chapter 7 psychology

different levels of processing

(1) physical features 5 shallow processing; (2) rhyming 5 deeper processing; (3) fill in the blanks 5 deepest processing

Bransford & Johnson

-Presented participants with difficult-to-comprehend information Experimental Group 1 first saw a picture that helped explain the information Experimental Group 2 saw the picture after reading the passage Control Group did not see the picture -Group 1 outperformed the others. Having a mental framework of comprehension aided memory encoding and retrieval

factors that aid in encoding

-create connections: imagery, and link to self (self reference effect) -active creation: (generate information and testing -organization: recall groups (spontaneous grouping of fruits, etc), present in an organized way (tree experiment), and meaningful framework (ballon experiment) -Visual imagery -Self-reference effect -Generation effect -Organizing to-be-remembered information -Relating words to survival value -Retrieval practice

"Active" Note-Taker

-creating hand-written notes are more likely to involve synthesizing and summarizing the lecture, which results in deeper encoding and better learning. -handwriting encourages more reflective, deeper processing.

Systems consolidation

-which takes place over months or even years, involves the gradual reorganization of neural circuits within the brain -The Hippocampus and the Cortex -The Standard Model of Consolidation

maintenance rehearsal

Consider, for example, holding a phone number in your memory by repeating it over and over. If you do this without any consideration of meaning or making connections with other information, you are engaging in .... -his type of rehearsal results in little or no encoding and therefore poor memory, so you don't remember the number when you want to call it again later. -Repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it to LTM

retrograde amnesia

This loss of memory for events that occurred before the injury, called retrograde amnesia, can extend back minutes, hours, or even years, depending on the nature of the injury. football player -Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events prior to the trauma

multiple trace model

multiple trace model of consolidation proposes that early in consolidation, the hippocampus communicates with cortical areas, However, in contrast to the standard model, the multiple trace model proposes that the hippocampus remains in active communication with the cortical areas, even for remote episodic memories -The hippocampus has been shown to be activated during retrieval of both recent and remote memories -The response of the hippocampus can change over time

cued recall

the participant is presented with retrieval cues to aid in recall of the previously experienced stimuli. -These cues are typically words or phrases -cue presented to aid recall -Increased performance over free-recall -Retrieval cues most effective when created by the person who uses them

temporal context model (TCM)

which does not involve reconsolidation. -the reconsolida- tion explanation proposes that what is stored about the old memory has changed, whereas the TCM explanation proposes that considering storage is unnecessary because Hupbach's result can be explained by contextual associations.

retrieval

(bringing information into consciousness by transferring it from LTM to working memory). -transferring information from LTM to working memory

encoding

(the process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM) term coding to refer to the form in which information is represented. term encoding to refer to the process used to get information into LTM -acquiring information and transforming it into memory

Improving Learning and Memory

-Distributed versus massed practice effect -Difficult to maintain close attention throughout a long study session -Studying after a break gives feedback about what you already know -Elaborate - associate what you are learning to what you already know -Generate and test - The generation effect -Memory is better for multiple short study sessions (the spacing effect) -Consolidation is enhanced if you sleep after studying (in other words, no all nighters!) -Avoid the "illusion of learning". Familiarity does not mean comprehension.

retrieval practice effect

-being tested is important for learning because when testing was stopped for Group 3 once items were recalled correctly, performance decreased. -The enhanced performance due to retrieval practice is called the testing effect -When studying, use techniques that result in elaborative processing, and keep testing yourself, even after the material is "learned," because testing provides a way of elaborating the material.

paired-associate learning

-test whether using visual imagery—generating images in your head to connect words visually—can enhance memory. -in which a list of word pairs is presented. Later, the first word of each pair is presented, and the partici- pant's task is to remember the word it was paired with. -participants who had created images remembered more than twice as many words as the participants who had just repeated the word pairs

Synaptic consolidation

-which takes place over minutes or hours, involves structural changes at synapses -Experience Causes Changes at the Synapse -One of the outcomes of structural changes at the synapse is a strengthening of syn- aptic transmission. This strengthening results in a phenomenon called LONG-TERM POTEN- TIATION (LTP)—enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation

Elaborate

A process that helps transfer the material you are reading into long-term memory is elaboration—thinking about what you are reading and giving it meaning by relating it to other things that you know. -Techniques based on association, such as creating images that link two things, often prove useful for learning individual words or definitions. -proactive interference, which occurs when previously learned information interferes with learning new information. proactive interference is the past influencing the present.

