1
Q
Memory in Practice
A
As a human endeavor, psychotherapy is fundamentally dependent on memory (childhood & yesterday)
However, reliance on and impact of memory is often overlooked by practitioners*
2
Q
Tend to think of ourselves and others in our lives in absolute ways (2):
A
1) Stable personalities with specific characteristics
2) Consistent and immutable histories
**However, research suggests historical recollections are always influenced by current context
3
Q
Priming (in memory)
A
- One thought influences the likelihood of similar ones
- (In practice) priming is how we ask questions, leading (what happened next vs. how did you feel–>deepen emotion or proceed through story, dep on client, remaining time, etc.)
4
Q
Items stored in memory are linked or associated with other items (3 ways):
A
- Semantically (by meaning)
- Contextually (by location or timeframe)
- Perceptually (by appearance or sound)
5
Q
What determines strength of association in memory recall?
A
Strength of associations depends on how frequently they have been connected in thought
6
Q
How do you find information (in recall using association)?
A
Finding information starts with retrieval cue and follows associations until target information is found
7
Q
Memory Cues
A
- Cues activate the search for connections in all directions at once
- Stronger or better established links tend to carry activation more efficiently
8
Q
Implications on Therapy: Cues
A
- Clients (and sometimes therapists) assume that if a particular vivid memory is recalled frequently that it is of great clinical importance, but it may just be a memory that is being cued more frequently
- Not the strength of the memory itself but the strength of the connections between the memory and the cue
9
Q
Autobiographical Memory
A
- central to therapy because memory is core to our identities and sense of self
- used to regulate mood: Pos to improve mood for a bit if you have pos self esteem (attribution)
- episodic, indiv plays role directly or indirectly, less interested in implicit or semantic memory
10
Q
Three aspects of autobiographical memory
A
Lifetime period knowledge
General event knowledge
Event-specific detail knowledge
11
Q
What memories do we want in therapy?
A
All of them.
12
Q
How do we attempt to cue those memories?
A
- Tend to cue in 1:1 cueing; e.g. ask a questions, takes you to a certain memory/answer
- More often, 1:many cueing goes to the most frequently accessed
13
Q
Narrative Structure of Memory
A
Organize events into stories in thinking and memory
14
Q
Four components of narrative reasoning influence the ability to recall
A
- Temporal coherence—events are ordered in time line
- Causal coherence—logical sequencing
- Thematic coherence—organized around a theme
- Cultural biography—includes the type of events our culture considers important in a life story
**Org first via time, second causal
Dreams don’t need temporal sig, or causal
15
Q
What kind of events disrupt the narrative structre?
A
Traumatic experience will “throw off” memory
16
Q
Autobiographical Retrieval
A
- Direct Retrieval
- Automatic and rapid with little cognitive effort
- Sensory experience (sound, smell) spurs retrieval (i.e. flashback)
- Takes you to event-specific
- Trigger clear in retrospect - Intentional Retrieval
- Effortful process that starts with lifetime period or general event knowledge
- More reconstructive than direct retrieval
- Specific question asked, trying to remember for self Lifetime period knowledge
17
Q
How do we use concepts of Direct/Intentional Retrieval in therapy?
A
Direct Retrieval in therapy: gestalt psych have people sit with emotion, “what just happened right there?” or “let’s just sit with that for a moment”
Memories stored associatively: happy mem linked to happy mem; sad mem linked to sad mem
18
Q
Overgeneral memory effect
A
- Associated with deficits in problem solving and planning for/imagining the future
- Associated with depression, spend more time in lifetime and
- Abort before detailed level of memories avoid sad part of memory
19
Q
Why is reliance/impact of memory overlooked by practitioners?
A
- Ppl tend to assume that memories are basically accurate, not question how people remember or conclude, explain
- Just accept not consider ways memories are constructed
- Memories are always reconstructed, everytime recalling piece of information because Gestalt softening, leveling, etc.
