Cognitive Psych Exam #3 (Chapters 6,7 and 8)
the modal model
(Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968; Waugh and Norman 1965) the three-stage memory model that divides memory (information processing) into 3 areas: 1. sensory (iconic or echoic) 2. short term memory 3. long term memory
unconscious memories
(implicit memories) Can reveal if tested indirectly
Digit-span task
(used to determine an individual's working-memory capacity) The participant is asked to remember digits. The list is increased until memory fails. The longest list length that can be reliably repeated back by the participant is his or her digit span. Working memory capacity is typically 7 plus-or-minus 2
mirror drawing task
- Participants must draw a precisely defined shape—and so might be asked, for example, to trace a line between the inner and outer star. - Participants can see the figure (and their own hand) only in the mirror. Performance usually poor at first, but gradually gets better. *** Same pattern of improvement is observed with amnesic patients, even though on each attempt they insist that they are performing this task for the very first time!! Procedural memory!!
working memory
- a dynamic form of short-term memory - less like a storage place and more like a status More recent term for short-term memory - Emphasizes its function - Dynamic because it is adaptive and does more than simply store information
Implications for studying
-understand through self-questioning -actively engage -form connections -spaced learning
Memory Process
1. Encoding 2. Storage 3. Retrieval
Working memory is often divided into three components
1.) Central executive - decision maker; makes decisions, plans responses, and coordinates helper components 2.) Visuospatial buffer - helper component that deals with visual material and imagery 3.) Articulatory rehearsal loop - helper component that deals with verbal material
Testing recency claims
30 secs is not enough to wipe out recency Another task is needed to do so Thirty seconds of filled delay displaces the last few items from working memory. This eliminates the recency effect. Thirty seconds of unfilled delay does not change the recency effect.
lexical decision task
A procedure in which a person is asked to decide as quickly as possible whether a particular stimulus is a word or a nonword. When items are presented in pairs, the semantic relationship between words affects the speed of lexical decision. "butter" will be recognized faster after having seen "bread" because its node has already received spreading activation.
semantic priming
A process in which activation of an idea in memory causes activation to spread to other ideas related to the first in meaning.
Some flashbulb memories contain large-scale errors.
After the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, 3,000 people were interviewed. One year later, they were re-interviewed. 37% gave a substantially different account (but were confident). Three years later, 43% gave a substantially different account.
Operation span
Another measure of working memory Decide whether equation is true or false Then remember word paired with equation Number of words remembered is the operation span
memory rehearsal
Any mental activity that has the effect of maintaining information in working memory. Two types of rehearsal are often distinguished: maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal.
Primacy effect
Better memory for first few items (with free-recall) Base on long-term memory Memory rehearsal allows transfer from WM to LTM First few items receive the most memory rehearsal
recency effect
Better memory for the last few items (with free-recall) Last few items are not displaced by future items Based on working memory At the end of list presentation, the last few items are currently in working memory and are often the first items to be reported.
Regularization via schemata example
Books in office Footage of plane crash remembered
Hyperthymesia
Can recall details of every single day of their lives Does no make them incredible geniuses/scholars Only have superior autobiographical recall Do not have an advantage in non-autobiographical content or other mental tasks Can be burdensome
reading span
Captures active nature of working memory Participant reads sentences and remembers the last word in each sentence Number of sentences is increased to failure Number of words remembered is the reading span Ex.) Read aloud: "Due to his gross inadequacies, his position as director was terminated abruptly. It is possible, of course, that life did not arise on Earth at all." If successfully does this with these 2 sentences, then given 3, etc. until the limit on performance is located Limit = Working Memory Capacity (WMC)
Episodic Memory
Collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a time and place. Uses "mental time travel" Requires hippocampus***
The Rehearsal Loop
Concurrent articulation tasks support the model of the articulatory rehearsal loop. Repeating syllables (ex. "tah-tah-tah") while completing a verbal span test reduces WM capacity. Eliminates "sound-alike" errors (ex, misremembering "F" as "S")
Memory confidence -
Confidence is an indicator of memory accuracy only in a narrow set of circumstances.
Connections serve as retrieval paths
Connections can also lead to memory errors. Shared connections make similar memories less distinguishable. Elements might be connected because they are associated or because they were actually part of the memory. - One type of error is called an intrusion error.
