PSYC2112 Week 6 Notes PDF

PSYC 2112 : Foundational Perspectives Cognition - T3 , 2024 PSYC2112/5262 FOUNDATIONAL PERSPECTIVES: COGNITION Lecture 6. Everyday Memory Dr Jonas Chan Notes There is some tendency for people to believe that they remember things co...

PSYC 2112 : Foundational Perspectives Cognition - T3 , 2024 PSYC2112/5262 FOUNDATIONAL PERSPECTIVES: COGNITION Lecture 6. Everyday Memory Dr Jonas Chan Notes There is some tendency for people to believe that they remember things correctly, which can be considered as form of cognitive bias. ○ For example: there have been cases where people claim they have told someone to do something, when in reality the thought was so strong and detailed that it created a memory where it actually never occurred. ◆ This phemnomeon is called imagination in ation: where imaging actions can induce false memories. ◇ People who are more attuned to visual information and are able to have a strong sense of visual imagination, perhaps they are more likely to experience this. Autobiographical memories such as ashbulb memory - these are considered to be vivid memories that are involved in particularly emotional and unexpected events ○ Flashbulb memories have a stronger effect and are remember much longer. A likely explanation is due to the activation in the amagydala area in the brain. This appears to have a key role in the formation and retrieval of memories, which involves emotional and unexpected events. Memory construction: highlights the layers of your personal experience and life history, that shape how we perceive the world. ○ Schema: this concept describes the way in which we understand the world and things that happen generally to you or others. It is considered to be a mental model or framework that each individual developed over their life. Which acts as a mental shortcut people take when attempting to interpret information in our environment. ◆ Maladaptive schema: some individuals can develop this pattern within their lives, typically due to childhood experiences. These particular individuals can seek schema therapy to attempt to alter the cognitive and emotional themes or patterns, that may be interfering with healthy psychological functioning. Memory errors: an important application of memory research in this area, is evaluating eye witness testimony. These witness can providing very compelling legal testimonies and are convincing evidence in criminal trials. However, not all witnesses statements are factual due to memory errors. fl fl LECTURE SERIES BREAKDOWN Week/Topic Topics Week 1/Topic 1 Introduction to Memory and Cognition Week 2/Topic 2 Learning & Critical Thinking Week 3/Topic 3 Attention Week 4/Topic 4 Short-Term and Working Memory Week 5/Topic 5 Long-Term Memory Week 6/Topic 6 Everyday Memory Week 7 Break Week Week 8/Topic 7 Conceptual Knowledge Week 9/Topic 8 Language & Reading Week 10/Topic 9 Problem Solving & Creativity Week 11/Topic 10 Judgement & Reasoning Week 12/Topic 11 Decision Making Week 13/Topic 12 Review: Introduction to Cognition 2 TODAY 1. Autobiographical Memory 2. Constructing Memory 3. Memory Errors 3  MEMORY 1. The process involved in encoding, retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present. 2. Active any time some past experience has an impact on how you Autobiographical think or behave now or in the future. Memory 4 THE MODAL MODEL OF MEMORY Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) In the model there are three memory types: Sensory memory: Initial stage that holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second Short-term memory: Holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds. Long-term memory: Holds a large amount of information for years or even decades These are structural features. 5 BADDELEY’S WORKING MEMORY MODEL 6 ENCODING AND RETRIEVAL 7 CONSOLIDATION AND RECONSOLIDATION 8 EVERYDAY MEMORY How does our memory work in the real world? Research suggest how fragile memories can be, due to be malleable. Experiments on humans and animals suggest that memory can become fragile and malleable. However, we tend to believe that we remember things correctly. How do the processes that we have talked about over the last few weeks influence our day-to-day experience of remembering? 9  bike AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY a riding time first Memory for specific experiences from our life. E g : and a - Includes both semantic and episodic components. > - Factual on h what appened to the the meaning events. Autobiographical memories are: 1. Multidimensional - semantic , spatial & episodic information. 2. Different memories differ in strength of recall. * Some memories easier to recall than others. day > E -. g. what someone ate for dinner on a regular ,. they had special to what at event compared a more meaning = stronger 10 memory to recall AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY - MULTIDIMENSIONAL Memories contain multiple components basketball memory , Example : a game Visual recall where sat & how Auditory you you felt you. Other senses They also have spatial components Involve thoughts and emotions Greenberg & Rubin, 2003 Patients who have lost their ability to visualise or recognise objects due to damage to visual areas of the cortex can experience a loss of autobiographical memory. > Occurring from 11 - a brain liaisoni such as a stroke. