RPI Cognitive Psychology, Ch. 7

Describe the Tulving and Pearlstone cued recall experiment and Mantyla's experiment in which he presented 600 words to his participants. What were the procedure and results of each experiment, and what does each tell us about retrieval?

According to the principle of state-dependent learning, a person's memory will be better when his or her internal state during retrieval matches the state during encoding. Eich's mood experiment supports this idea.

Why is it not correct to say that there is a single "memory center" in the brain?

Concussions can cause retrograde amnesia. This retro-grade amnesia is graded, so that memory loss is greatest for events that happened closest in time to the trauma. This indicates that newly formed memories are fragile.

Describe evidence for the idea that memory is distributed. Be sure you understand Davachi's experiment and what it means.

Consolidation transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption. Synaptic consolidation occurs at synapses and is rapid. Systems consolidation involves the reorganization of cortical circuits and is slower.

Give examples of how memory for a word can be increased by (a) using it in a sentence, (b) forming visual images, (c) linking words to yourself, (d) generating the word during acquisition, (e) organizing information, and (f) testing. What do these procedures have in common?

Evidence that encoding influences retrieval includes research looking at the effect of (a) placing a word in a complex sentence; (b) forming visual images; (c) linking words to yourself; (d) generating information (the generation effect); (e) organizing information; (f) testing (the testing effect).

What is levels-of-processing theory? Be sure you understand depth of processing, shallow processing, and deep processing. What would LOP theory say about the difference between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal?

Levels-of-processing theory states that memory depends on how information is encoded or programmed into the mind. According to this theory, shallow processing is not as effective as deep processing. An experiment by Craik and Tulving showed that memory was better following deep processing than following shallow processing.

What is reconsolidation? What are the implications of the results of experiments that demonstrate reconsolidation?

Recent research indicates that memories can become susceptible to disruption when they are reactivated by retrieval. After reactivation, these memories must be reconsolidated. This process may be a mechanism for refining and updating memories. Recent experiments have provided evidence for reconsolidation in humans and for the usefulness of reconsolidation therapy in treating conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder.

What is transfer-appropriate processing? Describe Morris's transfer- appropriate processing experiment. What implications do the results of this experiment have for matching encoding and retrieval? For levels-of-processing theory?

Research on the physiological basis of memory indicates that the formation of memories is associated with structural changes at the synapse. These structural changes are then translated into enhanced nerve firing, as indicated by long-term potentiation.

Retrieval cues are a powerful way to improve the chances of remembering something. Why can we say that memory performance is better when you use a word in a sentence, create an image, or relate it to yourself, all techniques involving retrieval cues?

Retrieval can be increased by matching conditions at retrieval to conditions that existed at encoding. This is illustrated by encoding specificity, state-dependent learning, and transfer-appropriate processing.

What do the results of the procedures in #5 indicate about the relationship between encoding and retrieval?

Retrieving long-term memories is aided by retrieval cues. This has been determined by cued recall experiments and experiments in which participants created retrieval cues that later helped them retrieve memories.

What is state-dependent learning? Describe Eich's experiment.

Six memory principles that can be applied to studying are (1) elaborate, (2) generate and test, (3) organize, (4) take breaks, (5) match learning and testing conditions, and (6) avoid "illusions of learning."

What is the difference between elaborative rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal, in terms of (a) the procedures associated with each type of rehearsal and (b) their effectiveness for creating long-term memories?

Some mechanisms of encoding are more effective than others in transferring information into LTM. Maintenance rehearsal helps maintain information in STM but is not an effective way of transferring information into LTM. Elaborative rehearsal is a good way to establish LTMs.

What is the idea behind the statement "Memories are stored at synapses"? What evidence supports this idea?

The hippocampus is crucial for forming new LTMs. Davachi's fMRI experiment shows that the perirhinal cortex is involved in recognizing a stimulus as having been experienced earlier, whereas the hippocampus has other functions. Other areas involved in memory include parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, and the amygdala.

What does it mean to say that LOP theory does not define depth of processing independently of memory? Why is this a problem for LOP theory?

The idea of levels of processing, while influential, suffered from the problem of circularity, because it is difficult to define depth of processing independently of memory.

Describe the following six ways of improving the effectiveness of studying: (1)elaborate; (2) generate and test; (3) organize; (4) take breaks; (5) match learning and testing conditions; (6) avoid "illusions of learning." Be sure you understand how each technique relates to experimental findings about encoding and retrieval.

The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is an important brain area for LTM. The MTL contains the hippocampus and other structures.

What is the standard model of consolidation? How does it describe the process of systems consolidation?

The multiple trace hypothesis states that the hippocampus is involved both when memories are being established and during the retrieval of remote episodic memories.

What is cued recall? Compare it to free recall.

The principle of encoding specificity states that we learn information along with its context. Godden and Baddeley's "diving experiment" and Grant's studying experiment illustrate the effectiveness of encoding and retrieving information under the same conditions.

What is encoding? Retrieval? Why is each necessary for successful memory?

The process of acquiring information and transferring it into long-term memory (LTM) is called encoding. The process of transferring information from LTM into working memory is called retrieval.

Why can we say that new memories are "fragile"? Relate this idea to types of amnesia.

The standard model of consolidation proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation but that after consolidation is complete, retrieval involves the cortex and the hippocampus is no longer involved.

What is the multiple trace theory of consolidation? How is it different from the standard model?

There is evidence supporting the standard model, and also evidence supporting the idea that retrieval of episodic memories can involve the hippocampus.

What is encoding specificity? Describe Godden and Baddeley's "diving" experiment and Grant's studying experiment. What does each one illustrate about encoding specificity? About cued recall?

Transfer-appropriate processing refers to the finding that memory performance is enhanced when the type of coding that occurs during acquisition matches the type of retrieval that occurs during a memory test. The results of an experiment by Morris support this idea.