Chapter SevenMemory

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THE NATURE OF MEMORY

Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today’s events.

Albert Einstein

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Defining Memory

MemoryInternal record or representation of some prior event or experience

Constructive ProcessOrganizing and shaping of information during processing, storage, and retrieval of memories

Memory is not a “videotape” of the experience, memory is constructed!

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ANIMATIONEnhancing Memory

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Four Models of Memory

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Four Models of Memory, cont.

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In Depth: Three-Stage Model

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ANIMATIONEnhancing Memory

Sensory Memory

Iconic Memory Echoic Memory

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Short-Term Memory (STM)

Maintenance Rehearsal Repeating information over and over to maintain it in short-term memory (STM)

Elaborative RehearsalLinking new information to previously stored material (also known as deeper levels of processing)

Chunking Grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit (or chunk)

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Also known as “working memory”

Encoding Memory Capacity of Short-Term and

Working Memory

If some information is selected from sensory memory to be sent to short-term memory, how much information can we hold there?

George Miller (b. 1920) proposed that we can hold 7 +/-2 information bits (for example, a string of 5 to 9 letters).

More recent research suggests that the average person, free from distraction, can hold about:

7 digits, 6 letters, or 5 words.Test: see how many of these letters and numbers you can recall after they disappear.Test:

– V M 3 C A Q 9 L D

Working Memory depends on concentration. Despite this talent, it is generally a myth that we can handle two streams of similar information simultaneously.

Duration of Short-Term Memory (STM)

Lloyd Peterson and Margaret Peterson wanted to know the duration of short term memory? Their experiment (1959):1. People were given triplets of

consonants (e.g., “VMF”).2. To prevent rehearsing, the

subjects had to do a distracting task.

3. People were then tested at various times for recall.

Result: After 12 seconds, most memory of the consonants had decayed and could not be retrieved.

Encoding:Effortful Processing Strategies

If we have short-term recall of only 7 letters, but can remember 5 words, doesn’t that mean we could remember more than 7 letters if we could group them into words?

This is an example of an effortful processing strategy, a way to encode information into memory to keep it from decaying and make it easier to retrieve.

Effortful processing is also known as studying.

Examples: Chunking (grouping) Mnemonics: images,

maps, and peg-words Hierarchies/categories Rehearsal, especially

distributed practice Deep processing Semantic processing Making information

personally meaningful Can you remember this

list?

Long-term Memory (LTM)

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Retrieval and LTM

Serial-Position EffectInformation at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list is remembered better than material in the middle.

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Retrieval Cues

Retrieval challenge: memory is not stored as a file that can be retrieved by searching alphabetically.

Instead, it is stored as a web of associations: conceptual contextual emotional Memory involves a web of associated concepts.

Priming:Retrieval is Affected by Activating our Associations Priming triggers a thread of

associations that bring us to a concept, just as a spider feels movement in a web and follows it to find the bug.

Our minds work by having one idea trigger another; this maintains a flow of thought.

Priming Example: Define the word “bark.”Now what is the definition of “bark”?

Study: people primed with a missing child poster then misinterpreted ambiguous adult-child interactions as kidnapping.

The Power of Priming

Priming has been called “invisible memory” because it affects us unconsciously.

In the case of tree “bark” vs. dog “bark,” the path we follow in our thoughts can be channeled by priming.

We may have biases and associations stored in memory that also influence our choices.

Study: People primed with money-related words were less likely to then help another person.

Study: Priming with an image of Santa Claus led kids to share more candy.

Context-Dependent Memory

Part of the web of associations of a memory is the context. What else was going on at the time we formed the memory?

We retrieve a memory more easily when in the same context as when we formed the memory. Did you forget a psychology concept? Just sitting down and opening your book might bring the memory back.

Words learned underwater are better retrieved underwater.

State-Dependent Memory

Our memories are not just linked to the external context in which we learned them.

Memories can also be tied to the emotional state we were in when we formed the memory.

Mood-congruent memory refers to the tendency to selectively recall details that are consistent with one’s current mood. This biased memory then reinforces our current mood!

Memories can even be linked to physiological states:

“I wonder if you’d mind giving me directions. I’ve never been sober in this part of town before.”

In what situation is the recency effect strongest?

The Serial Position EffectPriming and context cues are not the only factors which make memory retrieval selective.

Which words of your national anthem are easiest to recall?

The serial position effect refers to the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect).

Retrieval and LTM (cont.)

RecallRetrieving a memory using a general, nonspecific clue (e.g., essay test)

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Retrieval CueClue or prompt that helps

stimulate recall or retrieval of a stored piece of

information from long-term memory

Retrieval CueClue or prompt that helps

stimulate recall or retrieval of a stored piece of

information from long-term memory

RecognitionRetrieving a memory using a specific cue (e.g., multiple-choice test)PrimingPrior exposure to a stimulus (or prime) facilitates OR inhibits the processing of new information, even when one has no conscious memory of the initial learning and storage

Retrieval and LTM (cont.)

