Unit 3 - Memory And Forgetting PDF

UNIT - III: MEMORY AND FORGETTING Syllabus: Memory: Basic Processes – Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Types of Memory: Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory Long-Term Memory, Working Memory & Flashbulb Memory (extra info). Techniques to Improve Memory: Mnemonics, Chunking, SQ3R (Survey, Question,...

UNIT - III: MEMORY AND FORGETTING Syllabus: Memory: Basic Processes – Encoding, Storage and Retrieval. Types of Memory: Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory Long-Term Memory, Working Memory & Flashbulb Memory (extra info). Techniques to Improve Memory: Mnemonics, Chunking, SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review) Forgetting: Nature and Causes of Forgetting DEFINITION OF MEMORY Memory is the process by which people encode, store, and retrieve information. THE BASIC PROCESSES OF MEMORY: ENCODING: - It refers to the process by which information is initially recorded in a form usable to memory. STORAGE: - is the process of maintaining the material saved in the memory system. RETRIEVAL: - it refers to the process of the recovery of stored information. The material in memory storage is located, brought into awareness, and utilized. E.g.: studying & recalling material during exams. TYPES of memory - one of the most influential theories given by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) These 3 systems of memory are:- 1. Sensory Memory 2. Short- term Memory 3. Long-term Memory Sensory memory: refers to the initial momentary storage of information gathered by our sense organs (eyes, nose, ears, tongue, skin). Lasts only for an instant as it is recorded by the person's sensory organs as a raw, non-meaningful stimulus since it’s not yet processed by the brain. Memory begins with a sensory input of information from the environment. This input of information is held for a brief time in the sensory channels themselves. This storage function of the sensory channels is called the sensory register. Most of the information held in the sensory register is lost, meaning that the information decays from the register. Information that we attend to passes on to the short-term store for further processing. Thus, the transfer of information from the sensory register to the short-term store depends on attention. Sensory memory encompasses: ICONIC MEMORY:- The memory that reflects information from our visual system. Lasts for 1 sec. Processed by the visual cortex. 2. ECHOIC MEMORY:- The memory that stores information coming from the ears. The auditory cortex take about 3-4 seconds to process all sound vibrations sequentially. Hence, despite the brief duration the precision is high. Stored in the Temporal & Occipital lobes. 😷 Masking - is the process by which information in the sensory resgister is replaced by fresh information as a result our sense organs always being active, lack of attention, & the short duration of storage. Eg: Professor’s lecture getting masked by your benchmate’s story. Short Term Memory refers to a kind of memory that holds information for 15 - 25 seconds. Here, the information is stored in terms of its meaning. Short-term memory is the memory store in which material that has meaning is stored although the maximum length of retention is relatively short. It holds information received from the sensory register for up to 25 seconds. It has a very limited storage capacity of about 7+2 items. Unlike sensory memory which holds a relatively full and detailed representation, the STM has incomplete representational capabilities. stored in the Hippocampus Working Memory- a component of STM & can be defined as the process of interpreting STM. According to Psychologist Alan Baddley, STM can be interpreted by the Central Executive (which coordinates cognitive processes like thinking, decision making & reasoning). This is made up of two sub-components: (i) visuospatial sketch pad (which concentrates on visual & spatial information; eg: mental map). (ii) Phonological Loop (which is responsible for holding & maintaining material relating to speech, words & numbers. Some psychologist suspect that a breakdown of the central executive may result in memory loss. E.g: Deciding (CE) whether you can make it back in time (PL) for your next class if you go to the 2-minute-away coffee shop now (VS). LONG TERM MEMORY It refers to the storage of information on a relatively permanent basis, although retrieval might be difficult. The information which is important enough to survive, will be transferred from the STM to the LTM through some physiological mechanism, which is yet to be understood. The items are stored here in terms of mental categories with some descriptions. Once an item is put into the LTM, it is available mostly permanently. The storage capacity is unlimited. All information coming through every sense organ and transferred from STM to LTM is more permanent- memories are encoded in the form of engrams - (physiological changes that occur in the brain when information is stored) and preserved by categorization. The information in the long-term memory is mostly about the meanings of words, sentences, ideas, concepts, and the life experiences we have had. Stored in the cerebral cortex. 