Psychology Notes - Encoding & Retrieval PDF

Getting information into LTM Encoding: acquiring information and transforming it into memory Retrieval: transferring information from LTM to working memory Maintenance rehearsal” repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it into LTM Elaborative reh...

Getting information into LTM Encoding: acquiring information and transforming it into memory Retrieval: transferring information from LTM to working memory Maintenance rehearsal” repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it into LTM Elaborative rehearsal: using meanings and connections to help transfer information to LTM Levels of processing theory Memory depends on how information is encoded Depth of processing ○ Shallow processing ○ Deep processing Shallow processing ○ Little attention to meaning ○ Focus on physical features ○ Poor memory ○ Examples Repeating a phone number over and over again Looking at a map to get you from home to school Deep processing ○ Close attention to meaning ○ Better memory ○ Examples Repeating a phone number to an important date in your life Visualizing the route you take from home to school Craik and Tulving (1975) ○ Physical features of a word = shallow processing ○ Rhyming = deeper processing ○ Fill in the blanks questions = deepest processing Other factors that aid encoding Visual imagery Self reference effect Generation effect Organizing to be remembered information Retrieval practice Visual imagery Paired associate learning (repetition group and imagery group)  ○ Boat with tree (Bower & Winzenz, 1970) Visual imagery works better… ○ For concrete rather than abstract words/ non words ○ When mental image is meaningful and detailed Picture superiority effect: pictures are better remembered than words Method of loci: visually imagining a particular route in your mind, and placing items that you need to remember along the route ○ By re-walking the route in your mind, you will remember the items you have placed along the route Self reference effect: relating a word to yourself ○ Helps to bind memories to their source and increases perceptual detail Generation effect: generating material yourself rather than passively receiving it ○ Enhances both learning and retention Organizing information - remembering words in a particular category may serve as a retrieval cue ○ Retrieval cue: a word or other stimulus that helps a person remember information stored in memory Retrieval practice: practicing retrieval of information by making up and answering practice test questions ○ Testing effect: enhanced performance due to retrieval practice Factors that aid coding Create connections ○ Imagery ○ Link to self (self reference effect) Active creation ○ Generation effect ○ Testing effect/ retrieval practice Organization ○ Recall by groups ○ Present in an organized manner (tree) Encoding techniques Enactment effect: when you do something with an object, you will be more likely to remember it) ○ Combining imagery with action creates an even stronger memory aid Drawing is the best technique because it combines everything Spacing effect: learning is more effective when study sessions are spaced out Effective studying techniques ○ Highlighting isn't effective  ○ Elaboration ○ Generation and testing ○ Organization ○ Taking breaks ○ Avoid the illusion of learning ○ Elaborative interrogation ○ Looking for similarities/differences ○ Linking information with prior knowledge Elaboration Thinking about what you are reading and giving it meaning by relating it to other things you know. ○ E.g., creating images linking topics together ○ E.g., Retroactive interference → think of “retro” as something old → new information interferes with old information Elaborative interrogation: asking “why” will prompt you to come up with an explanation for a stated fact. Looking for similarities/differences Linking information with prior knowledge Retrieval Retrieving information from LTM Retrieval: the process of transferring information from LTM back into working memory ○ Most of our failures of memory are failures to retrieve Failure to retrieve ○ Information is there (has been encoded) but we cannot get it out (retrieve) ○ Two methods can help Sing retrieval cues Matching encoding and retrieval conditions Retrieval cues ○ Words or other stimuli that can help us remember information stored in memory. E.g., how remembering one fruit from a word list can cue the retrieval of other fruits from the same list. ○ Free recall versus cued recall procedures Free recall: simply recalling all stimuli Cued recall: presentation of retrieval cues to aid in recall of previously presented stimuli Matching encoding and retrieval conditions ○ Location and scent are both very strong retrieval cues  ○ There are specific situations in which we can match the conditions of encoding and retrieval Encoding specificity: matching the context of encoding and retrieval State dependent learning: matching the internal mood present during encoding and retrieval Transfer appropriate processingL matching the task or type of processing involved in encoding and retrieval Disputing levels of processing theory Levels of processing theory predicts that deeper processing yield better encoding ○ Morris et al. (1977) meaning conditioning should have yielded better memory performance Showed that deeper processing at encoding does not always result in better retrieval Consolidation: the life history of memories Consolidation Transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state ○ Over time, memories can be lost ○ Over time, memories can be altered ○ Disruption of recently encoded information is similar to proactive interference Synaptic consolidation: structural changes at the synapse ○ Takes place over minutes or hours Systems consolidation: gradual reorganization of neural circuits within the brain ○ Takes place over months or years ○ Multiple trace model of consolidation Hippocampus is activated during retrieval of both recent and remote memories These processes occur together, but at different speeds and at different levels of the nervous system Synaptic consolidation ○ Donald Hebb (1948) proposed that learning and memory are represented in the brain by physiological changes that takes place at the synapse Repeated activity can strengthen the synapse by causing structural changes, greater transmitter release and increased firing New memories are formed not by the formation of new cells but by the strengthening of connections between already existing neurons ○ One of the outcomes of structural changes at the synapse is a strengthening of synaptic transmission (strengthening results in long term potentiation (LTP)  Long term potentiation (LTP): enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation Chemical reactions at the synapse result in new protein synthesis Standard model of consolidation ○ Connections between the cortex and the hippocampus are initially strong ○ Reactivation: as time passes, the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with memory ○ Over time, connections are formed between cortical areas (cross-cortical consolidation) The connections between hippocampus and the cortex are weakened and eventually vanish Sleep enhances consolidation ○ Memory consolidation appears to be enhanced during sleep One reason: sleeping stops interference from environmental stimuli. ○ Some memories appear to be consolidated through sleep better than other memories Stickgold and Walker (2013) proposed saliency tags, such as emotional value, that lead some memories to be prioritised Memory loss and injury Standard model of consolidation based partly on observation of injury/trauma-related memory loss Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events prior to the trauma Graded amnesia: memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events Reconsolidation: memory updating Retrieved memories become fragile and are consolidated again → reconsolidation Nader and colleagues (2000): rat experiment Hupbach and colleagues (2007): human reconsolidation experiment Memory is a “work in progress” … constantly constructed and remodeled in response to learning and conditions Reconsolidation and PTSD ○ Posttraumatic stress disorder causes severe emotional responses to traumatic memories