Unit 7A: Memory

Memory Hierarchies

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Retrieving Forgetting

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Confederates

He found some of his confederates in gaol. (psychology) An actor who participates in a psychological experiment pretending to be a subject but in actuality working for the researcher Example: (also known as a "stooge").

Misinformation Effect

Human memory is not as good as people like to think. There are times when you are 100% confident in your memory of something and the reality is, your memory is wrong. This is often seen in eye witness testimony situations. How is it that 10 people witness a crime and when asked, there are 10 different versions of the crime? Example: According to the misinformation effect, when we witness an event and then get some incorrect information about that event, we incorporate that incorrect information (misinformation) into our memory of the event. The result in an altered memory of the event. You may not want to believe this one, but it's true and we are all susceptible to it.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a part of your brain, specifically a part of the limbic system that is vital for the formation of memories. Example: Without the hippocampus, you would not be able to remember anything that you are reading hear or anywhere else.

Information Processing Theory

The information processing theory approach to the study of cognitive development evolved out of the American experimental tradition in psychology. In humans, the result of information processing is exhibited through behavior or actions Example: a facial expression, a reply to a question, or body movement.

False Memory

*Same as misinformation effect*

CREB

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Malleable Memory

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Retrieval Cues

A Retrieval Cue is a prompt that help us remember. When we make a new memory, we include certain information about the situation that act as triggers to access the memory. For example, when someone is introduced to us at a party, we don't only store the name and appearance of the new acquaintance in our memory. We also include external cues about the situtation like what kind of party it was, who made the introduction, what cocktails were served, or what music was playing. We also include internal cues like what mood you were in at the time, or what you thought of the person being introduced. When we try to recall the person, having one or more of these cues present will help us remember better. So when you meet the person again, it would be easier to remember them if you bumped into them at another party, or you saw them with the same person who introduced you, or you were in the same mood as when you first met them.

Chunking

A very basic definition is that chunking is a way of organizing information into familiar groupings. This is done with all sorts of information, including numbers, single words, and multiple-word phrases which are collapsed into a single word, to create acronyms. The main advantage of this type of mnemonic device is that it enhances retention and memory. Example: How do you remember the names of the 5 Great Lakes? If you just remember the acronym, HOMES, you may find it easier to remember that the names of the Great Lakes are Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

Acoustic Encoding

Acoustic Encoding is the process of remembering and comprehending something that you hear. Repetition of words or putting information into a song or rhythm uses acoustic encoding. Learning the multiplication table Example: for instance, can be an acoustic process. You see the numbers on the chart, and you do the work on paper, but many people can rhythmically recite "six times six is thirty-six" because of the attention that was given to the sound of the numbers when spoken. If you find yourself talking or reading aloud while doing your homework, you are using acoustic encoding.

Semantic Encoding

As you know, encoding is the process of getting information into memory for storage. Semantic encoding is a specific type of encoding in which the meaning of something (a word, phrase, picture, event, whatever) is encoded as opposed to the sound or vision of it. Research suggests that we have better memory for things we associate meaning to and store using semantic encoding. Mnemonic Device: semantic means relating to meaning in language or logic.

Rehearsal

Consciously repeating information over and over so that I can keep it in temporary memory. Rehearsal can also be used to encode it for long-term memory storage, but I can't seem to get it in there and so I have to call the operator every time. Example: I love pizza. Unfortunately I can never remember the phone number for pizza delivery and I'm not smart enough to write it down. So I have to call information for the number. To make sure I don't forget the number from the time the operator tells me to the time I dial it, I engage in rehearsal

Memory Consolidation

Consolidation is primarily a Neuropsychology term, referring to a process in which information is stored in various parts of the brain and then put together fairly quickly to "recall" an event or memory. The neurons in one part of the brain establish pathways or connections to neurons elsewhere so that even if one part is destroyed, other types of memory could be preserved. Example: In the 1960s, a patient who had part of his brain surgically removed was shown to lose some long term memory but not his childhood memories. He lost his temporal lobe but it appears that nervous interaction with other areas of the brain, such as the lateral cortex, resulted in those childhood experiences being stored elsewhere. We can compare Consolidation to the backup disk that we use to store some of the documents in our hard drive.

