MEMORY Chapter 9 You are what you remember

MEMORY Chapter 9 You are, what you remember!

The Phenomenon of Memory is any indication that learning has persisted over time. It is our ability to encode, store and retrieve information. The Persistence of Memory – Salvador Dalí, 1931

Interesting Memory Phenomena • Flashbulb (Episodic) Memory = clear, strong, persistent memory usually caused by a unique/highly emotional moment. – Not free from errors, however

Interesting Memory Phenomena • Eidetic (Photographic) Memory – the research is mixed as to whether this is a real phenomenon or not Daniel Tammet (Brain Man) - Synesthesia Kim Peek – the real “Rain Man” http: //abcnews. go. com/2020/video/brain-man-explains-synaesthesia-10765484

Basic Tasks of Memory Keyboard (Encoding) Disk (Storage) Monitor (Retrieval)

Information Processing The Atkinson-Schiffrin three-stage model of memory includes a) sensory memory, b) working/short-term memory, and c) long-term memory. http: //today. msnbc. msn. com/id/24706991

Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Processing Model Sensory memory has 2 parts: – Iconic store = visual information – Echoic store = sound information Since we cannot focus all the sensory information in the environment, we select information that is important to us (through selective attention).

Encoding: Getting Information In How We Encode 1. Some information (route to your school) is automatically processed. 1. However, new or unusual information (friend’s new cellphone number) requires attention and effort.

Automatic/Parallel Processing We process an enormous amount of information effortlessly, such as the following: 1. Space: While reading a textbook, you automatically encode the place of a picture on a page. 2. Time: We unintentionally note the events that take place in a day. 3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of things that happen to you.

Effortful/Serial Processing Committing novel information to memory requires effort just like learning a concept from a textbook. Such processing leads to durable and accessible memories.

Rehearsal Effortful learning usually requires rehearsal (conscious repetition). Ebbinghaus studied rehearsal by using nonsense syllables: TUV YOF GEK XOZ Hermann Ebbinghaus Memory’s Pavlov (1850 -1909)

Rehearsal The more times the nonsense syllables were practiced on Day 1, the fewer repetitions were required to remember them on Day 2. Practice makes perfect!

Memory Effects 1. Next-in-line-Effect: When you are so anxious about being next that you cannot remember what the person just before you in line says, but you can recall what other people around you say. 2. Spacing Effect: We retain information better when we rehearse over time. This is why long-term studying is better than cramming!!! 3. Serial Position Effect: When your recall is better for first and last items on a list, but poor for middle items.

Spacing Effect Distributing rehearsal (spacing effect) is better than practicing all at once. Robert Frost’s poem could be memorized with fair ease if spread over time. ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT Robert Frost I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain — and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light.

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

Semantic Encoding (Meaning) We tend to remember things better and easier when we attach relevance and meaning of that information to ourselves.

Visual Encoding Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding. Showing adverse effects of tanning and smoking in a picture may be more powerful than simply talking about it.

Mnemonics Imagery is at the heart of many memory aids. Mnemonic techniques use vivid imagery in aiding memory. Method of Loci = using visual place cues (either real or imagined) to help remember topics.

Chunking Organizing items into a smaller, familiar, manageable unit. Try to remember the numbers below. 1 -7 -7 -6 -1 -4 -9 -2 -1 -8 -1 -2 -1 -9 -4 -1 If you are well versed with American history, chunk the numbers together and see if you can recall them better. 1776 1492 1812 1941.

Chunking 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

Hierarchy Complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories. (Which is why I took notes in outline form when I was a student).

Storage: Retaining Information Storage is at the heart of memory. Three stores of memory are shown below: Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-term Memory Encoding Events Encoding Retrieval

The exposure time for the stimulus is so small that items cannot be rehearsed. R G T F M Q L Z S Percent Recognized Sensory Memory 80 60 40 20 0. 15 0. 30 The longer the delay, the greater the memory loss. 0. 50 1. 00 Time (Seconds)

Sensory Memories The duration of sensory memory varies for the different senses. Iconic 0. 5 sec. long Echoic 3 -4 sec. long Hepatic < 1 sec. long

Working Memory Capacity Working memory, the new name for short-term memory, has a limited capacity (7± 2) and a short duration (~20 seconds). Ready? MUTGIKTLRSYP You should be able to recall 7± 2 letters.

Chunking The capacity of the working memory may be increased by “chunking. ” F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M FBI TWA CIA 4 chunks IBM

Long-Term Memory Capacity Unlimited capacity store. Estimates on capacity range from 1000 billion to 1, 000 billion bits of information WOW! The Clark’s nutcracker can locate 6, 000 caches of buried pine seeds during winter and spring. AP Psych Rocks!

Memory Feats

Memory Stores Feature Sensory Memory Working Memory LTM Encoding Iconic/Echoic Chunking Semantic Capacity ~15 items 7± 2 Chunks Unlimited Duration 1/4 second ~1 minute Years

Stress Hormones & Memory Heightened emotions (stress-related or otherwise) make for stronger memories of specific events. However, continued stress may disrupt memory (which is another reason why cramming the night before doesn’t really work).

Storing Implicit & Explicit Memories Explicit Memory (declarative memory-conscious) refers to facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare. Implicit memory (procedural memory-unconscious) involves learning an action while the individual does not know or declare what she knows.

Hippocampus – a neural center in the limbic system is the site of temporary processing of explicit/declarative memories. Remember the Hippo on Campus!

