Chapter 9 Memory Table of Contents Exit

Memory: Some Key Terms Memory: Active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves) information Encoding: Converting information into a useable form Storage: Holding this information in memory Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.1 In some ways, a computer acts like a mechanical memory system. Both systems process information, and both allow encoding, storage, and retrieval of data. Table of Contents Exit

Sensory Memory Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few seconds (either what is seen or heard); the first stage of memory Icon: A fleeting mental image or visual representation Echo: After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of the activity in the auditory system Table of Contents Exit

Short-Term Memory (STM) Storing small amounts of information briefly Working Memory: Part of STM; like a mental “scratchpad” Selective Attention: Focusing (voluntarily) on a selected portion of sensory input (e.g., selective hearing) Phonetically: Storing information by sound; how most things are stored in STM Very sensitive to interruption or interference Table of Contents Exit

Long-Term Memory (LTM) Storing information relatively permanently Stored on basis of meaning and importance Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 2 Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps Fig. 9.2 Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps. Incoming information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory. If new information is not rapidly encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is transferred to long-term memory, it becomes relatively permanent, although retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful model of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain (Eysenck & Keane, 1995). Table of Contents Exit

Short-Term Memory Concepts Digit Span: Test of attention and short-term memory; string of numbers is recalled forward or backward Typically part of intelligence tests Magic Number 7 (Plus or Minus 2): STM is limited to holding seven (plus or minus two) information bits at once Information Bit: Meaningful single piece of information Table of Contents Exit

More Short-Term Memory Concepts Recoding: Reorganizing or modifying information in STM Information Chunks: Bits of information that are grouped into larger chunks Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM Elaborative Rehearsal: Links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM Good way to transfer STM information into LTM Table of Contents Exit

Long-Term Memory Concepts Constructive Processing: Updating long-term memories on basis of logic, guessing, or new information Pseudo-Memories: False memories that a person believes are true or accurate Memory Structure: Pattern of associations among bits of information in LTM Redintegrative Memory: Memories that are reconstructed or expanded by starting with one memory and then following chains of association to related memories Table of Contents Exit

Types of Long-Term Memories Procedural: Long-term memories of conditioned responses and learned skills, e.g., driving Declarative: LTM factual information Semantic Memory: Impersonal facts and everyday knowledge Subset of declarative memory Episodic: Personal experiences linked with specific times and places Table of Contents Exit

CNN – Alzheimer’s Babies Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.3 Exposed cerebral cortex of a patient undergoing brain surgery. Numbers represent points that reportedly produced “memories” when electrically stimulated. A critical evaluation of such reports suggests that they are more like dreams than memories. His fact raises questions about claims that long-term memories are permanent (From Wilder Penfield, The Excitable Cortex in Conscious Man, 1958. Courtesy of the author and Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Springfield, Illinois.) Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.6 The tower puzzle. In this puzzle, all the colored disks must be moved to another post, without ever placing a larger disk on a smaller one. Only one disk may be moved at a time, and a disk must always be moved from one post to another (it cannot be held aside). An amnesic patient learned to solve the puzzle in 31 moves, the minimum possible. Even so, each time he began, he protested that he did not remember ever solving the puzzle before and that he did not know how to begin. Evidence like this suggests that skill memory is distinct from memories for facts. Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.7 In the model shown here, long-term memory is divided into procedural memory (learned actions and skills) and declarative memory (stored facts). Declarative memories can be either semantic (impersonal knowledge) or episodic (personal experiences associated with specific times and places). Table of Contents Exit

Measuring Memory Tip-of-the Tongue (TOT): Feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable Recall: Direct retrieval of facts or information Hardest to recall items in the middle of a list; known as Serial Position Effect Easiest to remember last items in a list because they are still in STM Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 8 The serial position effect Fig. 9.8 The serial position effect. The graph shows the percentage of subjects correctly recalling each item in a 15-item list. Recall is best for the first and last items. (Data from Craik, 1970.) Table of Contents Exit

Measuring Memory (cont.) Recognition Memory: Previously learned material is correctly identified Usually superior to recall Distractors: False items included with a correct item Wrong choices on multiple-choice tests False Positive: False sense of recognition Relearning: Learning again something that was previously learned Used to measure memory of prior learning Table of Contents Exit

Measuring Memory (cont.) Savings Score: Amount of time saved when relearning information Explicit Memory: Past experiences that are consciously brought to mind Implicit Memory: A memory not known to exist; memory that is unconsciously retrieved Priming: When cues are used to activate hidden memories Internal Images: Mental pictures Table of Contents Exit

Eidetic Imagery (Somewhat Like Photographic Memory) Occurs when a person (usually a child) has visual images clear enough to be scanned or retained for at least 30 seconds Usually projected onto a “plain” surface, like a blank piece of paper Usually disappears during adolescence and is rare by adulthood Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.10 Test picture like that used to identify children with eidetic imagery. To test your eidetic imagery, look at the picture for 30 seconds. Then look at a blank surface and try to “project” the picture on it. If you have good eidetic imagery, you will be able to see the picture in detail. Return now to the text and try to answer the questions there. (Redrawn from an illustration in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.) Table of Contents Exit

Forgetting Nonsense Syllables: Meaningless three-letter words (fej, quf) that test learning and forgetting Encoding Failure: When a memory was never formed in the first place Memory Traces: Physical changes in nerve cells or brain activity that occur when memories are stored Memory Decay: When memory traces become weaker; fading or weakening of memories Disuse: Theory that memory traces weaken when memories are not used or retrieved Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 11 The curve of forgetting Fig. 9.11 The curve of forgetting. This graph shows the amount remembered (measured by relearning) after varying lengths of time. The material learned was nonsense syllables. Forgetting curves for meaningful information also show early losses followed by a long, gradual decline, but overall, forgetting occurs much more slowly. (After Ebbinghaus, 1885.) Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9.13 Some of the distracter items used in a study of recognition memory and encoding failure. Penny A is correct but was seldom recognized. Pennies G and J were popular wrong answers. (Adapted from Nickerson & Adams, 1979.) Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 12 Pick a card from the six shown Fig.9.12 Pick a card from the six shown. Look at it closely and be sure you can remember which card is yours. Now, tap all four corners of this page with your fingertip. When you’re done, look at Fig.9.14 Table of Contents Exit

