1
Q
What are the three processes of memory?
A
- -encoding: forming a memory code/taking information in (usually requires attention). Turning stimulus information (environmental information) into a form (a code) that can be stored in our memory system. (visual, self-referent)
- -storage: maintaining encoded information in memory over time. Include short-term and long-term storage.
- -retrieval: recovering information from memory stores. Can be a conscious act, or it can be automatic (name, place, or a fact, etc)
2
Q
What is attention?
A
- -involves focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events
- -likened to a filter that screens out most potential stimuli while allowing a select few to pass through into conscious awareness
- -cocktail party phenomenon: You’re at a party trying to focus on the person you’re talking to and filtering at all the surrounding conversations. Someone else around you says your name and you notice it. This suggests that this filter involves late selection rather than early selection.
- -However, the location of the attention filter may be flexible rather than fixed
3
Q
What is the levels-of-processing theory?
A
- -proposes that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes
- -three progressively deeper levels of processes
1) structural encoding: relatively shallow processing that emphasizes the physical structure of the stimulus
2) phonemic encoding: emphasizes what a word sounds like and involves naming or saying the stimulus/word
3) semantic encoding: emphasizes the meaning of verbal input and it involves thinking about the objects and actions the words represent (elaboration encoding)
4
Q
What is elaboration encoding?
A
- -semantic encoding can be enhanced through this process
- -elaboration is linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding
5
Q
What is visual imagery coding?
A
- -imagery: the creation of visual images to represent the words to be remembered can be used to enrich encoding
- -ease of image formation affects memory
6
Q
What is dual coding theory?
A
- -memory is enhanced by forming semantic and visual codes, since either can lead to recall
- -According to Paivio, imagery facilitates memory because it provides a second kind of memory code, and two codes are better than one
7
Q
What is self-referent encoding?
A
- -involves deciding how or whether information is personally relevant
- -making material personally relevant can also enrich encoding
8
Q
What is the Atkinson and Shiffrin model of memory storage?
A
–according to this model, incoming information passes through two temporary storage buffers -the sensory memory and the short-term memory- before it is transferred into long-term memory
9
Q
What is sensory memory?
A
–preserves information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second
–ex. afterimages: the sensory memory preserves the sensory image long enough for you to perceive it after the stimulus is gone
–purpose: gives you additional time to recognize stimuli and retain the stimulus long enough for it to be encoded in short-term memory
–The information that is being held within our
Sensory Memory appears to be unprocessed (not making any sense of it. It has to be processed for it to move to short term memory -sperling)
10
Q
What is short-term memory?
A
- -STM is a limited capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to about 20 seconds
- -you can maintain information in your short-term memory indefinitely by engaging in rehearsal (working memory)
- —>maintenance rehearsal: simply maintaining the information in your consciousness
- —>elaborative rehearsal: increasing the probability that you will retain the information in the future (ex. focusing on the meaning of the words in the list you are trying to remember)
11
Q
What is working memory?
A
- -a limited capacity storage system (STM) that temporarily maintains and stores information by providing an interface between perception, memory, and action
- -in order to maintain information within our short-term memory, we need to engage in “rehearsal.”
- -Rehearsal is the process by which the information is maintained within short-term memory long enough for it to be translated into long-term memory
- -ex. singing a phone number over and over again when someone tells you it so you can keep it in your short term memory long enough to write it down
- -This rehearsal requires the use of our Long- Term Memory – we need to be able to name the items that are being rehearsed – therefore we need to recall the names.
- -You’re given a list of letters to remember. When you first look at the letters, you went into your long-term memory to associate the symbol/letter with the name (the symbol T is…) in order to put it in your short-term memory. You then repeat the names you retrieved from your long-term memory in order to store it in your short term memory (you’re not remembering the visual field). If you’re shown letters from a different alphabet system of a different language that you don’t know, you won’t be able to do the same retrieval process because you don’t know the names of those letters in order to rehearse it and keep it in your short term memory long enough. This shows that rehearsal requires active retrieval of information from our long-term memory
12
Q
What are the different types of working memory?