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY - MULTIDIMENSIONAL Cabeza et al., 2004 Compared brain activation for photographs taken by the participants versus photographs of the same location taken by someone else. Pictures were taken over a 10-day period by students. 12  AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY - MULTIDIMENSIONAL · Participants were asked to indicate own versus lab photos under fMRI. Own-photos and lab-photos activated similar regions in the brain. Own-photos caused more activation in the: ends to posted inform – prefrontal cortex legienotbrain pthat Processing of information about the self – Hippocampus Involved in recollection Own photos elicited memories, activating a more extensive brain area – Reflecting the richness of experiencing autobiographical memories. where #Own Memories just knowing vs 13 the building's location is. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY – LIFE SPAN a Events that become significant parts of a person’s - life tend to be remembered well. memos of Conway, 1996; Rubin et al., 1998 Percentaarifespan ge The reminiscence bump Pers 55-year-olds have better memory for events that occurred between the ages of 10 and 30. The reminiscence bump occurs for people over O 40. 14 THE REMINISCENCE BUMP – WHY? Events that become significant parts of a person’s life tend to be remembered well. Self-image hypothesis Rathbone et al., 2008 Memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s self-image or life identity is being formed. - Participants (age M = 53) created “I am” statements that defined them as a person. - Indicated the age at which the statement became a significant part of their identity, and when the event that caused this occurred. T The average age of origin was 25, within the range of the reminiscence bump. Development of self image are associated with memorable events, many of which happen during adolescence or young adulthood. 15 THE REMINISCENCE BUMP – WHY? Events that become significant parts of a person’s life tend to be remembered well. Cognitive hypothesis Schrauf & Rubin (1998) Periods of rapid change that are followed by - stability cause stronger encoding of memories. - Rapid changes occur during adolescence and adulthood. Shift in reminiscence bump for people who emigrated later in life. 16 THE REMINISCENCE BUMP – WHY? Events that become significant parts of a person’s life tend to be remembered well. Cultural life script hypothesis Berntsen & Rubin (2004) Culturally expected events are better remembered than other life events. Many of these events occur during the reminiscence bump. Youth Bias - Koppel & Berntsen (2014) Most important public events are perceived to occur earlier in life. 17 FLASHBULB MEMORIES Memories of particularly emotional and unexpected events appear to be more vivid and remembered for longer. - 9/11 Challenger disaster Steve Irwin dying Many people have vivid recollections of the circumstances surrounding them when they first heard the news for these events. – Not necessarily the event itself. Brown & Kulik (1997) “for an instant, the entire nation and perhaps much of the world stopped still to have its picture taken.” Flashbulb memories appear to be more vivid and more detailed, as if the person took a photograph of the memory. 18 FLASHBULB MEMORIES How can we study flashbulb memories? It is difficult to verify whether a person remembers the correct details of a memory. Repeated recall A person’s memory is tested a number of times after the event: – Immediately after a stimulus has been presented. – Then again after days, months, years – The initial memory is used as a benchmark for how well the participants remembered the stimulus. Repeated recall experiments indicate that flashbulb memories are not like photographs. Flashbulb memories change over time. – Though often remain vivid, the accuracy and detail reduces over time. - 19 FLASHBULB MEMORIES Narrative rehearsal hypothesis Many respondents on repeated recalls erroneously reported that they heard the news from watching television. Perhaps flashbulb memories are more vivid simply because we rehearse them more often. Subsequent exposure to television replays may result in attention being focused on the television images rather than the circumstances surrounding us. 20 FLASHBULB MEMORIES Talarico & Rubin (2003) Asked participants on September 12, 2001 about the terrorist attacks, and also questions about everyday events in the person’s life just before the attacks. Participants were asked to create a 2-3 word description that would serve as a cue for that event in the future. Participants were tested either 1 week later, 6 weeks later or 32 weeks later. 