self-reference effect

Another example of how memory is improved by encoding -Memory is better if you are asked to relate a word to yourself. -memory was better for the self condition than the common condition. -self condition, in which participants indicated whether the adjective described themselves (yes or no) -common condition, in which participants indi- cated whether the word was commonly used (yes or no)

Take Breaks

Study in a number of shorter study sessions rather than trying to learn everything at once -Don't cram -memory is better when studying is broken into a number of short sessions, with breaks in between, than when it is concentrated in one long session, even if the total study time is the same -advantage for short study sessions is called the SPACING EFFECT -memory performance is enhanced if sleep follows learning -sleeping soon after studying can improve a process called consolidation and which results in stronger memories.

reactivation

This process, which is called reactivation, helps form direct connections between the various cortical areas. -interaction between the hippocampus and the cortex pictures the hippocampus as acting like a "glue" that binds together the representations of memory from different cortical areas, but which then becomes unnecessary once the cortical representations are formed.

free recall

a participant is simply asked to recall stimuli. These stimuli could be words previously presented by the experimenter or events experienced earlier in the participant's life. We have seen how this has been used in many experiments, such as the serial position curve experiment

retrieval cue

a word or other stimulus that helps a person remember information stored in memory. -a word in a particular category, such as fruits, serves as a retrieval cue for other words in that category.

Enhancing Memory

chunking, rehearsal, recirculation, elaboration -To sleep, perchance to consolidate memory -reactivation process associated with consolidation may begin as soon as a memory is formed, it is particularly strong during sleep. -consolidation appears to be enhanced during sleep.

Organize

create a framework that helps relate some information to other information to make the material more meaningful and therefore strengthen encoding -helps reduce the load on your memory. -Organization relates to the phenomenon of chunking -Grouping small elements into larger, more meaningful ones increases memory. Organizing material is one way to achieve this.

depth of processing

distinguishes between shallow processing and deep processing -Shallow processing involves little attention to meaning, as when a phone number is repeated over and over or attention is focused on a word's physical features such as whether it is printed in lower- case or capital letters. -Deep processing involves close attention and elaborative rehearsal that focuses on an item's meaning and its relationship to something else. -deep processing results in better memory than shallow processing

generation effect

generating material yourself rather than passively receiving it, enhances learning and retention -Read group: Read these pairs of related words. -Generate group: Fill in the blank with a word that is related to the first word. -generated the second word in each pair were able to reproduce 28 percent more word pairs than participants who had just read the word pairs.

Multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA)

goes beyond just determining which areas are activated. It determines the pattern of voxel activation within various structures. -(1) more information about remote memories compared to recent memories was contained in the prefrontal cortex, and -(2) information about both recent and remote memories was represented throughout the hippocampus, with the posterior hippocampus containing more information about remote memories

levels of processing theory

idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval, proposed by Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart (1972), is called ... -According to levels of processing theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that an item receives -that memory retrieval is affected by how items are encoded—has led to a great deal of research that has demonstrated this relationship. -Memory depends on how information is encoded -Depth of processing Shallow processing: little attention to meaning focus on physical features poor memory Deep processing: close attention to meaning better memory -ask question, present word, answer question

elaborative rehearsal

instead of mindlessly repeating the phone number, you find a way to relate it to something meaningful. being able to remember the number by considering meaning or making connections to other information. When you do that, you are engaging in ..., which results in better memory than maintenance rehearsal. -Using meanings and connections to help transfers information to LTM

survival processing

is a powerful tool for encoding items into memory -situations that involve survival can enhance memory.

Reconsolidation

is the idea that when a memory is retrieved (remembered), it becomes fragile, like it was when it was originally formed, and that when it is in this fragile state, it needs to be consolidated again—a process called reconsolidation. -is important because when the memory has become fragile again, and before it has been reconsolidated, it can be modified or eliminated. -Famous Rat Experiment -result shows that when a memory is reactivated, it becomes fragile, just as it was immediately after it was first formed, and the drug can prevent reconsolidation. Thus, just as the original memory is fragile until it is consolidated for the first time, a reactivated memory becomes fragile until it is reconsolidated.