2 types of LTM: 1. Declarative Memory This is the memory for factual information, names, faces, dates and the like. Information about things is stored in this memory. E.g. George Washington was the first U.S president. Declarative memory is further divided into: i. Semantic Memory This is the memory that stores general knowledge and facts about the world, as well as memory for the rules of logic for deducing other facts. It is similar to a kind of mental almanac of facts. Here we develop relationships between pieces of information. E.g Mathematical and Historical facts ii. Autobiographical / Episodic Memory This is the memory for information relating to the biography details of our individual lives. Our memories of what we have done and the kinds of experiences we have had constitute episodic memory. Episodic memory can be surprisingly detailed. It can provide information from events that happened long in the past. E.g. Recalling our first date, the time we fell off the bicycle, etc. 2. Procedural Memory This is the memory for skills and habits. Information regarding how to do things is stored in procedural memory. E.g. riding a bicycle, hitting a basket, etc. RETRIEVING LTM: Retrieval Cues A retrieval cue is a stimulus that allows us to recall information that is located in the long-term memory more easily. It may be a word, an emotion, a sound, whatever the specific memory will suddenly come to mind when a retrieval cue is presented. They are particularly important when we are making an effort to recall information as opposed to being asked to recognize material stored in the memory. Recalling is when memories are retrieved with few or no external cues. E.g. such as answering in an exam. Recognition on the other hand involves looking at or learning information and matching it to what is already in our memory. The importance of retrieval cues is seen in context and state-dependent memory. Context-dependent memory is the memory that depends on the contextual cues we store. Material learned in one environment is easier to remember in a similar environment than context in a different environment. State-dependent memory refers to that memory that depends on the physiological and psychological state of an individual and helps in recalling information. For example, during your preparations for an exam, if you have a cup of coffee, it may help to remember better if you have a cup of coffee during your examination because your internal chemical state is similar or the same. SERIAL POSITIONING CURVE: The serial positioning curve is a U-shaped graph that demonstrates how our memory is affected by the position of information in a sequence. It shows that we tend to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle. Short-Term Memory (STM) and the Recency Effect Short-term memory is a limited-capacity system that holds information for a short period if attention is paid to the sensory stimulus/incoming information. The recency effect in the serial position curve is primarily attributed to the items being still fresh in our short-term memory. When we are asked to recall the items immediately after the presentation, those at the end are still actively maintained in our STM, making them easier to retrieve. primarily a short-term memory phenomenon. Long-Term Memory (LTM) and the Primacy Effect Long-term memory is a vast storage system that holds information for extended periods.  The primacy effect is believed to be influenced by long-term memory. The initial items in a list have more time to be rehearsed and encoded into long-term memory, making them more likely to be remembered later. is influenced by both short-term and long-term memory processes. It's important to note that the interaction between short-term and long-term memory in shaping the serial position curve is complex and can be influenced by various factors, such as list length, presentation rate, environmental condition, and individual differences. 4 TECHNIQUES OF IMPROVING MEMORY/ ENHANCING MEMORY: 1. Chunking - is a meaningful grouping of stimuli that helps store & recollect information better. Eg: memorizing mobile numbers. 910|256|61|81 2. Rehearsal - is the repetition of information that has entered STM. Types of rehearsal: a. Elaborative rehearsal - memorizing strategy that involves in-depth understanding & organizing the material to store information based on meaning. b. Repetitive rehearsal - memorizing strategy that involves constant repetition to temporarily store memory. It’s important because: - Repetition keeps the information alive in the STM - It allows us to transfer the material into LTM. 3. Mnemonics - formal techniques for organizing material using the first alphabet. Eg: VIBGYOR, NIMHANS, STM, LTM, SQ3R. 4. SQ3R Survey - skim through the material - headings, titles, charts, graphs. Question - convert/form the headings into questions - why, what, when, how, where. Read - find answers to the questions Recite - explain the answers to yourslef in your own words to get a deeper understanding. Review - test yourself / rehearsal. FLASHBULB MEMORY They refer to the memories of a specific event that is so clear that they seem like snapshots of the events. They are memories centered on specific important or surprising events. They do not contain every detail of an original scene. These memories still seem extraordinary because of the details they do include. Usually emotionally arousing. FORGETTING - Problems during retrieval. The term ‘forgetting’ is defined as the apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in long-term memory. CAUSES OF FORGETTING There are many theories or factors which try to explain why one forgets. Some of them are: 1. A failure of encoding: One reason that we might forget is that we might not have paid proper attention to the material being learned and consequently no encoding takes place, Studies show that though we have been exposed to thousands of currency notes and coins, yet despite this we do not have a clear picture of them, and cannot recognize them when we are shown slightly altered images. This is because we have not encoded the information into the LTM and since it is not been placed there initially, there is no way that the information can be recalled. Failure to encode may happen due to: a) Anterograde amnesia (explained later in the chapter). b) Masking (explained previously in the chapter). 