21 FLASHBULB MEMORIES Participants remembered fewer details and made more errors at longer intervals. However, flashbulb memories remained more vivid. - People believed them to be more accurate even though they were not. 22 SUMMARY SO FAR Autobiographical memory includes semantic and episodic components. Autobiographical memories contain multiple components - – Visual – Auditory – Other senses – Spatial – Involve thoughts and emotions Events that become significant parts of a person’s life tend to be remembered well – The reminiscence - bump. Flashbulb memories are more vivid and strongly recalled than regular memories. However, they are no - more accurate. - 23  What people remember may not always match exactly what happened. Some things are omitted. Some things are distorted. Some things that are reported may not have happened at all. Constructing Memory What people report as memory is made up of several components Knowledge Experiences Expectations 24 RECONSTRUCTED RATHER THAN RETRIEVED… “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.” – Hillary Clinton, speech at George Washington University, March 17, 2008 25 RECONSTRUCTED RATHER THAN RETRIEVED… 26 RECONSTRUCTED RATHER THAN RETRIEVED… Event occurred 12 years prior On descent into Bosnia Hilary was told there was a risk of sniper fire, so they would have to wear vests and move quickly. No sniper fire eventuated. Details of the event were remembered, but constructed incorrectly 27 THE ILLUSORY TRUTH EFFECT Repeated presentations of a statement are more likely to be evaluated as true. Fazio et al. (2005) Presented true and false statements to participants. Participants asked to indicate statements read previously and also new statements as true or false. Both correct and incorrect statements were more likely to be rated true if they had been read before. - - Even when the participant could answer the question! the t It's robust even if participant knows actual answer Fluency The ease with which a statement can be remembered influences people’s judgments. - 28 THE SUM OF YOUR EXPERIENCE… Our experiences (and memories) shape how we interpret the world We don’t recognize that we have made an interpretation, and that - - our memory could be shaping what we perceive. This is known as the Fundamental Cognitive Error. Ynot realising our brains are making cognitive of world. interpretations the the based on sun How we operate is of experiences. our 29 -> New knowing there is dog you can't forget a , that when reinterpreting 1 ~ Strong on novelty Stimuli 30.. 31 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY Bartlett (1932) Repeated reproduction of a story from Indigenous Canadian Folklore by English participants. Reproducing the story at longer and longer intervals. Many participants made errors that indicated that personal knowledge was used to substitute information from the story. Canoe became boat Hunting seals became sailors Participants appeared to have reconstructed their memory of the story from two sources Their memory of the original story - Similar stories from their own culture. - 32 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY 33 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY 34 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY Brewer (1977), McDermott & Chan (2006) Pragmatic inference When reading a sentence leads a person to expect something that is not stated or implied by a sentence. These inferences are based on knowledge gained through experience. - 35 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY Schemas and Scripts Knowledge about the environment can influence people’s memory. - Brewer & Treyens (1981) Asked participants to wait in an office for 35 seconds before taken into another room. Participants were asked to write down everything they remembered seeing in the office. Participants often included objects that were not in the office. – E.g. books Schemas serve as a guide for making inferences about what we remember. of - Schemas are related to expectations what you think you'll see 36 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY 37 THE EFFECT OF KNOWLEDGE ON MEMORY Schemas and Scripts Deese (1959), Roediger & McDermott (1995) Many people misremember the preceding list as having included the word “sleep”, though it was not in the list. This is because people associate sleep with the related words on the list. - Constructive/relational processes created an error in memory. 38 SUMMARY SO FAR The sum of your experience shapes how you perceive the world What people report as memory is made up of several components – Knowledge – Experiences – Expectations Repeated presentations of a statement are more likely to be evaluated as true – the illusory truth effect. - Knowledge from your life and your culture can influence your memory. - The constructive nature of memory is likely to be adaptive – it helps us organise information and think correct but details aren't. creatively. However, it is not always accurate > General of the event is meaning - 39  Our memory systems are prone to errors for many reasons. Regular processes that occur in day-to-day life can influence the way we remember information. Information received after an event can also alter your reporting of the event later. The misinformation effect. Memory Errors The misinformation effect is studied by: Presenting a stimulus to be remembered. Presenting misleading postevent information (MPI) – Usually presented in a natural way so that