Episodic memory: Encoding - Stanford...

Episodic memory:Encoding

July 6, 2016

Announcements• Midterm is Wednesday, July 20th in class

• Will cover material up to (and including) Wednesday, July 13 • Will cover any material discussed in lecture and assigned

journal articles except ‘neuroanatomy primer’ section

• Karen is out of town from today through Friday, July 15

Homework• Memory in Action: Retrieval Brainstorm due 8 PM on Sunday, July 10th

• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/memoryinaction/index.html#brainstorm-ret

• Read article and answer the questions in your MIA document • Looking ahead

• MIA assignments due at 8 PM on Tu, July 12th and 8 PM on Su, July 17th • Reading Response: Talarico & Rubin et al. (2003) due 11:30 AM on

Wednesday, July 13• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/reading/index.html#talarico • Read article and answer the response questions in your SJR document

• Reading Response: Henkel (2014) due 11:30 AM on Monday, July 18• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/reading/index.html#henkel • Read article and answer the response questions in your SJR document

Last time• Use of specific strategies can improve performance on

specific memory tasks — for example, linking to existing knowledge, developing an organized retrieval plan, and practice are particularly useful

• Little evidence for generalized memory improvements that transfer to other tasks

• Growing evidence that cardiovascular exercise may enhance cognition more generally

Reading responses• Must be in your own words

• Summarize: Aim to explain to someone who did not read the article

• Evaluate: Explain why you have your opinion

• Apply: Great work!

• Comments available in real time

• Clarification: no clear instances of even near transfer

Participation prompts

Handling multiple variables

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Primacy (LTM) Recency (WM)

Filled delayFast presentation

Behavioral Double Dissociation

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ce

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70

Primacy (LTM) Recency (WM)

Frontal/Parietal patientMTL amnesic

Lesion Double Dissociation

Perfo

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ce

Interaction: effect of one variable depends on the state of another variable

This time• What is episodic memory?

• Factors affecting episodic encoding

• Neural bases of episodic encoding

Episodic memoryTransient memory Long-term memory

Declarative Non-declarative

Conditioning Skill learning PrimingSemanticEpisodic

Working (short-term)

Sensory

Memories of our personal past (Tulving, 1983) Memory for a specific event (what) that occurred in a specific place (where) at a specific time (when) (Tulving, 1972)

Consciously accessible, flexible, enduring, linked to context, and can be learned in a single exposure

Episodic memory: examples• This morning I ate a banana on the train

• Last Wednesday I gave a lecture about brain training in Encina West

• The word cold was on the list of words that you had me read in this room a few minutes ago

Memories of our personal past (Tulving, 1983) Memory for a specific event (what) that occurred in a specific place (where) at a specific time (when) (Tulving, 1972)


Episodic memory (vs. working memory)Transient memory Long-term memory




Sensory

Working memory Contents are highly accessible

Brief and fragile

Limited in capacity

Long-term memory Contents are less accessible

Enduring

Limitless in capacity

Episodic memory (vs. working memory)Transient memory Long-term memory




Sensory

Working memory: “Emerges” when perceptual representations are maintained through persistent neural firing — ends when distracted or attention shifts Long-term memory: Changes in synaptic connections — persists after distraction or attention shifts

Episodic memory (vs. non-declarative memory)

Transient memory Long-term memory




Sensory

Declarative memory Memories are flexible

Consciously accessible and easy to verbalize

“Explicit”

Non-declarative memory Memories are more rigid

Not consciously accessible or easy to verbalize

“Implicit”

Episodic memory (vs. semantic memory)Transient memory Long-term memory




Sensory

Episodic memory Includes where and when

Personal

Interference from repetition of similar events

Semantic memory Lacking where and when

Personal or general

Strengthened by repetition of similar events

Episodic memory

Transient memory Long-term memory




Sensory


Stages of episodic memory

Consolidation transforming the representation of

information in memory

Retrieval bringing

information back to mind

Encoding placing

information into memory

Stages of episodic memory

Consolidation transforming the representation of

information in memory

Retrieval bringing

information back to mind

E C R C

E

R C

E

WM WM WM

In practice, these processes are often intertwined

Encoding placing

information into memory

Reminder

input

sensory registers

visualauditory

.

.haptic

attention

short-term memory

long-term memory

permanent memory

temporaryworking memory

control processes

input

sensory registers

visualauditory

.

.haptic

attention

long-term memory

permanent memory

• What is episodic memory?



This time

Brainstorm!What strategies do you use if you really want to remember a piece of information?

This time• What is episodic memory?


• Attending to information

• How we process information

• When we encounter information


Intention to learn encourages the use of strategies that promote episodic encoding — intention to learn is not a factor in and of itself

Attention

Episodic encodingWorking memory maintenance: factors that allow us to maintain information in the present Episodic memory encoding: factors that allow us to later retrieve information after it has left working memory

E C R C

E

R C

E

WM WM WM

Attention• Attention maintains information in working memory

• Attention is necessary for episodic memory encoding

a b c d e

f g h i j

Two types of attentionTop-down attention: effortful, goal-directed attention

Bottom-up attention: reflexive shift or capture of attention

Better memory typically associated with top-down attention at encoding …

… giraffe elephant bear lion moose …

but the Von Restorff effect is an exception!

