Chapter 7: Encoding, Retrieval, and Consolidation

Retrieval Practice (Testing Effect)

Many students have a tendency to just reread materials, and trick themselves through familiarity with the material, that they are deeply encoding the material. However, it is the students that make up questions and answer them that reform better on tests. EX: Two groups that both read a passage. Then they would solve a math problem to get it out of their short term memory. Then one group was immediately tested on the passage and one group reread the material. After a delay of 5 minutes (which the rereading group did better), 2 days or 1 week, the testing group did better in the long term. Over the course of the long delays, the testing group had much slower decay. Right in the beginning the strategy might feel awkward or uncomfortable because you are getting tested on information that you do not really know yet, but in the long term it is better.

Schema

Packets of information that are saved in our long term memory. We have schema for everything. Based off of one word and the schema for it are all the words that describe that one word or relate to it.

Incidental Memory Test

A surprise test, where the participant is not told that a memory test is coming. The purpose of this style is that it makes the results more accurate. That way the participant does not memorize the words intentionally where they naturally wouldn't which would muddy the results. EX: If participants knew that they were going to have a memory test, they would try to memorize the items intentionally when asking if the word had capital letters, therefore they wouldn't just be shallowly coding it.

Retrieval Cue

A word or other stimulus that helps a person remember information stored in memory. Often when a word in a particular category, serves as a retrieval cue for other words in that category. Retrieval cues can be many other things such as location or smell. EX: Remembering the word apple in a list is a retrieval cue for other fruits such as grape or plum. This is often why recall list are more organized than the original list that you read. EX: Wanted to make sure I remembered to grab my glass when heading out of my dorm to make sure that I had them for class. When I walked into the classroom I immediately remembered that I forgot my classes because of the retrieval cue of the classroom.

Levels of Processing Theory

An early idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval which says memory depends on the type of depth of processing than an item receives. Depth of Processing distinguishes between deep and shallow processing.

Retrograde v. Anterograde Amnesia

Anterograde has to do with all memories before the injury. People like H.M. from that time forward were not able to encode new explicit memories. Retrograde has to do with everything before the injury. It is grade anemia, because the memories that are more likely to be lost were the memories most recently formed because they are the most fragile. It is less likely that you will have memory loss the father back you go, like childhood. This is the idea that the hippocampus plays an important role in consolidating memories for a while, such that if you damage it, you are also damaging memories that are recently formed. The memories from way back don't seem to be as dependent on the hippocampus.

Self-Referencing Effect

Anytime you are making an explicit connection between what you're trying to remember and your schema, you remember it better. EX: This was shown in the classic FOL research study where the last question that researchers asked about about a list of words was "does this word describe you?" Subjects did way better in performance for this question, especially in words in which they said described theirselves. Most likely that the words become linked to something that we know very much about and have a lot of detail for: ourselves.

The Generating Effect

Anytime you the learner generates or creates the materials that you are studying from, you remember it better, rather than someone just handing it to you. This strategy is more effortful, making it a desirable difficulty and is very good for our memory. EX: The teacher effect: when you teach the material to someone else, you are generating your own sentences of how to define the materials. EX: Making my own flash cards or outline, versus if I found this quizlet page offline and studied it. EX: Students remembered their self generated nemonic over the one that the teacher had provided even up to 10 weeks later for the delayed test.

Classic LOP Research (Craig and Tulving)

Experiment testing memory using the different types of processing (like the simulation we did in class). Researchers used an incidental memory test to do so. All subjects were presented the same list of words, but different groups of subjects were asked different questions designed to create different levels of processing. Shallow Asked about the physical features of the word. For example, was the word printed in capital letters? Answered yes or no. They weren't focused on the meaning of the word, they were looking at the structure briefly to see if there was capital letters. This is shallow processing. Medium Asked about if the word rhymed with another word. To do this you have to at least say the word in your mind, have the sound in your head to be able to say if it rhymed or not. This is deeper processing. Deep Asked a fill in the blank question. For example, does this word fit into the provided sentence? This has to do with semantics. In order to do this task, you have to access and think about the meaning of the word to be able to make a decision. The critique of this study is that how did they know that rhyming is deeper than shower processing? Based off of the results but that is circular reasoning. They needed to define the depths of processing independent from the memory test, but such definition does not exist. While the term "levels of processing" is rarely used now, the basic idea that memory retrieval is affected by the way that items are encoded is still widely accepted.

