Memory Chapter 10 Memory 4/20/2017 Prepared by Krista D. Forrest, Ph.D., and Michael Lee These slides © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario. Chapter 10 ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory Reconstructing the past Memory and the power of suggestion 4/20/2017 Memory Reconstructing the past Memory and the power of suggestion In pursuit of memory The three-box model of memory The biology of memory How we remember Why we forget Autobiographical memories ©2002 Prentice Hall

Reconstructing the Past Memory 4/20/2017 Reconstructing the Past The Manufacture of Memory The Fading Flashbulb The Conditions of Confabulation ©2002 Prentice Hall

The Manufacture of Memory 4/20/2017 The Manufacture of Memory Memory The capacity to retain and retrieve information. Memory is a reconstructive process. Recovering a memory is not playing a videotape. Memory involves inferences that fill in gaps in recall. We are often unaware we have made such inferences. Source Amnesia The inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told later about an event. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 The Fading Flashbulb Some unusual, shocking or tragic events hold a special place in memory. These memories were called Flashbulb memories because the term captures the surprise, illumination & photographic detail that characterize them. Even flashbulb memories have errors. ©2002 Prentice Hall

The Conditions of Confabulation Memory 4/20/2017 The Conditions of Confabulation Confabulation Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Confabulation is most likely when: Memory 4/20/2017 Confabulation is most likely when: You have thought about the event many times. The image of the event contains many details. The event is easy to imagine. You focus on emotional reactions to the event rather than what actually happened. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory and the Power of Suggestion 4/20/2017 Memory and the Power of Suggestion The eyewitness on trial Children’s testimony ©2002 Prentice Hall

The Eyewitness on Trial Memory 4/20/2017 The Eyewitness on Trial Eyewitnesses are not always reliable. Factors which influence accuracy Cross race identification Question wording Crashed versus hit Misleading information ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Children’s Testimony Under what conditions are children more suggestible? Being very young When interviewers expectations are clear When other children’s memories for events are accessible ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Children’s Testimony Social Pressure, False Allegations If asked if a visitor committed acts that had not occurred, few 4-6 year olds said yes. 30% of 3-year olds said yes When investigators used techniques taken from real child-abuse investigations, most children said yes. Figure 7.02 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

In Pursuit of Memory Measuring memory Models of memory Explicit memory 4/20/2017 In Pursuit of Memory Measuring memory Explicit memory Implicit memory Models of memory ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Explicit Memory Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or of an item of information. Assessed through: Recall The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously learned material. Recognition The ability to identify previously encountered material. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Implicit Memory Unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered information on current thoughts or actions. Assessed through: Priming a person reads or listens to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects performance on another type of task. Relearning compares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material. ©2002 Prentice Hall

The Three-Box Model of Memory 4/20/2017 The Three-Box Model of Memory Sensory memory: Fleeting impressions Short-term memory: Memory’s scratch pad Long-term memory: Final destination Parallel distributed processing (PDP) model: an alternative model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operating in parallel. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Three-Box Model of Memory 4/20/2017 Three-Box Model of Memory Figure 7.03 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Sensory Memory: Fleeting Impressions 4/20/2017 Sensory Memory: Fleeting Impressions A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information. Pattern Recognition The identification of a stimulus on the basis of information already contained in long-term memory. Information that is not quickly passed to short term memory is gone forever. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Short-term: Memory’s Scratch Pad 4/20/2017 Short-term: Memory’s Scratch Pad In the three-box model of memory, a limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief periods; it is also used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary use. Working memory A memory system which includes STM and mental processes that control retrieval of information from LT memory and interpret that information appropriately for a given task. Chunk Meaningful unit of information which may be composed of smaller units. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 The Value of Chunking You have 5 seconds to memorize as much as you can. Then, draw an empty chess board and reproduce the arrangement of pieces. Figure 6.6 from: Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Long-term memory: Final Destination 4/20/2017 Long-term memory: Final Destination The memory system involved in the long term storage of information One way information is organized is in semantic categories (i.e., animals). ©2002 Prentice Hall

Conceptual Grid Memory 4/20/2017 Figure 7.04 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Conceptual Grid ©2002 Prentice Hall

