Memory and Thinking Exam 2

conceptual peg hypothesis

A hypothesis, associated with Paivio's dual coding theory, that states that concrete nouns create images that other words can hang onto, which enhances memory for these words.

method of loci

A mnemonic technique that involves associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations; using a mental image of special layout (living room, or route that is walked/drove often) someone is familiar with by picking landmarks in the route and associating items to be remembered with the landmarks that were chosen.

synaptic consolidation

A process of consolidation that involves structural changes at synapses that happen rapidly, over a period of minutes.

maintenance rehearsal

A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it

Conditioning

Classical conditioning is the training of a person/animal to behave a certain way under certain circumstances. This is an example of implicit memory; participants don't have to be aware of the conditioning.

cognitive hypothesis of reminiscence bump

Encoding is better during periods of rapid change that are followed by stability Evidence from those who emigrated to the US after young adulthood indicates reminiscence bump is shifted Enhanced memory for the period of rapid changes followed by relative stability; better memory for more exciting part of life.

articulatory suppression

Interference with operation of the phonological loop that occurs when a person repeats an irrelevant word such as "the" while carrying out a task that requires the phonological loop. "The car, the dog, the mouse"

systematic consolidation

Involves reorganization of neural circuits (all neurons), longer time frame, occurs gradually (months, years)

Compare Brown and Kulik's (1977) original conception of flashbulb memory with the more current understanding of the phenomenon.

It was originally thought that flashbulb memories are more accurate and are different than our regular memories. However, through various research, we have found that flashbulb memories only feel different to us, they are not actually different than everyday memories. Our perception of these memories is different, but the memories themselves are not different.

source monitoring error (misinformation effect explanation)

MPI and the original information get mixed up, and you can't remember if you're recalling the actual event or misinformation about the event.

retroactive interference (misinformation effect explanation)

MPI interferes or changes actual memory for the car crash. The new MPI competes with previously seen memories.

persistence of vision

Refers to the way our eyes retain images for a split second longer than they actually appear, making a series of quick flashes appear as one continuous picture.

What does it mean to say that memory is "constructive" in nature?

Saying that a memory is constructive in nature means that we use varying information to fill in the gaps, so the accuracy of the memory may be inaccurate or distorted based on this information

What are the differences between short-term memory and working memory?

Short term memory is more of a passive place to store information, and working memory is actively working with information - dynamic/active process that manipulates information, something we can use to solve problems

Reminisence Bump

The enhanced memory for adolescence and young adulthood found in people over 40

Evidence for distinction between episodic and semantic memory

The evidence can be seen in patients K.C. and in the Italian woman patient. One patient had poor semantic but ok episodic and the other had poor episodic but ok semantic. This was seen as K.C. had more of a sitcom amnesia, as they couldn't recall specific events (such as their brother's funeral) but knew general information such as who the first president was. Italian woman could recognize family and friends, people they had episodic memories for, but not celebrities and other famous people, which would be more semantic memory.

cultural life script hypothesis

The idea that events in a person's life story become easier to recall when they fit the cultural life script for that person's culture; remember more, because we expect to; we have an idea about when important events occur according to our culture

Modal Model of Memory

The model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin that describes memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, including short-term memory and long-term memory. It is called the modal model because of the great influence it has had on memory research; The input goes into the sensory memory, then to short term memory, from here it is rehearsed, outputted, or brought to long term memory. However, in order for information from long term memory to be outputted, it has to be moved to short term memory. Sensory memory holds information for a very brief time (less than a second), short-term memory holds information for 15-20 seconds and long-term memory holds information from 20 seconds until forever.

word length effect

The notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words.

peg word technique

Using memorable "pegs" as cues to help you recall items; Associating to be remembered word/item with a concrete item. These items usually rhyme (one is a bun, two is a shoe, etc.), allow people to recall words in order by using imagery (peg word items)

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event; Memory for circumstances surrounding shocking, highly charged, important events, for details of where you first were when a high emotional event occurs Example: where you were and what you were doing on 9/11

elaborative rehearsal

a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world; Memory for general knowledge of the world, facts (who the first U.S. president was)