Decay

Decay is a type of forgetting that occurs when memories fade over time. This does NOT apply to Long Term Memory, but rather sensory storage and Short Term Memory. The main reason this occurs in sensory and/or short term memory is that we don't need to process and store all the information that we encounter in the world, so we simply don't attend to, recognize, or rehearse all the information, and this information just fades away not to be stored in our long term memories. Mnemonic device: when you die your body decays, connect this to memory

Effortful Processing

Effortful processing is just as the name implies; learning or storing (encoding) that requires attention and effort. We have the capacity to remember lots of things without putting forth any effort. However, there are lots of times when we must practice, rehearse, and try to remember things. When we engage in any technique to help remember information better, we are engaging in effortful processing. Mnemonic Device: Effort requires thought and work

Elizabeth Loftus

Elizabeth Loftus is an expert on Human Memory, and is well-known for her work on the Misinformation Effect and False Memories. She found that the given estimates varied in proportion to the intensity of the verb used to describe the accident. Participants gave a higher speed estimate when they were asked at what speed the cars were going when they "smashed" into each other, rather than when they were asked at what speed the cars were going when they "hit" each other. The Misinformation Effect may cause False Memories. Loftus demonstrated that False Memories may be created by means of suggestion by using the Lost in the Mall Technique, where children were asked if they remembered the time when they got lost in a mall and were later rescued. Example: Although none of the children studied ever experienced getting lost in the mall, many of them reported that they did remember the event, and some were even able to provide details of the event. Loftus believed that when the children were told of the event, they imagined it happening, thereby creating a false memory where the imagined event was confused with a real event.

Encoding Failure

Encoding Failure refers to the brain's occasional failure to create a memory link. Encoding refers to the brain's ability to store and recall events and information, either short or long-term. This faculty can fail for a number of reasons; trauma or substance use being the most common. When this happens, it can prevent the brain from creating and storing memories. Example: Many of us can identify times in our lives where, due to an accident, traumatic event or substance use, we are unable to remember specific events or actions.

Echoic Memory

Humans remember sounds and words in slightly different ways. Memory for sound is referred to as echoic memories, which can be defined as very brief sensory memory of some auditory stimuli. Typically, echoic memories are stored for slightly longer periods of time than iconic memories (visual memories). Mnemonic device: Echoic and iconic memories are sensory memories, not types of long-term memory, and thus are very temporary and fade quickly.

Iconic Memory

Humans remember sounds and words in slightly different ways. Memory for visual stimuli is referred to as iconic memory, which can be defined as very brief sensory memory of some visual stimuli, that occur in the form of mental pictures. Example: If I ask you to look at a picture and then close your eyes and try to see the picture, what you can "see" in your mind's eye is an iconic memory of the image in the picture. Typically, iconic memories are stored for slightly shorter periods of time than echoic memories (auditory memories). Please be aware that both echoic and iconic memories are sensory memories, not types of long-term memory, and thus are very temporary and fade quickly.

Imagery and Memory

Imagery: is simply the formation of any mental pictures. This simple process has great benefit when it comes to memory. By using imagery, we can enhance the processing of information into the memory system. Example: trying to remember a phone number by repeating it in your head is a common method, but what might enhance your processing of the information might be to use imagery - maybe visualize the numbers being written on a chalk board. This allows you to create a mental picture of the numbers that may be processed more completely. Memory: In psychology, memory is the process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. Encoding allows information from the outside world to reach the five senses in the forms of chemical and physical stimuli.

Encoding

Information we sense and subsequently attempt to process, store, and later retrieve must be brought in through one of the senses and then transformed into some form that our bodies and minds understand. The process of breaking the information down into a form we understand is the process of encoding. Mnemonic device: Encoding means to translate

Long Term Potentiation

Long-Term Potentiation is the ability of brain cells to retain how frequently they send signals to other brain cells. Brain cells that are used for mental exercises (such as languages and math problems) have a tendency to last longer than those that aren't used. Example: This can vary both from person to person and within a single person's activities. If you practice your foreign language but don't practice algebra, you are more likely to forget the algebra and remember the language.

Mnemonics

Mnemonics are simply memory aids. Anything you do (any technique you use) to help you remember something can be considered a mnemonic. Example: if you use the phrase "Emma has a dilemma" in order to remember how to correctly spell "dilemma" you are using a mnemonic.

Mood Congruent Memory

Mood-Congruent Memory indicates that, when humans store memories, they not only store the event, but they also store a memory of the mood they were in at the time. For this reason, when we feel happy we recall other happy memories. Example: Likewise, when we feel depressed we remember other unhappy events. For this reason, it is easier to remember events when a person is in the same state of mind as when the memory was stored.

Motivatied Forgetting

Motivated forgetting is a method in which people protect themselves by blocking the recall of these anxiety-arousing memories. Mnemonic Device: To forget

Priming

Priming is an acuteness to stimuli because of exposure to a certain event or experience. Example: an individual who has just purchased a new car may now start to notice with more frequency other people driving her same make and model. This person has been primed to recognize more readily a car like hers because of the experience she has driving and owning one.

State Dependent Memory

Recall from long-term memory that is dependent on certain cues from our physical states.

Retrieval Failure

Retrieval cues act as triggers to help us access a memory. When we make a new memory, we include certain information about the situation that serve as clues to access the memory. A Retrieval Cue Failure happens when you are unable to recall a memory because none of the clues are present to trigger it. For example, when you go shopping, you are often attended to by a certain lady at the checkout counter. Each time she rings up your purchase, you exchange greetings and engage in small talk. Even from afar, you always recognize her in her uniform at her assigned counter. But when you run into her at a coffee shop in your neighborhood, you are unable to recognize her because she is out of her uniform, in a different setting, and is a customer at the shop instead of behind a counter. In this case, none of the retrieval cues that go along with your memory of the checkout lady are present, and this makes you unable to recognize her (She probably doesn't recognize you either!).

