Psych 105 - Exam 3

reconstructing past events

-children as eyewitnesses -research with children is ethically difficult because of their vulnerability -children forget rapidly and sometimes confuse fantasy and reality -at times they must be interviewed -how does an interviewer work appropriately and accurately with a child? -under proper conditions, children as young as three can make an accurate report of events -they can answer specific questions accurately -a delay between the event and the questioning makes it more likely the child will not answer accurately -if the question is not understood the child is more likely to give incorrect information -a questions repeated during an interview may yield two different answers -spaced interview sessions may help the child remember more accurately -dolls and props seem like helpful tools to improve accuracy of recall -they are not -tips for effectively and ethically interviewing young children: -use simple questions -create a non-threatening atmosphere -avoid suggestions or pressure -interview reasonably quickly after the event -when remembering an event, you start with details you remember clearly, and fill in gaps -this is reconstruction. we construct a memory during the event -when we try to retrieve memories, we construct based on surviving memories combined with expectations -your memory for routine activities - your breakfast, lunch or dinner for example - from the past week can be reconstructed with little effort. but they fade rapidly unless something unusual happened -we add words to lists that we've heard or read depending on the theme of its content -the less certain of our memories that we are, the more we rely on our expectations -if your family all got sick after a meal, you'll remember that meal in detail for longer than usual -if you met a new love interest while at dinner with friends, this event will be memorable and easily reconstructed -you may however fill in missing details using other activities associated with dining out -the "false" or "recovered" memory controversy -reports of long-lost memories, prompted by clinical techniques - these are memories of early childhood abuse -accurate and inaccurate memories have been constructed through clinical techniques -psychological researchers ask if it's likely that people forget traumatic experiences -memory for traumatic events -feud believed that it was possible to repress painful memories, or unacceptable emotions or motivations -this would bury them in the unconscious mind -this is not well supported by research on memory and forgetting -we can forget traumatic events, but whether this happens depends on a number of factors - age, reaction of family, and type of event -most people do not forget traumatic events occurring after age 3 -how can we determine if it's forgetting or repression? -people forget neutral or joyful events from early childhood too -repression doesn't fit the biological process of storing emotional memory -emotional reactions release cortisol. this improves memory storage -suggestion and false memory -a report of something that did not happen but is believed to be a memory -it is possible by suggestion to implant memories for fictional events -about 1/4 of subjects in several studies were convinced that they had been briefly lost as children after this was suggested to them -plausible false events were likely to be remembered only vaguely -but the results were achieved after a single, brief suggestion -memory for details of real events can be distorted through leading questions

what is intelligence?

-the first intelligence tests were practical - designed to assist in school admissions or placement -they had no firm theoretical grounding -IQ scores correlate strongly with success in school -here are some definitions of intelligence from psychologists: -the mental abilities that enable one to adapt to, shape or select one's environment -the ability to judge, to comprehend, and to reason -the ability to understand and deal with people, objects and symbols -the ability to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with the environment -these terms - comprehend, think rationally - used to define intelligence, are just as hard to operationalize -psychologists are working on a model of its organization and the measurable abilities comprising it -the psychometric approach and the "g" factor -Charles Spearman measured individual differences in behaviors and abilities -he used a large sample of individuals -he measured their performance of diverse tasks -the performance level on one task correlated positively with those on all the others -Spearman proposed that performance in all tasks of mental ability depend on a single general ability factor - "g" -the correlations were strong but not perfect -he suggests that besides the influence of "g", some tasks require specific abilities -intelligence consists of "g" plus related specific abilities -intelligence consists of "g" plus related specific abilities - musical, arithmetical, logical, etc -specific abilities ("s") depend more on practice than innate talents -there is evidence for genetic influences on "g" but not on "s" abilities -his theory is "monarchic" because "g" dominates the lesser "s" abilities -what does the "g" represent? -tasks measuring general intelligence might correlate because they are influenced by a single, underlying, unitary process -or perhaps separate processes depend upon the same physical factors -likely these hypotheses are both true to some extent -fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence -fluid intelligence: learning the skills involved in a new game -crystallized intelligence: the knowledge base and skills of a person who's played the game or studied the subject for many years -this distinction is useful but not absolute. any complex task taps both types of intelligence -Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences -skills for intellectual activities seem to correlate with each other -this is substantive evidence for the existence of "g" -but this may be simple an indication that the skills are somehow related -expanding intelligence to include other skills weakens evidence for "g" -he proposed that we possess multiple intelligences -a collection of separate unrelated forms of intelligence -distinctions are made between several different abilities -the multiple intelligences are: -language abilities -musical abilities -logic and mathematical reasoning -spatial reasoning -kinesthetic (body movement) skills -intrapersonal (self-control and understanding) skills -interpersonal (social sensitivity and awareness) skills -those who excel in an area may lack knowledge and skills in others -it's intuitively appealing but little research evidence supports this view -savant skills are cited as support for it -savants test at overall below average intelligence but show phenomenal skill in one area -savant skills are not completely independent of overall intelligence -those with close to average IQs have the strongest skills -perhaps caution is warranted in applying the word" intelligence" to all valued skills -what "intelligence" means changes to fit the theory creating a circular argument -Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligences -Robert Sternberg proposed the triarchic theory of intelligence distinguishing 3 aspects of intelligent behavior: -the cognitive processes within the individual -the situations that require intelligence -the relationship of intelligence to the external world -cognitive processes have 3 components 1. learning information 2. identifying a problem-solving strategy 3. combining these to find a solution -the situational aspect distinguishes between familiar and novel contexts (requiring different responses) -the relationship of intelligence to the external world is practical skill -the intelligent person can adapt, improve or escape to a different environment -this last aspect is most meaningful in a sociocultural context -what's important for members of a particular group may not matter to members of a different one