A
Alan Baddeley: Working Memory has four components
- -phonological loop: reciting something over and over again. Briefly stores the “sounds” of language
- -visuospatial sketchpad: temporarily hold and manipulate visual images (ex. imagining how you’ll rearrange your room)
- -episodic buffer: allows the various components of working memory to integrate information and that serves as an interface between working memory and long-term memory and holds it while we are working with it
- -central executive system: the “processor” that focuses our attention (controlling what we are thinking about in our working memory) and coordinates the actions of the other three components. Making use of phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketch pad, episodic buffer. This is the part that is doing the working of working memory
13
Q
What is working memory capacity?
A
- -refers to one’s ability to hold and manipulate information in conscious attention (how well someone can juggle information in their working memory while fending off distractions)
- -WMC is a stable personal trait that is influenced by heredity, but it can temporarily be reduced by situational factors, such as pressure to perform or rumination
- -high-WMC individuals tend to let their mind wander from the task more than low-WMC individuals when the attentional demands of the task are low, but they are also better at staying focused when they need to do so
- -WMC correlates positively with measures of high high-level cognitive abilities, such as reading comprehension, complex reasoning, and even intelligence
14
Q
What is long-term memory?
A
–an unlimited capacity store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time
15
Q
What are flashbulb memories?
A
- -unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous events (ex. remembering exactly where you were, what you were doing, and how you felt when you learned of the death of a loved one)
- -however, like other memories, they become less detailed and complete with time and are often inaccurate so it does not support the idea that long-term memory storage is permanent
- -rather, what makes them special is that people subjectively feel that these memories are exceptionally vivid and they have exceptional confidence in their memories’ accuracy
16
Q
What is clustering?
A
- -the tendency to remember similar or related items in groups
- -factual information is routinely organized into simple categories
17
Q
What is a conceptual hierarchy?
A
- -a multilevel classification system based on common properties among items
- -this can improve recall dramatically
18
Q
What is a schema?
A
- -an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event abstracted from previous experience with the object or event
- -ex. asking people to recall what was in their therapists’ office, most subjects recalled the desks or chairs, but few recalled the wine bottle or picnic basket, which typically aren’t part of an office. Some subjects falsely recalled that the office contained books
- -this suggests that people are more likely to remember things that are consistent with their schemas than things that are not
- -however, the opposite can be true: people are able to better recall things that violate their schema-based expectations. Information that really clashes with a schema may attract more attention and deeper processing, thus becoming more memorable
19
Q
What is a semantic network?
A
- -consists of nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link the related concepts
- -proven useful in explaining why thinking of one word, such as butter, can make a closely related word, such as bread, easier to remember
- -spreading activation: when people think about a word, their thoughts naturally go to related words along pathways of the semantic network surrounding the word. The strength of this activation decreases as it travels outward (like how ripples decrease in size as they radiate outward from a rock)
20
Q
What is the connectionist or parallel distributed processing (PDP)
A
- -assumes that cognitive processes depend on patterns of activation in highly interconnected computational networks that resemble neural networks
- -A PDP consists of a large network of interconnected nodes that may be inactive, or send excitatory or inhibitory signals to other units. A nodes level of activation reflects the weighted balance of excitatory and inhibitory inputs from many other units
- -PDP models assert that specific memories correspond to particular patterns of activation in these networks
- -in semantic networks, specific nodes represent specific concepts but in PDP, a piece of knowledge is represented by a particular pattern of activation across an entire network. The information relies on the strength of the connections, which is why the PDP approach is called connectionism
21
Q
What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?
A
- -the temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it’s just out of reach
- -occurrence increases with age
- -memories can be jogged with retrieval cues: stimuli that help gain access to memories
22
Q
How can context help with memory retrieval?
A
–when you put yourself back in the context in which something occurred, context cues aid retrieval
23
Q
What is the misinformation effect?