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Encoding Specificity Principle

Retrieval of information is improved when conditions of recovery are similar to the conditions when the information was encoded

Encoding Specificity Principle

Retrieval of information is improved when conditions of recovery are similar to the conditions when the information was encoded

Context-dependent memoryEx: Recall in the same seat or classroomMood congruenceEx: When you are mad at your partner, you recall the times s/he made you mad!State-dependent memoryEx: If you learn a joke while under the influence of alcohol, you’ll remember it better in that state.

Improving Long-Term Memory

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Memory DemonstrationListen carefully to the list of words—you’ll be asked to recall as many as possible.

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FORGETTING

The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our

mind when we want them to.Nietzsche

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Five Theories of Forgetting

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Two Types of Interference

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Four Factors Key to Forgetting

Misinformation Effect

Information from an unreliable source, which was initially discounted. Later gains credibility because source is forgotten

Source Amnesia

Forgetting the True Source of a memory

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Sleeper Effect

Memory distortion resulting from misleading post-event information

Trying to learn too much at one time!

Information Overload

Use

distributed,

not massed

practice!!

Research Challenge: How Quickly We Forget

Read the description of the study on page 260!

Answer these questions!1. Hypothesis?2. Research method (experimental, descriptive, correlational, or biological)?3. If you chose the: Experimental method—label the IV, DV, experimental group, and control group.Descriptive method—is this a naturalistic observation, survey, or case study?Correlational method—is this a positive, negative, or zero correlation?Biological method—identify the specific research tool (e.g., brain dissection, CT scan, etc.)

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Memory and the Criminal Justice System

Unreliability of eyewitness testimony

Confidence in memory is not a predictor of accuracy

Importance of false memories

Bitter debate about repressed memories

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4V6aoYuDcg&feature=player_embedded

BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MEMORY

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Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Long-Term PotentiationLong-lasting increase in neural excitability, which may be a biological mechanism for learning and memory

Two WaysRepeated stimulation of a synapse can strengthen the synapse by causing the dendrites to grow more spines

The ability of a particular neuron to release or accept neurotransmitters can be increased or decreased

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WILEY VIDEOMemory Storage

Emotional Arousal and Memory

Flashbulb MemoryVivid images of circumstances associated with surprising or strongly emotional events

Stress hormones initially INCREASE memory, but prolonged or extreme stress INTERFERES with memory.

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The Brain and MemoryDamage to any one of these areas can affect encoding, storage, and retrieval of memories. For example, what effect might damage to your amygdala have on your relationships with others? How might damage to your thalamus affect your day-to-day functioning?

Biological Causes of Memory Loss: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

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(a) In retrograde amnesia, the person loses memories of events that occured before the accident, yet has no trouble remembering things that happened afterward. Old, “retro” memories are lost.

(b) In anterograde amnesia, the person cannot form new memories for events that occur after the accident (new, “antero” memories are lost). Anterograde amnesia also may result from a surgical injury (as in the case of H.M.) or from diseases, such as chronic alcoholism.

Biological Causes of Memory Loss: Alzheimer’s Disease

Extreme decrease in explicit/declarative memory

Retain some implicit/nondeclarative memory

Upon autopsy, brains have: tangles from degenerating

cell bodies plaques from degenerating

axons and dendrites

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(left) Note the large amount of red and yellow color (signs of brain activity) in the positron emission tomography scans of the normal brain. (right) Now compare the reduced activity in the brain of the Alzheimer’s disease patient. The loss is most significant in the temporal and parietal lobes, which indicates that these areas are particularly important for storing memories.

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Tips for Memory Improvement

Use metacognition: Thinking about your thinking!Pay attention and reduce interference

Use rehearsal techniquesUse the encoding specificity principle

Improve your organizationCounteract the serial-position effect

Manage your timeEmploy self-monitoring and

overlearningUse mnemonics

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More About Mnemonics!

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Method of loci Greek and Roman orators developed the method of loci to keep track of the many parts of their long speeches. Orators would imagine the parts of their speeches attached to places in a courtyard. For example, if an opening point in a speech was the concept of justice, they might visualize a courtroom placed in the first corner of their garden. As they mentally walked around their garden during their speech, they would encounter, in order, each of the points to be made.

More About Mnemonics!

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Peg words To use the peg-word mnemonic, you first need to memorize a set of 10 images that you can use as “pegs” on which to hang ideas. For example, if you learn 10 items that rhyme with the numbers they stand for, you can then use the images as pegs to hold the items of any list. Try it with items you might want to buy on your next trip to the grocery store: milk, eggs, and bread.

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More About Mnemonics!

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Acronyms To use the acronym method, create a new code word from the first letters of the items you want to remember. For example, to recall the names of the Great Lakes, think of HOMES on a great lake (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior). Visualizing homes on each lake also helps you remember your code word “homes.”