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Memory

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Retention of information over time

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Paradox of Memory

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The same memory mechanisms that serve us well in most circumstances can sometimes cause us problems in others

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Memory Illusion

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- False but subjectively compelling memory - with the example of getting a list of words, and then later thinking one word was part of this list, when it actually was not, because it fit with the other words in terms of subject/content

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Reconstructive Nature of Memory

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Our memories often fool us and fail us --> our memories are far more reconstructive than reproductive; when we try to recall an event, we actively reconstruct our memories using the cues and information available to us; we don't passively reproduce memories as we would if we were downloading information from a web page.

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Three Major Systems of Memory

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(see Figure 7.2) 1. Sensory Memory 2. Short-Term Memory 3. Long-Term Memory

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Sensory Memory

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Brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short-term memory (first step) --> Iconic Memory: visual sensory memory (last for a second then are gone forever) -->Photographic Memory (Eidetic Imagery) -->Echoic Memory: auditory sensory memory

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Short-Term Memory

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- Memory systems that retains information for limited durations (second step); short-term memories decay/fade over time - Related to "working memory"→ refers to our ability to hold on to information that we are currently thinking about, attending to, or processing actively - Duration of STM = brief, probably no longer than 5-20 seconds

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Interference (Short-Term Memory)

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Loss of information from memory because of competition from additional incoming information (memories get in the way of one another) 1. Retroactive Interference: interference with retention of old information due to acquisition of new information (new interferes the old) 2. Proactive Interference: interference with acquisition of new information due to previous learning of information (old interferes the new)

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Magic Number (Short-Term Memory)

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The span of short-term memory, according to George Miller: seven plus or minus two pieces of information

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Chunking (Short-Term Memory)

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Organizing information into meaningful groupings, allowing us to extend the span of short-term memory

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Rehearsal (Short-Term Memory)

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Repeating information to extend the duration of retention in short-term memory 1. Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating stimuli in their original form to retain them in short-term memory 2. Elaborate Rehearsal: Linking stimuli to each other in a meaningful way to improve retention of information in short-term memory

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Levels/Depth of Processing (Short-Term Memory)

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Depth of transforming information, which influences how easily we remember it; the more deeply we process information, the better we tend to remember it

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Three levels of processing verbal info

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1. Visual→most shallow 2. Phonological→sound related 3. Semantic→meaning related, so focus on the meaning; deepest and allows you to produce more enduring long term memories

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Long-Term Memory

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- Relatively enduring (from minutes to years) retention of information stored regarding our facts, experiences, and skills - LTM capacity is huge and info can last up to a lifetime - LTM errors are semantic→ based on meaning of info we received, but STM errors are acoustic→ based on the sound of the info we receive

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Permastore (Long-Term Memory)

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Type of long-term memory that appears to be permanent

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Primary Effect (Long-Term Memory)

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tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well

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Recency Effect (Long-Term Memory)

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tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

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Serial Position Curve (Long-Term Memory)

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Graph depicting both primary and recency effects on people's ability to recall items on a list

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Always remember the oddball of the list as well

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so the word that does not fit with the other words in the list/is distinct from the others

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Primacy and recency effects reflect the operation of different memory systems

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1. STM explains the recency effect b/c the last few words of list linger in the STM 2. LTM explains primacy effect since the first few words of list transferred from STM to LTM

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Types of Long Term Memory

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See Figure 7.8 1.Explicit Memory: process of recalling information intentionally; requires conscious effort and awareness; we know that we are trying to remember something. Has 2 subsections: -Semantic Memory: Our knowledge of facts about the world; activates the left frontal cortex -Episodic Memory: Recollection of events in our lives; activates the right frontal cortex 2. Implicit Memory: process of recalling information that we don't remember deliberately; do NOT require conscious effort on our part. Has 2 subtypes: -Procedural Memory: memory for motor skills and habits (ex. riding a bike), can contrast semantic memory greatly -Priming: our ability to identify a stimulus more easily or more quickly when we have previously encountered a similar stimuli 3. Conditioning 4. Habituation

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Three Major Processes of Memory

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1. Encoding 2. Storage 3. Retrieval → refer to the how of memory→explain how info gets transferred to LTM and how we access it again Librarian analogy: 1)give book number to identify it = encoding; 2) file book on shelf = storage; 3) find the books a few months/years later = retrieval **Do not confuse with the three systems of memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term). These refer to what memory is, whereas the processes refer to the how of memory**

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Encoding (Three Processes of Memory)

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- The process of getting information into our memory banks - many of our memory failures are failures of encoding—information is not "formatted" correctly→ once we lose chance to encode an event, we will never remember it - NO ENCODING, NO MEMORY - the role of attention, mnemonics