participants do not feel misled. The effect of the MPI is determined by comparing responses from participants who received MPI versus participants who did not. 40 THE MISINFORMATION EFFECT Loftus et al. (1978) Showed participants a slide show of pictures from a car crash. Asked questions to participants such as: “Did another car pass the red Ford while it was stopped at the stop sign?” (correct) “Did another car pass the red Ford while it was stopped at the yield sign?” (MPI) Afterwards, participants were shown pictures from the slide show, and some new pictures. Participants from the MPI group were much more likely to report that they had previously seen a picture - - of the car - stopping at a yield sign. 41 THE MISINFORMATION EFFECT Loftus & Palmer (1974) Loftus and Palmer car crash video - YouTube 42 THE MISINFORMATION EFFECT the event of event : participantsinterpretatioan after remember Loftus & Palmer (1974) the > - misinformationchanged how we Participants were asked: shaping sal “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” inced “How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?” Participants who heard “smashed into” made an average estimate of 41 miles per hour. ↑ - Participants who heard “hit” made an average estimate of 34 miles per hour. 32% of participants who heard “smashed into” also reported seeing broken glass after 1 week compare with - 14% of the participants who heard “hit”, despite there not being any. - 43  THE MISINFORMATION EFFECT Lindsay (1990) Participants saw a slide of a maintenance man stealing money and a computer with a female narrator describing what was happening. For one group (difficult), the presentation was followed by either the same female narrator who provided a misleading narrative, then tested after two days. For another group (easy), the misleading narrative was provided by a male narrator after two days, then tested immediately after. The difficult group was more likely to confuse the misleading narrative and the narrated slide show, - reporting more MPI as being correct. dbedr ↓ s Evidence showing misleading information near the occurring the actual event shapes how the , event is remembered. it spaced - Different voice 44& receiving ↓ time out information = less confusion. sare  > It extremely problematic for is - CREATING FALSE MEMORIES False MEMORIES > - eye witness testimonies. Research helps us understand & avoid errors. occur. memory not Did D Hyman Jr et al. (1995) > - A bogus event was presented by the experimenter to 2 Wade et al. (2002) Showed real photographs supplied by family the participant, inserted within a true event (supplied members to 20 participants. by information from their parents. Inserted fake photographs of the participant in made- Participants could not remember the event (because up situations such as a balloon ride. it wasn’t real) Participants initially could not recall the fake events. – However, during a second interview 2 days later, - 4/20 participants incorporated the bogus event However, 35% of participants “remembered” the into their recollection of the event. balloon ride upon further questioning after they were - asked to picture the event in their mind. – They went so far as to elaborate on the event by - themselves, providing additional information not After two more interviews, 50% of participants could supplied by the experimenter. describe the fake balloon ride. Generatingnew - R air - – Even though it never happened! false 45  THE MANDELA EFFECT Instances of false memories shared by many people. *Named for a shared memory by many people who supposedly remember Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s (in fact, he lived until 2013 and was president of South Africa from 1994-1999) *Darth Vader saying “Luke, I am your father” instead of “No, I am your father” *New Zealand being in a different location Often, the false memory appears to be a confabulation - of different pieces of information. 46 EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY Testimony by someone who has witnessed a crime. Based on two assumptions: 1. The eyewitness saw what happened clearly 2. The eyewitness was able to remember their observations and translate them into an accurate description of the perpetrator and the event. How accurate are eyewitness testimonies? Unless carried out in ideal situations, eyewitness testimonies are often not very accurate. - What are some possible sources of errors in eyewitness testimony? 47  ERRORS OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION > Errors associated with perception - and attention Experiments use security videotape with real or staged crime. Impacts interpretations of the eyewitness Participants asked to identify the perpetrator from a photo spread. * Wells & Bradfield (1998) Participants picked a suspect they thought was the gunman even though the gunman was not included in the photo - spread. Y Stanny & Johnson (2000) Showed participants two simulated crimes – One crime involved shooting, the other did not. Participants less likely to recall details when shooting occurred. Presence of a fired weapon distracted attention from other things. attention so > The gunshot itself captures - much if alters the details of other eyewitness , important information Concerning for. 48 reports. ERRORS OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION Misidentification due to familiarity Ross et al. (1994) Experimental group shown a film of a male teacher reading to students. Control group saw a female teacher reading to students. Both groups then shown a film of a female teacher being robbed. The experimental group was 3 times more likely to pick the male teacher as the robber. – Even when the actual robber was in the photo spread. -> Due to familiarity of the Familiarity can shape how identified. male teacher. 