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UNIT SEVEN-A 1) What does this unit cover? Phenomenon of memory Information processing (encoding, storage, and retrieval) Forgetting (encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure) Memory reconstruction (misinformation and imagination effects, source amnesia, discerning true from false memories, children’s eyewitness recall, repressed or constructed memories of abuse) Improving memory 2) What is memory? Learning that has persisted over time Information that has been stored and can be retrieved 3) What is encoding? Getting information into our brain Sensory information is translated into neural language 4) What is storage? Retaining the information 5) What is retrieval? Later being able to get the information back out 6) What is connectionism? Present memory model for information-processing Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin Memory is formed in 3 stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and longterm memory 7) What is sensory memory? Fleeting (seconds) Considered “to-be-remembered” information 8) What is short-term memory? Information that is processed Encoded through a variety of ways Gone quickly – less than 5 minutes 9) What is long-term memory? Information here is considered “important” and termed for later retrieval Can be “lost” if not actively retrieved and “processed” 10) How has the Atkinson-Shiffrin 3-stage model been modified? Researchers have recognized that some memories skip the first 2 stages and are unconsciously and automatically processed directly into long-term memory There has also been an addition – working memory 11) What is working memory? Active processing of information Focus on new or important information This information is processed and linked to other information we consider relevant from long-term memory Used to solve problems 12) How do we encode? Automatically With effort 13) What do we process automatically? Space – location/placement of certain items. If something is misplaced, you can later recall where that something was. You can visualize the surroundings. Time – keep track of the sequence of events: what happened first, second, third. Frequency – note how often something occurs. Well-learned information – words in your native language are second-nature by now. You recall the meaning of words without effort. 14) How do we process with effort? Effortful processing must be achieved with work and focus and produces durable and accessible memories. Rehearsal – conscious repetition Amount remembered depends on time spent learning. Additional rehearsal (overlearning) increases retention. Quickly learned – quickly forgotten. Experiments were done by Ebbinghaus – lists of nonsense words Spacing effect – space out learning Cramming can produce speedy short-term learning Distributed study time produces better long-term recall Testing effect – repeated studying Helps with retention, not just assessment Serial position effect – where an item is positioned in a series/list makes a difference as to how it is remembered Items first and last are recalled better than those in the middle. First items recall – primacy effect Last items recall – recency effect After a delay, we will remember first items best. 15) How do we encode? Through meaning By creating an image In mentally organizing it 16) What are the various levels of processing? Visual – forming an image Are the letters of the word in all capitals? Acoustic – through sounds and rhyme “What sobriety conceals, alcohol reveals Semantic – establishing meaning Self-reference effect – if whatever is learned can be connected to ourselves, it will be best remembered 17) What is visual encoding? Creating an image of it Mnemonic (memory) devices create weird images to make them easier to remember. Ie. Grocery list: A paper towel is covering the bread that is a bed for the chicken, etc. 18) How do we organize information for encoding? Easier to remember if we organize it into meaningful units Through chunking or hierarchies In chunking … We group or organize into parts, so that they are better remembered. These can be acronyms, such as HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) Or simply by sections: I am going to first remember how to spell the words, then I’ll organize them by parts of speech, etc. By creating hierarchies … What is more important? And how are they related to each other? This combines semantics with visuals And looks like an outline 19) What is best remembered? If the encoding uses more than one code, such as visual (image) and acoustic (rhyme). Even better, if this rhyming image can be make have a personal connection or be especially meaningful (semantic). High and low moments, though high is remembered better of the two (rosy retrospection) 20) What is iconic memory? Part of sensory memory Fleeting photographic memory Better to remember 3 letters than 9 Tied to an experiment by Sperling 21) What is echoic memory? Ability to recall auditory echoes left in the last 3-4 seconds Ex. You’re daydreaming … teacher asks, “What did I just say?” You are able to recall the last few words 22) What is the duration and capacity of short-term memory? Short-term memory is fleeting as well – less than a minute If not able to practice what is learned (working memory), the information disappears Only able to store about 7 bits of information Ex. It became troublesome to remember area codes in addition to phone numbers Able to better recall numbers than letters – letters tend to sound alike Can recall as many letters as we can sound in 2 seconds Without recall, we can remember 4 meaningful information chunks 23) What is the duration and capacity of long-term memory? Limitless 24) Where are memories stored? Storage does not occur in one singular place Ex. Recalling an old student, I may have him “filed” by year, seat he sat in, appearance, gender, achievement level, etc. Take away one “file,” I still may be able to find him under others. 