Ebbinghaus's pioneering studies of memory

-Hermann Ebbinghaus studied his own ability to memorize material -he invented over 2300 nonsense syllables and organized them into random lists -over 6 years he memorized thousands of lists of nonsense syllables -the delay between memorization and recall caused him to forget many of them -the processes tested by Ebbinghaus involved explicit memory - memory that we're aware we're using -implicit memory influences us without any awareness priming is a process that activates implicit memory -we are indebted to Ebbinghaus for initiating the scientific study of memory -we have also learned important facts about the nature of memory from his difficulties

theories and tests of intelligence

-IQ tests were developed before the discoveries concerning memory and cognition to which you've been introduced in this course -many psychologists are not sure what intelligence actually is and not satisfied with current testing methods -IQ tests: Binet and Simon -intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are designed to measure potential to succeed in school and similar settings -the first test was developed in the early 1900s by psychologists working for the French government to identify schoolchildren with serious intellectual deficiencies -the Stanford-Binet test -a modified version of Binet's test -adapted by Terman and other psychologists at Stanford University -it's administered individually -the mean (average) IQ score is established as 100 -the Stanford-Binet test: adaptive testing -items increase in difficulty -there is no time limit -a baseline level is established where all items are correctly answered and a ceiling is hit at which all the items are answered incorrectly -age range for administered is 2 - adult -preschool aged children's scores must be interpreted with caution -the wechsler tests: WISC and WAIS -David Wechsler devised IQ tests for children (to age 16) and for adults -the individually administered Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) -like the Stanford-Binet these have a designated mean IQ of 100, and use adaptive testing -they are updated and revised frequently -the Wechsler tests -an overall index is derived from scores in 2 major areas (verbal and performance/non-verbal) -these each have 6 subscales -the test profile of strengths and weaknesses is used to plan educational and other interventions -Raven's progressive matrices -the tests previously described depend on english comprehension -this is problematic when testing those who don't have a good command -"culture-reduced" tests hav been developed to assess cognitive ability without language knowledge or other culture specific knowledge -a culture-reduced, non-verbal test -the matrices that comprise it progress from easy to difficult -designed to measure abstract reasoning abilities

