7 Flashcards
Memory
The process by which we take observations, experiences and encounters, convert and store this information so we can store, retrieve and use it at further instances
Processes of memory
Encoding: taking information and translating it into a form that can we stored (getting it into the memory system)
Storage: Once translated, the maintenance of memory, seconds, days or a lifetime
Retrieval: Going into memory stores and retrieving information
Middles ages/ Renaissance
Memory like a cabinet or a cave. It needed exercise or it would become weak and fade away
1300-1500’s
Plato
Likened to a wax tablet, impressions could be made upon it
420-350 BCE
1950’s
Memory thought of like a computer, with RAM and a hard drive
Mental representations
Sensory reps: visual images, sounds
Verbal reps: information stored in words - concepts such as freedom
Motor reps: memories of motor actions - swinging a tennis racket
- motor reps the least studied
Atkinson and Shiffrin Modal Model of Memory
Look up model
3 seperate stores, 1. Sensory 2. Short term (STM) 3. Long term (LTM) Each differs in capacity, seconding format and duration held
Sensory memory (A&S)
Extremely large memory store
Holds information on perceived stimulus for a fraction after the stimulus disappears.
Iconic storage: momentary storage of visual information
Echoic storage: momentary storage of auditory information
Sperling 1960
Grid tests, shown items briefly and have to remember as many as possible
Full report mean 4.5 out of 12 (37.5%) items however with partial report (one line at a time) 3.3 out of 4 (82.5%) which changes estimated capacity to be 9.9
Issues: as you write items down you are forgetting other items as they are decaying in your memory
Sensory encoding format
A copy of input as it is presented, ie. images, sounds, touch sensations
Sensory storage capacity
Depends on which sense, large 25+ stimuli stored simultaneously
Important sensory info
Information which receives attention in sensory memory is converted into and stored in STM, the remainder decays rapidly
Real world application of sensory memory
When you hear a sentence then ask it to be repeated but then understand after, auditory information is still being held in the echoic memory before encoding
Short term memory
Information from sensory memory that has been attended
Holds onto small amounts of information (limited capacity, approximately 7 items) for short periods of time (limited duration, approximately 20-30 seconds)
Rehearsal can lead to retaining for slightly longer in STM - chanting a phone number over and over (maintenance rehearsal)
Concept has been refined over the years, tweaked into “Working memory”
Long term memory
Potentially limitless duration and capacity
Representations of facts, music, actions, images, skills
Extracting information from LTM is called “retrieval”
Related to primacy effect
Serial position (Rundus 1971)
Research with remembering long lists of words and then recalling as many as possible
Primacy: better recall of first words from list
Recency: better recall of last words from list
Primacy effect
Better recollection of first event/words/occurrence.
Allows more rehearsal time, therefore more likely to enter LTM, number of rehearsals decline from beginning to end
Recency effect
Better recollection of the most recent event/word/occurrence.
Words at the end are still in the STM and therefore are recalled first.
Structure of LTM
Look up model
Types of storage:
- Procedural memory
- Declarative memory
- Semantic
- Episodic
Ways stored:
- Implicit
- Explicit
- Recall
- Recognition
Procedural memory
Memory for the “how to” of a skill or procedure (riding a bike)
Declarative memory
Memory for facts or event which can be stated or declared
- Semantic
- Episodic
Semantic memory
General memory for general concepts and knowledge (this is an egg, this is an OJ)
Episodic memory
Memories of specific events, rich in sensory experiences (a birthday)
Explicit memory
Memory expressed through conscious recollection (remembering phone numbers)
Implicit memory
Memory expressed in behaviour but doesn’t need conscious recollection (driving a car)
Recall
Spontaneous conscious recollection of LTM (responding to short answer questions)
Recognition
Identification of something previously seen or learnt (multiple choice questions)
Semantic network
The web like diagram where multiple different items can be linked together through concepts such as colour, category, shape, size
Activation spreads out along a link that is connected to an activated node, closer the link = stronger (faster) connection
Concepts which are activated are more easily accessed from memory (apple and firetruck through link of red)
Levels of processing Craick and Lockhart 1972
Deeper levels of processing produce deeper, stronger, longer lasting memories
Shallow: structural
Intermediate: phonemic
Deep: semantic
Shallow processing
Structural processing (appearance): when we encode only the physical qualities such as how the letter looks (font, size, capital)
Intermediate processing
Phonemic processing (sound): Encoding by the sound such as rhyming
Deep processing
Semantic encoding: Encoding the meaning of the word and relating it to similar words with similar meanings
Elaboration and rehearsal involved, therefore a more meaningful analysis (images, thinking, associations) of information leading to better recall
“Would the word fit in the sentence”, emphasising meaning of verbal input
Enriching semantic encoding
Elaboration: linking stimulus to other information at time of encoding (reading multiple examples)
Visual imagery: creating a visual image for words to be remembered (useful for concrete words but not abstract concepts)
Self-referent encoding: deciding whether/ how information is personal relevant and meaningful
Elaboration research
Palmere 1983
People read essays containing multiple different paragraphs.
