Memory

Memory

Memory

Memory
Memory
Memory
Memory
Memory
Memory
Memory

Memory

Memory

Memory

True or False??
1. When people go around a circle saying their names, their poorest memories are for what was said by the person just before them.
2. Our experiences are etched on our brain, just as the grooves on a tape receive and retain recorded messages. 3. Although our capacity for storing information is large, we are still limited in the number of permanent memories we can store. 4. The hour before sleep is a good time to commit information to memory.

Recall vs Recognition
Grouchy Gabby Fearful Sleepy Smiley Jumpy Hopeful Shy Droopy Dopey Sniffy Wishful Puffy Dumpy Sneezy Lazy Pop Grumpy Bashful Cheerful Teach Shorty Nifty Happy Doc Wheezy P-Diddy

The Answers
Research suggests the order, from most likely to least likely recalled is as follows:
Sleepy Dopey Grumpy Sneezy Happy Doc Bashful

Seven Dwarfs and STM

Now, turn over the sheet and recall the names of the seven dwarfs on the back of the sheet

Memory
Memory
persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information

Memory
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system

Storage
the retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval
process of getting information out of memory

Ebbinghaus and Memory

Systematic and controlled study of memory in laboratory

H. Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

Ebbinghaus and Memory

Ebbinghaus
Used nonsense syllables: TUV ZOF GEK MONUL WAV FALEM the more times practiced on Day 1, the fewer repetitions to relearn on Day 2

Ebbinghaus Retention Curve

Time in minutes taken to relearn list on day 2 20

15

10

5 0 8 16 24 32 42 53 64

Number of repetitions of list on day 1

Ebbinghaus and Forgetting Curve

Most forgetting occurs right after learning
approx. 50% in first 40 min

Relationship between delay and forgetting not linear

Ebbinghaus and Memory

Other important findings

Beneficial effects of distributed practice for repetitions (ie., spacing effect)

List-length effect

Encoding
Automatic Processing Effortful Processing
Encoding

Effortful

Automatic

Types of Encoding
Encoding Meaning Acoustic Encoding Visual Encoding

Encoding Aids
Meaning (semantics) Imagery Mnemonics
memory aids E.g., peg-word system

Encoding Aids
Mnemonics
Method of loci

Encoding Aids Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units use of acronyms
HOMES-Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

Remember as many of the following numbers as you can:

1776198514922004 1776198514922004

Remember as many of the following letters as you can:

XIBMSATMTVPHDX X IBM SAT MTV PHD X

Encoding Aids Hierarchies

Organization of knowledge under narrower concepts/headings

Rehearsal
conscious repetition of information

Memory Storages
Sensory Short term (working memory) Long term

The Modal Memory System

Stage 1: Sensory Memory

Iconic memory was demonstrated in Sperlings classic experiment, and lasts about 1/3 second
Echoic memory

Iconic and echoic memory systems may allow us to experience the world as a continuous stream

Stage 1: Sensory Memory

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory

Short-Term Memory
limited in duration and capacity George Millers magical number 7 +/- 2

Stage 2: Short-Term Memory

Percentage who recalled consonants
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Rapid decay with no rehearsal

12

15

18

Time in seconds between presentation of contestants and recall request (no rehearsal allowed)

Stage 3: Long-Term Memory

Rajan Mahadevans Amazing Memory
Memorized first 30,000 numbers of PI

Solomon Shereshevskii
What a crumbly yellow voice you have. Would feel images, taste colors, and smell sounds

Stage 3: Long Term Memory

Long Term Memory Systems

Explicit memory involves

conscious effort Implicit memory occurs without deliberate effort

Explicit Memory
Explicit memory involves the processes used to remember specific information which can be declared
Episodic memory is personal Semantic memory involves knowledge of facts

Implicit Memory
Implicit memory is the pervasive process by which people show without awareness that they are remembering something Implicit memory does not require attention and is automatic Consider procedural memory
Repetition priming

Retrieval
Recall
retrieve information learned earlier

Recognition
identify items previously learned

Retrieval Cues
Reminders of information we could not otherwise recall Guides to where to look for info
Context Effects

Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Retrieval: Priming

Retrieval: State Dependence

Percentage of words recalled 40 30 20 10 0

Water/ land

Land/ water

Water/ water

Land/ land

Different contexts for hearing and recall

Same contexts for hearing and recall

Retrieval
Mood-Congruent Memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with ones current mood

Forgetting
Interference
Proactive (forward-acting) Interference Retroactive (backwards-acting) Interference

Interference and Forgetting

Interference and Forgetting

Percentage of syllables recalled
90% Without interfering events, recall is better

80
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1 After sleep

After remaining awake 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Hours elapsed after learning syllables

Amnesia
Retrograde Amnesia
Loss of past memory

Anterograde Amnesia
Cant form new memories
Anterograde Amnesia

Demonstration
Take out paper and pen

How many of you remembered

Flame Smoke Fire??? Bed Snore Sleep???

Flashbulb Memories: Where were you when

Brown & Kulik
JFK assassination

Neisser & Harsch

Challenger explosion study

Are traumatic memories accurate?

Generally accepted theory:
Central facts remembered more accurately Peripheral details inaccurate and often fabricated in later stories

Eyewitness Testimony
Method: Show video of car accident 2 conditions: hit vs. smash Results: Broken glass? No, but one week later: smashed = 33% yes hit = 14% yes

False Memories
Loftus
Imagination inflation Mall study

Leo
Suspects found to make false confessions during police interrogations

Attention and Memory

Attention: internal processes used to focus our awareness on a subset of perceptual information Attention affects what we remember

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

Studied in labs using the dichotic listening technique
Two different messages presented, one in each ear Participants later asked to recall information, or sometimes have to shadow the words presented to one ear

Much of intelligent behavior depends on successfully managing your attention. For example, while driving a car, you might devote most of your attention to the conversation, but if the traffic gets bad or if you have to look for a particular street, you might shift you attention more to the driving

CHAIR LEOPARD SNOW TISSUE COFFEE GRASS CHURCH CHAIR LEOPARD

Selective Attention: Recognition Test

Circle the words that you think were on the list that was presented to your unattended ear. tiger igloo church grass book tissue tree leopard wine chair temple snow coffee carrot mail novel

Biology of Memory
Karl Lashley (1950)
trained rats to solve maze, then cut out pieces of their cortex and retested their memory of maze partial memory retained

Biology of Memory
Lashley found beer to have same effects as cortex removal on rat maze performance

Biology of Memory
Hippocampus
Involved in explicit memory

Cerebellum
Involved with implicit memory Skills, conditioning, procedural memory

Improve Your Memory

Study repeatedly to boost recall Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material Make material personally meaningful
Use mnemonic devices
associate with peg words--something already stored chunk information into acronyms

Study in spaced intervals

Improve Your Memory

Activate retrieval cues--mentally recreate situation and mood Minimize interference Test your own knowledge
to rehearse it to determine what you do not yet know