Memory Lecture Notes PDF

Memory Memory: the capacity to retain and retrieve information How to measure memory Recall: ability to retrieve information which has been learned earlier Recognition: ability to identify previously encountered information Relearning: effort is saved in having learned something bef...

Memory Memory: the capacity to retain and retrieve information How to measure memory Recall: ability to retrieve information which has been learned earlier Recognition: ability to identify previously encountered information Relearning: effort is saved in having learned something before Models of Memory Information Processing Model: memory and mind are like a computer Encoding: how to put information in, retain, store and retrieve Levels of Processing: different levels of processing impact encoding Three Box Model of Memory Sensory Memory Short Term Memory Long Term Memory Sensory Memory Retains for 1-2 seconds Acts as a holding bin ~1/2 second in visual system ~Longer in the auditory system Decides if it is worth processing Iconic Memory: fast-decaying store of visual information Echoic Memory: fast-decaying store of auditory information Short Term Memory: Holds limited amounts of information Research indicates it is a working memory that retains information for 15-20 seconds Pattern recognition: compares to information already in our ltm, goes to ltm or decays or is lost Magic Number: Number of items we are able to hold in our short-term memory Historically: 7 +/- 2 Recent research suggests may be closer to 4 Digit Span Test Chunking: a strategy which helps us hold information, cultural variations Long Term Memory:  Longer storage for minutes to decades Memory storage depends on synaptic connections, that are strengthened by long- term potentiation (repeated communication across synapse). Organized by schemas and semantic networks Contents of Long-Term Memory: Explicit and Implicit Memory  Explicit Memory: the act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past-experiences  Implicit Memory: past experiences influence later behavior and performance, people not consciously aware they are remembering Memory and the Brain Explicit (Declarative) Memory: Knowing “that” Semantic Memories: facts, rules, concepts, general knowledge  Episodic Memories: experienced events, personal recollections Implicit Memory Procedural: motor skills, knowing “how” to do things Priming: increases identification of objects/words based on recent exposure to other stimuli Memory and Recall tasks illustrated… Serial Position Effect: More likely to remember first and last few and not the middle Primacy Effect: memory of beginning pieces of list Recency Effect: memory of end pieces of the list Frequency: Numerous mentions increases memory Distinctiveness: Increases likelihood Chunking increases memory Reconstructed memory, reflects how schemas can affect our memories Maintenance Rehearsal: retain in stm, repeat phone # Elaborative Rehearsal: know it, review, practice, give meaning Visual Imagery: create visual images to represent words/concepts Method of Loci: match up existing visual images with concepts Mnemonics: systematic strategies for remembering information; memory tricks or useful tools to aid memory, ROY G BIV Dual-Coding Theory: memory is enhanced by using both semantic and visual codes since either can lead to recall Chase and Simon research with chess players: expert, intermediate and novice Expert knowledge helps memory of relevant but not irrelevant information Flashbulb memories: dramatic positive or negative memory Memories for traumatic events are more vivid than ordinary events Main aspects of trauma remembered Can distort details Accuracy fades over time Eyewitness Testimony People’s memories are highly suggestible People tend to fill in missing information How one words things can also impact memories Errors are greater when the ethnicity of the subjects is different from the witness Children and adults can report accurately as well as be influenced in their recall. More recent research involving digitally modified photographs and reconstructed memory. Reality Monitoring: deciding whether memories are based on external or internal sources Source memory (monitoring): recall of when, where and how information was acquired Source monitoring error or Memory misattribution: assigning a memory to the wrong source  Forgetting: How “quickly” we forget. Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve for nonsensical syllables are steep but not generalizable to all forgetting. Ineffective encoding: we don’t “remember” it in the first place Decay theories: memories fade with time New memories for old: most recent version is “saved” Retroactive Interference: new information interferes with old. Proactive Interference: old information interferes with new. Motivated forgetting: painful memories blocked from consciousness (Freud) Retrieval cues: external information helps memory Encoding specificity: a cue can help as a reminder when it recreates the specific way the information/memory was encoded State dependent and context dependent: mental and physical states can enhance memory  Memories created when drinking increased when drinking again  Similar environment or setting can serve as Amnesia: refers to memory deficit Retrograde amnesia: deficit in recalling events that happened before the onset of the amnesia. Anterograde amnesia: deficit in learning after the onset of the disorder Hippocampus “index to put information into ltm, but evidence from amnesiacs indicates it is not the site of long-term memory storage”(Schacter, 2023). Think about how to apply what you have learned about memory to Clive Wearing’s experiences.  What is a specific example of an explicit and implicit memory ability that Clive demonstrates?  What is a specific example of an explicit or implicit memory deficit Clive demonstrates?  Although there are many challenges, what is a positive element of this story?  Video Clips Deborah (and Clive) have allowed individuals to document his amnesia to help better understand this disorder. What are the implications of using a case study like this to learn about how our memories work?  What is one thing you learned from Clive’s story?