1. 7B – Thinking, Problems Solving, Creativity, and Language
Cognition
7A – Memory
7B – Thinking, Problems Solving, Creativity, and Language

2. Memory
Memory - the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
Examples:

3. The Memory Process Three step process….
Encoding: The processing of information into the memory system.
Getting the info into the brain
Example:
Storage: The retention of encoded material over time.
Retaining the info
Retrieval: The process of getting the information out of memory storage.
Getting the info back out
Encoding – getting info into memory (aquiring the info)
Storage - retention of info
Retrieval – getting info out of memory

4. 4 Memory Models Information Processing Model
Atkinson-Shiffrin 3 stage model
Modified Atkinson-Shiffrin
Connectivism Model

5. Information Processing Model of Memory
Simplified Memory Model
Encoding –
Storage –
Retrieval –
Analogous to a computer
Info-processing model of memory – simple explanation of a complex topic—memory is more complicated, but the basic structure of the model helps drive research into how memory works
Encoding – getting info into our brain
Storage – retain the information
Retrieval – getting information out of memory storage

6. Atkinson and Shiffrin’s 3 Step Model of Memory
Sensory memory – brief recording of sensory information
Example:
Short-term memory – memory that holds few items briefly before info is forgotten
Example
Long –term memory – relatively permanent and limitless storage of memory.
Sensory memory is fleeting – some gets processed in short term memory
Short term – consciously activated, but limited in capacity
Ex. Looking at a new phone number only remember long enough to dial it
Long term – permanent, limitless flash bulb memory
Pay attention to something so it gets encoded into long term memory.

7. Sensory Memory
Sensory Memory - A split second holding tank for ALL sensory information
Examples:.
Iconic Memory –
Echoic Memory –

8. Short Term Memory
Short –term memory – memory that holds a few items briefly (7 digits +/-2) until it is forgotten or stored
We recall digits better than letters.
Short Term Memory Activity

9. Long Term Memory
Long-term memory - Unlimited storehouse of knowledge, skills and experiences.
Examples:

10. Modified Atkinson – Shiffrin (3 Stage) Model
Working Memory –conscious, active processing of auditory and visual-spatial info. and info from long term memory
Our memory sketchpad
Example –
Working memory – active information processing that occurs in short term memory
Daydreaming in class, calculating a number
integration of new incoming information with knowledge retrieved from long-term memory

11. Modified Three-stage Model of Memory
Active processing occurs in the short term memory stage, that many now perfer the term working memory
Short term memory is not infor that we remember for days or weeks and then forget. True short term memory only lasts about a minute or so.Memories that stay with us, but not permanenetly are stored in working memory
Pledge of allegiance – ask students if they can recite the second sentence of the pledge. It consists of a single sentence

12. Connectionism Model of Memory
Connectionism – theory that states that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections between neurons
Many neurons may work together to process a single memory
A modern information-processing model that views memories as emerging from particular activation patterns within neural networks is known as
the view that memory emerges from interconnected neural networks

13. How We Encode 2 Types of Encoding Automatically Processing
Parallel
Effortful processing
Rehearsal
Parallel processing = automatic processing
2 types of encoding – automatic and effortful
Parallel processing allows many sensory experiences to be encoded all at once, some automatically, some with effort
We can encode many sensory experiences simultaneously, some automatically, because of parallel processing
Effortful can only occur with conscious attention

14. Encoding - Automatic Processing
Automatic Processing - unconscious encoding of incidental information
Examples:
Time –
space –
Frequency –
well learned info –
Automatic occurs without unconscious awareness
Space – cant remember what Active processing means, but remember the page and where it appears in your textbook
Activity: What time did you get up? What did you have for breakfast? Lunch? So far, who have you talked to? What did you talk about? Can you retrace the route that you took to class today? Did you see anyone more than one time.