Reactivation

a process in which the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with a memory

cryptomnesia

a type of misattribution that occurs when a person thinks he or she has come up with a new idea, yet has only retrieved a stored idea and failed to attribute the idea to its proper source

long-term potentiation

an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

phonological similarity effect

confusion of letters or words that sound similar; • Ex. "F" for "S" or "X" but not "E" - hard to memorize words that all sound similar, mistakes are made based on sound, not vision

part-set cuing effect

if you cue people with a subset of a list, they will have more difficulty recalling the rest of the set than if they had not been cued at all

self-image hypothesis

memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person's self-image or life identity is being formed; better memory for events that formed their lives, found out who they were; these things happen to you in early adulthood (family/kids/profession)

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"; Conscious memory; allows people to easily and intentionally recall events

source monitoring error

occurs when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically (FBI, CIA); making small units of letters more meaningful

levels of processing theory

proposes that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes; Memory depends on how information is encoded; Better memory when processing is deep versus shallow (coded for meaning v. for maintenance)

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also called procedural memory; Not conscious memory; memory that is acquired and is used unconsciously, but it can affect thoughts and behaviors)

personal semantic memory

semantic components of autobiographical memories; It is factual knowledge about one's own past, but they cannot recall the specific memories from events, just that they did happen. (ex. Know they went to a funeral, but can't recall anything specific about it)

perservation

state of repeatedly performing the same segment of a task or repeatedly saying the same word/phrase without purpose; Repeatedly performing same action/thought even if it's not achieving the desired goal

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response; When a response to stimuli changes because of prior presentation/experience with the stimulus or similar stimuli

memory span

the average number of items an individual can remember across a series of memory span trials; longest list of items a person can repeat back in correct order immediately after presentation; typically about 5-9 items

episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place; Memory for personal events, memory that involves mental time travel or remembering (wedding, birthday parties, etc.)

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information; The new learned information hurts the previously learned information

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information; information learned previously hurts the information learned most recently

procedural memory

the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things; Memory for how to carry out practiced skills (e.g. bike riding, typing, shoe tying, etc.) You can carry out these actions, but it is hard to explain them in words.

memory trace (engram)

the hypothetical brain changes associated with a particular stored memory

autobiographical memory

the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story; Memories for specific events in your life. It involves both semantic and episodic memory to be used. It involves having memories for events as well as a general understanding of the memories.

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Consolidation

the process by which memories become stable in the brain; Process of turning short term memories into long term memories, which allows memory to become less susceptible to disruption

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences; The component of memory that can hold large amounts of information for long periods of time.

Coding

the systematic assignment of numbers or letters to items to classify and organize them; how stimuli are represented in the mind

Graf et al. (1985) explicit v. implicit memory in patients

• 3 groups: • Amnesia patients with memory loss and cannot form new memories (due to alcoholism, Korsakoff syndrome) • Patients w/ severe alcoholism but do not have memory impairments • Group with no alcohol or memory problems • Had participants read a list of words and rate the words how they liked them • After rating, participants were tested on explicit memory (write down words you remember) and implicit memory (word completion so_p) • Explicit recall: people with memory issues (the amnesia group) did worse on task than the other groups • Implicit task: all 3 groups did relatively the same, amnesia patients did slightly better. The implicit task doesn't show their detriment in memory. • Study provides evidence that implicit v. explicit tasks matter. The distinction does matter between implicit and explicit memory

Flashbulb memories vs other memories (Talarico & Rubin, 2003)

• Asked people about 9/11 on 9/12 (flashbulb event) • Also asked about a personal, everyday event • Participants came back: 1, 6, or 32 weeks later • Gave them all the same questionnaire • Results: people have more accurate details in everyday memories than flashbulb memories, they are not more accurate than other memories • Both types of memories lose details at the same rate, flashbulb memories are not different than everyday memories, not more accurate • Results: found that people feel like their flashbulb memories are more accurate over time compared to their everyday memories - which they believed they did not remember as well • Flashbulb memories are of a different quality, we trust them more, feel different about them (our perception of their accuracy is different)

Ericsson et al. (1980) effects of chunking on digit span

• Can memory span limits increase with practice? • Had a college student come in for 230 1-hour training sessions to learn how to become an expert on digit span • Started at 8, ended at 79 • College runner - could relate numbers to important running times • Chunking based on familiar things/strategies

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) working memory model

• Concludes that the phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad are attached to the central executive. The central executive is like the CEO of working memory, it is responsible for the bi-directional relationship between short term memory and long-term memory. It plans future actions, decision making, etc. • The phonological loop: verbal and auditory information, holds and rehearses it, speech/sound • Visuospatial sketch pad: Visual and spatial information, such as jigsaws, navigation, etc.

