1. How to Improve the Chance of Future Retrieval
Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 05/02/2018: Lecture 06-3
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2. Lecture probably ends here
Outline
Generating related ideas strengthens memory. 
Generating related mental images strengthens memory. 
Testing effect - testing enhances future recall of tested material
The spacing effect
Organizing the material strengthens memory for the memory
Illusions of Learning
Matching the context of retrieval to the context of encoding
Lecture probably ends here
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
The Testing Effect

3. The Testing Effect
Testing memories strengthens memories, i.e., it increases the likelihood of retrieving the memories at a later time.
It is not necessary to give the student feedback whether his or her answers are correct.
This is true regardless of whether the subject succeeds in retrieving the information at the time of testing.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Roediger & Karpicke Experiment that Demonstrates the Testing Effect

4. Testing Improves Later Retrieval
Recall test
Recall test
Testing Group
Delay
Figure Roediger` & Karpicke (2006)
Read passage
Solve math problems
5 minutes 2 days, or 1 week
7 minutes
7 minutes
2 minutes
Reread passage
Recall test
Rereading Group
Delay
Read prose passage for 7 minutes (study)
Solve math problem for 2 minutes. (take a break)
Testing group: Take a recall test for 7 minutes. Rereading group: Reread passage for 7 minutes.
Both groups get a recall test following a delay (5 minutes; 2 days; 1 week)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Same Slide: No Emphasis Rectangles

5. Testing Improves Later Retrieval
Recall test
Recall test
Testing Group
Delay
Figure Roediger` & Karpicke (2006)
Read passage
Solve math problems
5 minutes 2 days, or 1 week
7 minutes
7 minutes
2 minutes
Reread passage
Recall test
Rereading Group
Delay
Read prose passage for 7 minutes (study)
Solve math problem for 2 minutes. (take a break)
Testing group: Take a recall test for 7 minutes. Rereading group: Reread passage for 7 minutes.
Both groups get a recall test following a delay (5 minutes; 2 days; 1 week)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Results from Roediger & Karpicke Study

6. Results for the Roediger & Karpicke (2006) Study
5 minutes days week Delay
Rereading Testing
Proportion of Idea Units Recalled
Rereading produces better memory after 5 minute delay.
Testing produces better memory after 2 day & 1 week delay.
The superiority of recall test increases over time.
Why does the recall test produce better memory (more successful retrieval) after the longer delays?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Why Does Testing Have Greater Advantage at Longer Delays?

7. Why Does Testing Improve Memory at Longer Delays?
5 minutes days week Delay
Rereading Testing
Proportion of Idea Units Recalled
Explanation 1: Rereading the material strengthens the episodic memory for the experience of studying the target material.
Testing strengthens the semantic memory for associations between the target material and other knowledge.
Testing also strengthen priming between associated ideas and the target material.
Episodic memories lose strength faster than implicit memories and semantic memories.
General idea: Practice makes perfect. If you want to remember something at a future time, you need to practice remembering.
A full explanation of why testing creates a longer lasting memory requires a discussion of consolidation. Testing promotes consolidation of a memory. Rereading temporarily strengthens the memory but does not promote consolidation to the same degree.
Typical mistake: People think that the goal of study is to encode the information. No! Primary goal is successful retrieval.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Explanation 2 for the Same Results

8. Why Does Testing Improve Memory at Longer Delays?
5 minutes days week Delay
Rereading Testing
Proportion of Idea Units Recalled
Explanation 2: Retrieval is a mental skill – it improves with practice.
Attempting to retrieve information X helps you develop better retrieval strategies for X.
Attempting to retrieve information X will consolidate the memory of X.
General idea: Practice makes perfect. If you want to remember something at a future time, you need to practice remembering.
A full explanation of why testing creates a longer lasting memory requires a discussion of consolidation. Testing promotes consolidation of a memory. Rereading temporarily strengthens the memory but does not promote consolidation to the same degree.
Typical mistake: People think that the goal of study is to encode the information. No! Primary goal is successful retrieval.
Organizing the Material Increases the Chance of Future Retrieval
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

9. Goldstein’s Recommendations for Effective Study Habits
Goldstein's recommendations are largely the same as the one's I listed earlier in this lecture. These recommendations largely orginate in the work of Robert Bjork, a UCLA cognitive psychologist.
Elaborate on the given information
Generate associations to other knowledge
Test yourself without an answer key in front of you
Organize the material in a meaningful way
Take breaks
Beware of "illusions of learning"
NOTICE: Memorization is NOT a recommended study habit!
Next
Organization Promotes Stronger Memory
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

10. Organizing the Information at Encoding Improves Later Retrieval
Principle: It is easier to remember information that is organized in some reasonable way than information that is disorganized.
Bower, Clark, Lesgold, & Winzenz (1969): Words that are organized into categories are remembered much better than the same words in a disorganized list.
Tulving (1962): Given unorganized lists of words, subjects who create their own organization of the words do best at recalling the words.
Why Organizing Promotes Future Retrieval
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

11. Why Organization Promotes Future Retrieval
The effort to organize the material has mnemonic value because:
Organizing the material causes you to chunk the material. It is easier to retrieve a few chunks than many separate pieces of information.
Organizing the material generally requires linking it to other knowledge. These links serve as retrieval cues.
Generating your own organization is more beneficial than having someone else give you an organization.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
The Spacing Effect