15. Automatic Processing
Parallel Processing – processing of many things simultaneously
Example:

16. Encoding – Effortful Processing
Effortful Processing –encoding that requires conscious effort and attention
Example:
Rehearsal – conscious repetition of info to encode it for storage
Effortful can become automatic through practice
Only occurs conscious effort
Study of information played during sleep found that ears register it, but it’s not remembered…requires effortful processing
Rehearsal – meeting someone for the first time, you repeat their name over and over
Practicing
12 days of Christmas Activity
Write down the gifts in the familiar song Twelve Days of
Christmas. The first gift is repeated 12 times, the second
11 times, and so on. Schulman reports that recall
for the entire class (especially when the class is fairly
large) shows a nice decline from the first to the last gift.
One exception is “five golden rings.” The gift has the
distinctive feature of being sung more slowly or held
longer. You can collect and tabulate the data between
classes or more simply chart memory for each gift by a
show of hands. Display the forgetting curve on the
chalkboard. If you have relatively small classes you may
combine data for multiple sections or even keep a running
summary of terms. To refresh your own memory,
here are the gifts: l Partridge, 2 Turtle Doves, 3 French
Hens, 4 Calling Birds, 5 Golden Rings, 6 Geese A-laying,
7 Swans A-swimming, 8 Maids A-milking, 9
Ladies Dancing, 10 Lords A-leaping, 11 Pipers Piping,
and 12 Drummers Drumming.

17. Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve
Ebbinghaus Curve - The amount remembered depends on the time spent learning
Overlearning –
The more times Ebbinhaus practiced a list of nonsense syllables on day 1, the fewer repetitions he required to relearn on day 2.
Ebbinghause made extensive use of nonsense syllables to study memory ie JIH, BAZ, FUX, YOX
Curve illustrates the value of rehearsal

18. Effortful Processing
Spacing effect – distributed study is better for long-term recall than massed study (cramming)
DO NOT CRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Example:
Testing effect – repeated quizzing or testing improves retention
Studying for an AP Psych Test 15min/day for 8 days than cramming for 2 nights
Restudying course material at end of the quarter in order to pass the AP Exam likely to demonstrate long-term retention of course material
Repeated quizzing of information increases the chances it will be recalled

19. Encoding Information
Serial Positioning Effect – we tend to remember the first and last items on a list
Primacy Effect – remember items at the beginning of a list
Example:
Recency Effect – remembering items at the end of a list (most recent
Rostorff effect – remembering unique items on a list
After meeting my classes on the first day of school I can only recall people at the beginning of the alphabet
After hearing a shopping list read off, we tend to remember the first and last, items but not the middle
Primacy Effect remember recalling 1st items
Recency Effect – remembering items at the end of a list
Because the words at the beginning of the list get rehearsed more often than the others, they are more likely to be transferred into LTM. The recency effect reflects STM storage. Words at the end of the list are the ones still available in STM
Semantic memory activity – John walked on the roof…Santa Clause walked on the roof

20. What We Encode…
Encoding Exercise
Visual Encoding: the encoding of picture/visual images.
Example –
2. Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words.
Example:
3. Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning.
Visual encoding – encoding of picture images
One reason we remember so little from infancy is that we are unable to verbally label our experiences
Acoustic – encoding of sounds , especially words
Semantic Encoding – refers to the processing of meaning any personally meaningful event
Preconceived ideas about things contribute to our ability to process new info illustrates the importance of semantic encoding
Children can better remember a verse from Romeo and Juliet if it is explained to them
Even a simple sentence becomes easier to recall when it is meaningful:
The notes were sour because the seams split – bagpipe
The voyage wasn’t delayed because the bottle shattered – ship Christening
The haystack was important because the cloth ripped - parachutist
Serial Positioning Effects demonstrates the importance of rehearsal.