amnesia after brain damage

-amnesia is severe loss or deterioration of memory -much can be learned about types and levels of memory by studying amnesia cases -"H.M." -in 1953, H.M.'s hippocampus and surrounding areas of the temporal lobes were removed to control his intractable seizures -his seizures decreased dramatically -the residual memory impairment was so severe through the surgeon vowed never to perform such a procedure again -what was learned about the role of the hippocampus in memory from H.M.? -the difficult a task is, the more it depends on the proper hippocampal functioning -it's important in formation of memory for details -frontal lobe damage -the lobes receive substantial input from the hippocampus -damage causes problems in both formation and retrieval of memories -frontal lobe damage results from stroke, head trauma, or Korsakoff's syndrome, a dementia brought on by deficiency of vitamin B1 related to chronic alcoholism -B1 deficiency leads to shrinkage and loss of neurons, especially in the thalamus and prefrontal cortex -multiple impairments of memory result from this deterioration -symptoms of Korsakoff's syndrome include - -apathy and confusion -retrograde amnesia - dating back to about 15 years before onset -anterograde amnesia -confabulation - wild guesses mixed with correct information produced in an effort to hide gaps in memory -implicit memory in patients with amnesia -recall the two divisions of long-term memory: -explicit memory - recall of knowledge and events deliberately retrieved and recognized -your instructor asks you to name two psychologists associated with the principles of operant conditioning -implicit memory doesn't seem to involve conscious processing. recall seems effortless and unconscious -you drive your car to school everyday but don't remember any details of activities associated with driving -implicit memory in patients with amnesia -patients similar to H.M. show normal ability to use and store new implicit memories, but impaired retrieval of factual explicit memories -implicit memory in patients with amnesia -NOR_____ -DET_____ -COR_____ -FRO_____ -complete the words listed above -implicit memory in patients with amnesia -if you wrote "normal", "detail", "correct" or "cortex", or "frontal", you were recalling words from the preceding slides. it is easy for you to remember that you saw them -patient with amnesia do well on this task - due to "priming" - they complete the words but do not remember having read them, however -the patient can learn a video game or other procedural task perfectly -however, the individual won't remember being taught it, or any individual play session, even while becoming highly skilled

why do we forget?

-catastrophic loss of memory can only result from brain damage or disease -"normal" forgetting is a product of mechanisms that are in fact adaptive

declarative memory

-declarative memory is recall of fact -2 types of long-term declarative memory -semantic (dealing with principles of knowledge) such as meanings of words -episodic (containing events and details of life history) such as what you did for your birthday

methods of testing memory

-dependence of memory on testing method -recall (free recall) is the simplest test to give but the most difficult test to take -information must be produced with little to no hint provided (essay and short-answer items) -cued recall gives the test-taker significant hints about the correct answer -a fill in the blank test uses this method -recognition requires the test-taker to identify the correct item from a list of choices -multiple-choice tests use this method -this is the easiest type of test for most people -the savings (relearning) method compares the speed that new material is learned to the speed of relearning of old material -the time saved between the original learning and the relearning is a measure of memory

are IQ tests biased?

-differences in mean scores of group is not necessarily indicative of bias -if 25-year-olds outperform 10-year-olds, the most likely explanation is not bias -bias is systematic under- or overestimation of performance -english-language IQ tests are biased against non-english speakers -bias in test content -if a single item is missed primarily by members of a particular group then it's considered to be biased -it's testing information unrelated to content validity but well-known to members of another group or groups -bias in the test as a whole -if IQ tests under-predicted performance of African-American students relative to European-Americans, it would be fair to say that the tests are biased -but black students who get a certain IQ score have the same grade points averages as white students who receive the same IQ score -ethnic group differences: stereotype threat -Claude Steele research's suggests that societal expectations influence individual performance on IQ and other cognitive tests -he calls it stereotype threat -it's the perceived risk that the test-taker's performance might support an unfavorable stereotype about his/her group -the significance of group differences in IQ scores and bias in testing is a politically charged issue about which people hold strong opinions -we must examine the related evidence despite these challenges

remembering and forgetting

-even those who demonstrate superior memory for events don't come close to remembering everything that's happened to them -remembering absolutely everything that happened would be overwhelming and debilitating forgetting helps us focus on the things that are important to retain. it promotes efficiency and effective thinking

infant amnesia

-few people can remember events before age 5 or 6 -children younger than this can describe events from their earlier lives but these memories tend to fade -the scarcity of early declarative memory is called infant amnesia or childhood amnesia -why does this happen? -Freud believed that this was repression due to emotional traumas of infancy. he offered no evidence for this hypothesis -some cognitive psychologists believe that this happens because early memories are nonverbal and later memories are verbal -a biological explanation is that the hippocampus is not fully developed. it doesn't store memories well -another cognitive explanation is that lasting memories require a sense of self -this doesn't develop fully until 3-4 years of age -the theory of encoding specificity suggests that our later life retrieval cues may not be adequate to recall memories -it's still unclear why these memories are not accessible