49 accurately someone is - ERRORS OF EYEWITNESS IDENTIFICATION Misidentification due to suggestion After a while, participants were asked how confident they were about their choice. Wells & Bradfield (1998) Participants given confirming feedback were more Post identification feedback effect confident of their choice than participants given other Participants viewed videos of actual crimes, types of feedback. - - then asked to identify the perpetrator from a photo spread that did not contain a photo of the perpetrator. All participants picked one photograph. Following the choice, participants were given either: – Confirming feedback > The information from feedback - given, how someone suggests it shape can testifies statements. – No feedback Labresearch Implicated Cremos to feedback · bis – Disconfirming feedback. & record identification process prior given. the 50  SENSORY-EVOKED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES accurate Not often Sensory-evoked memories are often involuntary and automatic - “Proustian” > - - Marcel Proust, a French novelist described involuntary memory as containing “the essence of the past” “The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it... as soon as I had recognized the taste of the piece of madeleine soaked in her decoction of lime-blossom which my aunt used to give me... immediately the old grey house upon the street, where her room was, rose up like a stage set to attach itself to the little pavilion opening on to the garden which had been built out behind it for my parents... and with the house the... square where I used to be sent before lunch, the streets along which I used to run errands, the country roads we took when it was fine. · formation Sensory antigene senses. Marcel Proust 51 SENSORY-EVOKED AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES a compre sensory Emotional Participants rate their memory to be more emotional when elicited using odour compared to dereits Tesaliean -- coloured photographs (Herz & Schooler, 2002). Participants recall more perceptual details when prompted using music than when prompted using photographs of faces (Belfi et al., 2016). Listening to music enhanced autobiographical memories in Alzheimer’s patients (El Haj et al., 2013). 52 PAINFUL MEMORIES: THE PEAK-END RULE Memories of painful experiences are based on the peak (the worst part) and the end (the last part) of the experience. Kahneman et al. (1993) had participants put their hands in ice buckets. Condition 1: 14ºc for 60 seconds Condition 2: 14ºc for 60 seconds followed by 15ºc for 30 seconds. - Additional 30 see Participants reported Condition 2 as being less painful. event based average Remembering the * an is on of the peak and the end 53  PAINFUL MEMORIES: THE PEAK-END RULE Memories of painful experiences are based on the peak (the worst part) and the end (the last part) of the experience. e # Redelmeier & Kahneman, 1996: Showed this effect for patients undergoing a colonoscopy or lithotripsy. Recording participants’ pain in real time during the procedure Compared retrospective recall to real time Peak & end were biggest predictors of recalled pain of events are based > Remberence - on parts of it & not necessarily the whole event. based the > Mind will reconstruct on is - Patsthatwere mostimportan Example : Childbirth is Peak of $4 Peak 54 a happy event even of 1 though labour is painful. SUMMARY SO FAR Our memory systems are prone to error. The misinformation effect describes the process by which information received after an event can also alter your reporting of the event later. False memories can be created by inserting made-up or alternate events into remembered events. – Also by suggestion. Eyewitness testimony are prone to errors due to: – Perception and attention – Familiarity with certain aspects of the event – Suggestion by interviewers Autobiographical memories can be automatically evoked by sensory stimuli. Memories of painful events are based on the peak, and the end. 55 LECTURE SERIES BREAKDOWN Week/Topic Topics Week 1/Topic 1 Introduction to Memory and Cognition Week 2/Topic 2 Learning & Critical Thinking Week 3/Topic 3 Attention Week 4/Topic 4 Short-Term and Working Memory Week 5/Topic 5 Long-Term Memory Week 6/Topic 6 Everyday Memory Week 7 Break Week Week 8/Topic 7 Conceptual Knowledge Week 9/Topic 8 Language & Reading Week 10/Topic 9 Problem Solving & Creativity Week 11/Topic 10 Judgement & Reasoning Week 12/Topic 11 Decision Making Week 13/Topic 12 Review: Introduction to Cognition 56