21. Visual Encoding
Encoding Exercise
Imagery – visual images help us remember concrete words (aided by semantic encoding)
Example:
Rosy Retrospection – recalling high points, forgetting the worst

22. Mneumonics
Encoding Exercise
Mnemonic Devices – any memory aid that uses visual images and organizational devices
EXAMPLES:
Peg word system – memorizing a jingle and using imagery to associate items with the jingle
Example:
2. Method of Loci – use visual information with familiar objects on a path to recall info on a list
Mnemonic devices use vivid imagery and clever ways of organizing information
Peg word – visually associating words on a shopping list with bun shoe, tree, door, hive (milk, eggs, butter, bread, sugar)
Chunking contacts; 1800 – IBM HELP

23. Mneumonics
Encoding Exercise
3. Hierarchies – broad concepts divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts
Example:
4. Chunking - Organizing items into familiar, manageable units (acronyms)
Every Good Boy Does Fine
1-800-IBM-HELP
Hierarchy – list of things you need for college
Sheets, popcorn, pencils, bedspread, pretzels, notebooks

24. Acoustic Encoding
Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words.
Examples:
Acoustic – being able to recognize your mother’s voice on the telephone
Rhyming
Semantic Encoding produces better recognition later than visual or acoustic
Learning meaningful material requires 1/10 the effort compared to learning nonsense material…rephrasing text into your own words will help you remember it better
Ie. Using synonyms
Time spent thinking about material you are reading and relating it to previously stored material is about the most useful thing you can do to learn a new subject
Amt remembered depends on time spent learning and on your making it meaningful
Self reference effect – have better recall for info we can meaningfully relate to ourselves. Find personal meaning in what you are studying –make it more relevant to you.

25. Semantic Encoding Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning.
Examples:
Self Reference Effect – the tendency to remember information that is “relevant to me” compared to less personally relevant information
Example:

26. Storage Types of Memory Sensory Memory Working Memory/Short-term
Iconic
Echoic
Working Memory/Short-term
Long-Term Memory
Implicit Memory/Procedural Memory
Conditioned Memories
Explicit Memory
Episodic Memory
Semantic Memory
Flashbulb Memories
Prospective memory

27. Sensory Memory Sperling’s memory experiment
Momentary photographic memory
After flashing an image, participants had a momentary mental image of all 9 letters
Iconic memory – photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
Examples:
Iconic memory – photographic memory
Sperling flashed a group of letters for 1/20th of a second. People could recall only about ½ of letters. When signaled with a tone, to recall a particular row, they could do so with perfect accuracy.
Echoic memory – memory for auditory stimuli – if attention is elsewhere sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 sec
Ex. Teacher asks “what did I just say”…recover last few words in mind’s echo chamber
Sperling activity from Psych Sim

28. Sensory Memory
Echoic memory – auditory memory lasting no more than a 3-4 seconds (mind’s echo chamber)
Example:
Iconic memory – photographic memory
Sperling flashed a group of letters for 1/20th of a second. People could recall only about ½ of letters. When signaled with a tone, to recall a particular row, they could do so with perfect accuracy.
Echoic memory – memory for auditory stimuli – if attention is elsewhere sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 sec
Ex. Teacher asks “what did I just say”…recover last few words in mind’s echo chamber
Sperling activity from Psych Sim

29. Working/Short-Term Memory
Duration – Brief (30 sec or less) without active processing
Capacity - Limited
The list of magic sevens
Short term memory is limited by duration and capacity – typically hold about 7 bits of information
Dori video

30. Long-Term Memory
Duration –
Capacity -

31. Types of Long Term Memory
Implicit Memory/Procedural Memory
Conditioned Memories
Explicit Memory
Episodic Memory
Semantic Memory
Flashbulb Memories

32. Types of Long-Term Memory
Patients who have experienced brain damage may be unable to form new personal memories but are able to learn to do jigsaw puzzles, without awareness of having learned them. This suggests that the system for creating explicit memory has been affected, not the implicit memory system.