EG game of telephone;
20
Q
Perceptual Recall
A
Perceptually e.g. son’s harmonica/Hanukah mistake
Broadest pathways e.g. freeways to get to school versus sidestreets
Some pathways stronger than others
21
Q
Semantically Recall
A
By meaning
22
Q
Contextually Recall
A
By location or timeframe
23
Q
Beck cog triad of depression
A
Beck cog triad of depression makes depression worse because it cues deeper depression
Negative view on world>neg view on future>neg view on self
24
Q
Reminiscence Bump
A
Observed in pleasant memories but not unpleasant
Use “the bump” to recall positive emotional states but not so useful for negative emotional events
Phenom happens to people over 35late teens/early 20s dep on educational attainment; “first time” things
25
Autobiographical Errors
- Recollections are some combination of fact, perception, and distorted retrieval processes
- Memory errors are typically not a result of personality or psychopathology
26
Confidence/Overconfidence In Recall
Tend to be overconfident in our recollections
Not completely inaccurate: confidence and accuracy correlate when measured within individuals.
Confidence in false memories can be high
27
Schematic Knowledge Errors
- Rely on previous knowledge to make sense of new information (accommodation/assimilation)
- -Good news: makes for more efficient interactions with the world, helps locate information, fill in gaps
- -Bad news: creates possibility of error because we perceive world as we expect it to be
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Schematic Use In Memory
Use schemas to speed up process of memory retrieval
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How do we see Schematic Knowledge Errors in family and couples therapy?
Tend to fill in expected details and notice unusual details.
30
Social Influences on Memory
When people have related information in autobiographical knowledge base, they incorporate suggested information into their own memories
31
How might Social Influences on Memory manifest in therapy?
?
32
Compare/Contrast Social influences on memory from the positive aspects of Social Learning Theory?
?
33
Prospective Memory in Practice
Much of modern therapy relies on clients acting on goals set in therapy but enacted in every day life
-practice coping skill at onset of anxiety symptoms
34
How do therapists conceptualize client failure to do homework?
Poor/indistinguishable cue? forgot?
35
Prospective memory process
- Can’t accomplish goal immediately
1. Form intention to act on it later
2. Store resolution in memory
3. Later when busy must recall earlier goal
4. Execute intended action in addition to or while doing other things
36
Prospective Memory
Prospective—memory that we intended to do something; Ability to remember to do future actions (stop by the grocery store on the way home)
(vs.) Retrospective—recall of specific action that we planned to do, do it all the time
Illustrated by the notice-and-search model
Different brain activity associated with each process
37
Which process is stronger: Retrospective or Prospective memory?
Retrospective—recall of specific action that we planned to do, do it all the time
38
Prospective Memory Cuing
- Self-Initiated Cuing is Necessary & Difficult
- Time-based are harder to self-initiate (take medication at 9:00 p.m.)
- Environmental cuing tends to be easier
- External cues are strongest
- --Concrete objects
- --Situations/Activities
- More distinctive cues capture attention and are stronger
39
How can therapists use/develop cues to help clients?
?
40
Prospective Memory & Rehearsal
- How firmly the intention to act is established in memory influence prospective memory success
- Both in terms of new behaviors that are rehearsed mentally and established behaviors that are repeated regularly
41
Age & Prospective Memory
- Older people tend to have more trouble with prospective memory in research settings
- Miss prospective cues to initiate search of retrospective memory for intended action
- Though able to recall intentions when asked
42
How do therapists address these issues?
Stronger cues?
43
Motivation & Prospective Memory
- Importance of intention influences performance
- Increased motivation causes person to remind self more often, monitor more closely, etc.
- must recognize cue and then have motivation
- More important it is to you, more vigilant you are
44
Are people more motivated to perform self-generated tasks or tasks assigned by others?
More motivated to complete task assigned by others bc social consequences by not completeing the task
45
What is memory?
Process by which information is:
1. Acquired
2. Encoding
3. Stored in the brain
- -Storage
4. Later retrieved
5. Retrieval
6. Eventually (possibly) forgotten
- -Is forgetting even possible or just fail to retrieve?
46
Information Processing Model
Computer metaphor for memory
47
Three Types of Memory
1. Sensory memory
2. Short-term memory (STM)
3. Long-term memory (LTM)
- -Can hold vast quantities of information for many years
48
Information Processing Model Diagram
__Retrieval__
V |
Stim->{Sen.m]--Attn-> [STm] -Encod> [LTm]
\ \ /
forget at any stage
49
Short Term Memory=
Attention Span
50
Why pull from Long Term Memory?
problem solving, remembering
51
Information Processing Model Failure Points
Sensory Input (blind, deaf)
Attention (ADHD)
Coding Issues?