encoding specificity

matching the context in which encoding and retrieval occur; -states that we encode information along with its context -best recall occurred when encoding and retrieval occurred in the same location. -good strategy for test taking would be to study in an environment similar to the environment in which you will be tested -physical situation -We learn information together with its context -Baddeley's (1975) "diving experiment" Best recall occurred when encoding and retrieval occurred in the same location

state-dependent learning

matching the internal mood present during encoding and retrieval -learning thatis associated with a particular internal state, such as moodor state of awareness. -memory will be better when a person'sinternal state (mood or awareness) during retrieval matcheshis or her internal state during encoding. -they did better when their mood at retrieval matched their mood during encoding -internal feeling -Learning is associated with a particular internal state Better memory if person's mood at encoding matches mood during retrieval

transfer-appropriate processing

matching the task involved in encoding and retrieval. -retrieval is better if the same cognitive tasks are involved during both encoding and retrieval. -Part I. Encoding: the meaning condition, the task was to answer "yes" or "no" based on the meaning of the word when it filled in the blank. In the rhyming condition, participants answered "yes" or "no" based on the sound of the word. -Part II. Retrieval: retrieval perfor- mance depended on whether the retrieval task matched the encoding task -had focused on rhyming during encod- ing remembered more words in the rhyming test than participants who had focused on meaning. -focused on the word's sound during the first part of the experiment did better when the test involved focusing on sound. -when the type of processing matches in encoding and retrieval—is called transfer-appropriate processing. -phenomenon whereby the results of a memory task will be better if the type of processing used during encoding is the same as the type during retrieval

organization

organizing material to be remembered results in substantially better recall. -presenting material in an organized way improves memory, we might expect that preventing organization from happening would reduce the ability to remember.

standard model of consolidation

proposes that memory unfolds according the sequence of steps, in which the hippocampus, is involved in encoding new memories, and makes connections with higher cortical areas. However, with the passage of time, connections between the hippocampus and cortical areas weaken, and connections between cortical areas strengthen, until, eventually, the HC is no longer involved in those memories -hippocampus is crucial during early stages of memory, as it is replaying the neural activity associated with a memory and sending this information to the cortex. -Retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation; after consolidation hippocampus is no longer needed -Reactivation: hippocampus replays neural activity associated with memory. retrieval of recent and remote episodic

PTSD

reactivation of a memory followed by reconsolidation can help alleviate the symptoms of PTSD.

Generate and Test

repeatedly testing yourself on material you are studying pays dividends in improved memory. -Testing is actually a form of generation, because it requires active involvement with the material. -making up the questions involves active engagement with the material, it strength- ens encoding of the material. -making up questions did as well on an exam as students who read a text with the idea of answering questions later, and both groups did better than a group of students who did not create or answer questions -self-testing accomplishes two things: It indicates what you know and increases your ability to remember what you know later.

Avoid "Illusions of Learning"

rereading as a study technique is that it can create the illusion that learning is occurring -reading and rereading material results in greater fluency—that is, repetition causes the reading to become easier and easier. -reading creates the illusion that the material is being learned, increased fluency doesn't necessarily translate into better memory for the material. -creates the illusion of learning is the FAMILIARITY EFFECT. Rereading causes material to become familiar, so when you encounter it a second or third time, there is a tendency to interpret this familiarity as indicating that you know the material. -beware of highlighting seems like elaborative processing (you're taking an active role in your reading by highlighting import- ant points), but it often becomes automatic behavior that involves moving the hand, but with little deep thinking about the material.

Retrieval Cues

retrieval cues as words or other stimuli that help us remember information stored in our memory. -as I was preparing to leave home to go to class illustrates how location can serve as a retrieval cue -Hearing a particular song can bring back memories for events you might not have thought about for years. Or consider smell. -retrieval cues aid memory -self generated cues are far better than ones given -retrieval cues are significantly more effective when they are created by the person whose memory is being tested. -Retrieval can be increased by matching the conditions at retrieval to the conditions that existed at encoding.

graded amnesia

the amnesia tends to be most severe for events that happened just before the injury and to become less severe for earlier events. -Graded amnesia: memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events

consolidation

which is defined as the process that transforms new memories from a fragile state, in which they can be disrupted, to a more permanent state, in which they are resistant to disruption. -Müller and Pilzecker's pioneering experiment, researchers have discovered a great deal about the mechanisms responsible for consolidation and have distinguished two types, based on mechanisms that involve both synapses and neural circuits. -Transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state. Synaptic consolidation occurs at synapses, happens rapidly Systems consolidation involves gradual reorganization of circuits in brain -Muller and Pilzecker (1900)