1 Memory Chapter 9

2 The Phenomenon of Memory Memory: any indication that learning has persisted over time. ability to store and retrieve information. Normal Memory vs. Flashbulb Memory Flashbulb memory: clear, strong, and persistent memory arising from a unique and highly emotional moment FUN FACT: this memory is not free from errors!

3 Stages of Memory Keyboard (Encoding) Disk (Storage) Monitor (Retrieval) Sequential Process Sensory Information

4 Information Processing The Atkinson-Schiffrin (1968) 3 Stage Model of Memory (w/ modifications to account for problems)

5 Cerebellum (Implicit Memories) Hippocampus (Explicit Memories)

Working Memory (a.k.a. Short-term Memory) Theory: working memory contains auditory and visual processing controlled by the central executive processor. Alan Baddeley’s Model (2002) Information to be memorized: The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776.

7 Automatic Processing Information processed effortlessly: space, time, frequency Encoding: Getting Information In Effortful Processing Committing certain information to memory requires effort: concepts, names, formulas leads to durable and accessible memories.

8 Effortful Processing: Rehearsal Effortful learning requires rehearsal or conscious repetition. Try it! Ebbinghaus studied rehearsal by using nonsense syllables. Hermann Ebbinghaus ( ) TUV YOF GEK XOZ

9 Effortful Processing: Rehearsal SHOCKING RESULTS!

10 1.Next-in-line-Effect: anxious about being next that you cannot remember what the person just before you in line says 2.Spacing Effect: We retain information better when we rehearse over time. Learn quickly, forget quickly 3.Serial Position Effect: recall is better for first and last items on a list, but poor for middle items. Effortful Processing: Memory Effects

11 Serial Position Effect 1.TUV 2.ZOF 3.GEK 4.WAV 5.XOZ 6.TIK 7.FUT 8.WIB 9.SAR 10.POZ 11.REY 12.GIJ Better recall Poor recall

12 Encoding Meaning Q: Did the word begin with a capital letter? Visual Encoding Q: Did the word rhyme with the word “weight”? Q: Would the word fit in the sentence? He met a __________ in the street. Acoustic Encoding Semantic Encoding “Whale” Craik and Lockhart (1972) Intermediate Deep Shallow

13 Results

14 Visual Encoding Mental pictures (imagery) => more effective encoding “Don’t smoke.” vs. Both photos: Ho/AP Photo

15 Mnemonic Devices: Method of Loci Take an imaginary walk down your street, place objects along your route List of Items Charcoal Pens Bed Sheets Hammer Paper towels. Imagined Locations Backyard Neighbor’s house Huge tree Mailbox Garage.

16 Mnemonic Device: Link Method Form a mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links them together. List of Items Newspaper Shaving cream Pen Umbrella. Lamp

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18 Organizing Information: Chunking Chunking: Organizing items into a familiar, manageable unit. Try to remember the numbers below If you are well versed with American history, chunk the numbers together and see if you can recall them better

19 Acronyms are another way of chunking information to remember it. HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior PEMDAS = Parentheses, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract ROY G. BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet Organizing Information: Chunking

20 Complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories. Organizing Information: Hierarchies

21 Encoding Summarized in a Hierarchy

22 Storage: Retaining Information Three stores of memory are shown below: Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-term Memory Encoding RetrievalEncoding Events Retrieval

23 Storage: Sensory Memory Iconic 0.5 sec. long Echoic 3-4 sec. long The duration of sensory memory varies for the different senses.

24 Storage: Working vs. Long-Term Working memory (STM) => limited capacity (7± 2 items and/or 20 seconds) VS. Long-Term Memory (LTM) => unlimited capacity (Estimates on capacity: 1000 billion to 1,000,000 billion bits of information – based upon # of synapses in brain) Memory Feats!

25 Biological Basis of Memories Synaptic Changes Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) - synaptic enhancement after learning ( recent discovery: Gary Lynch (2002)) -Memories formed => stronger neural connections - Memory boosting drugs? Both Photos: From N. Toni et al., Nature, 402, Nov Courtesy of Dominique Muller

- Heightened emotions (stress, fear, love) = stronger memories. - Continued stress (abuse, PTSD) => may disrupt memory. - Sudden stress => blocks older memories (mind goes blank) Biological Basis of Memories Stress Hormones

27 Biological Basis of Memories Explicit & Implicit Memories

28 No New Memories Case Study: Anterograde Amnesia Surgery After losing his hippocampus in surgery, patient Henry M. (HM) remembered everything before the operation but could not make new memories. Memory Intact HM was unable to make new memories that are explicit, but he can form new memories that are implicit.