Contents of Long-Term Memory 4/20/2017 Contents of Long-Term Memory Procedural memories Memories for performance of actions or skills. “Knowing how.” Declarative memories Memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events; includes semantic and episodic memory. “Knowing that” Examples include semantic and episodic memories. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Contents of Long-Term Memory 4/20/2017 Contents of Long-Term Memory Semantic memories General knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositions. Episodic memories Personally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Serial-Position Effect Memory 4/20/2017 Serial-Position Effect The tendency for recall of first and last items on a list and to surpass recall of items in the middle of the list. Figure 7.06 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 The Biology of Memory Forming a memory involves chemical and structural changes at the level of neurons. In short-term memory, changes within neurons temporarily alter the neuron’s ability to release transmitters. In long- term memory, long-term potentiation or a long-lasting increase in the strength of synaptic responsiveness occurs. Most researchers believe this is the process underlying learning and memory yet exact biochemical and molecular changes still debated. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Consolidation Process by which a long-term memory becomes durable and stable. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Locating Memories New brain imaging and testing shows us that: Memory 4/20/2017 Locating Memories New brain imaging and testing shows us that: During short-term memory tasks, areas of the frontal lobes show activity. Long- term memory tasks, the hippocampus. Encoding of pictures and words, prefrontal cortex and areas adjacent to the hippocampus. Procedural memories, specific changes to cerebellum. Formation of long-term memories, cerebral cortex. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Hormones and Memory Hormones released by the adrenal glands during stress and emotional arousal enhance memory. Moderate levels are optimal: memory can suffer if animals are given very high doses of adrenal hormones. These may affect memory by stimulating an increase in the level of glucose in the bloodstream. ©2002 Prentice Hall

How We Remember Effective Encoding Rehearsal Mnemonics Memory 4/20/2017 How We Remember Effective Encoding Rehearsal Mnemonics ©2002 Prentice Hall

Rehearsal Maintenance Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal Memory 4/20/2017 Rehearsal Maintenance Rehearsal Rote repetition of material in order to maintain its availability in memory. Elaborative Rehearsal Association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information to make it memorable. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Deep Processing In the encoding of information, the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Comparing Encoding Strategies Memory 4/20/2017 Comparing Encoding Strategies Figure 7.07 from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Mnemonics Strategies and tricks for improving memory, such as the use of a verse or a formula. Examples include: MDAS ROYGBIV Thirty days hath September… ©2002 Prentice Hall

Why We Forget Decay Replacement Interference Cue-dependent forgetting Memory 4/20/2017 Why We Forget Decay Replacement Interference Cue-dependent forgetting Psychogenic amnesia ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Decay Decay Theory The theory that information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed; it applies more to short-term than to long-term memory. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Forgetting Curve Herman Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables. Forgetting was rapid at first and then tapered off. Figure 7.08a from Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Memory 4/20/2017 Replacement The theory that new information entering memory can wipe out old information. In one study, researchers showed subjects slides of a traffic accident. The experimental group was mislead into thinking there was a stop sign instead of a yield sign. Even after being debriefed on the purpose of the study, subjects insisted that they really saw the stop sign (Loftus et al., 1978). The new information which came from the researchers replaced what the subjects saw. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Interference Similar items interfere with one another. Memory 4/20/2017 Interference Similar items interfere with one another. Retroactive Interference Forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previously. Proactive Interference Forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material. Figures from page 251 Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Cue-dependent Forgetting Memory 4/20/2017 Cue-dependent Forgetting The inability to retrieve information stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recall. Physical state can be a memory cue. State-Dependent Memory The tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning or experience. Mood ©2002 Prentice Hall

The Repression Controversy Memory 4/20/2017 The Repression Controversy Psychogenic Amnesia The partial or complete loss of memory (due to nonorganic causes) for threatening information or traumatic experiences. Repression In psychoanalytic theory, the selective involuntary pushing of threatening or upsetting information into the unconscious. ©2002 Prentice Hall

When should we question recovered memories? Memory 4/20/2017 When should we question recovered memories? If person says he or she has memories of first year or two of life. If over time the memories become more and more implausible. If therapist used hypnosis. ©2002 Prentice Hall

Autobiographical Memories Memory 4/20/2017 Autobiographical Memories Childhood amnesia: The missing years ©2002 Prentice Hall

Childhood Amnesia: The Missing Years Memory 4/20/2017 Childhood Amnesia: The Missing Years Childhood Amnesia The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two or three years of life. Cognitive explanations Lack of sense of self Impoverished encoding A focus on the routine Different ways of thinking about the world ©2002 Prentice Hall