hindsight bias

-hindsight bias -the tendency to change recollection of the past to match how events later turned out -"i knew that was going to happen!" we say even if we had no idea or thought something different would occur -our memories are tailored as we reconstruct the event to fit that outcome

implicit versus explicit

-implicit memory is that which we know although we don't experience conscious awareness of that knowledge -explicit memory is information we know (or know we should know) -when asked to name state capital a conscious effort is made to remember

the information-processing view of memory

-in this model, computer operations represent how memory works -information enters the system, is processed and coded -it is then stored -the computer has a "buffer" -it's a temporary storage for letters typed faster than the computer can display them -this is like our sensory memory store -the computer has RAM (random-access-memory) for temporary storage of information not yet saved in the hard drive -the information is still vulnerable to corruption or loss -this is like our short-term memory -another term used is "working memory" -the computer has a hard drive, in which information that you are writing or entering can be permanently stored -this is like our long-term memory -the sensory store -a combination of memory and perception, it's the first stage of memory processing -it lasts less than a second -it registers perception of the moment called "now" -short-term and long-term memory -temporary storage of recent information is short-term memory -long-term memory is a relatively permanent storage of mostly meaningful information -hints that help bring forth information in long-term memory are retrieval cues -short term memory -when asked what was just said in class if you paid attention, you'd repeat it accurately -you've recalled information from short-term memory -if you didn't pay attention, you wouldn't recall it -attention moves information from the sensory store to the short-term memory -long term memory -the psychology instructor asks "what is the function of the thalamus?" -you might panic at first if you have no idea -the instructor says, "it relates to sensory processing, right?" -it begins to come back - the thalamus is a relay and integration station for sensory information going to the cerebral cortex -you got a hint-an effective retrieval cue -those cues are generated internally or suggested by others -capacities of short and long-term memory -most adults can repeat a list of 5 to 9 bits or pieces of information. 7 bits is typical -7 +/- 2 bits is well established as the capacity of short-term memory -it can be increased -for example by chunking information into larger, meaningful units -the capacity of long-term memory cannot easily be measured -there's no physical limit on size (unlike computers) -humans constantly dump or remove stored information through disuse -decay of short and long-term memory -information stored in long-term memory is vulnerable to interference -generally it doesn't decay with passage of time -short-term memory is vulnerable to passage of time -forgetting starts in second unless rehearsal occurs -capacities of short and long-term memory -time spent in short-term memory has no bearing on how well information is stored in long-term memory -if information is meaningful, it will transfer easily to long-term memory and be less likely to decay -formation of long-term memory is consolidation -how easily consolidation of information occurs depends meaningfulness -the distinction between the short and long-term memory stages may not exist -if information is meaningful, the groundwork for storage has been laid -working memory -working memory is a new conceptualization of the intermediate stage between first encounter with new information and eventual storage -it's a system for processing current information -it has three major components -working memory's 3 components: -a phonological loop to store and rehearse information, similar to the 7 +/- 2 range (short-term memory) -a visuospatial sketchpad to store and manipulate visual and spatial information -a central executive governing shifts of attention between multiple aspects of complex tasks -other memory distinctions: source amnesia -this is an everyday form of forgetting -it involves combined episodic and semantic memory -we remember a statement knowledge-related item (semantic) -we forget the context (episodic) in which it was learned -the context in which one learns information is episodic -it is inferred from this phenomenon that episodic memory is more fragile than semantic knowledge

intelligence

-intelligence is a combination of general abilities and practiced skill -it is generalized problem-solving ability that is present and applied in both familiar and unfamiliar situations -it develops gradually reflecting contributions of accumulated experience -IG and similar tests have strengths and weaknesses -they have useful practical purposes -our understanding of what intelligence gradually improves -we develop new and better tests to measure it

meaningful storage and levels of processing

-lists and serial-order effects -the beginnings and ends of lists are remembered better than their middles -the primary effect is better memory for items at beginning of lists -the recency effect is better memory for the items at the end of lists -the levels-of-processing principle -the ease with which memories are retrieved depends on the number and types of related associations made -the more ways you think about the material, the deeper your processing is -the more easily you'll remember it later -processing the material might include these asking questions: -what similar concepts exist in another subject areas? -how does this apply to me? -what experiences do i have related to this information? -to improve your level-of-processing -think about individual items in a set -try to determine if relationships exist among the items -the levels of processing are: -superficial processing - repeating the material you are memorizing -deeper processing - think about each item or each part of the material -still deeper processing - note associations between the items or parts of the material

how do heredity and environment affect IQ scores?