33. Implicit Memories
Implicit/Procedural Memories – without conscious recall
Examples:
Conditioned Memories – memories from conditioned learning
Example:
Procedural – without conscious recall
A retention of skills and dispositions without conscious recollection is known as implicit memory.
Playing cards, jigsaw puzzle
Patients who have experienced brain damage may be unable to form new personal memories but are able to learn to do jigsaw puzzles, without awareness of having learned them. This suggests that the system for creating explicit memory has been affected, not the implicit memory system.
Cerebellum plays a key role in forming and storing implicit memories created by classical condition

34. Explicit Memories
Explicit Memories – memories of facts and experiences, consciously recalled
Processed by the
Example:
Infantile amnesia – can’t remember events before age 3
Explicit- conscious memory of factual information, general knowledge
Processed by the hippocampus – one of the last brain structures to mature
Although implicit memories are processed by the hippocampus it is only a temporary holding place. Sleep consolidates memories from the hippocampus and stores them cerebral cortex fro long term storage

35. Explicit Memories
Episodic Memories - memories of autobiographical events, situations, and experiences
Example:
Semantic Memories – memory of words, meanings, and understandings
Explicit- conscious memory of factual information, general knowledge
Processed by the hippocampus – one of the last brain structures to mature

36. Explicit Memories
Flashbulb Memories – clear moment of a emotionally significant event
Example:
Prospective Memory – remembering to perform a planned action
When excited or stressed the body releases stress hormones on memory during an emotionally significant event.
Amygdala (emotion center of the brain) boosts activity and proteins in the memory forming areas of the brain = sears events into the brain
Vivid recollections are adaptive - help us predict the future and alert us to potential dangers
Prolonged stress inhibits memory formation by shrinking the hippocampus – ie. Child abuse, combat stress
Weaker emotions = weaker memories

37. Storing Memories
Memory trace – memory is distributed across groups of neurons
Long Term-Potentiation – Increases in synaptic firing potential of a neuron by increasing the number of receptors on the receiving neuron.
Memory boosting drugs
CREB –
Glutamate –
Sea slug – learning occurs when serotonin is released from neurons
An increase in the neuron’s firing potential
LTP provides a neural basis for learning. It increases the sensitivity of a receptor causing the post synaptic neuron to fire at an elevated rate causing greater efficiency in the neuron which strengh
Sea slugs, mice, and fruit flies have displayed enhanced memories following enhanced production of the protein
One effect of Long term potentiation is that a receiving neuron’s receptor sites may increase
Long-term memory clearly involves physical changes in the brain—most likely some kind of facilitation at the synapse.
Repeated experiences increase the efficiency of certain synapses by “pulling” together receptor sites and axon endings closer together, as well as making the receptor neuron more sensitive over the long run. Long-term potentiation = making receptor more sensitive to firing
CREB – Protein that increases proteins that make a cell more likely to keep a memory amount of CREB influences whether or not the brain stores a memory, .If a cell is low in CREB, it is less likely to keep a memory. If the cell is high in CREB, it is more likely to store the memory
Once LTP has occurred, passing an electric current through the brain won’t disrupt old memories, but will wipe out new ones. A blow to the head will do the same—not time to consolidate info into long term memory (don’t remember anything right before)

38. Amnesia Amnesia – loss of memory
Retrograde Amnesia – inability to remember past events
Example
Anterograde Amnesia – inability to create new memories
Examples:
Show 50 1st dates and Clive Wearing
Anterograde Amnesia – lose explicit memories, but not implicit. Still have an unconscious capacity for learning

39. Retrieval Recall - you must retrieve the information from your memory
Example:
Recognition - you must identify the target from possible targets
Example:
Recall = fewest retrieval ques. Name the 7 Dwarfs
Recognition – more retrieval cues are given Pick out of a list of names the 7 Dwarfs
FRQ’s
Identifying potential suspects in a police line up is recall
Eyewitnesses of a crime = recall

40. Ways to help you retrieve info
Relearning – learning material for the second time, saves time.
Example:
Retrieval Cues – anchor points used to access target info for retrieval later
Priming – unconscious activation of associations in memory
Words events places and emotions that trigger our memory of the past. The more you have, the better the chance you have at finding a route to the memory
Discovering that words you heard underwater are better recalled underwater illustrates the value of retrieval cues
Priming – almost unconsious activation of particular associations in memory
Priming facilitates retrieval cues
Reading a romantic novel brings back memories of some experiences with an old boyfriend
Hearing the word rabbit and asked to spell h-a-i-r may spell hare
Watching a scary movie may lead to believe the noise you just heard was a burgler or to recall an event when your house was broken into both = priming
Smell of freshly baked cookies awakens memories of early childhood events