Hippocampal response over time (Viskontas et al., 2009)

• Conducted an fMRI study where they had participants view pairs of words and images, then told them to imagine the items interacting with one another • Then go through a remember-know procedure, and responded remember if they had episodic memories or know if they had semantic memories for the word pairings • Results: After 10 minutes, remember response was higher than know • After 1 week, know response was higher than remember • Memory traces lose episodic character = semanticization • Hippocampus activity: looked at remember-remember and remember-know conditions at both delay periods • After 10 min: remember slightly higher than know, looked at memories that kept their episodic qualities • After 1 week: Hippocampus response stays the same for remember-remember pairs (at both delay time periods) • Hippocampus response changes over time based on quality of the memory • Memories that retain episodic behavior: hippocampus still involved (depends on the type of memory), semantic memories: hippocampus less involved

Ranganath and D'espositio (2001) hippocampal activation

• Do hippocampi also play a role in WM? • 2 tasks in fMRI - STM and LTM tasks • Facial recognition tasks: • STM: presented face, delay (seconds), then were told to decide if the face was new or the same • LTM: same was STM, shown faces and asked if they were the same or not, but more time in between (5-10 minutes) • Results: Anterior hippocampus was more active during WM task than LTM task - hippocampus is involved in LTM and plays a role in certain WM tasks as well, share overlapping structures

Ranganath and D'Esposito (2001) hippocampal activation

• Do the hippocampi play a role in WM? • Participants had to do 2 tasks - one WM and one LTM • These tasks were both facial recognitions. They were shown a face and then shown another face in a specific amount of time and were asked to decide if the faces were the same or if they were different faces • STM task: presented face, delay of a seconds, then asked if new or same face • WM task: presented face, delay of 5-10 minutes, then asked if new or same face • Key difference was the amount of delay in the tasks • Found that the hippocampi are used in certain WM tasks • The anterior hippocampi were more active during WM task than LTM task • Hippocampus is involved in LTM & plays a role in certain WM tasks as well, different parts of memory share overlapping structures

Three processes of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval

• Encoding: information is acquired and processed into neural code (like a keyboard); getting the information into the brain. • Storage: Information is stored in the brain (computer hard drive, cloud) • Retrieval: information is retrieved when needed (screen on computers); recalling.

First trial only analysis (Keppel and Underwood)

• Found that first trial only performance was around the same from 3 sec to 18 sec (80% to 75%) • Due to participants learning too many strings of letters • Interpreted evidence as interference: forgetting due to competing information

Survival-based processing (Nairne et al., 2007)

• Gave one group ofparticipants a scenario and asked them to rate the words (Yes/No) on whether or not a particular item would be helpful in a survival situation • The other group rated the words on whether they were pleasant or whether they were moving items • Results: participants who rated words for survival recalled more words than participants who rated the words on pleasantness or moving • Thinking about words in a survival instance increased memory above and beyond other meaning-based processes, even self-reference processing • Linking words to survival enhances memory - over all others • The best/deepest processing for memory • Has been speculated that this effect may not be due to evolution, but the it still exists

Context-dependent learning in divers (Godden & Baddeley, 1975)

• Groups: studied on land and tested on land, studied on land and tested underwater, studied underwater and tested on land, studied underwater and tested underwater • Found that divers who studied and were tested on land performed better than the other groups, but also found that divers who studied underwater and tested underwater did better than the other two mismatch groups • Shows that if the context matches between studying and testing, we tend to do better than in mismatched contexts

Cases HM and KF differences (location and impairments)

