Improving Retrieval

Question 1

what is Hypermnesia?

Answer 1

cases where forgetting is low, and reminiscence is high, a net gain in memory over time?

Question 2

What is a practical use for Hypermnesia?

Answer 2

Repeated Recalls of a Crime
- Watch a 2 minute tape where a burglar breaks into a house and shoots 3 innocent victims. Recall immediately (trial 1), then do questionnaire, then recall trial 2, then do second questionnaire, then recall trial 3.
- Return 48 hours later for recall trial 4.

Scrivner & Safer (1988)

Question 3

what are some issues with Repeated Testing?

Answer 3

Scrivner & Safer (1988)
- Recall does seem to improve over time, though this may be partly down to limited recall time (7 minutes) and the 47 box detail procedure.
- Other studies have replicated hypermnesia effects for emotional items and suggest that hypermnesia may be even stronger in negatively arousing conditions (Kern, Libkumen & Otani, 2002).
- repeated focus on details can make false (suggested) memories more likely with repeated testing (Lane et al., 2001).

Question 4

Context dependent memory Divers’ study Godden & Baddeley (1975)

Answer 4

• Learn a list of words
  either on land, or in
  the water.
• Recall the list either
  on land, or in the water.
• A change of context impairs memory because cues from the environment have been integrated into the encoding.
• no effect in recognition

Question 5

State dependent memory study Goodwin et al., (1969)

Answer 5

• Internal state of the subject (drunk versus sober)
  1. Alcohol generally impairs memory therefore perform better sober
  2. But there is a strong state dependency effect - better if you state at encoding is the same at retrieval

Question 6

what is mood congruent memory?

Answer 6

• we tend to recall information congruent with our current mood
• mood induction typically using velten procedure
• This is a very robust result than and works with both normal moods- e.g. everyday ambulatory monitoring – (Loeffler et al., 2013) and extreme mood states e.g Williams autobiographical memories in depression & dysphoria.

Question 7

which is easier mood congruency or dependency?

Answer 7

• mood congruent memory is easier to demonstrate
• mood dependent is more difficult

Question 8

outline mood dependent study?

Answer 8

4 separate groups: Prediction
1. Encode Positive: Retrieve Positive Good Performance
2. Encode Positive: Retrieve Negative Poor Performance
3. Encode Negative: Retrieve Positive Poor Performance
4. Encode Negative: Retrieve Negative Good Performance

The search for mood dependent memory continues with varied results

Question 9

what are the 4 stages of the cognitive interview?

Answer 9

1. Context Reinstatement
2. Report everything
3. change order
4. change perspective

Question 10

outline Geiselman et al., (1986) study using the cognitive interview

Answer 10

Watch violent film, wait 2 days, then standard or cognitive interview

Standard Interview: 29.4 correct items

Cognitive Interview: 41.2 correct items No difference in number of errors

Question 11

social influence on Retrieval:
what are remembered attitudes?

Answer 11

After an attitude change manipulation, when people are asked what their previous attitude was, it tends to change towards their current attitude (e.g. Attitude towards exercise, after “dangers of jogging” film)

Question 12

social influence on Retrieval:
what are remembered behaviours?

Answer 12

After attitude change manipulations, people’s memories of their previous behaviour can become distorted (e.g. Frequency of toothbrushing, after “ dangers of frequent toothbrushing” film)

Question 13

Rewriting our pasts

Answer 13

memories of past events that were overly consistent with current behaviour. This could be a simply explained as a variant of of state-congruent retrieval.

Question 14

study on rewriting our pasts

Answer 14

Groups of students rated their study skills before participating on a training program. Such programs are rarely successful, and this one was no different e.g. no improvements were observed (in skills or grades). Afterwards students attempted to remember their pre-course ratings.

They systematically remembered their pre-course ratings as having been worse than they really were.

“Getting what you want, by revising what you had.”

Here retrieval is socially motivated to be state-incongruent