Main ideas were remembered better from paragraphs that had multiple examples rather than fewer or none
Self referent research
Rodgers, Kuiper, Kirker 1977
Showed lists of traits to participants such as timid, sly, loveable
Questions to induce self referent coding such as “does this word apply to you personally?”
Self reference with traits resulted in higher recollection
Repetition effect
Repeating something helps convert from STM to LTM
Distinctiveness
When something stands out due to colour or category (difference in group)
Chunking/ Clustering
Remembering due to being part of a common phrase (toss and turn)
False memory
Generalising concepts and coming up with something that was not there/ did not occur
Evolution of memory model
- Memory no longer thought of in terms of serial processing model (going through stages)
- Memory thought to be comprised of a number of differing models which are discrete but independent (parallel processing, occurring simultaneously)
- Recognises remembering is not always conscious or retroactive
- Memory no longer likened to computer processing
Working memory
A temporary storage and processing of information to solve problems, achieve goals and respond to environmental demands
Baddeley and Hitch 1974
Suggest working memory is made up of 3 systems
Central Executive
Visual memory store (visuospatial sketchpad)
Verbal memory store (phonological loop)
Central Executive
Controls flow and processing of information but has a limited capacity
Visuospatial sketchpad
Visual memory store,temporary image (20-30 seconds) that stores information about location and nature of object
Phonological loop
Verbal memory store involved in storage of verbal items (equates to STM) however limited storage capacity
How to study visuospatial sketchpad
While focused on a centre point, squares are briefly shown on a screen. You must then identify whether the probe square is a match (same colour and same place) or a mismatch
Neuropsychology of working memory
Thought to be directed by pre-frontal cortex
Verbal and visual working memory activate different areas of the brain, emphasising different and independent components
Working and long term memory
Evidence supporting distinction between WM and LTM:
WM easily accessed however limited capacity
LTM deficit
When a person has normal working memory however cannot transfer information into LTM
WM deficit
Where a person has normal LTM however only a span of 2 digits
Chunking
Using LTM knowledge to increase WM capacity
Breaking patterns into smaller chunks and applying meaning or associations to them
Example of unchunked memory
A shopping list of items in a random order
Example of chunked memory
A shopping list of distinct categories (frozen, dairy, etc)
Encoding specificity principle
The ease of retrieval of a memory depends on a match between the way information was encoded and how it is being retrieved
Students who read multiple choice questions from a text book will do poorly on a short answer exam
Poorer recall if learning is shallow
Forms of encoding specificity
Context dependent memory
Mood (state) congruent memory
Context dependent memory
Information is easier to retrieve or recall when encoded and retrieved in the same context
Mood (state) congruent memory
Information is easier to recall or retrieve when encoded and retrieved in the same emotional state
Same context and emotional state provide
Retrieval cues which facilitate recollection
Mnemonic devices
Add additional retrieval cues to enhance memory
Method of loci
SQ4R method
Method of loci
visual imagery as a memory aid, providing additional retrieval cues
SQ4R method
designed to help remember information from a textbook
Survey, Questions, Read, Recite, Review, Write, providing additional retrieval cues
Schema
Influences the way information is encoded and shapes how the information is reconstructed
Things consistent with the schema are easier to recall however really inconsistent things are also easier to recall
Can sometimes lead to false memories as the schema will fill in the blanks
7 memory sins
Transcience Absent mindedness Misattribution Suggestibility Bias Persistance Forgetting
Transcience
Memories fading with time
Absent mindedness
When you need to pay attention and focus to remember
Misattribution
Source amnesia
Suggestibility
Thinking we remember when in fact we don’t
Bias
Distortions in real (halo, horn, etc)
Persistance
Recurring memories
Forgetting
Inability to remember
Accuracy of LTM
Memory is subject to errors and biases - can be primed - altered by emotional factors Eyewitness testimony - recall of events can be manipulated through using leading questions Flashbulb memory - memories tend to be extremely accurate - associated with traumatic experiences
Forgetting theories
Ebbinghaus documented rate of forgetting: negative exponential curve where information decays over time
Decay theory
Interference theory : proactive and retroactive
Motivated feeling
Decay theory
Memory fades and weakens if not used
Interference theories
Proactive: old memories interfere with new ones
Retroactive: new memories interfere with old ones
Motivated forgetting
Implies forgetting can avoid painful memories