25) What does our brain look like after memories are formed? Memory traces show us where connections have been made A section of the brain has stored a memory (though it can be found in another section under a different “file”) Neurons here have formed a network which has strengthened under activity (working memory) Neurons have connected by a release of serotonin, which speeds the connection between these neurons When something triggers the memory, it needs less of that something (prompting) to communicate through the release of neurotransmitter Long-term potentiation (LTP) is associated with the strengthening of potential neuron firing 26) How do we know that LTP is associated with memory? Drugs that block LTP interfere with learning Mice engineered to lack an enzyme needed for LTP cannot learn their way out of a maze Rats given a drug that enhances LTP will learn a maze with half the number of mistakes Rats that have been injected with a chemical that blocks LTP preservation will erase recent learning 27) What is CREB and how does it help enhance memory? A protein which can switch genes off or on Boosting CREB production might lead to increased production of proteins that help reshape synapses and consolidate a short-term memory into a long-term memory Enhanced CREB production in animal subjects has displayed enhanced memories 28) What is glutamate and can it enhance memory? Neurotransmitter that enhances synaptic communication (LTP) Still being experimented upon Not sure if it will simply enhance memory of trivia best forgotten, for you cannot (at this time) enhance SELECTED communication; you’d simply be enhancing ALL communication 29) How can short-term memory be disrupted? A blow to the head (as in a sports injury) or an electrical current will erase shortterm memories There was no time for working memory to sort through the experience and store 30) How do strong emotions and stress affect memory? Favorably – in terms of the strong emotional or stressful memory Not favorably – for neutral events occurring about the same time During high emotional or stressful states, we produce more glucose, signaling something important has occurred The amygdala boosts activity and available proteins in the brain’s memoryforming areas We want to remember the trauma in order to avoid and survive in the future Given drugs that help relieve stress immediately after the event led to people not suffering from PTSD. (They had not suffered as much stress and therefore had not seared the memory.) Prolonged stress, however, can blunt the memory, making it a bit more like an impression than a detail 31) What is flashbulb memory? Significant event is captured Experiencing the significant event is better remembered than hearing about it Misinformation can seep in – discussing it with others may jumble the facts – their recollection can become ours 32) What is the difference between implicit memory and explicit memory? Implicit – nondeclarative memory – unconscious memories – riding a bike, playing an instrument, toasting a bagel (procedural memories) Explicit – declarative memory – able to say and explain how they know Ex. Someone suffering from the kind of amnesia that does not allow him to form new memories will be able to (1) read a story faster the second time (though not able to recall the story was read at all previously), (2) say the word “perfume” after being shown the word many times and then prompted to say the word that first comes to mind starting with “per.” 33) How does the cerebellum work with memory? Plays a key role in forming and storing implicit memories created by classical conditioning (association) If the cerebellum is damaged, certain reflexes don’t develop 34) What is the hippocampus and how is it associated with memory? Part of the limbic system, there are 2 of them, in the temporal lobe (above each ear and about an inch and a half straight in) Left side associated with verbal information Right side associated visual information New explicit memories of names, images, and events are laid down via the hippocampus Can grow as more information is given it Active during slow-wave sleep as memories are processed and filed for retrieval Memories seem to move out of the hippocampus and into other parts of the brain after 48 hours. They’ve moved into long-term memory. During sleep there are mirroring activity rhythms in both the cortex and the hippocampus – as the memory “files” are transferred 35) What is recall? Ability to retrieve information not in conscious awareness Can be done through recognition (multiple-choice test) or relearning (going over information previously learned and doing it more quickly – as in a review) 36) What is priming? Wakening of associations Ex. See the word “rabbit” over and over. Ask the person to spell “hair/hare.” “Hare” will be spelled. 37) How does context affect recall? Helps in remembering Ex. You realize while in the kitchen that you need something from the garage. You go to the garage and draw a blank: why am I here? Return to the kitchen, and you remember what you needed. 38) What is déjà vu and how is it explained? French for “already seen” Experiencing something knew gives feeling of having already experienced it Explanation 1 – Something familiar in the surroundings allows for an earlier memory to be retrieved, giving you the feeling of having seen/experienced it already. Explanation 2 – Parallel processing may cause a slight malfunction – a new experience may be processed as a memory. 39) What is state-dependent memory? Whatever emotional or physical state you were in when the experience occurred will allow you to better retrieve the memory. Ex. Reason to recreate events when trying to reconstruct a crime memory. 