A
- -occurs when participants’ recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading post-event information
- -ex, participants watched two cars crash. Some subjects were asked after how fast the cars were going when they smashed together, and other subjects were asked how fast the cars were going when they hit each other. A week later, they asked the participants if they remembered seeing any glass when the cars crashed. The ones that were asked how fast the cars were going when they smashed together were more likely to recall broken glass even though there wasn’t any. This is because broken glass is consistent with their schemas for cars smashing together
- -this effect is so difficult to escape that even the ones who have been warned about this can be swayed by post-event information
24
Q
What is source monitoring?
A
- -the processes of making inferences about the origins f memories
- -the misinformation effect appears to be due to the unreliability of source monitoring
- -memories are not tagged with labels that specify their sources so when people pull up a specific memory, they have to make decisions at the time of retrieval about where the memories came from
- -source-monitoring error: occurs when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source
25
What is forgetting and why is it important?
- -caused by defects in encoding, storage, retrieval, or some combination of these processes
- -your memory would be very cluttered if you never forgot anything so we need to forget information that is no longer relevant
- -Hermann Ebbinghaus, who memorized a bunch of meaningless letters, concluded that most forgetting occurs immediately after learning, however when people memorize more meaningful things, the forgetting curve is less steep
26
What is retention?
- -refers to the proportion of material retained (remembered)
- -the results may be reported in terms of the amount forgotten or amount retained
- -retention interval: the length of time between the presentation of materials to be remembered and the measurement of forgetting
27
What are the three principles used to measure forgetting?
- -recall: requires subjects to reproduce information on their own without any cues
- -recognition: requires subjects to select previously learned information from an array of options (ex. multiple choice questions). Subjects not only have cues to work with, they have the answers right in front of them. Evidence suggest that recognition measures tend to yield higher scores than recall measures of memory for the same information. However, It doesn't mean it's easier. The difficulty of a recognition test can vary greatly depending on the number, similarity, and plausibility of the options provided
- -relearning: requires a subject to memorize information a second time to determine how much time or how many practice trials are saved by having learned it before. Subjects' saving scores provide an estimate of their retention.
28
What is pseudoforgetting?
- -forgetting something you never learned (ineffective encoding)
- -usually due to a lack of attention
29
What is decay theory?
- -proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time
- -researchers have not been successful in showing that decay causes long-term memory forgetting, they argue that what happens during the time interval is more important
30
What is interference theory and what are the two types?
- -proposes that people forget information because of competition from other material (similarity of intervening material increases chances of forgetting)
- -retroactive interference: occurs when new information impairs the retention of previously learned information. Occurs between the original learning and the retest on that learning, during the retention interval
ex. people recalled more nonsense syllables after sleeping than people who stayed awake after learning the syllables because when awake we're encoding new information that interferes with previously learned information
- -proactive interference: occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information
31
Why do we forget something one time but remember it another time?
- -the encoding specificity principle: the value of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code
- -retrieval failures may be more likely when a mismatch occurs between retrieval cues and the encoding of the information you are searching for
- -ex. if a sound of a word was emphasized during encoding, an effective retrieval cue should emphasize the sound of the word
32
What is motivated forgetting, or repression?
- -keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious
- -controversy: many adults have accused their parents, teachers, and neighbours of horrific abuse that occurred during their childhood
- -studies suggest that memories of abuse recovered through therapy are more likely to be false memories than those recovered spontaneiously
33
What does the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm show?
- -participants are given a series of lists of 15 words. They are asked to recall the words immediately after each list is presented. The trick is that each list consists of a set of words (bed, rest, awake, etc) that are strongly associated with another target word (sleep). When the subjects recall the words on each list, they remember the non presented target word 50 percent of the time. When they are given a final recognition test, they typically indicate that about 80 percent of related words that were not studied were presented in the list.
- -This shows that you can get people to remember things they didn't actually see
34
What are the seven sins of memory?