Anterograde Amnesia After losing his hippocampus in surgery, the patient remembered everything before the operation but cannot make new memories. We call this anterograde amnesia. Anterograde Amnesia - old memory intact but loss of new memories Memory Intact No New Memories Surgery Retrograde Amnesia = can form new memories but loss of old memories occurs

Cerebellum – a neural center in the hindbrain that processes implicit/procedural memories. Remember Sara the Soccer Player!

Retrieval: Getting Information Out Retrieval refers to getting information out of the memory store.

Measures of Memory In recognition, the person must identify an item amongst other choices (a multiple-choice test requires recognition). 1. Name the capital of France. a. b. c. d. Brussels Rome London Paris

Measures of Memory In recall, the person must retrieve information using effort (a fill-in-the blank test requires recall). 1. The capital of France is ______.

Measures of Memory In relearning, the individual shows how much time (or effort) is saved when learning material for the second time. List Jet Dagger Tree Kite … Silk Frog Ring It took 10 trials to learn this list List 1 day later Jet Dagger Tree Kite … Silk Frog Ring Saving It took 5 trials to learn the list Relearning Trials X 100 Relearning Trials Original Trials 10 10 50% 5 X 100

Retrieval Cues Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations are like anchors that help retrieve memory. The more associations you can make the better memory you have! water smell fire smoke Fire Truck heat truck red hose

Priming To retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations, you must first activate one of the strands that leads to it. This process is called priming (which is related to implicit memory). 1) __ h __ p __ __ __ k 3) __ o g __ y __ __ n 2) __ c __ __ __ us 4) __ l __ __ a t __

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 (this is why Walton always offers the SAT).

Context Effects After learning to move a mobile by kicking, infants most strongly respond when retested in the same context rather than in a different context.

Déja Vu means “I've experienced this before. ” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience.

State-Dependent Memory The idea of state-dependent memory proposes that internal cues are also a factor in remembering (people remember better when their internal states matches when they learned/experienced the information). 1. 2. 3. Mood-congruence Situations/feelings Chemically altered states of consciousness

intrusion distortion forgetting Daniel Schacter’s “ 7 Sins of Memory Failure” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Absent-mindedness – encoding failure by lack of attention to detail Transience – storage decay over time Blocking – cannot get to stored info Misattribution – confusing the source with something/someone else Suggestibility – misinformation causes misidenitification/false memories Bias – personal beliefs affect memories Persistence – haunted by unwanted memories

Encoding Failure We cannot remember what we do not encode. Forgetting = an inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval.

Which penny is real?

Storage Decay Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay. Ebbinghaus showed this with his forgetting curve.

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Spanish

Retrieval Failure Although the information is retained in the memory store, it cannot be accessed. Tip-of-the-Tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon. Given a cue (What makes blood cells red? ) the subject says the word begins with an H (hemoglobin).

Proactive Interference (forget new) & Retroactive Interference (forget old) Learning some new information may disrupt retrieval of other information. Proactive- Old info gets in the way of new / Retroactive- New info gets in the way of old PI for proactive interference & PI for past interferes RI for retrograde interference & RI for recent interferes

Retroactive Interference Sleep prevents retroactive interference. Therefore, it leads to better recall.

Motivated Forgetting: People unknowingly revise their memories. Repression: A Freudian/psychodynamic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Sigmund Freud

Why do we forget? Forgetting can occur at any memory stage. We filter, alter, or lose much information during these stages.

Memory Construction While tapping into our memories, we filter or fill in missing pieces of information to make our recall more coherent. §Misinformation Effect: Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. §Imagination Effect: Repeated imaginations of things/events can create false memories

Loftus & Palmer: Memory Hypothesis & Methodology • Hypothesis: People will remember a car accident differently if given different language cues (words) about the accident • Students watched a film of two cars colliding • Collision was moderate with no broken glass • Asked questions about speed

Loftus & Palmer: Results VERB MEAN ESTIMATE OF SPEED (MPH) Smashed 40. 8 Collided 39. 3 Bumped 38. 1 Hit 34. 0 Contacted 31. 8 • People reported the fastest speeds if the researchers had used the word “smashed” in the question

Loftus & Palmer: Results & Implications • One week later, subjects were asked if they had seen broken glass • 32% of subjects asked the “smashed” question said yes; 14% of subjects asked the “hit” question said yes • People remember things differently depending on the language used to describe an event (“smashed” versus “hit”) • This demonstrates the Misinformation effect

False Memories Source Amnesia (a. k. a. source misattribution). : Attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined. Repressed or Constructed? Some adults actually do forget childhood episodes of abuse. False Memory Syndrome A condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of a traumatic experience, which is sometimes induced by wellmeaning therapists. http: //www. msnbc. msn. com/id/39166049/ns/us_newsthe_new_york_times/? GT 1=43001 http: //www. cbsnews. com/stories/2009/03/06/60 minutes/main 4848039. shtml

Memories of Abuse Are memories of abuse repressed or constructed? Many psychotherapists believe that early childhood sexual abuse results in repressed memories. However, other psychologists question such beliefs and think that such memories may sometimes be constructed (power of suggestion).

Types of Neurobiological Disorders that can lead to Memory Distortion • Anterograde Amnesia = old information remembered but new memory formation not possible (lose new memory) • Retrograde Amnesia = can form new memories but loss of old memories occurs (lose old memory) • Infantile Amnesia = lack of many, but not all memories before the age of 3 or 4 (and is completely normal) • Alzheimer’s Disease

Improving Memory 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material. Make material personally meaningful. Use mnemonic devices Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate the situation and mood. Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation. Minimize interference: 1. 2. Test your own knowledge. Rehearse and then determine what you do not yet know.