The Learning – Retention Controversy Memory Stage Analysis Retention Learning Retrieval The Learning – Retention Controversy Results from the fact that there is no independent test for learning (without also simultaneously studying memory) and vice versa.

Electrical Activity of the Neuron Measures of Retention Recall – to reproduce from memory materials that were earlier presented. Examples: Fill-in question on an exam Identify suspect by sketch Electrical Activity of the Neuron

Electrical Activity of the Neuron Measures of Retention Recall Free Recall – reproduce the remembered items in any order Serial Recall – to be considered correct, items must be recalled in the order in which they were presented Electrical Activity of the Neuron - Within the serial recall task we observe one of the most ubiquitous phenomena in all of psychology, “The Serial Position Effect”

Electrical Activity of the Neuron Measures of Retention Recall Free Recall – reproduce the remembered items in any order Serial Recall – to be considered correct, items must be recalled in the order in which they were presented Electrical Activity of the Neuron - Within the serial recall task we observe one of the most ubiquitous phenomena in all of psychology, “The Serial Position Effect” Let’s Score Our Results!

Measures of Retention Recall “The Magical Number 7 ± 2” George A. Miller Our ability to recall unrelated pieces of information that have just been presented may be severely limited (e.g., a number series) Capacity can be extending by imposing organization on the materials we are trying to remember. E.G., “chunking”

Measures of Retention Recall Recognition – identifying information that was previously presented e.g., a multiple choice test item a police line-up

The Recognition Memory Paradigm Stage 1 – The TBR Stage Materials are presented with the explicit instructions that these are materials “to be remembered” Stage 2 - The Test Stage TBR items are randomly intermixed with materials that were not part of the originally presented TBR materials Subject’s task is to identify “Old” from “New”

The Ralph Haber Experiment The stimulus materials were photographic slides taken with a 35mm film camera. Each slide was distinct but commonplace scene. A total of 20,000 slides were taken. 10,000 slides chosen at random were presented each once for 20 seconds with the instructions “try to remember all of the scenes”. These 10,000 slides were then randomly interspersed with the remaining 10,000 slides that the subject had not previously seen. Test consisted of 20,000 slides. Subject pressed a button to indicate “saw it before” (Old) or “never saw it before” (New). DV – the percent correct recognitions during the test stage.

The Ralph Haber Experiment Results George Miller findings – predict an extremely low percent correct score. Actual result was astounding – 97% accuracy. Suggests that we are dealing with a dramatically different memory process from that studied by Miller.

The STM vs LTM Distinction Psychologists believe there are two distinct memory processes: STM (Short term memory) probably mediated in the hippocampus, and LTM (Long term memory) residing in the cerebral cortex. STM includes those things we know that we are actively aware of at the present moment. Information resides here 30 seconds to a few minutes. LTM includes all those experiences and knowledge elements that we have ever acquired. This information can last a lifetime.

Measures of Retention Recall Recognition Relearning – learning curve for relearning is always steeper than curve for initial learning Relearning Initial Learning

Measures of Retention Recall Recognition Relearning – learning curve for relearning is always steeper than curve for initial learning. Improved performance during relearning must be due to memory for the materials being retained. I - R I = Amount of time or number of trials required for initial learning Amount of time or number of trials required for relearning Savings = I R = E.G. 20 - 10 = .5 = 50% Savings = 20

Nonsense Syllables (Hermann Ebbinghaus) Ebbinghaus wished to study the verbal learning process without the interference of what subjects previously knew about the materials to be learned. To do this he created new verbal materials that subjects had no prior experience with (meaningless). The Nonsense Syllable was the result. The Nonsense Syllable was a string of letters (usually three) that did not spell a word. BAF LOD RIW WAJ DOP Some Examples of CVC Trigrams

Are Nonsense Syllables Meaningless? BNK DRP MLK PLM SPT BSF LGD RPW WRJ DLP The list on the right is more “meaningful” than the list on the left in that these items have a higher Association Value. How easily does the item remind us of something that has meaning for us?

Factors Affecting Memory Conditions During Learning Attention (Greater Attention Greater Retention) Intentional Learning vs Incidental Learning Amount of Practice (More Practice Better Retention) Overlearning – practice beyond criterion Nature of the Material To Be Remembered Meaningfulness Concreteness - Abstractness Organization Chunking – Concise encoding of information Clustering – remembering according to category Assimilation – perceptions alter memory of object Mnemonics – memory systems or aids

Factors Affecting Memory Conditions During Learning Conditions During the Retention Interval Disuse Theory – Memory is a trace which grows weaker over time Interference Theory – The amount of time between learning and test for retention is not the important variable, it’s what happens during that interval that matters Jenkins & Dallenbach Study Subjects learned lists of materials and then were tested for retention 8 hours later. Subjects that slept during the retention interval (presumably experiencing less interference) remembered better than subjects who remained awake during retention

Factors Affecting Memory Conditions During Learning Conditions During the Retention Interval Conditions During Retrieval Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon Cued Recall Procedure (Tulving and Pearlstone) Penfield - Electrical Stimulation of the Temporal Region Postevent Retrieval Cues (Loftus and Palmer)