Chapter 5: Memory: Models and Research Methods

Memory Is … The mechanism we use to create, maintain and retrieve information about the past Introductory slide to emphasis the important functions of memory. Discuss what life would be like with no memory.

Processes in Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval Processes used to store information in memory Storage Processes used to maintain information in memory Retrieval Processes used to get information back out of memory

Methods Used to Study Memory Which type of memory test would you rather have? An essay or a multiple choice exam? The difference between these two types of tests captures the difference between a recall task and a recognition test Most students prefer a multiple choice exam. Ask them why? Typically they say it is easier to recognize the correct answer. You then can lead the discussion to the difference between recall and recognition tests.

Methods Used to Study Memory Free Recall Recall all the words you can from the list you saw previously Cued Recall Recall everything you can that is associated with the Civil War Participants are given a cue to facilitate recall Serial Recall Recall the names of all previous presidents in the order they were elected Need to recall order as well as item names

Recognition Tasks Circle all the words you previously studied Indicate which pictures you saw yesterday The participant selects from a list of items they have previously seen

Implicit Versus Explicit Memory Tasks Involves conscious recollection Participant knows they are trying to retrieve information from their memory Implicit memory tasks Require participants to complete a task The completion of the task indirectly indicates memory

Implicit Memory Tasks Participants are exposed to a word list Tiger Lion Zebra Panda Leopard Elephant After a delay… Participants then complete word puzzles, they are not aware they are a type of memory test Word fragment Completion: C_E_TA_ E_E_ _A_ N_ _ E _ R A Word Stem Completion: Mon _____ Pan_____ No connection is made to the previously studied list. Participants are simply asked to make a word out of the word fragment. Some of the answers will be words the participant has seen before. Some of the fragments will be words they have not seen. Fragment completion rates of the previously seen words are then compared to completion rates of unseen words. The difference between the scores indicates memory. Answers to Word fragment completion: Cheetah, elephant, zebra; Word stem completion answers: Monkey, Panda.

Procedural Memory Knowing how to do something Ride a bike Skateboard Skiing

Methods to Assess Procedural Memory Rotary-Pursuit task Keep stylus on a dot on a rotating disk Mirror-tracing task Watch mirror image to trace a figure

Process-Dissociations in Memory Single dissociations Single variable effects one expression of memory, explicit or implicit, but not the other. Double dissociations Single variable has opposite effects on explicit and implicit memory. Demonstrate that two processes are mediated by separate brain systems.

Models of Memory Represent ways that memory has been conceptualized Atkinson & Shiffrin’s 3 Stage Model of Memory Craik & Lockhart’s Level of Processing Model Baddeley’s Working Memory Model Tulving’s Multiple Memory Systems Model McClelland & Rumelhart’s Connectionist Model

Traditional Model of Memory Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) 3 Stage Model Short -Term Store Long -Term Store Sensory Store Stimuli Information Processing Model

Sperling (1960) Iconic Memory Research Whole report procedure Flash a matrix of letters for 50 milliseconds Identify as many letters as possible Participants typically remembered 4 letters Partial Report Procedure Participants are told to report bottom row Participants were able to report any row requested

Sperling Sensory Memory Demonstration A matrix of 12 letters and numbers will be briefly flashed on the next few slides As soon as you see the information, write down everything you can remember in its proper location The following demonstration was created by Thomas P. Pusateri (2004) for Thomson/Wadsworth.

Whole Report Here’s where the letters and numbers will appear-- Keep your eyes on the “X” on the next slide X X X X Instructor Note: Once the students have written down all they can remember just click the mouse to see the matrix and determine how many items the students remember.

X B 5 Q T 2 H S 9 O 4 M Y

B 5 Q T 2 H S 9 O 4 M Y

Partial Report – No Delay For the next demonstration, report only the top, middle, or bottom row. The row to report will be identified by markers IMMEDIATELY after you see the letters. X X X X Instructor Note: Once the students have written down all they can remember just click the mouse to see the matrix and determine how many items the students remember.

X > < 2 V 9 R Q M 7 L > K H 5 F <

2 V 9 R Q M 7 L > K H 5 F <

Averbach & Coriell (1961) Iconic Memory Research N M L C W D P Q A X I N Y K J U - Showed matrix for 50 msec - Place a small mark above a letter at different delays Results indicated that as many as 12 letters could be stored in sensory memory Backward visual masking was also discovered with this technique Demonstration and discussion of Averbach & Coriell (1961) study. Just click and the demonstration will begin. See if students can correctly recall the letter F. Click again to see the full matrix and discuss the experiment.