Context Dependent Learning
Dependent on the state one is in during acquisition New material is most likely to be recalled when the person is in the same mental, emotional, or biological state as when the material was learned.
other flashbulb memories are well remembered.
Discussion with other people can act as rehearsal. People will alter their accounts to improve conversation and/or pick up new information from others' accounts.
Clive Wearing
Double disassociation with semantic and episodic memory Good memory for generic information Love for his wife Unable to remember episodic events - mostly new but might have haziness w/ past memories (requires hippocampus) Disrupted episodic memory but intact semantic memory
Long-Term Memory Duration: Capacity and size: Ease of entry: Ease of Retrieval:
Duration: Long-lasting, enduring Capacity and size: Enormous Ease of entry: Effortful Ease of Retrieval: Can be difficult, slow and even unsuccessful
Working Memory Duration: Capacity and size: Ease of entry: Ease of Retrieval:
Duration: Temporary, fragile Capacity and size: Limited Ease of entry: Relatively easy Ease of Retrieval: Relatively easy
state-dependent learning and context reinstatement.
During learning, connections are strengthened between the context and the learned material. If you are in the same context during testing, the learned material will receive preactivation from these connections.
Familiarity and Source Memory are independent
Ex. Capgras syndrome, loved ones are recognized without a sense of familiarity
Processing fluency effects also create an illusion of familiarity.
Ex. Spelling - don't remember every spelling of every word, works heavily on familiarity
Example of testing memory indirectly
Ex.) If ask amnesia patient "Which of these melodies did you hear an hour ago?" will respond randomly, but if you ask them "Which of these melodies do you prefer?" Likely to chose the one they heard an hour ago. Indicating that they do somehow remember (and are influenced by) earlier experience
Networks suggest an explanation for why hints help us remember.
Example: A participant is asked "What is the capital of South Dakota?" Activates South Dakota nodes Activation spreads from there to all of the associates nodes Possible that connection between SD and Pierre is weak, so Pierre might not receive enough activation to reach threshold Give hint - everything changes If say, "The capital is a man's name" - Pierre node will receive activation from 2 sources - South Dakota and men's names nodes Double input - more likely that Pierre will reach threshold Why the hint makes the memory search easier
Explicit memory vs. Implicit memory
Explicit Memory: Direct memory testing, such as recall or recognition Conscious Implicit memory: Indirect memory testing, such as a priming task Unconscious
Even repeated exposure to information does not guarantee encoding in LTM.
For example, try to remember the design details of a penny. Most people's answers to the question, "Which way is Lincoln facing?" are close to random.
Contrary to popular belief, hypnosis does not help people recover lost memories.
Hypnosis does make people more open to suggestion and more vulnerable to misinformation effects. At least some recovered memories may actually be false memories (false either entirely or partially). Mix of recollection, guesses, and inferences
Certain principles of autobiographical memory reflect more general memory principles.
Importance of rehearsal Formation of generalized schemata from individual memory episodes Potential for intrusion errors and susceptibility to misinformation
Hippocampus
Important region for putting information into long-term storage Converter NOT the location of long-term storage - Just critical in conversion of short-term to long-term storage
The cognitive interview procedure can diminish forgetting.
Includes context reinstatement Diverse retrieval cues to trigger memories *** Repeated retrieval and testing can prevent forgetting.
Recall
Individual generates the memory after being given a broad cue identifying the information sought Requires memory search Depends heavily on memory connections; whether retrieval paths are available Ex: "What was the name of the restaurant that we went to?"
Recognition
Information is presented, and the individual must decide if it is the sought-after information. If source memory is available, recognition responses are similar in mechanism to recall. Ex: "Is this the name of the restaurant?" "Yes, I saw this word before." In the absence of source memory, depends on feelings of familiarity Ex: "This feels familiar, so I must have seen it recently."
Amnesic patients demonstrating preserved implicit memories without explicit memory.
Knowing the answer to a trivia question the second time around Preferring a musical melody that they had been exposed to before
retroactive interference
Later learning impairs memory for information acquired earlier the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Implicit Memory (Indirect Memory Tests)
Look at how a second encounter yields different responses than the first encounter Priming indicates implicit memory of first encounter Occurs when past experiences influence later behavior and performance, even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are remembering them Not consciously recalled*
Entering Long-term storage- Two types of rehearsal
Maintenance rehearsal (reciting) Relational/elaborative rehearsal (linking)
Memories about oneself are subject to errors.