Rosy Retrospection

Rosy Retrospection refers to the human propensity for remembering (or even exaggerating) the positives from past events and minimizing the negatives. Although this effect appears the strongest with events that were only moderately pleasant at the time, it is explained as the result of the memories of the minor annoyances associated with it fading away much more quickly than the positive memories. Example: of this could be a memory of a picnic or fishing trip where you remember the people you were with and the fun you had while tending to forget negatives such as heat, flies, mosquitoes, discomfort, etc.

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory. It is the ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimuli have ended. The part of the memory system which is the initial contact for stimuli. Sensory memory is only capable of retaining information for a very short period of time. Example: This type of memory allows your eye to have a larger field of vision by remembering images that your eye has already focused on. In actuality, your eyes' field of vision is quite small but because of sensory memory you are able to remember stimulus your eye has already viewed.

Short Term Memory

Short Term Memory is the part of the memory system where information is stored for roughly 30 seconds. Information can be maintained longer with the use of such techniques as rehearsal. To retain the information for extended periods of time; it must be consolidated into long-term memory where it can then be retrieved. Short-term memory allows you to retain phone numbers from an operator before and while you are dialing the number of interest. The capacity of short-term memory is also limited. Example: Most people can only store roughly 7 chunks of information plus or minus 2. Is it just a coincidence that phone numbers only have seven digits?

Storing

Short-term memory and long-term memory. In addition, different memory models have suggested variations of existing short-term and long-term memory to account for different ways of storing memory. Mnemonic device: Storing means to keep

Spacing Effect

Spacing Effect states that we learn material more effectively and easily when we study it several times spaced out over a longer time span, rather than trying to learn it in a short period of time. Example: As you can guess, this means that cramming for an exam the night before is not as effective as studying material each night over a week or some period of time. There's one caveat - this holds true for material you want to store for a long time (i.e., really store it in memory), whereas cramming can work to store information for short periods of time.

Context Effects

The Context Effect is a part of Cognitive Psychology that states that the context (environmental factors) that surrounds an event effects how an event is perceived and remembered. This effect, that is largely used in the science of marketing, holds that an event is more favorably perceived and remembered when the surrounding environment is comfortable and appealing. For example, when a person goes shopping or eats out, they are much more likely to spend time in a comfortable and appealing environment thereby increasing the likelihood of making purchases and returning to shop or eat there again.

Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a structure often referred to as the "little brain" that is located in the rear of the brainstem. The cerebellum helps control voluntary movements such as eye movement and tracking of moving objects, as well as coordination and balance in behaviors that are very fast Example: Running or sprinting

Long Term Memory

The term long-term memory refers to the unlimited capacity memory store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time. By saying "lengthy periods of time" we mean that it is possible for memories in LTM to remain there for an entire lifetime. In addition, there are three types of memories that can be stored in LTM: Examples: Three types of memories: procedural memory, semantic memory, and episodic memory.

Serial Position Effect

This term is a memory-related term and refers to the tendency to recall information that is presented first and last (like in a list) better than information presented in the middle. Example: Sometimes I experience this when I go to the store and don't write a list. My wife tells me the things we need and I try to remember them by rehearsing them (I say the list over and over). This keeps the information in short-term memory longer. But in the time it takes me to get to the store and then with all the distractions of getting items, looking at labels, etc., I tend to remember the items that were first on the list (probably because I rehearsed them so much) and the last items (probably because those were the ones I heard most recently) but always forget the ones in the middle. I guess I should write them down, huh?

Visual Encoding

Visual Encoding refers to the process by which we remember visual images. Example, if you are presented a list of words, each shown for one second, you would be able to remember if there was a word that was written in all capital letters, or if there was a word written in italics. Information that was encoded visually is very fleeting, and tends to be forgotten very easily. We are usually better able to remember information that we hear, or those that are relevant to us.

Debriefing

When a study or experiment ends, researchers are required to "debrief" participants. In a "debriefing" a researcher explains the purpose of the study, explains the use of deception (if any was used), encourages the participant to ask questions about the study, and allows the researcher to address any harm to the participant that may have resulted from their participation in the study. Debriefing is important to make sure the participant does not feel harmed from the the study in any way. Example: Lying to subject results in the experimenter justifying the experiment to the individual.

Automatic Processing

When you start to do something that you have done many times, and you can complete it successfully without giving it any thought, that's automatic processing. It can actually be disruptive to begin to think about the process once it has started automatically. Example: If you have ever played the piano, or knitted a scarf, you know how your hands seem to move on their own while your mind goes somewhere else. When you look back at your music or yarn, you might lose your place and stumble over the next steps, interrupting the automatic process.