Sins of omission
--transience: the simple weakening of a memory over time
--absent-mindedness: a memory failure that is often due to a failure to pay attention ex. losing keys, misplacing wallet, etc
--blocking: an often temporary problem that occurs when we fail to retrieve an item of information such as someone's name when we meet them (similar to the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon)
Sins of commission
--misattribution: we assign a memory to the wrong source (ex. whether the psychology professor or the sociology professor delayed the exam)
--suggestibility: our memory is distorted because of, for example, misleading questions
--bias: refers to the inaccuracy due to the effect of our current knowledge on our reconstruction of the past (we often edit or rewrite our previous experiences (ex. if you are currently having trouble with your romantic partner, your memory for past events in the relationship may be disproportionately negative
--persistence: unwanted memories or recollections that you cannot forget (memories that haunt you)
--However, each of these seven sins have an adaptive upside
35
What is long-term potentiation?
- -a long-lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses along a specific neural pathway
- -LTP involves changes in both the presynaptic and post-synaptic neurons in neural circuits in the hippocampus
- -memories may create unique, reusable pathways in the brain along which signals flow
- -neurogenisis facilitates this process because newly formed neurons are initially more excitable than mature neurons, so they may be more readily recruited into new neural circuitries corresponding to memories
- -Moreover, neurogenisis provides the brain with a supply of neurons that vary in age and these variations may somehow allow the brain to "time-stamp" some memories
36
Where are new neurons formed in the brain?
--the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus
37
What is retrograde amnesia?
- -involves the loss of memories for events that occurred prior to the onset of amnesia
- -After football players got hit in the head and got a concussion, they were asked the number of the game they were playing while they were laying on the field and they could remember, but after going to the hospital and being discharged from the concussion, they could not remember the number of the game they were playing. This shows that the memory got encoded but not consolidated (short-term to long-term)
- -People with retrograde amnesia can slowly over time start to remember their family members, or name, or school they went to, etc over time suggesting that the problem wasn’t the consolidation of memories (the memories were in long-term storage), but rather with the retrieval of those memories
38
What is anterograde amnesia?
- -involves the loss of memories for events that occur after the onset of amnesia
- --->H.M got not only his hippocampus removed, but the entire hippocampal region and adjacent areas in the cortex (scientists refer to this as the medial temporal lobe memory system) to help with his seizures. He could no longer form long-term memories, but his short-term memory was fine.
- -Suggesting that most anterograde amnesia disrupts the formation of new explicit memories, but not the ability to form new implicit (unconscious) memories.
39
What is consolidation?
- -Consolidation is the process by which information in short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory
- -STM is a temporary pattern of neural activity encoding the information received from the sense organs
- -With enough rehearsal, the neural activity causes structural changes in the brain
- -change in the strength of the neural connections. As we go over certain neural pathway and use and reuse it, the neurons build up stronger connections between each other
- -memories are consolidated in the hippocampal region and then stored in diverse and widely distributed areas of the cortex
- -much of this consolidation process may unfold while we sleep
40
What is reconsolidating?
- -when consolidated memories are retrieved, the reactivated memories memories are temporarily returned to an unstable state that must be stabilized through reconsolidation
- -during reconsolidation, the memories may be weakened, strengthened, or updated to take into account more recent information
- -this is thought to make long-term memory more adaptive than it would be
- -this updating process can introduce distortions
41
What is implicit memory?
- -memory that does not require intentional remembering
- -mostly perceptual and motor skills stored in implicit memory
- -the cerebellum is where implicit memory is stored
- -largely unaffected by amnesia, age, and drugs
42
What is explicit memory?
- -involves intentional recollection of previous experiences
- -facts and events stored in explicit memory
- -the hippocampus and temporal lobe is where explicit memory is stored
43
What is declarative memory?
- -explicit memory
- -involves intentional recollection of previous experiences (declarative memory) but..
- -handles factual information
- -names, definitions, words, etc
- -more vulnerable to forgetting
44
What is non-declarative/implicit memory?