-members of the same family resemble each other in IQ -there are stronger positive correlations for closer degrees of relationship -there is a lower, but still noticeable, correlation between IQ scores of unrelated children adopted into the same family -IQ scores of identical twins reared apart are strongly correlated -but separate environments are often similar in terms of resources and other important attributes -fraternal twins' IQ scores are slightly more strongly correlated than those of born-years-apart siblings -even though proportion of shared genetic material is the same of these categories -the IQ scores of adopted children tend to resemble those of their birth parents in the long run -data suggests that adopted children don't receive the best prenatal/infant care prior to adoption -there is evidence of at least one gene that may be more common in higher-IQ groups -most researchers agree that both heredity and environment matter -the important questions related to how they both contribute -IQ scores in general would likely go up or down if we gave every child a uniformly excellent or dismal early environment -some differences would remain

true, false, maybe

-memories may or may not be reliable -forgetting and distortion are not at all unusual -we use adaptive strategies for "filling in the gaps" - reason and logic -always consider the possibility that a seemingly clear memory is distorted or false

the nature of memory

-memory is a complex combination of many processes, and its properties demand on a number of factors -the type of material memorized -the individual's experience with similar materials -the method of testing -the length of time since the material was previously encountered

memory

-memory is storage, retention and recall of events, information and procedures -memory varies in quality based on the nature of the information retained and recalled, level of interest and significance to the individual

Alzheimer's disease

-most healthy people show little decline of memory in old age -a common cause of decline in order and middle aged persons is Alzheimer's disease -about 99% of cases are late onset -the disease is marked by a gradual build-up of harmful proteins and deteriorating brain cells -both anterograde and retrograde amnesias result from this build-up -arousal and attention are impaired -skills and implicit memory may remain intact for some time -eventually the disease will be fatal

types of memory

-one distinction between divisions of memory is that of implicit versus explicit -another distinction is between declarative and procedural memory -procedural memory is recalled of to do something -the proverbial memory for "how to ride a bike" or how to type - these are procedural memories -your memory of a recent piano lesson is declarative and episodic; your memory of how to read music is semantic; your memory of how to play the piano is procedural -although there is still disagreement about the nature of memory, there is general agreement that memory is not a single store into which we place the sum of our knowledge and experiences

amnesia of old age

-people want to know how to increase the chance of having good memory function later in life: -a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise, good diet, and limited use of alcohol and other drugs has been shown to help -an intellectually stimulating life appears to be helpful as well -some older people suffer from Alzheimer's and other dementias that impair attention and memory -historically scientists have overstated the vulnerable of healthy older people to memory loss

the Flynn effect

-possible explanations for the Flynn effect include: -improved health and nutrition -better education -increased opportunity for visual-spatial stimulation (TV/video games) -improved test-taking skills -the trend does not necessarily indicate that we are more intelligent -young adults today may be slightly smarter -the average increase is 30 points -taken at face value every school should have a large number of gifted students -upward trend in IQ scores -conversely, today a score of 70 signifies that one is barely able to function unsupervised -a large number of people in the 1950s achieved that score -clearly they were able to function independently -so what do IQ scores signify?