• HM: Hippocampus removed to prevent severe seizures • Developed impairment to long term memory • Found that hippocampi are important to forming new, long-term memories • Short term and long-term memories are independent systems • KF: Damage to parietal lobe • Impairment of working memory • Could form and store some new long-term memories

Testing effect (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006)

• Had college students read passage of text and then recall information from it later • 1 group: re-read passage to study • 2 group: given a practice test to study • Also added the delay condition, which could be 5 minutes, 2 days, or 1 week • Results: • Rereading with 5-minute delay = 81% • Practice test with 5-minute delay = 74% • Rereading with 2 day & 1-week delay = 55% and 42% • Practice test with 2 day and 1-week delay = 68% and 57% • Practice testing group memory goes down at a slower rate; practice testing is better for long term memory than re-reading is • Very applicable with all material and all ages • This is true no matter what type of test (multiple choice, short answer)

Generations effect (Slameka & Graf, 1978)

• Had participants study pairs of words (king-crown, horse-saddle, etc.) • One group: Participants fill in the blank with the word related to the first word (king- cr____) • Other group: only read the words, but did not fill in blanks • All participants were then asked to fill in the blanks with the other words • Results: the group that had to fill in the blanks had better memory for the words on the final test than those who just passively read the words • Generating material yourself helps memory better than just reading it (generation effect)

Source monitoring in the misinformation effect (Lindsay, 1990).

• Had participants watch a slideshow on a man stealing a computer • Then participants heard MPI in 2 conditions: • Difficult: MPI reading right after slideshow and given the information in a female voice (same as slideshow voice) • Easy: MPI reading 2 days after the slideshow and given the information in a male voice (different from the slideshow original event) • Found that the difficult group recalled intrusions from the MPI 27% of the time and the easy group only did 13% of the time. • Evidence that a source monitoring error partial reason for misinformation effect

Context-dependent learning in students (Grant et al., 1998)

• Had students read research articles in topics unfamiliar in, with headphones. • Groups: studied with background noise and tested with background noise, studied with background noise and tested with quiet, studied with quiet and tested with background noise, and studied in quiet and tested in quiet • Found that students who studied in quiet and tested in quiet did better, but also that students who studied and tested with background noise also did better than the other mismatched groups • Also shows that when the conditions match in which you are studying and tested in, you will perform better

Sperling (1960) capacity and duration of sensory memory

• How much information can people take in? • Flash matrix of 12 letters to people • Ask what letters they saw • Participants could only report 4-5 letters • Are all 12 letters in there and go away too quick for people to report or are only 4-5 getting in there? • Full-report condition: try to report all 12 letters • Partial-report condition: at different tones, participants report different rows; the tone was played after letters were flashed - able to report each letter this way, in different sections • Delay: Between the letters and tone - can't report as many letters with a longer delay • Higher performance = better sensory memory = better with no delay • Showed how planned experiment can show internal cognitive factors that are hard to study, especially when we are not consciously aware of these processes

Interactions between episodic and semantic memory

• Knowledge affects experience • Higher knowledge means a richer experience, or a more detailed episodic memory, due to more semantic knowledge

False fame effect (Jacoby et al., 1989)

• Looked at ability to be able to tell the difference between famous and non-famous names • Stages: • Read non-famous names (made up) • Then had participants in 2 groups (immediate or delay) • Then gave them a recognition task to identify the famous names. However, the non-famous names, famous names and new non-famous names were included on this test • Results: immediate group did much better, were able to identify more famous people and less likely to choose the original set of non-famous people • Delay group was more likely to misidentify famous people: source monitoring error, the names feel familiar • All groups were reminded that the first group of people were not actually famous

Transfer-appropriate processing (Morris et al., 1977). How do the results relate to the levels of processing theory?