41. The Context Matters!!!
Mood Congruent Memory – recalling memories consistent with current mood
Example:
State Dependent Memory – learning that takes place in one physiological "state" is generally better remembered later in a similar physiological state
Context effects – context where you experience something can prime your memory retrieval
Need to sharpen my pencil, go down stairs and forget why. Go back up and you remember
Words heard underwater were later recalled better underneath
Déjà vu – eerie feeling you’ve experienced something before
Example – billy elliot
3 Theories:
Cues from current experience may subconsciously trigger an earlier experience – happens most commonly to well-educated imaginative adults, especially when stressed.
Moderately similar to other events
Dual processing – a signal from two track mind is delayed feeling like a repeat of an earlier one, creating an illusion that we are reexperiencing
Don’t pay attention to the details around us
State dependent – recall better when in same state ie drunk, sober (when drunk, memory is disrupted, so don’t remember well at all)
Mood congruent – emotions that accompany good or bad events become retrieval cues
Feeling jealous of Suzy getting an A in AP Psych you might also remember your girlfriend flirting with another guy.
cues in a new situation can cause us to retrieve many memories encoded in a similar context, producing the feeling of déjà vu. Mood-congruent memories can also be explained through context cues, because the mood we are in when we encode something is part of the context for that memory, making the memory easier to recall when we regain the context of that mood.
Study for a test in the classroom –even in desks they sit in
State-dependent – does caffeine and sugar when studying effect memory…should you consume the same amount before taking a test?

42. Context Matters
Context-dependent memory - memory is more easily recalled if you are in the same setting that learning took place
Example:
Déjà vu – eerie sense that you’ve experienced something before

43. Forgetting Encoding Failures Storage Decay Retrieval Failures
Forgetting is failure to encode, store and retrieve information

44. Forgetting Schacter’s sevens sins of memory Sins of Forgetting
Sins of distortion
Sin of intrusion
7 ways our memories fail us
Absent mindedness – inattention to detail (our mind is somewhere else when we lay down our pencil, textbook)
Transience – storage decay over time (unused information –spanish, classmates names fades)
Blocking – inaccessibility to stored info (know someones name but can’t get it out)
Misattribution – confusing the source of info (remembering a dream as a n actually happing, putting words into someone elses mouth)
Suggestability – lingering effects of misinformation (a leading questions –did mr. X abuse you---later become a child’s false memory)
Bias – belief colored recollections (in a fight with a friend, may color our recalled initial feelings)
Persistence – unwanted memories (being haunted by an embarrasing or stressful memory)

45. Encoding Failure Example –
What should you do to prevent an encoding failure?
Selective attention – can only attend to a few sights and sounds – never makes it into long term memory
Age – brain areas less responsive
First penny is the correct one
What should you do to prevent an encoding failure – engage in effortful processing

46. Storage Decay Ebbinghaus Curve
Ebbinghaus assessed the impact of rehearsal and retention on relearning
Loss of foreign language is info lost in storage
Apply the Ebbinghause curve to Psych class
I will forget most psychological concepts soon after learning them, but the information I recall after that immediate drop will be retained for years.
How well we remember depends on how long ago we learned it.
Ebbinghaus discovered that the rate at which we forget newly learned information is initially rapid, then slows down
Measured how much info could be retained when relearning a list, covering 20 minutes to 30 days later
Retention of info quickly drops, then levels off with increased passing of time
Reasons :
Gradual fading of the physical memory trace
Accumulation of other learning disrupts retrieval
Relearning a second language is much quicker the second time
Speed of relearning confirms that information is stored and accessible
Apply the Ebbinghaus curve to Psych Class