Retrieval Issues?
52
Sensory Memory
- Sensory Inputer-->Sensory memory
- Stores all the stimuli that register on the senses
- Lasts up to three seconds
- Two types
- -Iconic memory
- -Echoic memory
53
Iconic Memory
Iconic memory
Visual
Usually lasts about 0.3 seconds
Sperling’s tests (1960s)
54
Sperlings Exp. (1960's)
Round 1:
-Presented matrix of letters for 1/20 seconds and had subjects report as many letters as possible; recalled half
- not b/c not enough time to view entire matrix
Round 2:
-Sounded low, medium or high tone immediately after matrix disappeared
-Tone signaled which row to report; Recall was almost perfect
-Memory for images fades after 1/3 seconds or so, making report of entire display hard to do
55
Echoic Memory
Echoic memory
Sensory memory for auditory input that lasts only 2 to 3 seconds
Resch early 70s, find same thing
Eg note writing, lags behind slightly
56
Why do we need sensory memory?
Orientation, safety, environment management, language understanding—stringing phonemes
57
Short Term Memory
Sensory input>Sensory Memory>Attention>Short Term memory
- Conscious processing of information
- Attention is the key
- Limits what info comes under the spotlight of short-term memory at any given time
- Primary and Working Memory
58
Attention
- Attention key to move information from Sens. mem.--> ST memory
- Lots of things interfere with attention (stress, substance, sleep, anxiety, etc. )
- Criteria applied to decision, categorize (sour milk/milk example)—involuntary, may override it though
- Adaptive, protective, helps identitfy threat, habituation
- Kids w adhd 5x more ER visits
59
Primary Memory
- Part of Short-term Memory (primary/working)
- Limited capacity
- Can hold 7 ± 2 "chunks"/items for about 20 seconds
- Maintenance rehearsal
- Repetition keeps info in short-term memory
-Chunk=Meaningful unit of information
-Without rehearsal, we remember 4 ± 2 chunks
-With rehearsal, we remember 7 ± 2 chunks
Ericsson & Chase (1982)
60
Working Memory
Executive function used to remember AND process information
-Different than primary memory
Use to manipulate, plan execute
Use aud and vis mem to hold in head to manipulate and solve problems
Every problem solved in short term memory
-Two forms of Working Memory
*Verbal or Auditory—remember instructions, learn languages, perform comprehension tasks
*Visual-Spatial—use sequences of events, patterns, images, and math skills
Exec function that can be improved via practice
-Approximately 1 in 10 suffer from poor WM
61
Two Forms of Working Memory
*Verbal or Auditory—remember instructions, learn languages, perform comprehension tasks
*Visual-Spatial—use sequences of events, patterns, images, and math skills
Exec function that can be improved via practice
62
Memory & Learning
- Supports learning
- Better predictor of nat'l exams, academic success than IQ
- Associated with reading and mathematic ability
- --Visual with math
- --Aud with reading
- Unlike IQ, free from SES and other crystallized knowledge built up on basis of home, school, and social experiences
- Research suggests that it can be improved
63
Memory & Learning Study
Pratricia alloway
Memory Training
Deficit tutoring—no better
Working Mem training—performing at grade level
Working Mem in child prodegies, Aspergers
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Working Memory Capacity
-Amount of information we can hold and process at any given time, varies by individual
- Limited by three factors:
- --Space-number of “Chunks”
- --Time-amount of time that has elapsed, slow-processing speed have harder time with comprehension
- --Effort-how hard is someone willing to work
Working Memory capacity develops through childhood, plateaus, and begins to decline
Echoic mem last longer, more time to manipulate it, hang on to it
65
Effect of Stress on Working Memory
On average capacity Is half during stressful situation
66
Long Term Memory
Once information passes from sensory to short-term memory, it can be encoded into long-term memory
67
How is information encoded into long-term memory?
1. Elaborative rehearsal
2. Levels of processing
3. Self-referent effect
68
Elaborative Rehearsal
A technique for transferring information into long-term memory by thinking about it in a deeper way
Doing it a bunch of times
69
Levels of Processing
Semantic(what it means) is more effective than visual (more likely to make errors) or acoustic processing
Craik & Tulving (1975)
70
Self-Referent Effect
By viewing new info as relevant to the self, we consider that info more fully and are better able to recall it
71
Types of Long Term Memory
1. Procedural (Implicit)
| 2. Declarative (Explicit)
72
Procedural Long Term Memory
Memories of behaviors, skills, etc.
