Memory Chapter 7 PDF

Chapter 7 Memory 1 Three systems of Memory 2 Sensory Memory A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information Sensory register – Sense specific Iconic –...

Chapter 7 Memory 1 Three systems of Memory 2 Sensory Memory A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information Sensory register – Sense specific Iconic – Vision (1 sec) Echoic – Hearing (5-10 sec) – Information that is not quickly passed to short- term memory is gone forever 3 1  Sensory Memory Pattern Recognition – The identification of a stimulus on the basis of information already contained in long-term memory Q B 4 Short-term Memory A limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information (7 +/- 2 chunks) for brief periods It is also used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary use – 5 to 20 seconds 5 Short-term Memory Decay – Gradual loss of the information Fades away Interference – Memories get in the way of each other – Retroactive- New hinders old – Proactive – Old hinders new 6 2  Short-term (Working) Memory Chunking 7 Short-term Memory Rehearsal – Maintenance Repeating the information to maintain it – Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass; Elephant, glass – Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; Dog, shoe; – Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; Key, monkey; 8 Short-term Memory Rehearsal – Elaborative Link information in some meaningful way 9 3  Short-term Memory Depth of processing – More meaningful and personal is more memorable Visual Phonological Semantic 10 Long-Term Memory VAST capacity – Virtually unlimited Long lasting – Decades of storage – Permastore 11 Long-term Memory Primacy effect - tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list better than those later in the list Recency effect - tendency to remember words at the end of a list better than those earlier in the list von Restorff effect - tendency to remember distinctive stimuli 12 4  Long term memory 13 Three systems of Memory 14 3 Processes of memory Encoding Storage Retrieval 15 5  Mnemonics Memory aids PEGWORD – One is a bun... METHOD OF LOCI – Imagine a location... 16 Mnemonics Memory aids PEGWORD – One is a bun... METHOD OF LOCI – Imagine a location... KEYWORD – Image to associate Pain = Bread (French) 17 Long-term Memory Schemas Organized mental model Provides a frame of reference for interpreting new situations Helps simplify, but may lead to memory distortions EXPECTATIONS frame memory War of the ghosts study Impact of prejudicial schemas 18 6  Measuring Memory Recall - generating previously remembered information Recognition - selecting previously remembered information from an array of options Relearning - “method of savings” How much more quickly we reacquire something learned before 19 Savings Curve: Relearning Copyright © 2011 Pearson Canada Inc. 20 Long-term Memory Tip of the Tongue phenomenon It’s in there somewhere… NOT KNOWN RETRIEVAL FAILURE 21 7  Encoding specificity (Tulving) – Memory is enhanced when conditions present during retrieval match those present during encoding 22 Encoding specificity (Tulving) – Context-dependent memory: Easier to remember things when context of retrieval matches context of learning i.e.: in the same learning environment 23 Encoding specificity (Tulving) – State-dependent memory: Better memory when retrieval internal state matches learning one Mood dependant learning –Sad = easier to remember unpleasant events –Happy = easier to remember pleasant events 24 8  BIOLOGY OF MEMORY 25 Biology of Memory 1920s Karl Lashley’s unsuccessful search for a single engram (physical trace of memory in the brain) Rats in maze: more brain tissue removed = worse memory Location of damage didn’t seem to matter 26 Biology of Memory 1949 Donald Hebb - engram is located in assemblies of neurons Neurons that “fire together, wire together” 27 9  Biology of Memory Long-term potentiation (LTP) - strengthening of connections among neurons due to simultaneous stimulation Neurons in the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex show a long-term enhanced response (“potentiation”) following certain stimulation (e.g., after a learning episode, such as Pavlovian fear conditioning) Glutamate plays a role 28 Brain Areas Involved in Memory 29 Types of Amnesia Retrograde – loss of past memories before onset of amnesia – Generalized amnesia (loss of all past memories, “Hollywood amnesia”) is Very Rare 30 10  Types of Amnesia Anterograde – inability to form new memories since onset of amnesia – Far more common 31 Types of Amnesia Infantile – People typically don’t have memories of events occurring before age 4 32 Infantile Amnesia Hippocampal development – Complete around age 2 Lack of sense of self – 15 months to 2 years 33 11  MEMORY DEVELOPMENT 34 Memory Development At what age do we begin to form memories? Fetal memory – Habituation to novel stimuli begins at 32 weeks in utero Infant implicit memory – Respond to operant conditioning at 2 months 2 months a few days 6 months a few weeks 35 Memory Development How does memory change as we grow? Children’s Short term memory increases in span – 3 at 3yrs – 6 at 9 yrs – 7 at 12 yrs 36 12  Memory Development Memory span increases Biological maturation Improved conceptual understanding – Better ability to find meaning and chunk Enhanced meta-memory skills – Assess when effort is needed – Over confidence becomes accurate assessment 37 Memory Development How does memory change as we grow? Children’s memory Increases in span (STM) Increased sophistication and use of memory strategies – Repetition – mnemonics 38 No surgery required IMPLANTING FALSE MEMORIES 39 13  The Misinformation Effect The misinformation effect is the distortion of a memory by misleading post-event information – “How fast was the car going...” when it “smashed into” another car 65.7 km/h when it “contacted” another car? 51.2 km/h 40 Implanting memories More likely for PLAUSIBLE events More likely for distant PAST events 41 The “Recovered Memory” Controversy When a “forgotten” memory (e.g. sexual abuse) is recovered, is it accurate? 42 14  The “Recovered Memory” Controversy What causes the memory to be forgotten for so long? – Ordinary sources of forgetting (Loftus, 1998) – Repression (Freud) 43 The Repression Controversy Repression – Forgetting threatening or upsetting information Individuals are more likely to struggle with forgetting traumatic events Not Testable – Hard to distinguish repression from other forms of forgetting 44 When should we question recovered memories? If person says he or she has memories of first year or two of life If over time the memories become more and more implausible If therapist used suggestive techniques such as hypnosis, dream analysis, age regression, guided imagery or leading questions 45 15  HOW ACCURATE IS MEMORY Should we be confident we remember what happened? 46 The Eyewitness on Trial Eyewitnesses are not always reliable – Cross race identification – Question wording Crashed versus hit – Misleading information 47 Children’s Testimony Under what conditions are children more suggestible? – Being very young – When interviewers’ expectations are clear – When other children’s memories for events are accessible 48 16  The Manufacture of Memory Memory is the capacity to retain and retrieve information Recovering a memory is not playing a videotape Memory is a reconstructive process 49 Flashbulb memories Emotional memories that are so vivid we can recall them in great detail Flashbulb memories are no more accurate – We have much greater CONFIDENCE in their accuracy 50 Source monitoring Source amnesia – The inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told later about an event – Cannot distinguish the SOURCE Self Other 51 17  Source monitoring Cryptomnesia – Forgetting that “our” idea was actually someone else’s 52 The Conditions of Confabulation Confabulation – Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you – Or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened 53 Confabulation is most likely when: You have thought or heard about the imagined event many times The image of the event contains many details The event is easy to imagine You focus on emotional reactions to the event rather than on what actually happened 54 18