G E U L M F S X W P M B D H J Y Second Demonstration - Showed matrix for 50 msec - Place a small mark above a letter at different delays Results indicated that as many as 12 letters could be stored in sensory memory Backward visual masking was also discovered with this technique Demonstration and discussion of Averbach & Coriell (1961) study. Just click and the demonstration will begin. See if students can correctly recall the letter F. Click again to see the full matrix and discuss the experiment.

Sensory Stores Iconic store or Visual sensory register Holds visual information for 250 msec longer Information held is pre-categorical Capacity – up to 12 items Information fades quickly Econ or Auditory sensory register Holds auditory information for 2-3 seconds longer to enable processing hpbahric@cc.owu.edu

Short-Term Memory Attention Rehearsal Retrieval Rehearsal Attend to information in the sensory store, it moves to STM Rehearsal Repeat the information to keep maintained in STM Retrieval Access memory in LTM and place in STM Short Term Memory (STM) Attention Storage & Retrieval

Research on Short-Term Memory Miller (1956) Examined memory capacity 7+/- 2 items or “chunks” Chunking - organize the input into larger units 1 9 8 0 1 9 9 8 2 0 0 3 - Exceeds capacity 1980 1998 2003 - Reorganize by chunking. Student using a chunking strategy can use LTM of important dates to remember a longer string of numbers. College Graduation Birth-year H.S graduation

Storage Capacity of STM Vogel, Woodman & Luck (2001) Used colors and orientations

Vogel, Woodman & Luck Results(2001) Can retain 3-4 colors or orientations Stores integrated objects, not just features

Long-Term Memory Capacity Duration Thus far limitless Potentially permanent Long Term Memory (LTM)

Bahrick’s Research on Very Long Term Memory High school year books containing all of the names and photos of the students were used to assess memory 392 ex-high school students (17-74) took 4 different memory tests: Free recall of the names A photo recognition test where they were asked to identify former classmates A name recognition test A name and photo matching test For some of the participants, it was as long as 48 years since they graduated from High school Bahrick, H. P., Bahrick, P.O., & Wittlinger, R. P. (1975). Fifty years of memory for names and faces: A cross-sectional approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 104(1), 54-75.

Bahrick et. al., (1975) Results 90% accuracy in face and name recognition after 34 years 80% accuracy for name recognition after 48 years 40% accuracy for face recognition after 48 years 60% accuracy for free recall after 15 years 30% accuracy for free recall after 30 years Note how the recognition results differ from the free recall results.

Levels of Processing Model of Memory Craik & Lockhart (1972) Different ways to process information lead to different strengths of memories Deep processing leads to better memory elaborating according to meaning leads to a strong memory Shallow processing emphasizes the physical features of the stimulus the memory trace is fragile and quickly decays Distinguished between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal Craik, F.I.M., & Lockhart, R.S. (1972). Levels of processing. A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 11, 671-684.

Support for Levels of Processing Craik & Watkins (1973) Participants listened to lists of words Task was to recall the last word in the list which began with a particular letter The number of intervening words between words beginning with the target letter was varied Assumption Whenever a word beginning with the target letter would be encountered, it would be maintained via rehearsal in STM until the next word beginning with the target letter was heard.

Craik & Watkins (1973) Results Recall of words was independent of the length of time (the number of intervening words) it was maintained in STM Conclusion: Maintenance rehearsal did not automatically lead to LTM Levels-of-Processing Interpretation: Students rehearsed the words without elaborating on the meaning of the words, only concentrating on the initial consonant sound—rehearsing at a shallow level

Support for Levels of Processing Craik & Tulving (1975) Participants studied a list in 3 different ways Structural: Is the word in capital letters? Phonemic: Does the word rhyme with dog? Semantic: Does the word fit in this sentence? The ______ is delicious. A recognition test was given to see which type of processing led to the best memory

Craik & Tulving (1975) Results

Criticisms of LOP Model Circular definition of levels Transfer appropriate processing effect Morris, Bransford, and Franks (1977) Two processing tasks: semantic vs. rhyme Two types of tests: standard yes/no recognition vs. rhyme test  Memory performance also depends on the match between encoding processes and type of test   Encoding Task Recognition Rhyme Semantic 0.83 0.31 0.62 0.49

Baddeleys’ Working Memory Model Central Executive Articulatory Loop Visual Scribe Visuo-spatial Sketch Pad Phonological Store Episodic Buffer Baddeley (1986) Baddeley’s model of working memory contains several elements: A central executive, auditory working memory, visuo-spatial working memory, and an episodic Buffer. Material can also enter conscious workspace from long-term memory.