• Looked at how cognitive processes and tasks match or mismatch and that role on memory • Meaning condition: sentence and target word - does the word make sense in the sentence • Rhyming condition: sentence and target word - does the word rhyme in the sentence • Some people (from both groups) had a free recall task, found that those who were in the meaning group performed better than those in the rhyming group • Some people (from both groups) were given a recognition task, where they had to decide if the word presented rhymed with one of the words they were shown, found that those who were given the rhyming condition performed better than those in the meaning condition • Evidence that the type of task we give makes a difference - not just based on deeper encoding, its also about the specific retrieval task that is given • When the same retrieval task and encoding processes are used, the participant is more likely to have better memory performance • Processing types match = better memory • The results are NOT what the levels of processing theory would predict • They would say that no matter what meaning is more important than rhyming or physical characteristics of the words

State-dependent learning (Eich & Metcalfe, 1989)

• Looked at people's moods (happy or sad) • Groups: studied happy and tested happy, studied happy and tested sad, studied sad and tested happy, and studied sad and tested sad • Found that those who studied sad and were tested sad did better than the other groups, but also that those who studied and were tested in happy states did better than the mismatched groups • Evidence that having the same state of mind match improves memory performance

Shepard and Metzler (1971) Mental rotation

• Looked at response/reaction time - how long it takes to make decision regarding the task • Showed 2 dimensional pictures of 3D objects • Participants were asked to respond quickly as to whether or not the two pictures are the same object, just rotated differently, or if they are entirely different objects • The mental rotation task showed how people generate a mental image • When the images were the same: larger angular difference = longer response time • Linear relationship between reaction time and how different objects looked • More manipulation - showed that people actively manipulate images • Mental Rotation

Reconsolidation (Hupbach et al., 2007)

• Memories might not actually be permanent • Participants study everyday objects in a basket, know they would be tested and told to memorize the first set • Then had participants come back two days later and memorize a new set of objects, so they memorize 2 sets of objects total • 2 groups: • No reminder: just told to memorize 2nd set and not reminded of the first set • Reminder: reminded them to remember the first training session before they were told to memorize the 2nd set of objects • They were then tested on set 1. Researchers specifically looked at how many items they named from list 2 when trying to remember set 1 (intrusions) • Results: reminder group did worse on recall than no reminder group. Reminder group had far more intrusions than the no-reminder group. Reactivation opened the door for changes to happen to memory trace: when memory trace was retrieved, reactivated, then has to be reconsolidated, which opens the memory up for distortion and error. • Memory traces are not fixed • Human memory is a work in progress

Funahashi et al. (1989) single cell recording from PFC during delay-response task in monkeys

• Monkeys were to focus on fixation point, then a square is flashed in a particular location on the screen • Monkey responds by moving eyes towards where the square was in short term memory - this takes longer to train monkeys how to do, rewarded with food • Researchers then measured single cell neurons response (in prefrontal cortex) • Found that specific neurons have a high rate of response during the cue and during the delay period, and fires less during the actual memory response/eye movement • Some neurons preferentially respond to the cue and when monkey was holding square in memory (different neurons respond to different locations) • Neural record for this memory - finds memory for square

Harrison and Tong (2009) neural mind reading in visual cortex

• Neural mind reading technique, computer program looks at pattern and tries to figure out what participant was looking at • Used to look at what participants hold in mind during working memory task, looked specifically at visual cortex • Participants looked at different orientations of lines as stimuli, then were given a number to identify which sample is which • They needed to rehearse specific number sample to take the test which measured which was a working memory test of the stimuli presented • Wanted to see if the computer program could predict which sample the participants were shown based on the pattern in visual cortex - they looked specifically at the retention period • Found that 83% of the time the program could predict the orientation of the stimuli people were told to remember • Showed the use of distributed processing - working memory uses multiple brain areas because information in memory is also held in visual cortex; the visual cortex is used in working memory

DRM false memory illusion (Roediger & McDermott, 1995)

• Participants are given a list of words and told to recall these words, however most of these words are all about the same subject, but do not have a specific word on them (the critical lure) • Many participants recall the critical lure as being on the list • The critical lure is the word that is not on the list, such as window from our class example • False memory for the word that was not on the list • Sometimes background knowledge can lead us astray

Self-cued recall (Mantyla, 1986)

• Participants give large list of words and told to come up with three cues for each noun (ex. Banana - yellow, monkey, fruit) • Then were tested and given cues • 1 group: tested and given their own cues they made • 2 group: tested and given a different participants cue • 3 group: not shown words or created cues, but given other participants cues (mainly to see if they could tell what words were based off of the cues) • Results: when participants were given their own cues, they retrieved 91% of the words, when given different cues = 55%, and not shown the words at all = 17% • There was quite a benefit to using your own retrieval cues • These cues are most effective when you make them yourself