12. E.g., study for 2 hours straight.
The Spacing Effect
Massed practice: Many trials with the same stimuli are undertaken without interruption.
E.g., study for 2 hours straight.
Distributed practice: Trials with the same stimuli are separated by periods with other activities.
Study for 30 minutes, take a 10 minute break (think about something else),
Study for 30 minutes, take a 10 minute break (think about something else).
Spacing Effect: Distributed practice produces stronger memories than massed practice.
Why does the spacing effect occur?
Why does spacing effect occur? Reinstatement of previous learning promotes consolidation, i.e., temporary forgetting following by reinstatement of previous learning strengthens previous learning.
Also, temporary forgetting can help to see new connections to other knowledge.
Sleep strengthens memory.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Overview Diagram: Effective Study Methods

13. FACTORS THAT AID ENCODING & RETRIEVAL
Active Memory
Create Connections
Organization
“Chicken experiment” (Goldstein, pp ). To remember “chicken”, it is more effective to study the cue, “The great bird swooped down and carried off the struggling chicken,” than to study the cue, “She cooked the chicken.” The longer sentence produces a more dramatic image and it results in better retrieval.
“Baloon experiment” (Goldstein, ). It is easier to remember a story about a balloon if you have a picture that helps you understand the story than without the picture. Without the picture, the story does not make much sense and it is very hard to remember.
Generate related ideas
Testing
Interactive Imagery (boat-tree)
Link to self (self-reference effect)
Recall by groups i.e., recall related items together
Present in an organized way (“tree” experiment)
Meaningful framework (“balloon” experiment)
Goldstein (2014), Figure 7.5, p. 184
Repeat Goldstein's Recommendations for Study - Emphasis on Illusions of Learning
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

14. Goldstein’s Recommendations for Effective Study Habits
Elaborate on the given information
Generate associations to other knowledge
Test yourself without an answer key in front of you
Organize the material in a meaningful way
Take breaks
Beware of "illusions of learning"
NOTICE: Memorization is NOT a recommended study habit!
Next
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Illusions of Learning

15. Illusions of Learning
Illusions of learning - some study habits produce a false impression of having learned something.
Immediate testing versus delayed testing.
Immediate testing: Test immediately after a period of study.
Delayed testing: Test after a delay of 20 minutes.
Students who engage in immediate testing feel more confident that they have learned the material than students who engage in delayed testing.
Students who engage in immediate testing later perform worse than students who engage in delayed testing.
Rereading the material give students greater confidence that they know the material then testing, but it actually leads to lower performance.
Goldstein has other examples.
Effects of Encoding Context and Retrieval Context - Three Interesing Relationships
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

16. Effect of Encoding Context & Retrieval Context
Encoding specificity
State-dependent memory
Transfer appropriate processing
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Encoding Specificity

17. Encoding Specificity
Encoding Specificity: Retrieval of a memory is more likely if ....
... cues are present at retrieval that were also present at encoding.
E.g., if you want to remember info about the hippocampus, retrieval should be more successful if you are tested in Gowen 201 than if your attempts to retrieve this information occur in a different context, e.g., a one-on-one conversation with a TA in a coffee shop.
... cues are present at retrieval that were present at previous retrievals.
E.g., if you previously tried to remember information about the hippocampus while discussing some issue with a friend, then future attempts to remember info about the hippocampus should be more successful while discussing this issue or other issues with this friend or other friends.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Deep Sea Divers Memory

18. Deep Sea Divers’ Memory
Miyamoto's graph of the results for deep sea divers' memory
Goldstein's chart of the results for deep sea divers' memory
Goldstein, Figure 7.10a (p. 190)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Analogous Result for Students Who Study for a Test

19. Wednesday, 2 May, 2018: The Lecture Ended Here
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

20. Deep Sea Divers’ Memory
Deep sea divers learned (encoded) word lists on land or under water.
Later the divers had to recall these words either on land or under water.
Cross-over interaction indicates encoding specificity.
Top & bottom figures show the same information.
Top figure is JM’s preferred way to look at the data.
Bottom figure is Figure 7.10a (p. 190) in the Goldstein textbook.
Goldstein, Figure 7.10a (p. 190)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Analogous Result for Students Who Study for a Test

21. Deep Sea Divers’ Memory
Students Taking Test
Study in Noisy Place
Test Score
Study in Quiet Place
Test Noisy
Test Quiet
Goldstein, Figure 7.10a (p. 190)
Goldstein, Figure 7.10b (p. 190)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Same Slide with Grey Barrier Removed

22. Deep Sea Divers’ Memory
Students Taking Test
Study in Noisy Place
Test Score
Study in Quiet Place
Test Noisy
Test Quiet
Goldstein, Figure 7.10a (p. 190)
Goldstein, Figure 7.10b (p. 190)
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Minor Ethical Dilemma

23. Minor Ethical Dilemma
If you want to do well on an exam, study under conditions that are just like the exam.
If you want to remember the course for general purpose needs, study under diverse circumstances.
What’s your goal? Doing well on the exam? Knowing and understanding the course material?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
State Dependent Memory