47. Retrieval Failure
Retrieval Failure is when stored info can’t be accessed
I forget a students name, my poor memory is a result of a retrieval failure
Older people have more difficulty with retrieval failures

48. Retrieval Failures
Retroactive Interference: new information blocks out old information.
Example:
Proactive Interference: old information blocks out new information.
PORN
Positive Transfer – old info helps you learn new info
Tip of the tongue phenomenon -
Both are disruptive effect on learning
Disruptive effect of prior learning on new information is proactive interference
Disruptive effect of new learning on old information is retroactive interference
Old girlfriend’s phone number interferes with remembering new girlfriends phone number
Former students names (brothers or sisters) interfere with names of new ones
(Khory and Kollyn Crenshaw) (Dillan and Brandon Hill)
Combo for new lock interferes with old
Old password interferes with old
Positive transfer – old info can help us learn something new –latin helps learn french.
Forgetting occurs more rapidly after being awake and involved in other activities
1 hour before a nights sleep is a good time to commit information to memory, but not the information seconds before sleep –seldom remembered
Forgetting occurs least rapidly after sleeping
Inability to remember things seconds before we go to sleep is due to an encoding failure

49. Motivated Forgetting Motivated Forgetting – revising past memories
Repression – (Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory)
A defense mechanism that banishes painful memories from consciousness to minimize anxiety
Example:
Motivated Forgetting – people revise their own history ….our memories are unreliable (self-serving)…there is a reason to forget
Gamblers forgetting how much money they really lost
Forgetting how many cookies you really ate
Repression – a self-censored memory caused by a retrieval failure Minimize anxiety and protect self-concept. Memory will linger and later be retrieved by some cue or during therapy.
Repression rarely occurs as it is difficult to forget emotional material
We don’t intentionally forget emotional memories…mind wide open our memories of traumatic events are replayed over and over
Remembering all of your teachers, but forgetting Mrs. Joseph because you flunked her class

50. Constructive Memory
Constructed memory (Loftus) - a created memory, altered when encoded or retrieved.
Misinformation effect
Imagination effect
Source amnesia
As we retrieve memories from our memory bank, we often alter them based on past experiences and our current expectations. This best illustrates memory construction
Memories are not always what they seem.
Sometimes construct our memories when we encode them
3 causes of memory construction: misinformation effect, imagination effect, source amnesia
Any leading question

51. Constructive Memory
Misinformation Effect – incorporating misleading info into a memory
Example:
Imagination Effect/Inflation – imagining nonexistent actions and events can create false memories
Source Amnesia – retaining the memory of an event, but not the source
Example of constructive memories
1.Misinformation – any leading question ie. How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other.—witness reported the accident as being more serious than it was. (reported seeing broken glass at the scene)
Newspaper article of drunk driver, witnesses remember that he was travelling more recklessly than he was
In cross examination, Attorney’s ask misleading questions to distort a witnesses recall on the stand
Exaggerating how difficult the Psych exam was to a friend, you later believe that was as difficult as you said it was
2.Imagination effect – imagining non existent events
Students asked to imagine breaking a window as a child more likely to later recall a memory as if it had really happened
Occurs because visualizing something and actually perceiving it activate the same areas of the brain
People who have vivid imaginations are more likely to have false memories
- remembering how you won a stuffed animal at Geauga Lake – parents tell you it never happened
3. Source amnesia - Mr. Science - came to class and stories told about him. Many children remembered what Mr. Science had done with them incorporated memories from the book
Dream you were robbed on vacation. Years later you recall it as if it actually happened
Seeing many pictures of a place, you recall that you actually saw it.
Someone tells you that eating chocolate is good for memory, you later recall it as fact (read it somewhere)
Compared with false memories, true memories contained detailed information