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Role of Attention (Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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- to encode something, we have to attend to it - most events we experience are never encoded - we don't encode every details of the experience; only SOME details get encoded - E.g. "which penny is the real penny": shown several pictures of pennies and have to identify the real one→ most people cannot identify the real one - Next-in-line effect: when answering a question in class, can't remember what the person before you said because you are so busy focusing on what you are going to say yourself

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Mnemonics (Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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A learning aid/device/strategy that enhances recall, help us encode memories in a way that makes them easier to recall (ex. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally --> PEMDAS for Order of Operations); help us encode memories in a way that makes it easier to recall; some mnemonic approaches: Pegword method, Method of Loci, Keyword Method

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Pegword Method (Mnemonics --> Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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often used to recall ordered lists of words using rhymes; pegword is the rhyming word; helps us recall lists in order and for improving vocab

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Method of Loci (Mnemonics --> Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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relies on imagery of places/location (ex. think of path you take from dorm to cafeteria) i. Think of a path that you are familiar with and can picture vividly ii. Imagine things that you encounter in order during this path iii. Associate each word from list of words you have to remember with a particular thing/location on your path iv. So associate the word with stuff from your "path"

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Keyword Method (Mnemonics --> Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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depends on the ability to think of an English word (the keyword) that reminds you of the words you're trying to remember (ex. when learning a foreign language)

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Music (Mnemonics --> Encoding --> Three Processes of Memory)

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putting information into a melody helps improve long-term retention

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Storage (Three Processes of Memory)

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Process of keeping information in memory; how we store our experiences in memory depends on our interpretations and expectations of these events (like what bookshelf we decide to file a book away) Schema

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Schema

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- organized knowledge structure or mental model that we've stored (ex. ordering at a restaurant despite it being old or new) - serve a valuable function because they equip us with frames of reference for interpreting new situations

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Schemas and Memory Mistakes

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- Enhance memory in some cases but lead to errors in other cases - Lead us to remember things that never happened - Sometimes they oversimplify and create memory illusions - Can lead us to overgeneralize

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Retrieval (Three Processes of Memory)

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- Reactivation or reconstruction of experiences from our memory stores - what we retrieve from our memory often doesn't match what we put in it - many types of forgetting result from failures of retrieval→ memories are still present but we just cant access them -Retrieval Cues: hints that make it easier for us to recall information -Psychologists asses people's memories in three major ways (3 R's): recall, recognition, and relearning

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Recall (Retrieval --> Three Processes of Memory)

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- generating previously remembered information on our own - Harder than recognition - Requires 2 steps: generating an answer and determining whether it seems correct

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Recognition (Retrieval --> Three Processes of Memory)

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- selecting previously remembered information from an array of options - e.g. MCQ test

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Relearning (Retrieval --> Three Processes of Memory)

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- how much more quickly we learn info when we study something we've already studied compared to when we studied it for the first time 1. Because we have already studied something, don't need to take too much time to refresh our memories of it 2. Memory for the skill is still lurking in the brain 3. Allows us to measure memory for procedures, like driving 4. LAW OF DISTRIBUTED VERSUS MASSED PRACTICE: we tend to remember things better in the long run when we spread our learning over long intervals rather than short intervals; so learning over time instead of the night before

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Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

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- We are sure we know the answer to the answer to the question but we can't come up with the answer - Usually able to come up with the answer when given a hint, like first letter of the word

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Encoding Specificity (Retrieval --> Three Processes of Memory)

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- more likely to remember something when the conditions present at the time we encoded it are also present at retrieval - context dependent learning and state dependent learning

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context dependent learning

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- memories are retrieved better when the original external context matches the external retrieval context; so recall things best when asked to recall in the same geographic location that you were told the information - Students do better on a test when they take the test in the same room that they learned the material

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state dependent learning

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- memories are retrieved better when a person is in the same internal state; so better retrieval of memory if the person is feeling the same way they were when they learned the information - Our current psychological state can distort memories of our past - People's bad moods distort their childhood memories

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The Neural Basis of Memory Storage

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- elusive engram - long term potentiation

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Elusive Engram

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- engram= physical trace of each memory i. Tested rats by teaching them how to run through maze and then leisoning their brains to see if their still remembered how to get through the maze ii. The more brain that got cut off, the worse the rat performed in the maze iii. No matter which part of the brain tissue scientist removed, the rat always had some memory of how to get through the maze iv. One specific part of the brain is not associated with one specific memory

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Long Term Potentiation (LTP)

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- A Physiological Basis for Memory - LTP = gradual strengthening of the connections among neurons by repetitive stimulation over time - Neurons that fire together wire together - LTP plays key role in learning and the hippocampus plays key role in forming lasting memories

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Where is Memory Stored

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- Not in the hippocampus - Prefrontal cortex is the major banks from which we draw the memories from

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Amnesia

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- Retrograde amnesia = lose some memories of our past - Anterograde amnesia = lose capacity to form new memories; Most frequent - Case Studies: H.M. and Clive Wearing