2. Decay theory: The process of decay can be defined as the loss of information through its nonuse. This explanation assumes that when a new material is learnt, a memory trace or engram is formed. In the decay process, the memory trace just fades away because of the mere passage of time. But this is not always true because most often there is no relationship of how long ago an individual was exposed to information and how well that information could be recalled. Also one may recall long learnt material- such as nursery rhymes though one has not used or recalled them often. 3. Interference theory: Interference is defined as the phenomena by which recall is hindered because of other information in memory which displaces or blocks it out. Since decay theory does not account for all forgetting, psychologists have proposed the interference theory. A vast amount of experimental evidence indicates new things interfere with our memory of what we learned earlier and prior learning interferes with our memory of things learned later. Retroactive: it refers to difficulty in recalling of information because of later exposure to a different material (present interferes with the past) Exposure to new material hinders the recall of material already learnt. E.g. Study A → Study B → Recall A  Proactive: It refers to the difficulty in recalling information due to the events that come the to-be-remembered information learned earlier interferes with the recall of newer material (past interferes with the present). Information learnt earlier interferes with the recall of newer material. E.g. Learn A → Learn B → Recall B MEMORY DYSFUNCTIONS:- 1. Alzheimer's disease: one of the memory dysfunctions that begin later in life. In its initial stages, Alzheimer's symptoms appear as simple forgetfulness of things like forgetting appointments and birthdays. As the diseases progresses, memory loss becomes more profound, and even the simplest tasks- such as how to dial a telephone are forgotten. Ultimately, the victims can forget their own names or family members' faces. In addition physical deterioration sets in, and language abilities may be lost completely. Although the causes of Alzheimer's diseases are not fully understood recent evidence suggests that it may be linked to a specific inherited defect. The flaw leads to difficulties in production of the protein beta-amyloid, necessary for the maintenance of nerve cell connections. When the manufacture of beta amyloid goes awry, it leads to deterioration of nerve cells in the brain producing the symptoms of Alzheimer's. 2. Amnesia: Loss of memory due to brain injury, substance abuse, or alcoholism. i. In retrograde amnesia memory is lost for events prior to a certain event. There is usually a gradual reappearance of lost memory, although it may take as long as several years for a full restoration to occur. In certain cases, some memories are lost forever. ii. anterograde amnesia is a loss of memory that occurs for events following an injury. Information cannot be transferred from STM to LTM storage after the accident. The study of amnesia has added greatly to our understanding of the biological bases of memory. 3. Korsakoff's syndrome: named after Wernick Korsakoff. Amnesia is also displayed by people who suffer from this syndrome. This is disease that afflicts long term alcoholics who has also had an impaired diet, resulting in thiamine deficiency/ vitamin B1. Although many of their intellectual abilities may remain intact, they display a strange array of symptoms, including having hallucinations, repeating questions, even after being told the answer and repeating the same story again and again., confusion 4. Motivated forgetting or Repression: Repression refers to the tendency of people to have difficulty retrieving anxiety provoking or threatening information from long term memory. This probably explains why people generally remember pleasant events, than unpleasant memories have been repressed. Many lapses in daily life illustrate motivated forgetting. E.g. I may forget my dentist's appointment because I do not like to go there or forget to buy vegetables because I don't like vegetables etc. Retrieval of the forgotten material can eventually occur according to psychoanalysis only under special circumstances. a) Free association/ Projective technique- having an individual to say whatever comes to their mind when presented with emotionally arousing stimuli, b) Hypnosis, c) Truth serums can also used with occasional success to retrieve repressed information not available to consciousness in the normal waking state. Studying motivated forgetting in the laboratory has proved difficult, since we cannot produce powerful anxieties to demonstrate motivated forgetting. The best evidence for motivated forgetting is from case studies of Freud and other psychoanalysts. ___________________xxxxxxxxxx_______________________