Learning & Memory Exam 4

Personal Identity function (AM)

"We are our memories" (Neisser, 1982) Understand the self in relation to our personal past, our historical self

how does individualistic culture impact what is recalled from the past

Earliest memory around age 2.5-3.5 Early childhood memories more frequent Memories are more detailed Memories include more emotion Mothers encourage elaborate story telling

Elaboration

enrich with meaning

How is AM represented?

many ways- imagery, sound, taste, etc.

What age groups show a reminiscence bump?

starts at around age 50 bump occurs around age 20-30

schemas

a prior knowledge structure that can apply to many situations for many purposes »Consist of abstract and generalized knowledge about an object or situation

What happens when the medial temporal lobes are lesioned?

Lesions of MTL produce anterograde amnesia

What areas of the brain are most active during search?

lateral pcf

procedural memory

non declarative memory; how to perform different tasks (ex: how to tie shoes)

3 memory processes

•Encoding - initial storage into memory •Storage/consolidation - maintaining the stored memory •Retrieval - re-activating the memory for further processing

What is a life script?

A set of culturally defined age norms for transitional events(Berntsen & Rubin, 2004) Ex: Beginning School, First Job, Leaving Home, Falling in Love, Having Children Defines the order of transitional events Defines the optimal age for transitional events Used for comparison of one's own life to the socially normed life

Studies suggesting that animals have semantic memory and episodic memory.

Scrub Jay research: ›Scrub jays bury worms and nuts in sand-filled ice-cube tray compartments ›When allowed to recover food 4 hours later, chose worms (favorite food) ›After 124 hours, tended to choose the still-edible nuts ›Suggests an ability to recall specific details of what was buried, where it was buried, and when it was buried—an episodic memory Morris Water Maze ›Rats show a large decrease in swim time from trial one to trial two ›Shows memory after a single experience ›Also shows recall for the where of episodic memory

How are identity and the self-narrative intertwined?

Self-identification in self-narrative occurs either privately or publicly Self-reflection Verbal self-disclosure Activities that symbolically communicate identity

In what 3 ways does self-identification occur?

Self-reflection Verbal self-disclosure Activities that symbolically communicate identity

Recall abilities are dependent upon how well information is encoded

Shallow - physical features Capital vs. lower-case letters Medium - sound - acoustic Rhyming or "sounds like" Deep - meaning "Does this word fit this sentence?"

repetition

Simple repetition NOT effective encoding

3 main functions of AM.

Social, Explanatory, & Personal Identity

categorization

Some research suggests that specific categories of semantic information are stored in specific groups or networks of neurons. Encoding specificity - match between context at learning and context at retrieval aids retrieval Context-Dependent Memory

multiple memory trace theory

Supports ______ more The MTL organizes distributed semantic facts into specific episodic memories = True episodic memories are therefore never fully independent of the MTL

standard consolidation theory

Supports ______ more older memories are stored in the cortex and eventually become independent of the hippocampus During learning, the MTL relays information to the cortex = Over time, the cortex gets the message and the memories become independent of the MTL

4 main explanations for childhood amnesia

Development of the Self Language Development Parent-Child Interactions Culture

how does collectivist culture impact what is recalled from the past

Earliest memory around age 4.5-5.5 Early childhood memories less frequent Memories are less detailed Memories include less emotion Mothers repetitive and less elaborate (focus on facts)

episodic memory

Episodic: memory for events that occur at a specific time (ex: first kiss)

Explanatory function (AM)

Explain present with appeals to the past

explicit memory

Includes both semantic (simple facts like you stated) and episodic (events you remember): requires conscious recall Ex: Remembering topics learned in school yesterday

How is storage improved by organization?

Prior knowledge structures (Schemas) are used to structure information

techniques for studying Autobiographical memory

Prospective techniques - have participants record events as they happen and then recall them later Retrospective techniques - ask participants to think back on events and recall them and/or rate them Can't check the accuracy of events

How has research supported the life script as an explanation for the reminiscence bump? How has research failed to support this explanation?

Responsible for enhanced recall of events from adolescence and early adulthood? Berntsen & Rubin (2004) argue yes The majority of events reported from this period are NOT life script events Fitzgerald (1988) found that only 14% of reported memories were of life script events

How has research supported the self-narrative as an explanation for the reminiscence bump? How has research failed to support this explanation?

Responsible for enhanced recall of events from adolescence and early adulthood? Berntsen & Rubin (2004) argue yes The majority of events reported from this period are NOT life script events Fitzgerald (1988) found that only 14% of reported memories were of life script events

How are the 3 main retrieval tasks affected by various encoding strategies?