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Emotional Memory

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- emotion is directly tied to memories, as memories can bring us distress or happiness - Role of amygdala = where emotional components of memory are stored: 1. Especially fear emotions 2. Interacts w hippocampus during formation of memory 3. Amygdala deals with the emotion, like fear; helps us recall emotions associated with the fear-provoking events 4. Hippocampus deals with facts about memory/experience, like fear-producing experience; helps us remember the fear-provoking events themselves

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propranolol

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- drug connected with erasing (or dulling) painful memories by Lawrence Cahill and James McGaugh (1995) and further examined on victims of traumatic events by Psychiatrist Roger Pitman (2002)

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Dementia

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- severe memory loss - most common cause = Alzheimer's and strokes

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Alzheimer's

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- Accounts for 50-60% cases of dementia - Cognitive impairments are both memory and language related - Memory loss starts with recent events - Loss of synapses - Death of cells in the hippocampus - Brain "shrinks" (literally) - Treatment = DRUGS that boost amount of acetylcholine in the brain by inhibiting its breakdown; Being physically active reduces risks of getting it; Keeping your brain sharp reduces risks

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Habituation

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- decrease in attention to familiar stimuli - Form of implicit memory, since we need to recall that we have experienced something before if we regard a stimuli as familiar

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Memory Over Time

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- Infants have worse memories than children, who have worse memories than adults, and young adults have better memories than older adults - Over time, children's memories become more and more sophisticated: Memory span increases with age and "Magic Number" not achieved until age 12 - Conceptual understanding increases with age; Ability to chunk info and store memories in meaningful ways depends on our knowledge of the world -Children develop META MEMORY skills over time = knowledge about their memory abilities and limitations; Young children overestimate their memory capacities and older children underestimate their memory capacities

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Infants' Implicit Memory: Talking with their Feet

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a. Study done: first, infant's foot was attached to a mobile by a ribbon b. The mobile shook and created a sound every time the baby kicked—reinforcement c. Sent the babies home and brought them in up to a month later d. Brought them back to the lab again and this time did not tie their leg to the mobile e. Would the infant show increased kicking rate after seeing the mobile b/c of what they learned last time? f. Findings: Babies retained a memory of this experience and span of recall increased quickly

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False Memories

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Flashbulb memoriesand source monitoring confusion

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Flashbulb memories

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= emotional memories that are very vivid and detailed i. Exaggerated recounts of experience ii. Change over time iii. Can forget flashbulb memories iv. They are just like other memories, just more intense

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Source monitoring confusion

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= lack of clarity about the origin of a memory i. Have a distant memory and are unsure about whether it actually happened or not ii. Try to identify origins of memories by seeking cues about how we encoded them iii. Source monitoring = efforts to identify the origins of a memory 1. Hear it from news or friend? iv. Source Monitoring Failure = when people mistakenly recall that they engaged in an action that they actually didn't, but instead they watched someone else doing it v. Cryptomnesia = failure to recognize that our ideas originated with someone else→ leads to some cases of plagiarism

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Implanting False Memories in the Lab

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Suggestive memory technique = procedures that strongly encourage people to recall memories i. Create recollections that were never present to begin with ii. Our memories are more malleable than we think Misinformation Effect = creating of fictitious memories by providing misleading information about an event that takes place i. Study with the cars: people shown cars hitting each other, and then asked "how fast were the cars going when they ___ each other"; participants given the words hit, bumped, collided, and contacted Lost in the mall and other implanted memories Event plausibility = easier to implant a plausible event than something that is not i. Easier to implant a fictitious memory of an event from distant past than event from recent past Memories of impossible of implausible events

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Generalizing from the Lab to the Real World

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Eyewitness testimony i. Can be wrong and lead to punishing the wrong person ii. Eyewitnesses can misidentify iii. Not always accurate: Less accurate when people observe people of races different from their own iv. Sometimes eyewitness testimony is highly beneficial under certain conditions 1. Criminal not disguised 2. Little time elapses between witnessing the crime and identifying the guilty party 3. Able to see criminal under good lighting conditions

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Suggestibility and Child Testimony

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- Children especially vulnerable to suggestions to recall events that didn't occur because they confuse fantasy with reality - Children cling to their false memories - False memory controversy: possibility that memories of child abuse and other traumatic events shaped by suggestive techniques i. One side: Patients repress their trauma ii. Opposing Side: There is no way that these traumatic experiences can be repressed iii. Recovered memories of abused should not be believed unless there is other evidence to support this

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Learning tips: Getting the Science of Memory to work for us

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a. Distributed vs. massed study: spread out study time, NO cramming b. Testing effect: test yourself frequently on the material c. Elaborative rehearsal: make connections, don't just memorize d. Levels of processing: take the meaning of the information; put things in your own words e. Mnemonic devices

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