52. Discerning True and False Memories
Memory studies – real vs. false
Eye witness testimony
New Zealand students showed people faces with computer blended expressions, such as the angry/happy face above were asked to imagine and explain why the person was feeling angry or happy. Those who later recalled the face recalled it angrier if asked do why the person was feeling angry.
Compared with false memories, real memories contain vivid detail. Memories of imagined experiences are more restricted to gist, but may be more enduring. Activity on Sleep list
Memory construction explains why 79%/200 convicts exonerated by DNA, were misjudged on faulty eyewittness testimony (Ron Cotton Video)
By incorporating errors originating from a hypnotist's leading questions, “hypnotically refreshed” memories of crimes often illustrate misinformation effect
Those who are eager to use hypnosis to facilitate eyewitness recollections of the details of a crime should first be warned of the dangers of misinformation effect
When we fall in love, we tend to overestimate how much we liked our partner when we first began dating. This best illustrates the dynamics of memory construction
Karl and Dee had a joyful wedding ceremony. After their painful divorce, however, they began to remember the wedding as a somewhat hectic and unpleasant event. Their recollections best illustrate the nature of memory construction
When asked to recall their attitudes of 10 years ago regarding marijuana use, people offer recollections closer to their current views than to those they actually reported a decade earlier. This best illustrates
Donald Thompson, an Australian psychologist, was an initial suspect in a rape case. The rape victim confused her memories of Thompson and the actual rapist because she had seen Thompson's image on TV shortly before she was attacked. The victim's false recollection best illustrates source amnesia
Police interrogators have been trained to ask less suggestive and more effective questions to avoid

53. Children’s Eyewitness Recall
Children’s memories of abuse
Suggestibility
Compared with adults, children are more susceptible to misinformation effect
To gain accurate eyewitness testimony from children, interviewers must use neutral words for children to understand
In one study, children were periodically asked whether they remembered going to the hospital with a mousetrap on their finger. This experiment best illustrated the dynamics of memory construction
When children are interviewed about their recollections of possible sexual abuse, their reports are especially credible if involved adults have not discussed the issue with them prior to the interview.
Adults who have trouble remembering incidences of childhood sexual abuse have often been led by therapists to believe that their memory difficulties are due to repression
Incest survivors who lack conscious memories of their sexual abuse may sometimes be told that they are simply in a stage of “denial” and “repression.” This explanation for their lack of abuse memories emphasizes
Psychologists on both sides of the controversy regarding reports of repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse agree that we commonly recover memories of long-forgotten negative as well as positive events.
Mrs. Ramos claims to remember being sexually abused by her father when she was less than a year old. Memory experts are most likely to doubt the reliability of her memory due to their awareness of infantile amnesia
Participants in one experiment were given entirely fabricated accounts of an occasion in which they had been lost in a shopping mall during their childhood. Many of these participants later falsely recollected vivid details of the experience as having actually occurred. This experiment best illustrated misinformation effect

54. Repressed or Constructed Memories of Abuse?
Areas of agreement
Happens more often than we once supposed…infants nervous systems are not fully formed making memory formation during infancy and toddlerhood difficult, if not impossible
Some falsely accused; some evaded
Some abused were either very young or may not have understood meaning of their experience—circumstance under which forgetting is common
Cued by a remark or an experience we recover memories of long forgotten events both pleasant and unpleasant
People do not reliably uncover memories from 1st 3 years
Age regressed hypnotized subjects incorporate suggestions into memories
Emotionally upsetting memories aren’t easily forgotten

55. Improving Memory Techniques
Speed-reading complex material yields little long-term retention because it inhibits rehearsal
Repeating someone's name several times shortly after being introduced to that person is an effective strategy for rehearsal
Studying psychological concepts while riding the bus, walking to lunch, and waiting for class to begin will improve your memory of the concepts by taking advantage of spacing effect
Mentally re-creating the mood that accompanied your original learning of course material is an effective way to activate retrieval cues
Answering practice test questions about text material you have studied is a useful strategy for becoming aware of what you don’t know
Forming many associations between new course material and what you already know is an effective way to build a network of retrieval cues
People should avoid back-to-back study times for learning Spanish and French vocabulary in order to minimize interference
By taking text and class notes in your own words you are improving memory by encoding symantically