Memories are a mix of genuine recall and schema-based reconstruction. Our autobiographical memories are also biased to emphasize consistency and positive traits.
Flashbulb memories -
Memories of extraordinary clarity, typically for highly emotional events. (9/11; eagles winning the superbowl; etc.)
the memory network
Memory can be thought of as a vast network of ideas. Ideas represented as nodes connected to each other via associations or associative links
Intrusion errors
Memory mistakes in which elements that were not part of the original information get mixed into ("intrude" into) someone's recall.
Co-witness contamination
Misinformation from another witness This can alter the actual memory for the event.
reminiscence bump
Most memorable period of life is HS through early college High school full of emotions, hormones, large traumatic changes...helps with memory**
Causes of better memory for emotional events
Narrowing of attention More rehearsal
Frederick Bartlett (1932) - Demonstration of the effects of schemata on memory
Native American stories presented to British participants Details that did not make sense from the British perspective were left out or supplemented to make the story fit better with the participants' background knowledge. British memories "cleaned up" parts of the story that didn't make sense to them. (helped fit things into their own known schema)
Anterograde (amnesia extended)
No loss of existing memories. Damage to the hippocampus and surrounding brain regions Difficulty forming new long-term memories Anterograde amnesia affects explicit (episodic) memory, while implicit (unconscious) memory is preserved.
word-stem completion
Participants are given a string of letters and are asked to produce a word beginning with this string. Ex.) "CLA-" evokes responses such as "clam" or "class" If participants have encountered one of these words recently, they are more likely to provide it as a response in this task, even if they do not consciously remember seeing that word before. ***Repetition improves memory!!
Experiments supporting the Modal Model
Participants hear a long series of words (ex. 30) The position of an item in the presentation list is its serial position. Task = repeat back as many words as they can in any order - Free-recall procedure Look at the position in the list (serial recall)
False fame study (Jacoby et al., 1989)
Participants shown a list of fictitious names Later, shown a list of famous people and fictitious names Asked to rate the fame of each person Some fictitious names rated as famous **The familiarity of those names was misattributed.**
Shaw and Porter (2015)
Participants were persuaded that they had committed a crime that in fact had never happened. Participants remembered this imaginary event a few years later.
Experiment: whenever blue light went on - loud fog horn would go off Person with amygdalar damage: Person without amygdalar damage:
Person with amygdalar damage - no fear (explicit memory intact) Person without amygdalar damage - fear; but don't know why In tact amygdala, no long-term memory (episodic) Hippocampus damage - Fear with no memory Amygdala damage -Memory with no fear
Traumatic memories
Physiological arousal and stress at the time of event increase consolidation. - These memories can also be lost. - Causes include head injuries, sleep deprivation, drugs or alcohol, and—controversially—"repression." - Stress during retrieval can also interfere.
encoding specificity
Refers to remembering both the materials to be learned and the context of those materials. Materials are better recognized as familiar later if they appear in, or are cued by, a similar context.
HM
Severe epilepsy - pieces of brain surgically removed Severe anterograde amnesia: unable to form new long-term memories
proactive interference
Situations in which earlier learning impairs memory for information acquired later the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information Ex: Working in an office doing similar tasks. End of week, forget specific days things happen due to mixing/interference of newer memories
Slow Presentation aids pre-recency items
Slowing down the presentation of the list allows for more rehearsal of all items This improves all parts of the curve that reflect LTM; except for the last few Recency effect at the end is the same Memory for the rest of the list is better
Source memory and familiarity are also distinguishable neuroanatomically.
Smaller rhinal cortex with familiarity Larger hippocampal cortex with recollection
Repression
Some authors think that traumatic memories can be "lost" and then "recovered." Lost memories may be due to ordinary retrieval failure. Some of these "repressed" memories may be false memories, especially if a therapist asks leading questions that provide misinformation.
Examples of inaccurate beliefs
Some types of memories will never be forgotten. Memory errors occur more rarely than they do. Confidence indicates accuracy. Memory functions like a video recorder. Hypnosis can reveal long-lost memories.
