Memory 1 PDF

The process of acquiring memories Readings: Ch. 6 JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 1 Acquisition, Storage, and Retrieval One way to frame learning and memory: Acquisition Storage Retrieval Analogy to creating, storing, and opening a compu...

The process of acquiring memories Readings: Ch. 6 JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 1 Acquisition, Storage, and Retrieval One way to frame learning and memory: Acquisition Storage Retrieval Analogy to creating, storing, and opening a computer file JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Acquisition, Retrieval, and Storage Acquisition, storage, and retrieval are not easily separable. Effective learning depends on how the information will later be retrieved. New learning is grounded in previously learned (stored) knowledge. Please read “How Should I Study” in the end of chapter 6 for insight into how you should study. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 3 The Route into Memory An information-processing view of memory- Modal Model The modal model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Waugh & Norman, 1965) Updating the Modal Model Sensory memory (e.g., iconic memory, echoic memory) Sensory memory plays a minimal role in modern theorizing Short-term memory (STM) Largely replaced by “working memory” in modern theories Working memory (WM)—a dynamic form of short-term storage Less like a storage place, more like a status Contains currently activated ideas or thoughts that are being worked on by a specific set of operations Long-term memory (LTM) JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Contrasts between WM and LTM Working Memory Long-Term Memory Duration Temporary, fragile Long-lasting, enduring Capacity and size Limited Enormous Ease of entry Relatively easy Effortful Ease of retrieval Relatively easy Can be difficult, slow, and even unsuccessful JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Working Memory and Long-Term Memory Experiments support the modal model Participants study a long series of words (e.g., 30 words, 1 word presented per second) Free-recall procedure Recall likelihood is influenced by the item's serial position JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Working Memory and Long-Term Memory Primacy effect Better memory for the first few items Serial position Percent recall relative to middle items 1 48 5 18 Recency effect 10 22 Better memory for the last few items 15 30 Last few items are not displaced by future items 20 98 JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Explaining Recency and Primacy Primacy effect Recency effect Memory rehearsal Last few items in the list are in WM Words later in the list are at the time of recall rehearsed less than earlier items. Earlier items are displaced Rehearsal increases the by subsequent items chance there will be a transfer of items from working memory to LTM. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03  Testing Claims about Primacy and Recency The manipulation of WM should affect the recall of recent items but not items presented earlier in the list. Early items should not be affected because LTM does not depend on the current activity Delaying recall with a different task displaces content in working memory. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03  Testing Claims about Primacy and Recency Presenting the to-be- remembered materials at a slower rate improves pre- recency performance but has no effect on recency. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Digit Span Digit-span task: Participants hear a series of digits read to them (e.g., “8, 3, 4”) and must immediately repeat them back. The list length is increased until memory fails. The number of digits the person can echo back without errors is that person’s digit span. Average WM capacity is estimated at 7 plus-or-minus 2 items. But what is an “item”? JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Digit Span "7 plus-or-minus 2" chunks A set of information can be condensed into smaller "chunks" of information. Example: H O P T R A S L U (nine items) → HOP TRA SLU (three chunks) Chunking reduces WM load; it does not increase WM capacity. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 IS WORKING MEMORY A “PLACE”? Operation Span Digit-span addresses only WM capacity, not its active nature. WM is best thought of as a status rather than as a place. WM does not have a specific location in the brain. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Operation Span Operation span measures the capacity when WM is “working.” Various operation span methods (e.g., reading span) “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.” JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Operation Span Working memory capacity correlates strongly with scores on: Standardized academic tests (e.g., verbal SAT) Reasoning tests Reading comprehension tests These correlations are not observed with the more traditional (and more static) span measure, only with active measures (operation span). JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 The Rehearsal Loop The working-memory system consists of multiple components: Central executive Visuospatial buffer Articulatory rehearsal loop “silent speech” “internal echo” A fourth component—the episodic buffer—has also been proposed. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 The Rehearsal Loop (2) JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 The Rehearsal Loop Concurrent articulation tasks Language (x-axis) Digit span (y-axis) support the model of the Chinese Control 8.9 articulatory rehearsal loop. Suppression 6.4 English Control 7.5 Repeating syllables (e.g., “tah-tah- Suppression Finnish 5.4 tah”) while completing a span test Control Suppression 7 5.6 reduces WM capacity. Greek Control 6.9 Suppression 5.7 Eliminates “sound-alike” errors (e.g., Spanish misremembering ) Control 7.3 Suppression 5.6 Swedish Control 6.8 Suppression 5.7 JABBARI_PSYC 2H03  Entering Long-Term Storage Two types of rehearsal: 1. Maintenance rehearsal 2. Relational or elaborative rehearsal Relational rehearsal is superior to maintenance rehearsal for LTM. Repeated exposure does not guarantee encoding in LTM JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Incidental Learning, Intentional Learning, and Depth of Processing Incidental learning: learning in the absence of an intention to learn Intentional learning: deliberate, with the expectation that memory will be later tested JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Incidental Learning, Intentional Learning, and Depth of Processing JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Incidental Learning, Intentional Learning, and Depth of Processing Shallow processing: superficial engagement with the material Example: Is the word DOG in capital or lower-case letters? Deep processing: requires thinking about the meaning of the material Example: Does the word DOG fit in the sentence, “He walked his _______.”? JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Incidental Learning, Intentional Learning, and Depth of Processing  The Role of Meaning and Memory Connections Depth of processing has a strong effect. Benefits of deep processing may not lie in the learning process itself. Connections Promote Retrieval Depth of processing promotes recall by facilitating later retrieval. Connections between to-be-remembered items, memories, and contexts facilitates retrieval. Attention to meaning involves thinking about relationships. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Elaborate Encoding Promotes Retrieval Elaborate sentences lead to richer retrieval paths. Words were more likely to be remembered if they appeared in elaborate sentences rather than in simpler sentences. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Organizing and Memorizing We memorize well when we find order or connections in the material. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Mnemonics Mnemonic strategies improve memory through organization. First-letter mnemonics ROY G. BIV Visualization strategies Peg-word systems Example: “One is a bun, two is a shoe...” To-be-remembered items: ashtray, firewood Mental imagery can aid in forming associations between the items and their pegs. (e.g., you could picture a bun sitting in an ashtray) JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Mnemonics JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 Perceptual Organization Task Nonverbal material is better remembered if it is understood. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 The Study of Memory Acquisition Memory is facilitated by organizing and understanding. Organization and understanding is influenced substantially by the memorizer and by interconnections among memory acquisition, retrieval, and storage. JABBARI_PSYC 2H03 The Contribution of the Memorizer What was the memorizer doing at the time of exposure? Example: maintenance rehearsal versus elaborative rehearsal What does the memorizer already know? Aids in making connections JABBARI_PSYC 2H03