

3.) Retrieval The process of getting the information out of memory storage. Seeing her the next day and calling her the wrong name (retrieval failure). Finding your document and opening it up.

The Three Stage Model Characterized by time frames: Stage 1: Sensory Memory A brief representation of a stimulus while being processed in the sensory system Stage 2: Short-Term Memory (STM) is working memory Limited capacity (~7 items) Limited duration (~30 seconds) Stage 3: Long-Term Memory (LTM) has large capacity and long duration

Stage 1: Sensory Memory Iconic Memory Echoic Memory Momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli Photograph-like quality lasting only about a second Echoic Memory Momentary memory for auditory stimuli If you are not paying attention to someone, you can still recall the last few words said in the past four seconds. http://www.garyfisk.com/anim/iconic.swf

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory The stuff we encode from sensory memory goes to STM Holds about 7 (+/- 2) items for about 20 seconds. We recall digits better than letters. http://www.garyfisk.com/anim/lecture_stm.swf

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory Chunking: Organizing items into familiar, manageable units. Give students a list of numbers for them to write after you finish saying the number: 9754, 6419, 68259, 37148, 913825, 648327, 5963827, 86951372, 51739826, 719384273, 163862 Read numbers but not in chunking: 17761812149219411973 then chunk the numbers together as years

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory Try to remember the following letters: FB-IAO-LM-TVI-BMB-MW Now, recall all of the letters Let’s try that again: FBI-AOL-MTV-IBM-BMW Now, recall all of the letters. They were the same letters, just chunked differently! Give students a list of numbers for them to write after you finish saying the number: 9754, 6419, 68259, 37148, 913825, 648327, 5963827, 86951372, 51739826, 719384273, 163862 Read numbers but not in chunking: 17761812149219411973 then chunk the numbers together as years

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating the information. “384-4052. 384-4052. 384-4052. 384-4052. 384-4052. 384-4052…”

Stage 3: Long-Term Memory Unlimited storehouse of information. Declarative Memories “Knowing that…” Facts & experiences we consciously know and can verbalize. Procedural Memories “Knowing how…” Skills & procedures to do things by previous experience without that experience being consciously recalled. Swimming

Stage 3: Long-Term Memory Declarative Episodic Personal experiences Semantic General knowledge Procedural

Biology of a Long-Term Memory Retrieval: Process of getting information out of memory storage. Recall vs. Recognition You must retrieve the information from your memory EX: Fill-in-the-blank or essay tests Harder You must identify the target from possible targets EX: Multiple-choice tests Easier

Biology of a Long-Term Memory Clive Wearing: The man with no short-term memory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c62C_yTUyVg

Forgetting

Theories of Forgetting Retroactive Interference: new info blocks out recall of old info EX: Getting a new lock and forgetting your old lock combo

Theories of Forgetting Proactive Interference: Old info blocks out new info EX: Calling your girlfriend by your ex-girlfriend’s name

Theories of Forgetting Decay Theory: memory trace fades with time Without rehearsal, we forget things over time. Except this guy  Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

Theories of Forgetting Decay Theory Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve Memorized long list on nonsense syllabus Bok, waf, ged, nuf Forgetting occurs soon after initial learning, then levels off. Explains why we forget FACTS, but not why we forget EXPERIENCES

Theories of Forgetting Spacing Effect: We encode better when we study or practice over time (i.e. “space out” learning) DO NOT CRAM!

Theories of Forgetting Decay Theory Marigold Linton tests how people forget real events Wrote down two memorable events every day for 12 years. Tested recall of these events each year Expected rapid forgetting reported by Ebbinghaus Instead, found long-term forgetting was slower and much more constant.

Theories of Forgetting Motivated Forgetting: involves the loss of painful memories (protective memory loss) We sometimes revise our own histories One theory: Repression

Theories of Forgetting Retrieval failure: info is still in LTM, but cannot be recalled because retrieval cue is absent. Cue-dependent forgetting State-dependent forgetting

False Memories http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZlPzSeUDDw&feature=relmfu

My Trip to the Cheesecake Factory You go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. You are seated at a table with a white tablecloth. You study the menu. You tell the female server you want Avocado Egg Rolls, extra sauce, Roadslide Sliders, Thai Lettuce Wraps, and Chino-Latino Steak (medium). You also order a Cherry Coke from the beverage list. A few minutes later the server returns with your Avocado Egg Rolls. Later the rest of the meal arrives. You enjoy it all, except the Chino-Latino Steak is a bit overdone.

My Trip to the Cheesecake Factory How did you order the steak? Was the red tablecloth checkered? What did you order to drink? Did the male server give you a menu? Which item came first?

Memory Construction We sometimes alter memories as we encode or retrieve them. Your expectations, schemas, & environment may alter your memories.

Memory Construction A TWA Boeing 747 had just taken off from Miami International Airport for Los Angeles when a passenger near the rear of the aircraft announced that the plan was being taken over by the People’s Revolutionary Army for the Liberation of the Oppressed. The hijacker held a .357 magnum to the head of Jack Swanson, a flight attendant, and forced him to open the cockpit door. There, the hijacker confronted the pilot, Jane Randall, and order her to change course for Cuba. The pilot radioed the Miami air traffic control center to report the situation but then suddenly hurled the microphone at the hijacker. The hijacker fell backward through the open cockpit door and onto the floor, where angry passengers took over from there. The plan landed in Miami a few minutes later, and the hijacker was arrested.

Memory Construction Depiction of Accident Leading Question: “About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” When people who saw film of a car accident were asked a leading question, they recalled a more serious accident than they had witnessed. Memory Construction

Special Topics in Memory Autobiographical Memory Recollection of events in our life More recent events are easier to recall

Special Topics in Memory Childhood Amnesia (Infantile Amnesia) Generally poor memory for events prior to age 2-3 May occur because brain is not fully developed at birth Hippocampus not fully formed until age 2 May be due to lack of a clear sense-of-self in young children May be due to absence of language.

Special Topics in Memory Extraordinary Memory Eidetic Imagery (Photographic Memory) Usually due to well-developed memory techniques “The Woman Who Could Not Forget” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoxsMMV538U&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHeEQ85m79I&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1th1fVIc8Vo&feature=related

Special Topics in Memory Eidetic Memory: Photographic memory http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ugfCjqlZ4

Special Topics in Memory Flashbulb Memory: A clear moment of an emotionally significant moment or event. Where were you when… You heard about 9/11? Osama bin Laden was killed? During the OJ chase?

Special Topics in Memory Eyewitness testimony Shown to be unreliable People’s recall for events may be influenced by what they heard or constructed after the incident Memory is reconstructed Memories are not stored like snapshots, but are instead like sketches that are altered and added to every time they are called up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SBTRLoPuo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtelV9lmzQc