Reading span and operation span correlate strongly with
Standardized test performance Reasoning Reading comprehension
mere exposure effect
The finding that the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more apt we are to like it
Organizational Encoding
The process of categorizing info according to the relationships among a series of items Organize grocery list by fruits, dairy, veggies, etc. More specific groupings or hierarchies help with memory encoding.
Other principles of autobiographical memory may be distinct.
The role of emotion in shaping autobiographical memory may be less applicable to other kinds of memory.
Loftus and Palmer (1974)
View a series of slides depicting a car accident- - Some asked, "How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?" - Others asked, "How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" Those who heard "smashed into" gave faster speeds compared to those who heard "hit." A week later, those who had heard "smashed into" were more likely to agree to having seen broken glass in the pictures compared to those who heard "hit," even though there was no broken glass.
Imagery can increase one's confidence in a false memory
Visual imagery (picture each event) Relevant and tangible photos and videos ***picture can create a memory
ease of entry WM vs LTM
WM is easily loaded and accessed; LTM is less easily loaded and accessed.
memory capacity WM vs LTM
WM is limited in capacity; LTM is great in capacity (contains all of your knowledge)
information storage WM vs LTM
WM stores information currently being thought about; LTM stores all the info one knows.
Memory is facilitated by organizing and understanding.
What the memorizer was doing at the time of exposure matters. The background knowledge of the memorizer matters.
Memory gaps/errors: Participants had been asked to wait in an office
When asked to report items in the office participants recalled seeing books and other typical items seen in an office even though not present
Édouard Claparède performed an experiment with a Korsakoff-syndrome patient.
When introducing himself to the patient, he hid a pin in his hand, which pricked the patient. Later, the patient could not explicitly remember Claparède but refused to shake his hand, saying, "Sometimes pins are hidden in people's hands."
Source confusion
Where a bit of information was learned or where a particular stimulus was last encountered is misremembered. Eyewitness may select someone from a photo lineup based on familiarity rather than recall. (Likelihood of error = 29%!!)
Some tasks demand more WM resources than others
Where executives and assistants come into play
Chain of events leading to the sense of "familiarity"
You have encountered the stimulus before. Because of that prior encounter (and the "practice" it afforded), you are now faster and more efficient in your processing of that stimulus (processing fluency) Detect that fluency- leads you to register the stimulus as somehow distinctive or special. Try to figure out why the stimulus seems special, and you reach a particular conclusion—namely, that the stimulus has this distinctive quality because it's a stimulus you have met before in some prior episode. Draw a further conclusion about when and where you encountered the stimulus—experiment list of words, newspaper, etc.
Amnesia
a disruption of memory due to brain damage.
Iconic Memory Test
a grid of letters is flashed on screen for only 1/20th of a second it is difficult to recall individual letters. But if prompted to remember a particular row immediately after the experiment there is high accuracy. - Fast decaying storage of visual information - Test using cued tones (high, medium, low)
echoic memory
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli
iconic memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli
semantic memory
a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world **Hippocampus not required Ex: Why do we celebrate July 4th? Non-semantic ex: What's the most exciting 4th of July celebration you've seen?
retrieval-induced forgetting
a process by which retrieving an item from long-term memory impairs subsequent recall of related items Tell a story that occurred to you to make a point. Focus on the parts that help your point. This may alter the memory and make you forget parts of that memory you didn't need or want to recall. If asked questions of an eye witness event. Might forget other details that weren't initially asked
context reinstatement
a way of improving retrieval by re-creating the state of mind that accompanied the initial learning - applies even if you are not in the same location
Korsakoff's syndrome
an alcohol related disorder marked by extreme confusion, memory impairment, and other neurological symptoms B1 deficiency
Illusion of truth
an effect of implicit memory in which claims that are familiar end up seeming more plausible If something familiar - believe there's truth to it In one study statements heard before—even those that had been labeled as false—were later judged as more credible than never-heard sentences.
Processing fluency
an improvement in the speed or ease of processing. Recently encountered items are easier to recognize a second time. People are sensitive to degree of processing fluency.
