what was Erdelyi & Becker’s (1974) experiment into hypermnesia?
in some cases, typically involving repeated recall attempts and often using visual stimuli, net gains can be observed over time
in some cases, additional “thinking” can help
in most cases, hypermnesia requires consistent increases in “retrieval effort”
what might normal memory be the result of?
forgetting + reminiscence
what can be observed in some cases where forgetting is low and reminiscence is high?
net gain in memory over time (hypermnesia)
is forgetting universal?
no
is forgetting the only process involved in memory?
no
what is a practical use of hypermnesia?
repeated recalls of a crime
watch a 2 minute tap where a burglar breaks into a house and shoots 3 innocent victims
recall immediately, do questionnaire, recall again, do second questionnaire, recall third time, come back 48 hours later for fourth recall
as recalls increase, correct details remembered increases and total errors doesn’t
what did Scrivner & Safer (1988) find were issues with repeated testing?
recall does seem to improve over time but this may be partly down to limited recall time and 47 box procedure
studies replicate hypermnesia effects for emotional items so hypermnesia may be even stronger in negative arousing condition
could this be basis for recovery of “forgotten” emotional memories?
repeated focus on details can make false (suggested) memories more likely with repeated testing
theoretical interpretation of hypermnesia remains controversial although has been shown in recognition tests so can’t just be down to retrieval effort
what else can we do to enhance retrieval - encoding specificity principle?
what is the encoding specificity principle?
match cues at testing with cues at retrieval
what was Goddon & Baddeley’s (1975) study into context-dependent memory?
learn a list of words either on land or in water then recall the list either on land or in water
highest recall when context is the same both times
a change of context impairs memory because cues from the environment are integrated into encoding
no effect on recognition
what was Goodwin et al’s (1969) study into state-dependent memory?
internal state of the subject (drunk vs sober)
alcohol generally impairs memory but there is a strong state dependency effect
memory better when internal state the same as encoding and retrieval
what are the possible results between mood and memory score?
generally more positive than negative - Pollyanna principle
more positive than negative, particularly or only when smiling - mood congruent memory
other results - entirely possible without proper counterbalancing
what is mood congruent memory?
tend to recall information congruent with our current mood
mood induction typically using Velten procedure (listening to positive or negative statements) and shows very robust result and works with both normal moods and extreme mood states
what is mood dependency?
need fully crossed design with neutral words as stimuli
encode positive - retrieve positive - predict good performance
encode positive - retrieve negative - predict poor performance
encode negative - retrieve positive - predict poor performance
encoding negative - retrieve negative - predict good performance
very difficult to demonstrate and there are varied results
what are Geiselman et al’s (1986) cognitive interview techniques?
mentally reinstate the context, recalling everything about the event
report every detail even if it seems irrelevant
report the episode in different temporal orders, moving backwards and forwards in time
describe the episode from different viewpoints
what is the most effective cognitive interview technique?
mentally reinstate the context
what was the study into cognitive interview techniques?
watch a violent film, wait 2 days then a standard or cognitive interview
standard interview - 29.4 correct items
cognitive interview - 41.2 correct items
no difference in number of errors
what is the cognitive interview a powerful demonstration of?
effectiveness of having the right retrieval cues available
what did Ross (1989) find about rewriting our own memories in terms of remembered attitudes?
after attitude change manipulation, when people are asked what their previous attitude was, it tends to change towards their current attitude
hindsight bias
what did Ross (1989) find about rewriting our own memories in terms of remembered behaviour?
after an attitude change manipulation, people’s memories of their previous behaviour can become distorted
cognitive dissonance
what did Conway & Ross (1984) find about rewriting our own pasts in terms of remembered abilities?
groups of students rated their study skills before participating on a training program, which is rarely successful - no improvements observed in skills or grades
afterwards, students attempted to remember this pre-course ratings and systematically remembered them as worse than they really were
how is retrieval motivated to be state-incongruent?
socially motivated to be state-incongruent
what functions may remembering serve?
complex social and autobiographical
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introduction to perception46
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the visual pathway 155
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the visual pathway 245
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colour perception47
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beyond v121
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object recognition40
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face perception30
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false and recovered memories32
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encoding failures26
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effective encoding29
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storage failures25
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active forgetting23
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types of retrieval22
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improving retrieval22
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autobiographical memory21
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visual word recognition 133
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visual word recognition 267
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embodiment24
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shallow processing29
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perception and bayesian inference35
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bounded rationality35
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heuristics27
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attention and consciousness39