Synaptic Consolidation

Has to do with the synapse and where they meet. It takes place within minutes or hours- it is the shorter type of consolidation that happens immediately after learning and encoding has happened. The actual structure of the neuron will change at the synapse. When neurons start to fire at the same time, their structure can being to change so they are more likely to fire together and it will change the structure of what they represent. It makes it more efficient for the neurons to fire together, and it gets more divits in it which allows for the synapse to make more dendrite connections. Increased firing and better message communication. This is what underlines our ability to have long term memories. You can see the structural change in the synapses with the first presentation of a stimulus, to the continued presentation of a stimulus.

Elaboration: Nemonic Devices

Helps snap things into a structure, especially when information isn't given to you with a structure. Used for things that don't have a lot of meaning and by using a nemonic, we create our own meaning to help us remember. The more complex it is, the more desirable difficulty it creates, and the better you'll remember it. Can be visual, verbal, or a combination: acrostic, acronym, rhymes, songs EX: PEMDAS, ROY G BIV, hannah Montana song that taught her the bones in the human body. EX: Japan map test, where the cities and states and such seemed really random and hard to tell apart so I used different anagrams and acronyms to remember which were states which were cities, etc in the order that they were presented on the map. Otherwise they seemed like a random list of Japanese words. EX: the word break down (keyword method) for the parts of the brain and their function on goucherlearn.

Multiple Trace Model of Consolidation

It is a tweak to the standard model. It is what happens over time for semantic explicit memories, or factual memories. While yes, there is a decreasing need for the hippocampus over time, it is only for semantic. Episodic memories will always require your hippocampus to point to the memory. Concludes that the hippocampus is required and doesn't decrease overtime for episodic memories, but it does for semantic- complete organization so you only need to locate cortical areas to get memory. EX: Look at case study of H.M. who has anterograde amnesia. At first they thought that he had his old memories still intact for semantic and episodic before the surgery (which would have supported the standard model of consolation, that he would not need the hippocampus to get to these), but when they looked a little closer they realized that they were mainly semantic memories. They did have a time or a place associated with them. (he had two episodic memories: his first plane ride, and his first cigarette, not sure why).

State-Dependent Learning

Learning that is associated with a particular internal state, such as a good mood or state of awareness. According to this principle, memory will be better when someone's internal state (mood or awareness) during retrieval matches his or her internal state during encoding. EX: Study shows that participants learn better and therefore preform better when they are in a good mood studying and in a good mood when taking an exam. (same could be said if the bad mood matches up, but it in terms of good mood over bad mood, good mood does better).

Elaboration Practice: Memory Palace

Memory Palace (Method of Loci) "locations" A MP can be something like a location in your house and how you go room to room. But you can also create a MP even in one room. Some of the top memory competitors in the world use it and it is one of the most effective methods. How it works: When you know you have to remember a list, you drop off that first item at the first place in your memory palace, and then walk to the next room (associating the first item on your list with the first stop in your memory palace). When you need to remember an item, you go through a virtual tour of that mental memory palace. Why does it work so well? There are gross things that invoke an emotional reaction. You can also personally relate to it yourself which better develops the velcro. EX: Remembering a list of items, picture walking through your home with eggs smashed in the garage, honey sticky on the counters, bananas hanging from the chandelier, potato chips crushed in your bed, etc.

Systems Consolidation

Over a much longer set of time, like months or years. More about how the neural circuits, brain areas, and clusters of neurons reorganize themselves to communicate differently. This happens through the reactivation and reconciliation of the memory. reactivation- this is when you're reactivating the memory and bringing it from LTM to STM. Put memory in a more malleable state when you reactive it. reconsolidation- Once it gets reactivated, it gets re consolidated when you put it back in LTM. It never goes back exactly the same way. The process of these two really underline systems consolidation, allowing them to last for a really long time. The more often you use a memory (or study something for example) the longer the it will last. (think of packing a suit case, you will never pack it exactly the same way). This can help patients with PTSD when giving them a drug to calm down when they bring up a memory that is traumatic and pack it back in. The symptoms of PTSD will be lessened.

Long Term Potentiation (LTP)

Proposed by Hebb. Enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation. "Neurons that fire together, wire together"

Standard Model of Consolidation

Proposes that incoming information activates a number of areas in the cortex. Activation is distributes across the cortex because memories typically involve many sensory and cognitive areas, and the cortex is in communication with the hippocampus. But as the memories get older and details fade, the hippocampus isn't as strongly active (as it was when the memory was first formed) as memories are consolidated. And that the cortical are sufficient in retrieving remote memories).