- -Un- or sub-conscious memory activation
- -procedural memory: houses memory for actions, skills, operations, and conditioned responses (ex. riding a bike, typing, etc)
- -Priming: an automatic process where information in memory storage is activated automatically (Stroop task-the meaning of the words are implicit or automatic and we struggle to stop it )
- -classical conditioning involves the use of non-declarative/implicit memory (person tensing up in response to dental drill)
- -H.M procedural memory was still working showing that there is a distinction between declarative and procedural memory and that different brain structures must be involved
45
What is episodic memory?
- -subdivision of declarative memory
- -made up of chronological or temporally dated recollections of personal experiences (meaningful personal events)
- ---emotional, meaningful events more likely to be remembered because the amygdala communicates with the hippocampus and gives it a little “boost”
- -record of things you've done, seen, or heard
- -Deliberate (effortful) retrieval
46
What is semantic memory?
- -subdivision of declarative (explicit) memory
- -contains general knowledge and specific facts that is not tied to the time when the information was learned
- -ex. dogs have 4 legs, Christmas is December 25, etc
- -you don't remember when you learned these facts
- -some amnesiacs forget mostly personal facts (episodic memories), but they can recall general facts (semantic memory) suggesting that they have distinct neural bases
- -Automatic retrieval
47
What is prospective memory?
- -involves remembering to perform actions in the future
| - -sleep deprivation tends to increase prospective memory failures
48
What is retrospective memory?
- -involves remembering events from the past or previously learned information
- -ex. when you reminisce about your high school days, or when you try to recall what your professor said in a lecture last week
49
Difference between physiological vs cognitive studies of memory?
– Physiological: studying the changes that occur within the brain when new information is learned (i.e. encoded into our memory). how do different parts of the neural net function together to take a memory in. When there’s damage to the brain, what areas of damage create what types of memory problems
--– Cognitive: studying the nature and function of information processing. How the mind handles memory as we’re engaging in the world around us through stimulation of sensory receptors that gets transduced into nerve impulses, where do those nerve impulses go, how are they connected together to create different components of memory. How accurate are memories, why do we forget.
50
What are the three forms of memory?
– Sensory Memory
– Short-Term Memory
– Long-Term Memory
51
What is iconic memory?
- -A form of sensory memory.
- - Holds a brief visual image of a scene that has just been perceived.
- -The purpose is to maintain the stimulus long enough for it to be encoded into short-term memory
- - Iconic lasts up to 0.25 seconds
52
What is Sperling's Whole Report procedure?
- -In Sperling’s Whole Report Procedure, we are testing Iconic Sensory Memory
- --->When we’re exposed to a visual stimulus, how much of the visual field gets recorded into our sensory memory? Everything? Or, just the parts that we directly focus on?
- -usually, people remember the first row. There are some that remember the middle or last row.
- -Why are we not able to remember all of the letters? Are we only able to "see" the letters we can initially name, or do all the rows get into sensory memory but it fades before we can apply a name to it?
- -the problem with Sperling's whole report procedure is that it does not answer these questions
53
What is Sperling's Partial Report procedure?
- -Participants are exposed to similar grids of letters. As the grid disappears, they hear one of the three tones. The tone signals which line they are supposed to recall
- --->high pitch = top row
- --->middle pitch = middle row
- --->low pitch = bottom row
- -if iconic sensory memory captures the entire visual field, then as the grid appears and disappears, and then you hear one of the three pitches, you’ll be able to capture the row from your sensory memory and move it to your short term memory. If iconic sensory memory does not capture the whole visual field, then as the grids disappear and you hear the tone it’s too late.
- -typically, you can recall the associated row
- -Sperling's Partial Report procedure shows us that essentially all of the visual field is entering into our iconic sensory memory, but it is then quickly fading. If we don't focus our attention on it and transfer it into our short-term memory, then it will fade and be lost
54
What is echoic memory?
--Another form of sensory memory.
• Holds a brief auditory echo of a sound that has just
been perceived.
--Echoic lasts up to 1 second
----Some theorists believe that each of the five senses most likely has it’s own form of working memory.
55
What is the primacy and recency effect?
