1. Studying and Building Memories
Module 23
Studying and Building Memories
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2. Are Some things Easier (Harder) to remember than others?
What is easy for you?
What is difficult?
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3. - nonsense syllable method (e.g., DAX, BUP, GEJ)
Ebbinghaus (1885)
- nonsense syllable method (e.g., DAX, BUP, GEJ)
Tested his own memory
Each list learned to criterion of 2 errorless tests.
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4. IV: Retention time (minutes, hours, days) Dependant Measures
1) Number recalled
- fast loss at beginning, then levels out.
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5. 2) Savings # of trials to relearn Large Savings at short retention,
Rapid decreased with longer retention
Then leveled out.
E.g., After 6 days 30% savings.
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6. - learn to criterion then rehearsed thirty times more.
3) Overlearning
- learn to criterion then rehearsed thirty times more.
Greatly increased savings.
E.g., At 6 days 64% savings.
Appears Rehearsal leads to Memory.
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7. -Encoding – getting information into memory
Memory Processes
-Encoding – getting information into memory
Storage – keeping it in memory
Retrieval – getting information from memory
Information Processing View
Divides memory into functional stages
keyboard
Printer
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8. Stage Model of Memory Long-Term Memory S S e t n o s r o e r y
Retrieval
Short-Term Memory
Long-Term Memory
Encoding
Rehearsal
Loss
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9. Sperling’s Experiment Whole Report
Sensory Store
Sperling’s Experiment
Whole Report
Presented Array of letters for Brief Period
Subject report all letters they can recall.
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10. - recalled 33% of letters (4/12) Partial Report
Results
- recalled 33% of letters (4/12)
Partial Report
Brief Presentation of Array.
Subjects cued to recall 1 row.
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11. If cue is immediate subject recalls 100% (4/4)
Results
If cue is immediate subject recalls 100% (4/4)
If row cue delayed less letters recalled.
- by 1 sec delay letters could not be recalled.
To move to STM sensory information must be attended
to. If not, it is quickly lost.
Iconic (Visual) Memory
Echoic (Auditory) Memory
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12. Limited Capacity: avg.. 7 to 9 Items
Short-Term Memory
Limited Capacity: avg.. 7 to 9 Items
Maintenance Rehearsal: mentally repeating items.
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13. Serial position effects Better Memory for
1) first few words (Primacy Effect)
2) last few words in the list (Recency Effect).
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14. Primacy - early rehearsed more -- moved to LTM.
Recency - last words still in STM -- recovered directly.
Evidence
1) Present words too quickly to allow rehearsed
- Primacy effect disappears.
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15. Distracter task (e.g., count backwards) - eliminates rehearsal
2) Peterson Study
Distracter task (e.g., count backwards)
- eliminates rehearsal
- items are lost from STM
- recency effect disappears
If not attended to at least every 30 secs items lost from STM.
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16. Chunking – increases capacity of STM BATCARBOYERA
- requires processing for meaning.
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17. Current View - Working Memory (Baddley)
Place where mental work is done.
Holds what you are currently aware of.
From LTM
INPUT
Central Executive
To LTM
Visuospatial
sketchpad
Phonological Loop
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18. GP Mem(1)

19. Does Rehearsal transfer information to LTM?
Glenberg, Smith and Green Study.
- subjects presented 4 digit numbers
- each digit followed by word to repeat for 2, 6 or 18 secs.
Told to remember digits (word repetition just distracter)
Tested for the words.
Increased rehearsal did not lead to better recall from LTM.
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20. Levels of Processing (Craik and Lockhart)
Transfer to LTM requires processing for meaning.
LTM is like a library!
To encode information, there must be a place for it.
Added to similar information.
Elaborative Rehearsal - thinking about meaning.
- relate to other things you know.
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21. Semantic (meaning) Network Model LTM organized by Meaning
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22. Memory and Expertise
Hierarchies – Organizing structures that allow us link together information into meaningful connections.
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23. GP Mem(1)