Matching Conditions of Encoding and Retrieval

Retrieval cues dont always have to be verbal hints like in the three word cued recall experiment. Retrieval can be increased by matching the conditions at retrieval to the conditions that existed at coding. There are three different types: encoding specificity, state dependent learning, and transfer appropriate processing. EX: Upon leaving class I think, "I need to remember my glasses next time." When I arrive back in class again, I remember I forgot my glasses. I am retuning to the place where I had originally encoded that thought. EX: Going to a super market felix and I used to go to and having the memories of us shopping for groceries and goofing off pop into my head even though I didn't consciously remember that I had those memories.

Transfer Appropriate Processing

Retrieval is better if the same cognitive tasks are involved during both encoding and retrieval. EX: A research study shows that when subjects were either presented with a rhyming task or a meaning task, and then proceeded to take a rhyming test, the ones who did the rhyming task did better than the participants who did the meaning task.

Shallow v. Deep Processing

Shallow Processing Involves little attention to meaning. EX: When a phone number is repeated over and over to remember it. Deep Processing Involves close attention involving an item's meaning and relating it to something else. Results in better memory than shallow processing. EX: finding your birthdate and your sisters birth year in the phone number you are trying to remember.

Maintenance v. Elaborative Rehearsal

Some ways of getting information from STM to LTM are more effective than others. Rehearsal is a means by which to do so, but there are different types of rehearsal that will increase of decrease the strength. Maintenance Rehearsal EX: Holding a phone number in your memory by repeating it over and over. Done without any consideration for the meaning or without making connections to other types of information. Results in poor memory so you wont remember the number when you want to call again later. Elaborative Rehearsal You find a way to make to relate the phone number to something meaningful. EX: The first 3 letters are the same as your birthday, and the last four are the year that your sister was born. Making the information meaningful and making other connections to other things you know will, you will be more likely to remember it than by maintenance rehearsal.

Retrieval

The process of transferring information from long term memory to working memory to become consciously aware of it. Our failures in memory are failures in retrieval. One of the main factors that decides whether you can retrieve information from your long term memory is the way that information was encoded when you learned it. EX: This is essential for your success on an exam, because even if something is in your long term memory, it doesn't help you if you cant retrieve it.

Consolidation

The process that transforms new memories from a fragile state, in which they can be disrupted, to a more permanent state, in which they are resistant to disruption. EX: A study was conducted where students were given some nonsense syllables and learned the list. One group immobility learned another right after, and the second group had a delay and waited a bit before learning the second. When asked to remember the first list, the delay group did better because their memory had a chance to consolidate and they didn't mix up the two lists. The no delay group interrupted the forming of a stable memory for the first list.

Encoding

The process used to get information into long term memory. Some methods of encoding are more effective than others. EX: words can be encoded by repeating it over and over, by thinking of other words that rhyme with it, or by using it in a sentence.

Mental Models

Think of mental models as one side of the velcro, and new information as the other.

(Visual Imagery) Paired Associate Learning

Uses visual imagery, "images in the head," that connect words visually, that can create connections that enhance memory. Ex: A word pair study where in one group the participant would repeat the pair of words over and over again. In the second group, the participants were instructed to make a mental image, and the imagery group did a lot better. (Think of boat-tree example where you could think of literally a flaming boat in a tree).

Encoding Specificity

We encode information along with its context. EX: I made memories at the grocery store with felix when we would buy ingredients for our dinners that we would make. When I reinstated that context of returning the to grocery store, I remembered the experiences I had with him. EX: Suggest taking tests in a similar environment to which you studied in.

Cued Recall

Where a subject is presented with retrieval cues to aid in recall of previously experienced stimuli. These cues are typically words or phrases. EX: Study was conducted where individuals were presented a list of 103 words. The participants were asked to write down three words associated with each noun, (i.e.- banana would be yellow, edible, bunches). In the test phase, they were presented with the retrieval cues for the nouns (half of the list) that they generated, and retrieval cues that were generated by someone else (other half of the nouns on the list). Participants remembered more of the nouns that had self generated retrieval cues. This shows that retrieval cues are significantly more effective when thy are created by the person who's memory is being tested.

Free Recall

Where a subject is simply asked to recall stimuli. These stimuli could be words perviously presented by the researcher or events experienced earlier in the subjects life. This has been used in many experiments such as retrial practice experiments (remembering as many of the words listed as possible).

Organizing Information

You remember things better when you group things into meaningful categories, like how assignments on your computers are in different folders based off subject, so they can be accessed more efficiently. EX: Outlines, flow charts (like 3 box modal model), and concept maps. EX: Activity that we did in class where we were read a list of words and then had to write them down. They were words mixed together from different groups such as animals, vehicles, fruits, etc. When you write them back down in your list, you may notice that the words that are in similar categories (or schemas) are written somewhat together.