Chapter 9 Memory

 Memory  persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information. We study the extremes.  Flashbulb Memory  a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. What events are examples for you? On page 345, 2 nd paragraph, read the questions posed. These should spark some thought and perhaps give you ideas for your journal writing!!

Memory  Memory as Information Processing  similar to a computer : write to file ; save to disk ; read from disk. It works sequentially and faster ; we do many things at once (in parallel) but process slower.  Encoding  the processing of information into the memory system. Get info. into brain! i.e., extracting meaning  Storage  the retention of encoded information over time  Retrieval  process of getting information out of memory

Memory Atkinson-Schiffrin three-stage processing model of memory (Fig.9.1 on page 346)  Sensory Memory  the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system  Short-Term Memory  activated memory that holds a few items briefly  look up a phone number, then quickly dial before the information is forgotten  Long-Term Memory  the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system  Working Memory  focuses more on the processing (how we attend to, rehearse, and manipulate info) of briefly stored information. We associate old and new info – altering our schemas – and solve problems.

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

Encoding: Getting Information In  Automatic Processing  unconscious encoding of incidental information about: space; time; frequency  well-learned information: word meanings  we can learn automatic processing: reading backwards  Effortful Processing  requires attention and conscious effort  Rehearsal  conscious repetition of info: to maintain it in consciousness; to encode it for storage Encoding EffortfulAutomatic

Encoding  Ebbinghaus used nonsense syllables TUV ZOF GEK WAV - The more times practiced on Day 1, the fewer repetitions to relearn on Day 2 - Time spent learning = amount remembered. Increased retention with overlearning.  Other principles:  Next-in-line effect – we don’t recall previous person’s info  Spacing Effect - distributed practice yields better long-term retention than massed practice. Those who learn quickly, forget quickly. Expanding space rehearsal – increase time between rehearsing a piece of info.  Serial position effect – first & last items more easily remembered Our memory system is designed to support our functioning /survival – which psychological perspective is emphasized here? (look at page 11!)

Encoding Time in minutes taken to relearn list on day 2 Number of repetitions of list on day 1

Encoding: Serial Position Effect 12 Percent age of words recalled Position of word in list Serial Position Effect--tendency to recall best the last items in a list. With time 1 st items become more often recalled.

What Do We Encode? We recall what we encode – our mental model that we constructed!  Semantic Encoding  encoding of meaning; including meaning of words. Better memory when meaningful context provided.  Self-reference effect – personal meaning in what you learn increases your ability to recall.  Acoustic Encoding  encoding of sound, especially sound of words. Great memory of rhyme – “What sobriety conceals, alcohol reveals”  Include mnemonics – ‘jingle’, rhyme, “peg-word” systems  Visual Encoding  encoding of picture images – Imagery - mental pictures - a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding  Rosy retrospection – recalling more positively mundane events or forgetting the negative aspects  Mnemonics - memory aids - especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Encoding

 Chunking  organizing items into familiar, manageable units (generally no more than 3 or 4 in a chunk)  like horizontal organization  often occurs automatically  use of acronyms  HOMES--Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior  ARITHMETIC--A Rat In Tom’s House Might Eat Tom’s Ice Cream

Encoding  Hierarchies  complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories Encoding (automatic or effortful) Imagery (visual Encoding) Meaning (semantic Encoding) Organization ChunksHierarchies

Storage: Retaining Information Sensory Memory  Iconic Memory - a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli - a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more that a few tenths of a second  Echoic Memory - momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Storage: Short-Term Memory  Short-Term Memory  limited in duration and capacity  “magical” number 7+/ Time in seconds between presentation of contestants and recall request (no rehearsal allowed) Percentage who recalled consonants

Storage: Long-Term Memory  Psychologists study memory “software” and neuroscientists the “hardware”.  Question: What is memory’s physical basis?  How does storage work? “defies comprehension”  Karl Lashley (1950) - rats learn maze ; lesion cortex ; test memory. Conclusion: memory doesn’t reside in one part of the brain.  Synaptic changes  Long-term Potentiation  increase in synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation – neural explanation for learning and remembering associations – goal is to enhance human long-term memory capability.  Strong emotions make for stronger memories  some stress hormones boost learning and retention – and in prolonged stress cause the opposite.

Storage: Long-Term Memory  Amnesia-- the loss of memory  Explicit Memory  memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare (declarative memory)  hippocampus--neural center in limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage in various parts of the brain – to retrieve a memory requires recovery of parts from sites in the brain and integrates them with emotional associations in the amygdala (key to emotional memories) to form a memory  Implicit Memory  retention independent of conscious recollection (procedural memory) – they can learn but cannot recall learning. (example: play a golf course over & over and improve each time, but can’t recall playing the course before)  Cerebellum - neural center where implicit memory locates  This dual system of memory explains research done on brain-damaged people.

