Chapter 6 memory
Some basic phenomena of memory:
*Length of the list -longer lists, the longer to memory the lists than the shorter lists *Serial position effect: -Primacy effect: a whole lists of items (grocery list, names) ppl tend to remember items from the beginning lists than the middle. -earlier a lot of rehearsal and attention in the beginning of the lists. -Recency effect: end of the lists tends to remembered than the middle -immediate recall of a list of items (such as words) is best from the end of the list and worst in the middle Distinctiveness: helps with memory when something stands out all. ex: lists of names with a distinctiveness or stands out of all the lists more likely to remember it. Meaningfulness: things we hold on to tends to be the one have more meaning. Is a subjective evaluation of how well these stories connect to the person. ex: short story. space out readings understand it better. Environmental context (cues for memory)
Long -term Memory
-A relatively permanent store of (mostly) meaningful information To get information from the LTM a person needs a elaborative rehearsal(an association that facilitates retrieval; we store info that we wish to keep for a long period of time capacity: duration:
The Sensory Store
-Every memory begins as an exposure to a sensory stimulus -After you see or hear something for even a split second, you can report minor details about it briefly before the memory vanishes because it has been temporarily entered into the sensory store -Unless you immediately and actively attend to this sensory information, it will fade in less than a second as new information replaces it Capacity: Very large -contrary thought doesn't stand long Duration: very short (less than 1 sec)
Information -> Sensory memory
-Information enters memory, first stage -> sensory memory info that comes from our eyes, and ears. -briefly stores sensory impressions so we can extract relevant info from them for further processing. -The particular subset of information a person is dealing with at the moment - available only temporarily. -After attention is distracted, the information is difficult to find, although perhaps not lost altogether
George Sperling (1960)
-Tested how much information people can retain in the sensory store -He flashed an array onto a screen for 50 msec (1/20th of a second) -He then asked viewers to report as much of the whole array as they could -so fast you can't scanned it.
Interference: Temporary forgetting
-Tip of the tongue phenomenon: can't not recall the information that we know it at the moment Proactive interface: occurs when older information inhibits our ability to retrieve other, newer information from memory. Retroactive interference: in which newer information inhibits the retrieval of older information in memory. ex: you can't recall your old phone number but you can recall you new phone number
Cue-Depednt forgetting
-is the amount of information we can retrieve from LTM is a function of the type of cue or probe we use. -occurs when one cannot recall information in a context other than the content in which it was encoded ex: you run into a classmate at the grocery store and you can't recall her name. But you do recall her at , when you see her at school
Decay theory
-maintains that once a memory trace is stored in long-term memory, it must be routinely activated to keep it there. -a theory forgetting that proses that memory traces that are not routinely activated in LTM will degrade. you haven't thought of your best friend from kindergarten in 15 years. When you meet him/her you can't recall his/his name
Repression
-proposed by sigma freud -threatening memories are pushed into the inaccessible unconscious part of the mind ex: you're in a horrible car accident in which other people are seriously injured but you. You later Cann't recall details of the accident
eyewitness memory Loftus (1974) asked two groups of students to watch a videotape of an automobile accident Students were then questioned some time later about their memories for specific events in the video "How fast were the two cars traveling when they ___________ 1.into each other?" "How fast were the two cars traveling when they ___________2. with each another?" "How fast were the two cars travelling when they ______________3. into each other?"term-21
1. 2. 3.
4 Ways to measure the persistence of memory:
1.Recall - to produce it by searching memory Ex: tell me about the american civil war or essay tests 2.Cued recall - you're given a hint Ex: fill-in-the-blank tests 3.Recognition - choose the correct item from among several items Ex: multiple choice. 4.Savings (or relearning) - if presented with the correct lists of items vs. an unfamiliar list of items, you'll learn the correct list faster.
Despite our best effort to retain information, sometimes forgetting occurs. Forgetting may be due to ________1. of memory traces, ________2., _________3, or perhaps even _________4. To improve your memory
1.decay 2.interference 3.cue-dependent forgetting 4.repression
Types of Long Term Memory
Declarative - the ability to remember basic information. -explicit memory two subtypes: 1.semantic memory - factual information such as your name, the capital of North Carolina, 2+2 = 4, etc. 2.episodic memory - information for events such as your 16th birthday, your wedding day, your first day of college, etc. -autobiographical memory:meory of our unique personal history Nondeclarative (Procedural): - the ability to remember how to perform an acquired skill (e.g., how to type, how to ride a bicycle, how to swing a golf club, etc.) -implicit memory
Improving Memory by Improving Learning
Distribution of Practice Depth of Processing Shallow vs. Deep Encoding Specificity Mnemonic Devices
Encoding vs Organization in Long term-memory
Encoding: semantic encoding:stores the gist, or general meaning of the stimulus rather than storing all of the sensory details (ie. by extracting meaning) Organization: schema an organized generalized knowledge structure in long-term memory (ie. people, places, concepts, events, groups of people)
Information Processing Model (AKA Atkinson-Shiffrin Model)
Exactly what is memory and how does it work? Computer analogy: information enters the system, is processed and coded in various ways, and is then stored Therefore, in humans, information may first enter a temporary storage and then enter a permanent storage where it waits to be retrieved
Explicit vs Implicit Memory
Explicit: as the conscious use of memory. used when we consciously search our memory for a previously stored bit of info ex: when trying to answer a question which part of the cortex processes visual info. We conscious search your memory for the info you learned. implicitly: unconscious use of memory. ex: how did you find your way home with being consciously aware of driving the car.
