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Memory: famous quote by William
James (c1890)
“To constantly remember
everything all the time,
would probably
be worse than
remembering
nothing at all”
Concept: Primary & Secondary Memory
A typical definition of memory:
“Systemised storage of information
based on experience in which these
events are processed and are stored
ready for use and this information can
be utilised for past, present or future”.
(Take notes under following headings)
• Past……………………….
• Present…………………..
• Future……………………
What has memory to do with
making sense of other people?
Amygdala
Frontal Cortex
Hippocampus
Cognitive Neuroscience
Memory (1.1)
The Multi-Store Model (Atkinson and
Shiffrin, 1968)
Key terms / concepts:
Encoding Storage
Retrieval Attention
Sensory
Store
LTM
Store
STM
Store
Sensory
Store
The Multi-Store Model cont…
Serial flow of information (processes):
Encode > Store > Retrieve
(Draw as a ‘Box & arrow’ Diagram)
Concepts:
Cognitive Psychology
Receiving information: ‘The Cocktail Party Effect’
The Multi-Store Model cont…
Store
Sensory
Store
Attention
Short –
term
Store
Recall
Task: Explain how the model works:
Long –
term
Store
MSM: Characteristics of the
stores (and how we know)
Memory
Store
Sensory
Duration
Capacity
Less than one
second
Very limited
Short-term
20-30 seconds
Peterson &
Peterson (1959)
7 +/- 2 chunks of
information
Miller (1956)
Infinite
Infinite
Bahrick et al (1975)
‘Lexical Capability’
Murdock (1962)
Long-term
How do we know (2): Murdock (1962)
Total
Recall
1
3
2
First words
LTM
Store
Primacy Effect
Middle words
Rehearsal
Last words
STM
Store
Recency Effect
Do AMRC p10 textbook. Copy above, define ‘Primacy &
Recency Effect’ and explain what is going on at points 1/2/3 and
how does this support the model?
Concept: Schemata (pl. schema)
• One of the most important concepts in cognitive
psychology:
“A complex bundle of
information or associations
stored in the brain which
cognitively represents
something, often in a vague sort
of way”
It can be: an object, stored general knowledge, how to do
something or an event.
You have never seen these particular things
before, so how do you know that they are all
windows except one?
(1.2) Other explanations of memory:
Bartlett (1932)
A Study of Reconstructive Memory
Fredrick Bartlett created the
expression:
‘RECONSTRUCTIVE
MEMORY’
(1.2) Another explanation of
memory……
• Craik and Lockhart (1972)
“Levels of Processing”
(Looks like)
(Sounds like)
(what it means)
Surface >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Deep
Which is best for
recall?
How do we know about levels of
brain activity?... Brain scanning
• CAT
• PET
• MRI
• fMRI
(1.3) Why we forget?
• Memory is a great mystery. It
can involve all our senses
(vision, sound, smell etc). We
can have vivid memories from
years and years ago. Yet we can
also forget something from
literally seconds earlier.
Activity
Discuss the following:
• Give some examples of things you
regularly forget such as names etc.
• The main reasons why you forget these
things
• Techniques you have used to try and
improve your memory
Displacement and Decay in STM
• It’s important to look at some of the
reasons why we lose information
• Displacement: items currently in STM are
pushed out to make room for incoming
new ones
• Decay: the memory trace disappears over
time so the memory fades away
Displacement and Decay in STM
• According to the decay theory, info is
forgotten because of time rather than
displacement
Displacement and Decay in LTM
• Decay: Material can be lost in LTM
through disuse
• Skills that have not been used may fade
away but other skills that require motor
memory seem to stick
(1.3) Why we forget: Interference
Define the following:
• Interference
• Retroactive interference* (old<<<<new)
• Proactive interference* (old>>>>new)
Interference
Memory traces are disrupted or obscured
by other info
2 types: Retroactive: when new info
interferes with old info e.g phone
numbers
Proactive: when an old memory trace
disrupts new info e.g. ringing your old
number
Baddeley and Hitch (1977)
• Asked rugby players to recall the name
of the teams they had played against
during the previous season
• Due to numerous reasons some
players had taken part in more games
than others
Baddeley and Hitch (1977)
• Two games back to some players may
mean two weeks ago to some but for
others it could mean 4 – 5 weeks ago
• Some players had taken part in more
games
• This allowed B and H to find out if time
was a factor or the no of intervening
games
Baddeley and Hitch (1977)
• The critical factor was the number of
games played during that time period
• So basically forgetting seemed to be
due to interference and not decay
Retrieval Failure in LTM
• Forgetting occurs because the correct
cues are not available
• Brown (1991) reviewed 25 years of
research into the tip of the tongue
phenomenon
• People can generally recall the 1st letter
of the target name or word 50-70% of
the time
Context dependant retrieval
• Psychologists have been interested in the
effects of the learning environment on recall
• It has been found that environmental
differences need to be substantial before any
significant difference in recall performance
can be demonstrated
• It has been shown that imagining the original
environment can be helpful
Smith (1970)
• Smith gave participants a list of 80
words to learn while sitting in a
distinctive basement room.
• The following day he tested some
participants in the same basement
room and others in a fifth floor room
with different décor and atmosphere.
Smith (1970)
• Average recall for the basement group
was 18 items
• Those in the 5th floor averaged 12 items
• A 3rd group were tested in the upstairs
room and instructed to imagine
themselves in the basement room.
These students averaged 17 items
State dependent retrieval
• Evidence that the internal environment has
an affect on retrieval
• Goodwin (1969) found that heavy drinkers
who learn things in a drunken state are more
likely to recall them in a similar state