- -Primacy effect is the tendency to remember initial information
- -Recency effect is the tendency to recall later information
56
What is working memory dependent on?
– The number of items that you are trying to retain (magic number)
– Your undivided attention
– Chunking
57
What was Shepard & Metzler's study?
- -gives participants a pair of 3D objects and the participant has to judge whether the two objects are the same or different. Sometimes the pair of objects are not rotated, other times it is. If we were dealing with the objects in our hand, we could easily rotate it to check if they’re the same. However, the participants were looking at a screen that displayed the objects so they were using their working memory, particularly their visuo-spatial sketchpad. This sketch-pad functions to rotate the items and determine if they're the same or different as if we had the object in our hands, but mentally representing them in our minds so we could work with it
- -reaction time increased as angle of rotation increased
58
What is shallow and deep processing?
- -Shallow Processing: Analysis of surface features lead to lower number of words recalled than did
- -Deep Processing: analysis of semantic features (meaning)
59
What was Craik & Tulving's study?
- -Testing the effectiveness of elaboration on memory (deep processing)
- -Participants read a series of sentences (one at a time) and were then given a word (flashed on a screen) – the task was to determine if the word made sense within the sentence (not told it was a memory test so they were not aware that they had to actively memorize the words)
- -After the sentence task, participants were then asked to try and recall the words.
- -Recall was better for words that had fit into a more complex sentence than for words that had fit into a simple sentence.
- -Demonstrates that memory is more effectively established if the memory is elaborated upon (deep processing)
60
What did Sachs study?
- -Examining whether memory of verbal material is episodic or semantic
- -gives participants a passage to read and then asks those participants about a particular sentence in that passage. He controls where that sentence will be (either beginning of passage, or middle, or end). He then gives the participants the sentence with the same exact wording and asks if there are any changes, or a sentence that has slightly different words and the meaning has changed, and then another sentence with the same meaning but different word order. In each of those cases, he asks if the participants can detect a change. If the participants can recall the word order change, then memory is stored in episodic memory but if they can detect the change in meaning then it is stored in semantic memory
- -When no delay, participants were equally likely to detect both ‘meaning’ & ‘word-order’ changes
- - With delay, participants could still easily detect changes in meaning, but had difficulty detecting changes in word-order (when the meaning was the same)
- -this shows that the memory for this is being stored semantically, not episodically
61
What did Elizabeth Loftus study?
-- Murder case 1: circumstantial evidence and no eyewitness testimony
– 18% voted for conviction
-- Murder case 2: same evidence but with a single
eyewitness
– 72% voted for conviction
-- Murder case 3: same evidence & witness, but now the witness is discredited (20/400 vision and not wearing glasses at the time)
– 68% voted for conviction
-- also demonstrated the effects of “leading questions”–
called the Misinformation Effect
--Support for the idea that episodic memory is more efficiently stored through the use of mental heuristics (storing a few important details and using our expectations of the other details of the situation to fill in the rest of the details).
62
How Persuasive Is Eyewitness Testimony?
- -Both correct & incorrect witnesses are believed 80% of the time
- - This holds true (62%) even when conditions are SO poor that 2/3 of witnesses had actually misidentified an innocent person
- -the witness that can remember all the fine details are generally less accuarate because they’re remembering the fine details and focusing on the irrelevant stuff rather than the actual suspect, but they are generally perceived as more accurate by the jury
63
How accurate are those eyewitnesses?
Robert Buckhout staged an “assault” on a professor
- - 141 students were witnesses
- - Students were called in to identify the assailant from a group of 6 photographs
- - 60% chose an innocent person
64
What did Ceci & Bruck study?
• Demonstrated children’s suggestibility by asking children once a week (for 10 weeks) to,
– “Think real hard, and tell me if this ever happened to you...” – “...Can you remember going to the hospital with the
mousetrap on your finger?”
• Follow up interview: 58%of the children could
produce false and often detailed stories about the
fictional event
• Even when told that the story never really happened, some were completely convinced that it really did
PSYCH 1001
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