Working Memory Model Articulatory Loop Visuo-spatial Sketch Pad Used to maintain information for a short time and for acoustic rehearsal Visuo-spatial Sketch Pad Used for maintaining and processing visuo-spatial information Episodic Buffer Used for storage of a multimodal code, holding an integrated episode between systems using different codes

Working Memory Model Central Executive Focuses attention on relevant items and inhibiting irrelevant ones Plans sequence of tasks to accomplish goals, schedules processes in complex tasks, often switches attention between different parts Updates and checks content to determine next step in sequence of parts

Working Memory Model Support Baddeley (1986) Participants studied two different list types 1 syllable: wit, sum, harm, bay, top 5 syllables: university, opportunity, aluminum, constitutional, auditorium Reading rate seemed to determine recall performance Supports conceptualization of an articulatory loop

Working Memory Model Support Visuo-spatial Sketch Pad Dual-task paradigm Sketchpad can be disrupted by requiring participants to tap repeatedly a specified pattern of keys or locations while using imagery at the same time

Techniques Examining Working Memory Fig. 5.5: Tasks and working memory.

Tulving’s Multiple-Memory Systems Model Semantic Memory General knowledge Facts, definitions, historical dates Episodic Memory Event memories (first kiss, 6th birthday) Procedural Memory Memories on how to do something (skiing, biking, tying your shoe)

Multiple-Memory Systems Model Support Nyberg, Cabeza, & Tulving (1996) PET technology to look at episodic and semantic memory Asked people to engage in semantic or episodic memory tasks while being monitored by PET   Results  Left (hemisphere) frontal lobe differentially active in encoding (both) and in semantic memory retrieval Right (hemisphere) frontal lobe differentially active in retrieval of episodic memory Nyberg, L., Cabeza, R., & Tulving, E. (1996). PET studies of encoding and retrieval: The HERA model. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 3, 135-148.

Connectionist Perspective Parallel distributed processing model Memory uses a network Meaning comes from patterns of activation across the entire network Spreading Activation Network Model Supported by priming effects

Koriat & Goldsmith (1996) Suggest a change in the metaphors used to conceptualize memory Propose a correspondence metaphor Emphasize function of memory Emphasize how memory works in real world Koriat, A., & Goldsmith, M. (1996). The correspondence metaphor of memory: Right, wrong, or useful?  Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 19, 211-228.

Exceptional Memory Case studies of mnemonists Studies of skilled memory

Case Studies S. (Luria, 1968) Rajan Mahadevan Long strings of words Remembered over 15-18 years Rajan Mahadevan Can recite pi to 31,811 places No forgetting on matrices up to 20x20 digits Original studies documenting exceptional memory case studies Luria A.R. (1968). The mind of the mnemonist. New York: Basic Books. Thompson, C. P., Cowan, T., Frieman, J., Mahadevan, R. S. Vogl, R. J., & Frieman, J. (19910, Rajan: A report on an exceptional memory. Memory and Language, 30, 702-724.

Deficient Memory Amnesias Retrograde Amnesia Infantile Amnesia Loss of memory for events that occurred before the trauma Infantile Amnesia Inability to recall events of young childhood Antereograde Amnesia No memory for events that occur after the trauma

Amnesia Studies Study antereograde amnesiacs using implicit and explicit memory tests Amnesiacs show normal priming (implicit), but poor recognition memory (explicit) They did not remember having seen the word list, but completed the word fragments at the same rate as normals

Alzheimer’s Disease Leads to memory loss and dementia in older population Atrophy of the cortical tissue Alzheimer brains shows abnormal fibers that appear to be tangles of brain tissue and senile plaques (patches of degenerative nerve endings) The resulting damage of these conditions may lead to disruption of impulses in neurons Over the age of 65 are labeled ‘late onset’ ‘Early onset’ is rare but can affect those in their mid 30's and in middle age

Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms (Gradual, Continuous & Irreversible) Memory loss Problems doing familiar tasks Problems with language Trouble knowing the time, date, or place Poor or decreased judgment Problems with abstract thinking Misplacing things often, such as keys Changes in mood and behavior Changes in personality These symptoms could be an early sign of Alzheimer's when it affects daily life

Hippocampus and Memory Critical for integration and consolidation Essential for declarative memory Without the hippocampus only the learning of skills and habits, simple conditioning, and the phenomenon of priming can occur