evaluation of tests

-reliability -the reliability is repeatability of test scores -a reliable test is consistent -correlational procedures are used to calculate a reliability coefficient -a subject group is tested twice -equivalent versions or two halves ("split-half") are used -test-retest reliability is the degree of correlation between scores on the first test and retest -reliability coefficients range 0-1 -a coefficient close to 1 indicates that a person's score on two versions will be very similar -if the coefficient is near 0, the score will vary randomly between administrations -the most commonly used cognitive abilities tests have strong reliability (coefficients in the .90's) -the scores remain similar even if long intervals occur between testings -IQ tests measure a relatively stable trait even if it's unclear what that trait signifies -types of validity -validity - does a test measures what it claims to measure? -content validity is achieved when the test's items accurately represent the information it's designed to gauge -test-takers should be applying the skill being measured -validity -do the tests accomplish the goals they were created for? -internal structure: answers to multiple test items about a specific process should correlate well -scores on valid tests should predict real-life variables -IQ tests predict success in a variety of jobs -combined with other measures (interviews for example) their predictive validity for job applicant selection rises to over 0.6 -it's unclear other skills and personality traits might be just as good or better predictors of success -a special problem in measuring validity -a test has good predictive validity only in a population with varied scores -if scores occur mostly in a narrow high range, the predictive validity drops -almost all applicants to graduate engineering programs have high quantitative Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores -this lowers predictive validity of the quantitative GRE that group -utility -utility is practical application(s) of test results -a test can be reliable and valid but not useful -the University of Pennsylvania requires both SAT reasoning and subject tests -first year grades are equally well predicted from SAT subject test scores alone -institution should examine if a test really has utility -interpreting fluctuations in scores -the lower the test reliability, the greater the score fluctuations will be -a 1966 study showed great increases in low IO scores of orphaned infants -they were adopted and tested again as young children -IQ tests for infants have relatively low reliability -it's possible that the scores had "nowhere to go but up"

use of special coding strategies

-retrieval cues -these are bits of associated information that helps us regain complex memories for later use -many factors associated with learning information can act as retrieval cues for it later -retrieval cues: encoding specificity -associations formed at the time of learning are the most effective retrieval cues -memory is state-dependent -we remember better if our physical condition is similar when we recall material as it was at the time we learned it -mnemonic devices -any memory aid that encodes items in a special way. an example: -the method of loci uses vivid images of places -each plate is associated with something you want to remember

interference

-role of interference -Ebbinghaus has trouble because he memorized many nonsense syllables -related materials become confused -retention of what is learned first makes it harder to retain what is learned later -what's learned later makes it harder to retain what's learned first -this is interference -proactive interference: retaining old material makes it hard to recall new material -retroactive interference: learning new material makes it hard to recall old material -which type of interference did Ebbinghaus experience?

the distribution of IQ scores

-scores on characteristics of interest approximate a normal distribution, or bell-shaped curve -Binet and Wechsler designed IQ tests with a mean score of 100 and standard deviations of 15 (Wechsler) and 16 (SB) -68% of scores fall within 1 SD units in either direction -gifted: scores fall more than 2 standard deviation units above the mean -mental retardation: scores falling more than 2 units below the mean -the scores should be used to analyze strengths and weaknesses and design an educational program to meet his/her needs

the standardization of IQ tests

-tests must be standardized so we understand what the scores mean -standardization establishes rules for test administration and score interpretation -they are based on a large and representative samples from the target population -norms - descriptions of score frequencies in the population - are determined -they help us estimate likelihood of the occurrence of a score

timing of study sessions

-the best strategy for anyone who needs to learn a lot of material is to space out the study sessions -study the material -wait for awhile -return to the material and test yourself

the influence of emotional arousal

-the more emotional arousing an event is, the greater the likelihood that it will be remembered -emotion associated with an event does not guarantee that accurate memories of its details will be formed -during stressful/emotional events, the sympathetic nervous system increases production of cortisol and adrenaline -at the same time the amygdala is also stimulated -this combination enhances storage of information associated with the event that evoked the responses

restandardizations and the Flynn effect

-the standardization of tests eventually becomes obsolete -periodic recalculation of norms and item revisions are done -periodic restandardization of IQ tests has revealed that raw scores are rising -tests developers have to make tests harder to keep the mean at 100 -this trend (the Flynn Effect) is happening on a global basis in all races end ethnicities

retrieval and interference

-there are understandable reasons for forgetting: -interference - memories block each other -decay - the memory is subject to the combined effects of time and interference -loss of retrieval cues -source amnesia

heredity and environment

-we are fascinated, ambivalent and anxious about research on group differences in IQ scores -we have more direct control over environment that ever before -environmental factors play a role the most constructive approach is to give every child the best possible resources for developing capacities -early, long-term interventions can counteract disadvantages that might result from deprived environments

improving our memory

-we refer to our memories as "stored" and "retrieved" as if they are kept in a warehouse. but this analogy is only partially useful -the more you know about a topic, the more interested you are, the easier it is to retain new information related to it

memory improvement

to improve memory, one must improve strategies for storage of information