40) What is mood-congruence? Whatever mood you are in will help recall experiences of a similar mood. This means that if you are happy, everything will seem happy because you are now recalling similar happy events. The opposite is true as well. 41) What are the seven sins of memory? 3 sins of forgetting absent-mindedness – inattention to details leads to encoding failure Ex. – our mind is elsewhere as we lay down the keys transience – storage decay over time Ex. – after we part ways with former classmates, unused information (such as their names) fades blocking – inaccessibility of stored information Ex. – seeing an actor in an old movie, we feel the name on the tip of our tongue but experience retrieval failure – we cannot get it out 3 sins of distortion misattribution – confusing the source of information Ex. – putting words in someone else’s mouth or remembering a dream as an actual happening suggestibility – the lingering effects of misinformation Ex. – a leading question – “Did Mr. Jones touch you inappropriately?” – later becomes a child’s false memory bias – belief-colored recollections Ex. – current feelings toward a friend may color our recalled initial feelings 1 sin of intrusion persistence – unwanted memories Ex. – being haunted by images of a gun-point robbery 42) Can age affect our ability to encode and retrieve? Yes Brain areas that encode new information are less responsive in older persons Often, an older adult has not forgotten the information, just seems unable to get to it easily 43) What is the forgetting curve? Developed by Ebbinghaus Forgetting is huge the first 5 days after learning something Then, levels off but what is retained seems to be retained “forever” If what is learned took a year to learn, then the drop does not level off until 5 YEARS later 44) Other than a biological reason, what could be the rationale for failure in retrieval? Interference Learning some items that are similar in nature makes it difficult to recall all 45) How does sleep affect memory? Material learned 1-2 hours before sleeping is better retained Less retroactive interference – what could you possibly learn while sleeping? 46) What is positive transfer? Old information can help in the learning of new Ex. Having learned Spanish can make learning Italian easier 47) What are the 2 types of interference? Proactive (forward-acting) – something you learned earlier disrupts your recall of something you experience later Pro – moving forward – positive (as in a number line) – the arrow “hurts/hits” something in the future Retroactive (backward-acting) – something you learned recently makes it harder to recall something you learned earlier Retro – moving backward – negative (as in a number line again) – the arrow moves back, “hurting/hitting” something in the past 48) Why do we change events in our memory? Because it suits us We may change memory to make us look better 49) What is repression? Freud proposed In order to function properly, we “forget” (by repressing) painful memories. Not true – emotional and traumatic events are difficult to forget 50) How do we construct memory? We retrieve the facts We may change them to make ourselves look better We may “fill in the blanks” of information we did not encode 51) What is the misinformation effect? Exposure to subtle misinformation, most people misremember Ex. The cars, that smashed into each other, were they speeding? Most people, having heard “smash,” conclude they were speeding. Ex. Photo of yourself at a party (which you did not attend) Now you “remember” being there. 52) What is the imagination inflation? If asked to imagine doing something (over and over), most people will actually think they have actually did this An imagined event becomes familiar; familiar events seem more real. Hence, what was not real, now becomes a “real” memory Ex. Séance leader (and actor) claims that the table is lifting and thanks everyone for concentrating deeply. This is done a few times. Weeks later participants claim the table moved. 53) What is source amnesia? Source misattribution We do not recall or recall incorrectly where we learned the information Ex. Event in our life – did we remember living the event or was it told to us? Dreamt something – is it real (we lived it) or we dreamt it? 54) How can we tell a false memory from a real one? False memories are more of an impression Real memories have a greater amount of detail Children’s memories from childhood tend to fade as the child matures 55) Knowing that memory can be faulty, how have police interrogations changed? Witnesses visualize the scene Recount everything – with as much detail as possible – and with no interruptions from the interrogator Follow-up questions are devoid of suggestions 56) Are memories of childhood abuse repressed or constructed? If the individual cannot remember it, more than likely it did not happen. Most psychologists do not believe repression can occur – since trauma is usually vividly remembered. Suggestions lead to reconstruction. Drugs and hypnosis act as suggestions. 57) What are some truths about childhood abuse? Sexual abuse happens – leaving the victim depressed or sexually dysfunctional Injustice happens – guilty people get away; innocent people get accused Forgetting happens – if the abuse was very early, children forget, especially before age 3 Recovered memories are commonplace – with cues, a person may remember; these cannot be too strong, however Whether real or false, memories can be emotionally upsetting 58) Who is Elizabeth Loftus? Famous psychologist Conducted much research on memory and childhood abuse 59) How can memory be improved? Study repeatedly – space out practice Make the material meaningful – how does this tie to you? Activate retrieval cues – return to the same location, recreated the mood Use mnemonic devices Minimize interference – study before sleeping, do not schedule back-to-back study sessions which may confuse one with the other Sleep more Test your knowledge