Sachs (1967) recognition of meaning

• Participants listened to entire passages • More memory for meaning of passage, not specific wording details

Misinformation effect (Loftus & Palmer, 1974). Include: misleading postevent information

• Participants viewed car accidents that they could have witnessed in real life, then were asked questions about it • Some of the questions contained misleading post-event information (MPI) that led some of the participants astray and made them change their memories. Many participants misrepresented what happened due to the questions they were asked • After this, participants took a memory test on the original video, and were asked questions with the MPI, and found that they misremembered certain parts of the event. Many of the questions used different connotations, such as cars hit each other versus smashed each other. • Results: perception can change based on suggestion questions; it brings about false memory for events

Wickens et al. (1976) release from proactive interference

• Participants were given 3 words and then counted backwards from 15 and then asked to recall the words (in 4 trials) • 2 groups: • all fruit group, all 4 of the trials were names of fruits • professions group, first 3 trials were professions but 4th trial was the same as the fruit group 4th trial • Found that for the all fruits group, there was evidence for proactive interference as participants remembered the first group of fruits well, but couldn't recall the other fruit trials as well after the first • For the professions group, they found the first trial went well, and then the second and third trials demonstrated proactive interference, however, for the 4th trial of the fruits, participants were able to recall those better because of the release from proactive interference • Found evidence that meaning does matter for even short-term memory, meaning of words releases people from proactive interference

Lost in the mall study (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995)

• Participants were given descriptions of childhood events that had happened to them (these events were from family members) • 25% of the participants believed all of the events were true, even though one was fake; the story that was fake was that they got lost in the mall at a very young age. Many were able to give very vivid details about this experience, even though it did not happen to them • Although they could not get everyone to believe the fabricated story had actually happened to them, they still got a pretty significant amount • For some reason, a very successful event to fabricate into someone's life is that they have ridden in a hot air balloon.

Brown-Peterson Task

• Recall memory test; participants were presented stimuli then asked to recall after a delay (used 3 strings of letters as stimuli) • They then heard a number and were asked to count down from 3 (distractor stimuli), while still remembering the letter string • They then added a difference in time delays, performance went down as time progressed (80% 3 second delay, 10% 18 second delay) • Interpreted evidence as decay: as more time goes by memory trace for those letters decrease (forget because time has elapsed)

Serial position curve experiments: Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) delay and recency effect

• Same experiment set up as Murdoch and Rundus, but gave a distracting task after showing the list, which was to count backwards for 30 seconds, this prevents rehearsal and allows time for decay • Found that when people are delayed/distracted, it eliminates the recency effect, but you still see the primacy effect because there is no short-term memory for the last words because it prevented rehearsal during the delay, but participants were able to rehearse the first words • Supports that recency effect is due to storage in the short-term memory of most recently displayed words

Serial position curve experiments: Rundus (1971) rehearsal and primacy effect

• Same experiment set up as Murdoch, but had participants say words out loud, and they could repeat the words as many times as they want • They found that first words get repeated/rehearsed more than middle and last words • Results: evidence of the primary effect (enhanced memory for first words on a list because they were transferred to long term memory) • Primary effect occurs because of rehearsal of words and transfer to long term memory, longer rehearsal time

Petrican et al. (2010) Remember/know procedure in older adults

• Tested memory of public events from past 50 years - some real and some fake • Remember/know procedure: know, remember or don't know about the event were the options participants were given • They were asked to respond if they had personal experience about the event, as in actually had episodic details about the event • Responded know if they only knew it happened (semantic memory) but did not have specific memories from the event • Events 10 years or less were more easily remembered the events • Events 40-50 years ago, more people just knew about them but didn't have specific episodic memory about them. The don't know responses increased a lot from recent events, the know responses slightly decreased from recent events and the remember responses decreased a lot - memories have lost episodic memory qualities as time goes on • Reduction in episodic qualities over time • Found evidence to support the idea of semanticization of remote memories: loss of episodic qualities for events that occurred a long time ago, turn into semantic memory • Episodic and semantic memory can change