The more cues provided, the easier it is to recall a memory: Free recall = tough Cued recall = easier recognition = easiest

organization

Schema - a prior knowledge structure that can apply to many situations for many purposes Generalized knowledge about situations and events Units larger than words or concepts ›Abstract, generic information ›Provides expectations ›Guides recognition and understanding ›Emphasizes top-down processing ›Allows us to predict ›Can lead us astray Script - specific type of schema ›Highly familiar activity ›Well structured sequence of events ›Events occur in a specific order Knowledge of the sequence of events ›Abstract representation of prior episodes ›Increases efficiency of encoding and storage ›Speeds response time

encoding specificity

match between context at learning and context at retrieval aids retrieval

What specific features of episodic memory make it so distinct from other forms of memory?

memory for events that occur at a specific time tagged with spatial and temporal context Learned in a single exposure Personal experience Easy to communicate Consciously accessible Integrates the what, when, and where of an event Captures the flow of an event

retroactive interference

new knowledge impairs recall of previously learned information Ex: Difficulty remembering the old number you once knew so well after you've finally learned the new number

How is AM expressed?

verbally

3 main types of retrieval tasks

»Free recall - participant given minimal info »Cued recall - participant given moderate prompting »Recognition - participant shown studied and unstudied items and asked to identify the items that were studied

declarative memory

(implicit) One's knowledge about common things like facts and data.

What areas are most active during emotional memory?

amygdala

why so many areas of the brain are activated during an AM memory task?

Autobiographical memories are represented many ways *Imagery plays an important role

prior knowledge

Background knowledge dramatically enhances encoding ex: read before class

HM surgery

Medial temporal lobes removed on both sides

semantic memory

Semantic: facts and knowledge (ex: your mother's name)

What are the functions of the self-narrative?

Self-identification Directive planning Social/Communicative

What did psychologists learn from this "Landmark Case Study"?

Anterograde amnesia Had intact working memory system Had intact long-term memory system Had impaired consolidation process

Describe what happened to HM following his surgery.

Anterograde amnesia: couldn't form new lasting memories After surgery, HM met new doctor -Completed hours of testing with him -Next day - didn't recognize the doctor After surgery, HM was told his favorite uncle died -He was extremely sad and upset -Next day - didn't remember that it happened

what types of events are remembered by children and adults of varying ages

Childhood: Recurring events that happen in familiar contexts Routine Events Guided by Schemes/Scripts (e.g., going to McDonalds, going to the park, family vacations, birthday parties, etc). Novel events are not remembered well (only the general, routine parts of events) Cues Needed Interviewers have to work harder to elicit responses, asked more questions Younger children provide minimal details Older children need less cues and provide more elaborate, detailed information. Happy life script events are expected to occur during adolescence and young adulthood Negative life script events are expected to occur equally across the lifespan Adults: Told more stories from adolescence than any other time period

2 main explanations for the reminiscence bump

Happy life script events are expected to occur during adolescence and young adulthood Negative life script events are expected to occur equally across the lifespan Bump more defined for pleasant memories than for unpleasant memories (Berntsen & Rubin, 2002) Fitzgerald (1988) examined flashbulb memories All event categories (except assassination memories) followed a similar distribution (including the bump) "Bump" present in life history timeline and in detailed descriptions of significant events

nondeclarative memory

Hard to communicate: how do you tie your shoe Taught many times: how many times did you have to tie your show before being able to do it Not consciously accessible: what hand do you start tying your shoe with (explicit) tying a shoe

imagery

Method of Loci - memorization method in which the learner visualizes an ordered series of physical locations as mnemonic cues for a list of information Technique of Interacting Images - memorization through visualization of interacting objects Especially useful for learning word pairs of information that must be remembered together

role of the medial temporal lobe (particularly the hippocampus) in memory

Patient EP, with bilateral damage to the medial temporal lobes (MTL) similar to HM

What areas of the brain are most active during re-experiencing period?

Visual Cortex- occipital, cuneus, precuneus

social function (AM)

We share our memories with others This function is what requires the form of AM to be verbal (must tell the 5 Ws of the story)

What is identity? When is formed?

a feeling of being at home in one's body, a sense of 'knowing where one is going,' and an inner assuredness of anticipated recognition from those who count Life long process Adolescence marks the normal crisis

How is Autobiographical memory distinguished from other forms of memory?

distinguished by autonoetic consciousness = A personal sense of past and present Autonoetic consciousness drives the emotional experience of autobiographical recollection

four most common problems that lead to memory failure

forgetting, interference, misattribution, and false memory

What areas of the brain are most active during recovery?

hippocampus & retrosplenial cortex

proactive interference

previously learned information impairs recall of newer information Continuing to use old phone number even though you know your number has changed Over many trials, recall can decrease Study breaks

implicit memory

procedural memory: does not require conscious recall Ex: riding a bike

is Autobiographical memory a prospective or retrospective technique?

prospective

levels of processing

refers to how the material is analyzed Deeper processing = better recall Semantic - best recall Acoustic - intermediate recall Physical features - poorest recall

spacing

repeated studying works better when it is in small chunks than one big cram session

Maintenance

repetition

different methods of encoding information

repetition, imagery, levels of processing, prior knowledge

testing

retrieve previously tested material better than material that has been studied but not tested

scripts

specific type of schema »Highly familiar activity »Well structured sequence of events »Events occur in a specific order