Increased probability of being remembered — captures bottom-up

attention

Attention (and maintenance in working memory) is critical for episodic memory encoding — but all

time in the focus of attention is not created equal

How we process information and when we encounter information are critical

How We Process Information

Depth of processing

Craik & Lockart (1972) proposed that deeper processing leads to more effective episodic encoding

Shallow (sensory aspects) structural: surface perceptual features phonological: convert to speech-based codes semantic: access and evaluate meaning Deep (processed aspects)

Depth of processingShallow (sensory aspects) case: is the word in upper case? rhyme: does the word rhyme with …? sentence: does the word fit in the sentence …? Deep (processed aspects)

Craik & Tulving, 1975

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Case Rhyme SentenceEncoding Task

% L

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Deeper processing leads to more effective episodic encoding

Depth of processing

Shallow (sensory aspects) letters: does the word have an ‘e’ in it? pleasantness: is the word pleasant? Deep (processed aspects)

Hyde & Jenkins, 1973

Deeper processing leads to more effective episodic encoding … intention to learn had no effect 0.0

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Letters PleasantnessEncoding Task

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Instructions Incidental Intentional

Incidental encoding: memory test is a surprise Intentional encoding: warned about later memory test

Transfer appropriate processingDeeper processing is not always better

Instead, the critical factor is the match between processing engaged at encoding and processing engaged at retrieval (assumption: most retrieval tasks recruit deep processing)

Also known as encoding specificity

Transfer appropriate processingEncoding tasks:

Phonology (rhyme) condition ____ rhymes with fear … ‘spear’

Meaning condition The ____ was on the shelf … ‘book’

Retrieval tasks: Rhyme test

Did you see a word that rhymes with ‘clear’?

Did you see a word that rhymes with ‘crook’?

Standard old / new recognition (meaning) Did you see ‘spear’ before?

Did you see ‘book’ before?Morris et al., 1977

Match between depth of processing at encoding & retrieval boosts memory

% c

orre

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Rhyme Old/NewRetrieval task

Transfer appropriate processingMatch between perceptual features at study and test

Match between conceptual features at study and test

✓

✓

horse

strawberry jamhomemade jam

traffic jam

e.g., Kohler et al., 2000; Light & Carter-Sobell, 1970

ElaborationMemory is better for information that is elaborated on

Encoding

“The fat man read the sign” — or — “The fat man read the sign warning about thin ice”

Retrieval

Was the man fat?

Stein & Bransford, 1979

✓

GenerationGeneration effect: memory is better for information that one generates on their own

Read encoding conditions

Synonym Unhappy-SAD Rhyme Pad-SAD

Generate encoding conditions

Synonym Unhappy-S__? Rhyme Pad-S__?

Retrieval

Did you see the word SAD?Slamecka & Graf, 1978

Organized retrieval planMemory is better for information that has a retrieval plan

Bower et al., 1969

Retrieval practiceRetrieval is a powerful encoding event

Testing effect: retrieving a memory makes that memory easier to retrieve in the future … even more so than investing the same amount of time in additional encoding!

We’ll discuss this more when we talk about education!

E C R C

E

R C

E

WM WM WM

When We Encounter Information

Demo!

Close your eyes!

Demo!

washing clothes

Demo!

1. The procedure is actually quite simple. 2. First, you arrange items into different groups. 3. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. 4. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step,

otherwise you are pretty well set. 5. It is important not to overdo things. 6. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. 7. In the short run, this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. 8. A mistake can be expensive as well. 9. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. 10. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. 11. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future,

but then one never can tell. 12. After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different groups

again. 13. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. 14. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be

repeated. 15. However, that is part of life.

Demo!

1. The procedure is actually quite simple. 2. First, you arrange items into different groups. 3. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. 4. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step,

otherwise you are pretty well set. 5. It is important not to overdo things. 6. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. 7. In the short run, this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. 8. A mistake can be expensive as well. 9. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. 10. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. 11. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future,

but then one never can tell. 12. After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different groups

again. 13. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. 14. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be

repeated. 15. However, that is part of life.

washing clothes

Demo!

Close your eyes!

Demo!1. If the balloons popped, the sound wouldn’t be able to

carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor.

2. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying, since most buildings tend to be well-insulated.

3. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems.

4. Of course, the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far.

5. An additional problem is that a string could break on the instrument.

6. Then there could be no accompaniment to the message.

7. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance.

8. Then there would be fewer potential problems. 9. With face to face contact, the least number of things

could go wrong.

Demo!

Bransford & Johnson, 1972

1. If the balloons popped, the sound wouldn’t be able to carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor.

2. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying, since most buildings tend to be well-insulated.

3. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems.

4. Of course, the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far.

5. An additional problem is that a string could break on the instrument.

6. Then there could be no accompaniment to the message.

7. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance.

8. Then there would be fewer potential problems. 9. With face to face contact, the least number of things

could go wrong.

Prior knowledge affects encodingMemory is better for information that fits within a pre-existing knowledge structure — and is linked to that knowledge structure

Participants who saw a prompt before hearing the corresponding paragraph remembered over twice as many main ideas as participants who did not see the prompt at all or who saw the prompt immediately after hearing the corresponding paragraph (Bransford & Johnson, 1972)

Chess masters remembered the layout of chess boards better than novices .. only if the layout was a valid layout (Chase & Simon, 1973)

– Joshua Foer

“Memory is like a spiderweb that catches new information. The more it catches, the bigger it grows.

And the bigger it grows, the more it catches.”

Memory is better for information that is repeated

But not all repetition is created equal

“with any considerable number of repetitions a suitable distribution of them over a space of time is decidedly more advantageous than the massing of them at a single time” — Ebbinghaus (1885)

“You can get a good deal from rehearsal if it just has the proper dispersal” — Ulric Neisser

This spacing effect is “one of the most dependable, robust, and ubiquitous phenomena in the entire psychological literature” — Dempster, 1996

Repetition and the spacing effect

Spacing effect: For a fixed number of encoding episodes, greater lags between these encoding episodes produces better memory

Repetition and the spacing effect

Massed encodinghorse horse airplane airplane grape grape shoe shoe

Spaced encodinghorse shoe grape airplane grape shoe horse airplane

misleading feedback deficient processing redundant retrieval cues

accurate feedback more processing extra retrieval cues

✓

Better memory for spaced relative to massed repetition of encoding episodes has been observed

over five years after the encoding episodes (e.g., Bahrick & Phelps, 1987; Bahrick et al., 1993)

Participation prompt

Describe two concrete ways that you can apply any of the ideas we’ve discussed so far in class or as you prepare for the midterm (or final) for this or another course.

Apply!• Process deliberately! Process deeply, and in a way that mimics the format

of an upcoming test. Think about how you would teach it. Make sure you understand it conceptually. Link it to yourself.

• Elaborate! Ask questions.

• Generate! Answer questions. Think of your own examples.

• Develop a retrieval plan! Organize the material. Use mnemonics.

• Test yourself! Find a friend. Use flashcards. Try to recall the material as you walk around campus.

• Link to prior knowledge! Pause to think about how topics relate to each other and to other things you know.

• Space your practice! Space study sessions over multiple days. Intermix topics within a given study session.

General summary• Episodic memories are memories for our personal past

that are enduring, consciously accessible, flexible, linked to contextual information, and rapidly acquired

• Episodic encoding is aided by many factors, including attention, how we process information, and when we process information

MidtermCombination of multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions

~30% of the points will require you to apply, rather than re-state, the material

You do not need to know the names of authors who did experiments presented in class (or years), but you should know the methods and results of these experiments

Be prepared to ‘provide experimental evidence’ for principles of learning and memory, i.e., be able to explain the relationship between a specific experiment and the principle of learning and memory that it demonstrates

Midterm: multiple choiceThe principle that a match between processes engaged at encoding and processes engaged at retrieval boosts later memory is called:

a. transfer appropriate processing b. depth of processing c. the spacing effect d. the generation effect

Joyce knows that her upcoming test will be multiple choice, so when she studies she has her friend come up with multiple choice questions (instead of essay questions) to quiz her on. This is an example of:

a. transfer appropriate processing b. depth of processing c. the spacing effect d. the generation effect

Midterm: short answerDefine transfer appropriate processing (3 points). Provide an example of transfer appropriate processing from everyday life (1 point).

Midterm: essayExplain the difference between the depth-of-processing framework and the transfer-appropriate-processing framework, and provide one piece of experimental evidence that favors the transfer-appropriate-processing framework over the depth-of-processing framework (6 points). Provide one concrete way that you could apply depth-of-processing principles when studying for a test and one concrete way that you could apply transfer-appropriate-processing principles when studying for a test (2 points).

Homework• Memory in Action: Retrieval Brainstorm due 8 PM on Sunday, July 10th

• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/memoryinaction/index.html#brainstorm-ret

• Read article and answer the questions in your MIA document • Looking ahead

• MIA assignments due at 8 PM on Tu, July 12th and 8 PM on Su, July 17th • Reading Response: Talarico & Rubin et al. (2003) due 11:30 AM on

Wednesday, July 13• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/reading/index.html#talarico • Read article and answer the response questions in your SJR document

• Reading Response: Henkel (2014) due 11:30 AM on Monday, July 18• http://web.stanford.edu/class/psych136s/reading/index.html#henkel • Read article and answer the response questions in your SJR document

Questions?

Episodic memory: Encoding - Stanford...

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