Some More Theories of Forgetting Memory Cue: Any stimulus associated with a memory; usually enhances retrieval of a memory A person will forget if cues are missing at retrieval time State-Dependent Learning: When memory retrieval is influenced by body state; if your body state is the same at the time of learning AND the time of retrieval, retrievals will be improved If Robert is drunk and forgets where his car is parked, it will be easier to recall the location if he gets drunk again! Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 14 Poof. The card you chose in Fig. 9. 12 is gone Fig.9.14 Poof! The card you chose in Fig. 9.12 is gone. Obviously, you could have selected any one of the six cards in Fig.9.12. How did I know which one to remove? This trick is based entirely on an illusion of memory. Recall that you were asked to concentrate on one card in Fig.9.12. That prevented you from paying attention to the other cards, so they weren’t stored in your memory. The five cards you see here are all new (none were shown in Fig.9.12). Because you couldn’t find your card in the “remaining five,” it looked like your card had disappeared. Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 15 The effect of mood on memory Fig. 9.15 The effect of mood on memory. Subjects best remembered a list of words when their mood during testing was the same as their mood was when they learned the list. (Adapted from Bower, 1981.) Table of Contents Exit

Even More (!) Theories of Forgetting Interference: Tendency for new memories to impair retrieval of older memories, and vice versa Retroactive Interference: Tendency for new learning to interfere with retrieval of old learning Proactive Interference: Prior learning inhibits (interferes with) recall of later learning Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 17 Effects of interference on memory Fig. 9.17 Effects of interference on memory. A graph of the approximate relationship between percentage recalled and number of different word lists memorized. (Adapted from Underwood, 1957.) Table of Contents Exit

Fig. 9. 18 Retroactive and proactive interference Fig. 9.18 Retroactive and proactive interference. The order of learning and testing shows whether interference is retroactive (backward) or proactive (forward). Table of Contents Exit

More on Forgetting Positive Transfer: Mastery of one task aids learning or performing another Negative Transfer: Mastery of one task conflicts with learning or performing another Table of Contents Exit

CNN – Memory Drugs Table of Contents Exit

Repression and Suppression Repression: Unconsciously pushing painful, embarrassing, or threatening memories out of awareness/consciousness Motivated forgetting, according to some theories Suppression: Consciously putting something painful or threatening out of mind or trying to keep it from entering awareness Table of Contents Exit

Flashbulb Memories Memories created during times of personal tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant events Where were you when you heard that terrorists had attacked the USA on September 11th, 2001? Includes both positive and negative events Not always accurate Great confidence is placed in them even though they may be inaccurate Table of Contents Exit

Memory Formation Retrograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that occurred before an injury or trauma Anterograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that follow an injury or trauma Consolidation: Forming a long-term memory Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS): Mild electrical shock passed through the brain, destroying any memory that is being formed; one way to prevent consolidation Table of Contents Exit

Memory Structures Hippocampus: Brain structure associated with information passing from short-term memory into long-term memory If damaged, person can no longer “create” long-term memories and thus will always live in the present Memories prior to damage will remain intact Engram: Memory trace in the brain Table of Contents Exit

Ways to Improve Memory Knowledge of Results: Feedback allowing you to check your progress Recitation: Summarizing aloud while you are learning Rehearsal: Reviewing information mentally (silently) Selection: Selecting most important concepts to memorize Organization: Organizing difficult items into chunks; a type of reordering Table of Contents Exit

Ways to Improve Memory (cont.) Whole Learning: Studying an entire package of information at once, like a poem Part Learning: Studying subparts of a larger body of information (like text chapters) Progressive Part Learning: Breaking learning task into a series of short sections Serial Position Effect: Making most errors while remembering the middle of the list Overlearning: Studying is continued beyond bare mastery Table of Contents Exit

Ways to Improve Memory (cont.) Spaced Practice: Alternating short study sessions with brief rest periods Massed Practice: Studying for long periods without rest periods Lack of sleep decreases retention; sleep aids consolidation Hunger decreases retention Cognitive Interview: Technique used to improve memories of eyewitnesses Table of Contents Exit

Mnemonics: Memory “Tricks” Any kind of memory system or aid Using mental pictures Making things meaningful Making information familiar Forming bizarre, unusual, or exaggerated mental associations Table of Contents Exit

Using Mnemonics to Remember Things in Order Form a Chain: Remember lists in order, forming an exaggerated association connecting item one to two, and so on Take a Mental Walk: Mentally walk along a familiar path, placing objects or ideas along the path Use a system Table of Contents Exit

Seven Sins of Memory (Schacter, 2001) Transience: Stored information tends to fade with passage of time Absent-Mindedness: Weak, poorly encoded memories tend to cause absent-mindedness Blocking: Not being able to recall a word or a name that you know well Misattribution: Linking a memory with the wrong source, time, or place Table of Contents Exit

Seven Sins of Memory (cont.) Suggestibility: Suggestions and misleading questions can implant information that leads us to alter or revise our memories Bias: Memories are often distorted to match our beliefs and expectations Persistence: Memories of traumatic events may persist for many years Conclude: Memory limitations that appear to be flaws are actually adaptive features in some situations Table of Contents Exit