Storage: Long-Term Memory Subsystems Types of long-term memories Explicit (declarative) With conscious recall Implicit (nondeclarative) Without conscious recall Facts-general knowledge (“semantic memory”) Personally experienced events (“episodic memory”) Skills-motor and cognitive Dispositions- classical and operant conditioning effects

Storage: Long-Term Memory  MRI scan of hippocampus (in red) Hippocampus

Quick Review – Crash Course

Retrieval: Getting Information Out  Recall  measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier - as on a fill-in-the blank test.  Recognition  Measure of memory in which the person has only to identify items previously learned - as on a multiple-choice test  Relearning  memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material a second time  Priming  activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory. Like a search engine does, we associate different concepts to our memories. Connections are made amongst many different concepts.

Retrieval Cues Water/ land Land/ water Water/ water Different contexts for hearing and recall Same contexts for hearing and recall Land/ land Percentage of words recalled increased when the place for testing was the same as where it was learned.

Retrieval Cues  After learning to move a mobile by kicking, infants had their learning reactivated most strongly when retested in the same rather than a different context (Butler & Rovee- Collier, 1989).

Retrieval Cues  Deja Vu (French)--already seen  cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience  "I've experienced this before."  Mood-congruent Memory  tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood ; memory, emotions, or moods serve as retrieval cues.  State-dependent Memory  what is learned in one state (while one is high, drunk, or depressed) can more easily be remembered when in same state

Forgetting  Forgetting – gets a bad rap!  Imagine always remembering everything – let it go!! Mental health needs forgetting.  Forgetting as encoding failure  Information never enters the long-term memory. Age, change blindness, selective attention. External events Sensory memory Short- term memory Long- term memory Attention Encoding failure leads to forgetting

Forgetting  Forgetting as encoding failure  Which penny is the real thing?

Forgetting – Storage Decay  Ebbinghaus forgetting curve over 30 days-- initially rapid, then levels off with time Time in days since learning list Percentage of list retained when relearning

Forgetting – Storage Decay  The forgetting curve for Spanish learned in school Retention drops, then levels off ½ 14½ 25 35½ 49½ Time in years after completion of Spanish course 100% Percentage of original vocabulary retained

Retrieval  Forgetting can result from failure to retrieve information from long-term memory External events Attention Encoding Retrieval failure leads to forgetting Retrieval Sensory memory Short-term memory Long-term memory A quick review video!

Forgetting as Interference  Learning some items may disrupt retrieval of other information  Proactive (forward-acting) Interference  disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new information – ex. multiple phone #s  Retroactive (backward-acting) Interference  disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old information – ex. New students names… can’t remember old students

Forgetting as Interference

Forgetting  Retroactive Interference Without interfering events, recall is better After sleep After remaining awake Hours elapsed after learning syllables 90% Percentage of syllables recalled

Forgetting  Forgetting can occur at any memory stage  As we process information, we filter, alter, or lose much of it

Forgetting- Interference  Motivated Forgetting  people unknowingly revise memories – protect and enhance our self-image  Repression  defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories  Many doubt this occurs often. Do we actively forget negative experiences in order to maintain a ‘normal’ life?

Memory Construction  We filter information and fill in missing pieces  Misinformation Effect  incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event; more likely with leading questions; increases with time ; we convince ourselves of its accuracy.  Source Amnesia  attributing to the wrong source an event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (misattribution) ; ex. Reagan’s story of heroic medal winner actually being from a movie!  True & False Memories  How memories feel, or how persistent they are does NOT determine their truth. Memory construction typically overestimate and/or underestimate their memory of feelings/events as well as past ideas/beliefs.  Crucial for police etc. to be trained “cognitive interview” techniques.

Memory Construction  Eyewitnesses reconstruct memories when questioned Depiction of actual accident Leading question: “About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” Memory construction

Memory Construction  Memories of Abuse  Repressed or Constructed?  Child sexual abuse does occur; Some adults do actually forget such episodes  False Memory Syndrome  condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience  sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists  The big question in all of this is how do we discern false memories from the accurate recollection of traumatic sexual abuse.

Quick Review – Crash Course

Memory Construction  Most people can agree on the following:  Injustice happens  Incest happens  Forgetting happens  Recovered memories are commonplace  Memories recovered under hypnosis or drugs are especially unreliable  Memories of things happening before age 3 are unreliable  Memories, whether false or real, are upsetting

Improve Your Memory  Study repeatedly to boost recall  Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material  Make material personally meaningful  Use mnemonic devices  associate with peg words--something already stored  make up story  chunk—acronyms  Activate retrieval cues--mentally recreate situation and mood  Recall events while they are fresh-- before you encounter misinformation  Minimize interference  Test your own knowledge  rehearse  determine what you do not yet know