How do we process new memories? 3 stages Model of Memory
Information-> Sensory memory-> Short-term memory-> long term memory<- 3 stages Model of Memory proposes that in forming new memories, info passes sequentially from sensory memory to short-term memory to long term memory.
The biology of memory
Memory Consolidation: the stylization and long-term stage of memory traces in the brain
Reconstructive vs Construcitve
Reconstructive: memory that is based on the retrieval of memory traces that contain the actual details or events we have experienced Constructive: memory that we use the knowledge and expectations that we have stored in our schemas to help us fill in the missing details in our stored memories
Retrieval & Forgetting Random Access memory
Retrieval: is the act of moving info from long-term memory back into woking memory or consciousness -occus when we send a prove or cue into LTM in search of memory traces or encoded memories that have stored there. probe or cue: a test question, the sight of playground, the sound of a roller coaster, or a particular smell
Amnesia:What forgetting can teach us about memory
Rograde Amesia: a type of amnesia in which one is unable to retrieve previously stored memories from long-term memory -can't remember what they have done in the past anterograde amnesia: a tye of amnesia in which one is unable to store new memories in long-term memory. -can't form new mores even though they experience new events.
First-Letter Technique
Take the first letter of each item to be remembered and form a word, a phrase, or a sentence with those letters. To remember the colors in the visible spectrum: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet Form the name Roy G. Biv
Environmental context (cues for memory) - Elements of Physical Setting
The tendency to encode elements of the physical setting in which information is learned along with memory of the information itself; environment the more environment test the more environmental context cues for memory
Hermann Ebbinghaus & Associationism _________ (the linking of sensations or ideas) has been regarded as central to all thought processes since the philosophers of the 1600s and 1700s -According to this approach, all experience consists of simple sensations or other psychological "elements" linked together through similarity or contiguity in time and space
associations
George Miller (1956)
capacity
The Functions of Memory- Components of Remembering
encoding: the act of inputting information into memory that can be stored in memory -> Storage;memory traces: are stored bits of info in memory. Mind will process this info and put it into memory storage where info is retained in memory. -> retrieval: used when theres test and the info is processes to recall and output the info from memory
Is memory accrate
flashbulb memories: clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event (ie. 9/11) ex: Do you remark what you were doing when you heard about the September 11 attack. -Misinformation: occurs when people are exposed to misinformation.
Ebbinghaus' Curve of Forgetting
forgetting curve: the amount of information forgotten as time passes.
Short-term memory storage is to ____________ as long-term memory storage is to ______________.
limited -----unlimited
Ebbinghaus' experimental approach Participants (usually himself) were presented with a series of ________________ and then tested for their memory after a particular delay
non syllabes JID BIX YUR NOL GEF His goal was to determine how rapidly people could memorize these lists and how long they could remember them
Retrograde amnesia is to _____________ , as anterograde amnesia is to _______________ .
past ----- future
To move information from iconic sensory memory to short-term memory, you must
pay attention to the information
Your knowledge of how to brush your teeth is an example of
procedural memory
Short-term memory
second stage -further processing -The particular subset of information a person is dealing with at the moment - available only temporarily. -uses dual coding system: memories can be stored either visually or acoustically (with sound) -limited in both capacity and duration -After attention is distracted, the information is difficult to find, although perhaps not lost altogether -technique for extending the amount of info we can hold in short term memory = chucking -chucking: involves grouping info together into meaningful units. capacity: 7 + or - 2 applies to such items as number, words, and other small bits of info duration: 1. Maintenance Rehearsal: repeating info over and over again to keep it in short-term memory for an extended period of time 2. Elaborative rehearsal: info into long term, elaborative rehearsal involves forming associations, or mental connections between info in short term memory that you want to store and info you already hav stored in permanent long term memory.
Working memory
views the working memory stages in more of a parallel fashion as opposed to a serial fashion; we assumes that we process different aspects of memory at the same time rather than in a series of stages as predicted by the 3 stated model. -contains short term memory, a central executive(the attention controlling components of working memory), a phonological loop and a visuopathial sketch pad; the function of working memory is to access, move and process info that we're currently using -retrieves info from long-term memory to help process info in short-term memory (ie. the meaning of words stored in short-term memory may be accessed from long-term memory) -retrieves strode info when you need it- for exam, your address directions to your aunt's house-and sends it to short-term memory -moves info form short-into long for storage (ie when you're studying) working memory move info you want to remember in long-term memory
Many researchers reject 3 stages model of memory and suggests a different type called ______
working memeory thats important in moving info in and out of long-term memory