Repeated recall of Challenger explosion (Neisser & Harsch, 1992)

• The launch of the Challenger was broadcasted on TV, and it exploded and people all over the U.S. saw it, including children because of the Teachers with NASA program • Used repeated recall - had people recall the event right after (1day) then come back 2.5-3 years later and asked the same questions about the event • Found that flashbulb memories weren't as accurate, that the memories fade over time, typically find that people misremember where they heard about the memory • People often felt like their memories were vivid, but not as accurate as people thought - prone to errors over time

Levels of processing experiment (Craik & Tulving, 1975)

• Three groups • Focused on physical features of letters (capitalized) - shallow • Looked at rhyming words - intermediate • Meaning of the words (fill in the blank sentence) - deep • These groups were then given a surprise memory test • Results: the group that filled in the blanks had better memory for the words on the recall test • Deeper processing led to better performance on memory task • Capital letters group had low performance and rhyming group had medium performance

self-reference effect (Rogers et al., 1977)

• Three groups that asked participants to focus on words size, rhyme, or meaning of words • Also had participants decide if the word described themselves (Yes/No) • Results: this leads to even better memory than meaning of words • Particular types of questions can lead to better memory (especially when the questions are about ourselves)

Serial position curve experiments: Murdoch (1962) primacy effect and recency effect

• Used a free recall task: remember stuff in any order • Presented 14 words, one at a time, ask them to recall words that they were just shown in any order they choose • Wanted to see how well each word was recalled as a function of serial position (where the word occurred in the study list) • Results: last words had an enhanced memory; they were remembered better (recency effect)

"War of the Ghosts" repeated reproduction (Bartlett, 1932)

• Used a passage/story and people had to retell the story at different delay periods (repeated reproduction) • This passage contained unfamiliar cultural elements and paranormal elements • Results: over time, retelling becomes shorter and a lot less detailed. Participants leave out details and may even change things in the story • Found a pattern: participants retell the story in a way that is more consistent with their own culture (canoe v. sailboat), matched their own experiences • Remembering is an active process, open to changes

Goldman-Rakic (2004) delayed-response task in monkeys with PFC lesions

• Used delayed-response technique • Monkeys set up in front of food wells so they can see food then not shown the food (screen blocks view for a short amount of time) • Then, they pick a well to get food - pretty easy to train monkeys to do this • Researchers then lesioned the prefrontal cortex, which caused monkeys to only pick the correct well 50% of the time • Showed that they cannot hold memory of where food was for even a short period of time, became more of a guessing game • Supports the idea that prefrontal cortex is important in working memory

Kosslyn et al. (1978) Mental scanning

• Used navigation task to look at evidence for visuospatial sketch pad • Had participants memorize the map and then asked them to take mental trips to different landmarks on the map, they pushed a button when they arrived in their mind to a particular spot • There were different distances between the landmarks, and they wanted to see how long it takes to mentally arrive at locations with varying distances • Found that there is a direct/linear relationship between distance on the map and the time it took to get there • Farther apart landmarks = more time to mentally travel there • Showed evidence for the sketch pad and making mental images

Vogel et al. (2005) individual differences in WM

• Wanted to look at differences in individuals working memory (WM) capacity & also measured electrical changes with EEG • Participants did certain tasks while hooked up to EEG • Were given a set point to focus on, then cued a direction. They were told to focus on the bar that the cue pointed towards, and then it went away, and then the image came back and they were asked if the bar was the same or a different orientation • Low: took up more capacity for WM, EEG showed • High: uses WM more efficiently, didn't show as much work on EEG • Next trial: Same thing, but added distractors (blue bars), supposed to ignore these • Looked at performance/electrical change differences between distractor and non-distractor trials • Found that with a distractor, low WM has a lot more activity and high WM people are better at ignoring distractors

Organizational tree (Bower et al., 1969)

• When words (or concepts) are organized for us to encode them in organized way = easier to remember • Two groups: • Different words in a list, then recall • Studied the same words in an organizational tree, then recall • This group was actually given more words than first group • Results: the organizational tree group recalled 73 words and the list group recalled 21 words • Organizing material helps us remember better/improves memory performance