Demonstrated through behavior—swimming lessons
Riding a bike—diff to articulate but can do when get hand son it and start to do it; muscle memory
73
Declarative Long Term Memory
Memories of facts
Episodic – personal experiences tied to places & time: you are a part of somehow,
Semantic – general knowledge; 2+2=4, know to be accurate but cant necessary say when you learned it
Semantic network
Linked to time meaning memory
Lots of WM chunks, can connect to lots of nodes, more integrated, easier to navigate, see how things connect, fit together
Bad WM, limited chunks, connections
74
Retrieval
Process that controls flow of information from long-term to working memory store
Getting information back
1. Explicit memory, declarative memories
2. Implicit memory
75
Explicit Memory
or "declarative memories"
The types of memory elicited through the conscious retrieval of recollections in response to direct questions
Retreived trhoguh conscious efforts
76
Implicit Memory
A nonconscious recollection of a prior experience that is revealed indirectly, by its effects on performance
Retrieved in moment
77
Explicit Memory
| Retrieval
Free-recall test
-A type of explicit memory task in which a person must reproduce information without the benefit of external cues
Recognition task
-A form of explicit memory retrieval in which items are presented to a person who must determine if they were previously encountered; promptingactivates certain networks of semantic network
Retrieval failure
Tip-of-the-tongue (Brown & McNeill)
Cant free or with cues=attention problems
Can with cues=encoding problems
78
Free Recall Test
A type of explicit memory task in which a person must reproduce information without the benefit of external cues
79
Recognition Task
A form of explicit memory retrieval in which items are presented to a person who must determine if they were previously encountered; promptingactivates certain networks of semantic network
80
Retrieval failure
Cant free or with cues=attention problems
| Can with cues=encoding problems
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Explicit Memory-Retrieval States
-Context-Dependent Memory
We are more successful at retrieving memories if we are in the same environment in which we stored them
Improved if same context
-State-Dependent Memory
We are more successful at retrieving memories if we are in the same mood as when we stored them
Archer example
Self-sustaining Depressioncuing bad memories
82
Implicit Memory Retreival
Showing knowledge of something without recognizing that we know it
Research with amnesics
Déjà vu
The illusion that a new situation is familiar
Eyewitness testimony
Eyewitness transference
Unintentional plagiarism
83
Forgetting
-Lack of encoding
Often, we don’t even encode the features necessary to ‘remember’ an object/event
We don’t have a conceptualization for it
-Decay—debunked
Memory traces erode with the passage of time
No longer a valid theory of forgetting
Jenkins & Dallenbach (1924)
People can have accurate memories of something that happened a long time ago
84
Interference Theory
Forgetting is a result of some memories interfering with others
Proactive Interference: Old memories interfere with ability to remember new memories
Retroactive Interference: New memories interfere with ability to remember old memories
More prominent when they overlap a little bit
Interference is stronger when material is similar
Interp req great deal of working mem
85
Forgetting
Repression
There are times when we are unable to remember painful past events
While there is no laboratory evidence for this, case studies suggest that memories can be repressed for a number of years and recovered in therapy
86
Memory Construction
Schema theory
Preconceptions about persons, objects, or events that bias the way new information is interpreted and recalled (Bruner, Piaget, Acc/Assim, schema & categorization).
PTSD-colors way they encode experiences
Misinformation effect
The tendency to incorporate false postevent information into one’s memory of the event itself
Illusory memories
People sometimes create memories that are completely false
Everytime asked to recall something, fortify structure
Recon at point at which it is recalled
Can beocme skewed
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Improving Memory
Practice time
Distribute your studying over time
Depth of processing
Spend ‘quality’ time studying
Verbal mnemonics
Use rhyming or acronyms to reduce the amount of info to be stored
Method of loci
Items to be recalled are mentally placed in familiar locations
Interference
Study right before sleeping & review all the material right before the exam
Allocate an uninterrupted chunk of time to one course
Context reinstatement
Try to study in the same environment & mood in which you will be taking the exam
LBC
flashcards
Decks in class (12)
# Cards
