Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 I CAN Describe and Distinguish the seven sins Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Why Does Memory Sometimes Fail Us? Most of our memory problems arise from memory’s “Seven Sins” – which are really by-products of otherwise adaptive features of human memory Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Memory’s “Seven Sins” Transience Absent-Mindedness Blocking Misattribution Suggestibility Bias Persistence Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Transience/Decay Theory Long term memories gradually weaken over time Biologically, we lose dendrites when LTM is unrehearsed Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve Percent retained 60 50 40 30 20 10 Days 5 10 15 20 25 30 Recall decreases rapidly, then reaches a plateau, after which little more is forgotten Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Absent-Mindedness Forgetting caused by lapses in attention Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Blocking Forgetting that occurs when an item in memory cannot be accessed or retrieved Caused by interference Proactive interference Retroactive interference Serial position effect Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Blocking (P.O.R.N.) Proactive Interference: Earlier learning interferes with memory for later information Old memories move ‘forward’ in time to block your attempt at new learning Example: When you drive a new car, you still reach for where the radio was in your old car Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Blocking (P.O.R.N.) Retroactive Interference: New information interferes with memory for information learned earlier New material reaches back into your memory to block old material Example: After driving your Mom’s car that has no clutch, you forget to use the clutch when your drive you own car Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Blocking Serial Position Effect: Interference related to the sequence in which information is presented …usually items in the middle of a sequence are remembered less than those first (primacy effect) or last (recency effect) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Serial Position Effect 1.00 .50 .00 Theoretically, the primacy effect represents recall from long-term memory and the recency effect represents recall from short-term memory. Primacy Effect Probability of Recall Recency Effect 1 5 10 15 Serial Position of Item Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Next-in-line-Effect: When you are so anxious about being next that you cannot remember what the person just before you in line says, but you can recall what other people around you say. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Misattribution Memory fault that occurs when memories are retrieved, but they are associated with the wrong time, place, or person The older the memory, the more likely it is to suffer misattribution. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Suggestibility When external cues distort or create memories Suggestibility refers to false memories that you develop because someone or something gives you some key information at the same time that you’re trying to retrieve a memory. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Imagine that you saw someone fleeing from a car as its antitheft alarm was blaring. You didn’t get a good look at the thief, but another person on the street insisted that it was a man wearing a green plaid jacket. Later, when the police show you photos of possible suspects, you’re confused until you see a man dressed in a green plaid coat. Then you point to him. Suggestibility Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Misinformation Effect Loftus and Palmer found in studies that after seeing two cars collide, responses depended heavily upon how the questions were worded….using the word ‘smash’ instead of ‘hit’ Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Misinformation Effects A week later they were asked: Was there any broken glass? Group B (smashed into) reported more broken glass than Group A (hit). Group A: How fast were the cars going when they hit each other? Group B: How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other? Eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories when questioned about the event. OBJECTIVE 23| Explain how misinformation and imagination can distort our memory of an event. Depiction of the actual accident. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Fabricated Memories Repressed or Constructed? Some adults actually do forget childhood episodes of abuse. False Memory Syndrome A condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of a traumatic experience, which is sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Repressed Memories… The Return of Freud The scientific concept of repression is extremely shaky. No evidence that it can happen. In fact, the opposite seems to be true (PTSD) It has been shown that very vivid memory can be implanted into the minds of both adults and children. The subjects can´t discriminate real vs. implanted memories. The process of recovery (recovery therapy) is very similar to the process used for artificial implantation Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 19
Reconstructed Memories Time, misattribution, suggestibility can lead to false -or- RECONSTRUCTED memories
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Bias Feelings, beliefs, values, personality characteristics, etc can color a memory. EX a particularly happy person will have happily colored memories Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Persistence This failure of the memory system involves the unwanted recall of information that is disturbing This “bad memory” won’t leave you alone Associated with OCD, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobias, and Suicide Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 CAN I? Describe and Distinguish the seven sins Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
CAN I? Describe and Distinguish the seven sins Transience Absent-Mindedness Blocking Misattribution Suggestibility Bias Persistence Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007