5. Levels of Processing and Associations in Memory

Question 1

are there different kinds of learning?

Answer 1

the answer seems to be yes
- as learning is a function of memory, it suggests that there is more than one way to encode information
- effortful vs effrtoless relative to involvement of attention and working memory resources
- lead to the idea of levels of processing

Question 2

levels of processing: shallow processing

Answer 2

• e.g. observe the type of text of a word
• the cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its superficial, perceptual characteristics rather than its meaning

Question 3

levels of processing: deeper processing

Answer 3

• think about meaning of the word or its use
• deeper meaning = better memory

Question 4

levels of processing X type of encoding

Answer 4

SHALLOW
- structural encoding = emphasizes physical structure of stimulus
- consider perception nodes/neurons for orientation of a line and letter detectors
INTERMEDIATE
- phonemic encoding emphasizes what a word sounds like
- initial elements of past experience
DEEP
- semantic encoding: emphasizes the meaning of verbal input
- context of word in sentence reinforces connections

Question 5

levels of processing: possible explanations

Answer 5

1. elaboration
   - the amount of extra processing one does that results in additional, related or redundant material
2. distinctiveness
   - how precisely an item = encoded
   - the more distinctively an item is elaborated, the better it will be remembered

Question 6

levels of processing and aging

Answer 6

with advancing age, specific details of events might be forgotten but their deeper meaning may be retained

Question 7

levels of processing and brain

Answer 7

• the same parts of the brain used to comprehend an event will be activated when the event is recalled
• memory item paired with auditory or visual stimuli

Question 8

levels of problems

Answer 8

evaluation of the levels of processing approach
- simply extended Bartlett’s point that effort after meaning is crucial for determining what is remembered; could this be conceptualized in terms of connectivity?
- no objective measure of depth; likely best to consider it a continuum rater than discrete level
- NOTE, however, that this approach has generated important research

Question 9

autobiographical memory

Answer 9

• episodic memories, with each event recalled in terms of the time of its occurrence in our lives
• Galton’s nb: suggests that people are usually able to recall about 220 autobiographical episodes from the last 20 years

Question 10

reminiscence bump: autobiographical memories

Answer 10

thought to be dependent on 3 processes
1. tendency for memories to become increasingly unavailable as time passes
2. childhood amnesia
3. the bump
- for people over the age of 50y, there is a heightened tendency to recall events that occurred between 10y-30y
in general, we would predict systematic decay of memory traces
- i.e older events less likely to be recalled (retrograde amnesia - extreme case)

Question 11

the bump: childhood amnesia

Answer 11

• fewer memories from first few years of life than would be expected if memory decayed smoothly over time
• children may lose contact with early memories as they begin to use different means for representing events in memory

Question 12

the bump: people over 50y

Answer 12

• these people reminisce and reflect on their life
• particularly on episodes from periods in which formative decisions were made
• important in formation of person’s identity
• period in life with many distinct events, making them more memorable
• life scripts as culturally provided narratives that guide autobiographical memories
• tend to be formed about positive events, which tend to occur during the period of the bump

Question 13

automatic encoding and the bump

Answer 13

consider the last explanation of the reminiscence bump in terms of automatic (unconscious) processing
- once you have encoded a sufficient nb of events/examplars from a given category, novel exemplars become assimilated - less processing occurs
- this suggests that there is a window where your identity forms
- in the 30s, cultural norms in terms of roles, etc exert additional pressure and fewer now life events occur

Question 14

culture and life scripts

Answer 14

• in other cultures, bump appears later than 10y-30y
• content was also found to vary across cultures (egocentric vs social orientation)
• when given a personal prime (about self), asian Americans remembered more memories from their chilhood

Question 15

egocentric bias

Answer 15

• individuals tend to retrieve those memories which portray them in best way
• Sanitioso et al (1990) study, refer to page 32 of notebook

Question 16

reconstruction of memory revisited

Answer 16

• observations of memory construction and reconstruction suggest that adaptability of memory has downside
• memories fail to incorporate all info and decay but novel info can also be incorporated into them
• stereotypes can influence our memory and failures of recall
• clinicians can implement false memories

Question 17

eyewitness testimony and source monitoring

Answer 17

• Loftus and Palmer study: refer to slides 22-23-24
  results:
• eyewitness testimony can therefore be affected by irrelevant and erroneous factors
• misinformation effect:
  1. when misleading post-event info becomes integrated with original info
  2. can even plant an entirely false memory in the mind
  3. shown dependencies on source credibility

Question 18

Dodd + Bradshaw (1980): does it matter who asks you a question ?

Answer 18

refer to slides 25-26

Question 19

source misattribution

Answer 19

• part of memory retrieval = noting the origin of the memory (where did this memory come from?) = source monitoring
• source monitoring can sometimes go awry when a source for a memory is misattributed

Question 20

source monitoring - Jacoby et al. - using familiarity as cues

Answer 20

• refer to slides 29-30
• concluded that inds. appear to use familiarity as a cue for judging whether they have seen a name before

Question 21

plagiarism

Answer 21

• failures of source monitoring have also been cited as a source of plagiarism
• unconscious plagiarism task
• memory errors tell us something about nature of our representations of others
• unconscious plagiarism was found during “recall-own” stage, especially when the source of ideas (self-other) were less distinguishable from one another
• deeper processing of information during generation, less plagiarism

Question 22

plagiarism: The boggle game stages

Answer 22

1. initial generation stage
   - participants generate solutions in a categorization task
2. recall own stage
   - participants then individually recall their own contribution to the task
3. generate new stage
   - participants must then individually generate new solutions to the task

Question 23

google effect

Answer 23

tendency to forget information that can be found readily online by using Internet search engines

Question 24

cryptomnesia

Answer 24

• similar to failures of source monitoring
• differs in that new items are generated and are thought to be generated by the self