Measures of Memory Recognition: identifying an item amongst other choices. 1.Name the capital of France. a.Brussels c. London b.Rome d. Paris Recall: retrieving information using effort. 1.The capital of France is ______. Retrieval: Getting Information Out Retrieval refers to getting information out of the memory store. Relearning: amount of time (or effort) saved when learning material for the 2 nd time.

Retrieval Cues Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations are like anchors that help retrieve memory. Fire Truck truck red fire heat smoke smell water hose Retrieval: Getting Information Out Happy or Sad? We usually recall experiences that are consistent with our current mood. Emotions serve as retrieval cues. (Mood-congruent memory)

31 Think of as many sentences as you can that include each of the following words.

32 Before we take the following test, please choose your race: White Black Asian Pacific Islander Hispanic

33 Priming Priming: to retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations, you must first activate one of the strands that leads to it. Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Context Effects Scuba divers recall more words underwater if they learned the list underwater, while they recall more words on land if they learned that list on land (Godden & Baddeley, 1975). Cool Context Phenomenon! Déja Vu Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience. Retrieval: Getting Information Out

35 Which penny is real? Forgetting

36 Forgetting An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval. Encoding Failure Storage Decay Retrieval Failure

37 Forgetting: Encoding Failure We cannot remember what we do not encode.

38 Which penny is real? Forgetting: Encoding Failure

Forgetting: Storage Decay Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve. Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay (passage of time). Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern over 50 years.

40 Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Failure to access retained memories. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) Phenomenon -Example of retrieval failure Can you name the Seven Dwarfs?

Interference Learning some new information may disrupt retrieval of old information (& vice versa). Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

Motivated Forgetting People unknowingly revise their memories. Repression: A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Sigmund Freud Culver Pictures Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

Memory Construction Memories are constructed as we encode & altered as we retrieve Misinformation Effect: Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. Classic Experiment: Eyewitness Accounts (Loftus & Palmer, 1974). Leading Questions: Group A: Q: How fast were the cars going when they hit each other? A: Lower speed est. Group B: Q: How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other? A: Higher speed est.

Memory Construction A week later…Q: Was there any broken glass? Group B (smashed into) > Group A (hit). What might happen if the subjects continue to view this video and are asked about the accident later in life? Source Amnesia : Attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined (misattribution).

Memory Construction Psych in the News Syracuse Asst. Basketball Coach Charged with Abuse - November 28 th, 2011 Zach Tomaselli, says Bernie Fine molested him when he was 13…multiple times in the course of one night in a Pittsburgh hotel room in Tomaselli, 23, also alleges that he was abused by his father, Fred Tomaselli, in the months before he said he met Bernie Fine. His father denies that he abused his son and said he doesn't believe his son ever met Fine. His father told WHCS in a phone interview that his son made up the story about Fine, saying his son "never went to the game in Pittsburgh. It's all totally fabricated, for whatever reason.“ Tomaselli said he met Fine at an autograph session — another thing his father said didn't happen — where he said Fine invited him to go on the road trip to Pittsburgh. Tomaselli said he shared his story with friends three years ago but did not contact police until the Penn State child molestation case involving longtime assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky emerged as a national news story. - USA Today

Can be unreliable if leading questions are posed. Accuracy of recall increases with a neutral cognitive interview style. In cases of sexual abuse, this usually suggests a lower percentage of abuse. Memory Construction False Memories “Needle” Controversial Topic – Memory Wars!: Are memories of abuse repressed or falsely constructed? Loftus’ research shows that if false memories (lost at the mall or drowned in a lake) are implanted in individuals, they construct (fabricate) memories of such events. (UFO abductions, molestation, etc.) Children’s Eyewitness Recall

47 Consensus on Childhood Abuse 1.Injustice happens. 2.Incest and other sexual abuse happens. 3.People may forget. 4.Recovered memories are commonplace. 5.Recovered memories under hypnosis or drugs are unreliable. 6.Memories of things happening before 3 years of age are unreliable. 7.Memories, whether real or false, are emotionally upsetting. Leading psychological associations of the world agree on the following concerning childhood sexual abuse:

48 Improving Memory 1.Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. 2.Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material. 3.Make material personally meaningful. 4.Use mnemonic devices:  associate with peg words — something already stored  make up a story  chunk — acronyms

49 Improving Memory 5.Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate the situation and mood. 6.Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation. 7.Minimize interference: 1.Test your own knowledge. 2.Rehearse and then determine what you do not yet know. © LWA-Dann Tardiff/ Corbis