Emotional events ---> amygdala ---->
better consolidation
Why memories may weaken with time
decay, interference, retrieval failure
Memory connections facilitate retrieval.
ex.) "What words are related in meaning to the word I'm now considering?" "What words have contrasting meaning?" "What is the relationship between the start of this story and the way the story turned out?"
Smaller rhinal cortex with
familiarity
Primacy is associated with
hippocampus Memory for items at the beginning of the list (but not at the end) is associated with activity in the hippocampus
Effective learning depends on
how the information will later be retrieved.
Anterograde amnesia
inability to form new long-term memories (forward)
retrograde amnesia
inability to retrieve information that was acquired BEFORE a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event Experiences an event and is exposed to misleading info about how it unfolded. Some time is allowed to pass. On a later memory test, a substantial number of participants have incorporated the misleading information into their memory.
A node's activation level increases with
increasing input from neighboring nodes.
Intentional learning
intentional; learning in the absence of an intention to learn
Self-reference effect
is a tendency to have better memory for information relevant to oneself than for other sorts of material.
WM is fragile and easily displaced by new thoughts/inputs while LTM...
is more enduring.
Peg-word systems
items are "hung" on a system of already well known "pegs" "One is a bun, two is a shoe . . ."
Repetition priming
lexical decisions faster if the word has been recently seen (Even if participants have no recollection of the first exposure)
Relational/elaborative rehearsal
linking; thinking about the material in terms of meaning, relating the items to each other and to what one already knows
Retrograde amnesia
loss of memory from before the disruption (back)
Deep processing
meaningful; engaging the information in a more meaningful way Example: Does the word DOG fit in the sentence, "He walked his _______."? Deeper processing ensures better recall!
Decay—
memories may fade or erode
Retrieval failure—
memory is intact but cannot be accessed Can be partial—Tip of the Tongue (TOT) effect
Episodic =
memory of autobiological events (times places, associated with emotions and other contextual who, what, when, where)
Autobiographical Memory -
memory of episodes and events in a person's own life.
Interference—
newer learning may disrupt older memories
working memory capacity
one's ability to hold and manipulate information in conscious attention
Katona (1940) argued that the key to creating connections in the material to be remembered is
organization
Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units Condenses info Requires effort Reduces load Does not increase WM Ex.) 8565249104 -> (856) 524-9104
retrieval paths
paths that guide a person's thoughts toward the content to be remembered
working memory is associated with
perirhinal cortex (temporal lobe)
Semantic =
portion of long-term memory that processes ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal experience
Maintenance rehearsal
reciting; thinking about the material in a rote, mechanical way; repetition
Larger hippocampal cortex with
recollection
Schema (schemata)
refers to knowledge that describes what is typical or frequent in a given situation.
False memories can be planted through ______ and ______.
repetition and social pressures
Elaborate sentences result in richer
retrieval paths.
Self-schema
set of beliefs and memories about oneself that may affect past memories people recall their past attitudes, the past status of their romantic relationships, and their health in a fashion that emphasizes consistency and thereby makes the past look more like the present than it really was.
Mnemonics
strategies used to improve memory by providing an organizational framework.
Shallow processing
superficial; engaging the information in a superficial way Example: Is the word DOG in capital or lower-case letters?
Memory definition
the ability to store and retrieve information over time.
Retention interval
the amount of time that elapsed between initial learning and subsequent retrieval Learning --- retention interval ---> Testing
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
the course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time The actual speed of forgetting depends on how well learned the material was at the start.
Elaborative Encoding occurs in
the lower left frontal lobe
sensory storage (sensory memory)
the process by which information is received and transduced by the senses, usually in a fraction of a second and is held for a few seconds or less
elaborate encoding
the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory Depth of processing promotes recall by facilitating later retrieval. Consider learning as a way to establish indexing, a path to the information. Connections between items to be remembered facilitates retrieval.
Spreading activation
the process through which activation travels from one node to another, via the associative links.
consolidation—
the process through which memories are "cemented" in place through the creation of new or altered neural connections.
Incidental learning
unintentional; learning in the absence of an intention to learn
Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure
used to demonstrate intrusion errors. For example, read the list "bed, rest, awake, tired, dream, wake, snooze, blanket, doze, slumber, snore, nap, peace, yawn, drowsy." In that case, participants tend to recall "sleep" as well, even though it was not on the list.