24. Is Elaborative Rehearsal Hard?
LTM Stores
New info added to old
Accessed to understand
Current events
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25. Retrieval, Forgetting, Memory Construction and Mnemonics
Modules 25 and 26
Retrieval, Forgetting, Memory Construction and Mnemonics
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26. Schema and Scripts – Organized Packets of information about People
Events, Topics etc.
Organized information allows use to
go beyond our current experience to infer other general information about the current situation
generate expectations about the Future.
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27. All Memory depends on Retrieval Cues
Elaborative Rehearsal – the more retrieval cues you have, the better your chances of finding a route to the desired memory. Best retrieval cues come from associations we make at the time we encode the memory.
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28. Priming – “memoryless memory”
Associations activated without awareness.
These associations can influence our interpretations of current experiences.
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29. Retrieval From LTM is based on Cues. Recall and Recognition
Recall requires the correct association to found to a cue.
Write down the names of the seven dwarfs!
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30. GP Mem(1)

31. Context at time of learning provides cues at recall
The Context Effect
Context at time of learning provides cues at recall
State-dependant retrieval
Mood Dependant Retrieval
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32. Forgetting What would it be like to never be able to forget anything?
Solomon Shereshevskii (S)
Jill Price (A.J.)
Your Memory does not work like a video recording!
What if it did??
Jill Price remembers all the sad and bad things in her life – the death of loved ones, for instance, like it’s happening right now. Time heals all wounds, but not for Jill Price.
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33. Our Memories are for preparing us for the future more so than for retaining the past! Much is forgotten. We remember the “gist of events and often confuse parts of one event with another similar event.
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34. Forgetting in a healthy Brain?
Proactive and Retroactive Interference Similar items learned earlier (proactive) or after (retroactive) interfere. Why? Similar cues lead to a variety of items in LTM. Distinctive things are recalled better.
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35. If you fail to remember something it could be 1) its lost from LTM.
Decay Theory?
Is LTM Permanent?
We don’t know?
If you fail to remember something it could be
1) its lost from LTM.
2) its lost in LTM.
- with a proper cue, you could retrieve it.
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36. LTM Capacity
As far as we know LTM is Unlimited!
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37. GP Mem(1)

38. Amnesia Encoding – Storage - Retrieval
Retrograde amnesia (no retrieval)
Anterograde amnesia (no encoding)

39. Implicit and Explicit Memory
Explicit – Knowing when and where you learned the information. Implicit – having knowledge without awareness of where or why you know the information.
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40. People with Anterograde Amnesia demonstrate implicit learning – they aquire knowledge but have no memory for having learned the new material.
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41. Mean speed estimate (mph)
Imperfect Memories
1) About how fast were the cars going when they
_________ with each other?
Speed estimates for the verbs used in Experiment 1
Verb
Mean speed estimate (mph)
Smashed
40.8
Collided
39.3
Bumped
38.1
Hit
34.0
Contacted
31.8
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42. Imagination Inflation – lost in a mall study.
Source Confusion
Schema Distortion
Imagination Inflation
– lost in a mall study.
- slime in the second grade.
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43. Getting Value Out of Your Study Time. 1) Distribute study sessions.
- cramming leads to poor learning.
- LTM is not limited, but your attention span is.
2) Don’t just read the material over and over.
Inefficient strategy.
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44. 3) Monitor your progress - focus in on what you need to learn.
Think about the meaning of the material.
5) What about meaningless stuff?
MAKE IT MEANINGFULL
Mnemonics (Memory Tricks)
Find structure to organize it.
Structure serves as a cue.
DON’T USE MNENOMICS FOR STUFF YOU ALREADY KNOW -- It’s a waste of time!
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45. First letter cues (ROY G BIV)
Sentences (Every good boy deserves fudge).
Analogies - Compare it to something you know.
Charts - summarize and organize memory
- gives visual cues
Diagrams
- emphasize relationships between concepts.
- allow for visual encoding
- color code
Songs, Rhymes or Poems
Relate to Personal Examples
Stories
Be creative! - make it memorable!
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