Chapter 6 Flashcards
Retrieval paths have a start point and an end point what does this mean for later retreival
This means that some learning is excellent preparation for one sort of retrieval but useless for another type.
What happened in the scuba diving memory retreival
Divers were taught and tested on materials that were either learned underwater or on land. Those whose test environment matched the learning environment did better at recalling the info
What other experiments demonstrated context dependent learning
- college students taught and tested in either noisy or quiet environment
students who learned and were tested in different rooms did just as well as the students with no room change when they did what? what does this prove (smith)
When they think about the room they learnt in and how it made them feel. Proves that it is not the PHYSICAL context but the PSYCHOLOGICAL context that matters when forming connections
define Context dependent learning
pattern of data in which materials learned in one setting are best recalled when the person returns to that setting, and poorer recall in others
Define context reinstatement
improved memory when we re create the context in place while learning
What were the results in the experiment in which words pairs were given either associated by sound (rhyme, cat/hat) or meaning (category, cat/dog). and then one word was used as cue for later recall. The cues either matched (a sound cue for a sound association) or unmatched (a meaning cue for a sound association)
- When you combine all the results (matched and unmatched) the overall results are better for deep processing (meaning association)
- On the matched trials the deep processing is again better than the sound trials
- however within the sound trials results were worse for the deep but unmatched trials, and better for the not-so-deep but matched trials
- Means that deep processing is overturned by matching cue
What two things are preserved in memory?
- the target material
2. some record of the connections established during learning
Explain the experiment that shows how connections change the meaning of what is remembered. (piano expr.)
Subjects read target words in one of two contexts (ie. piano is lifted or piano is tuned) during recall they are given one of two cues (ie. heavy or nice sound). Subjects did better when the cue was congruent with what was stored in memory.
- Meaning people did not just code piano but as either “piano as something heavy” or “piano the musical instrument”
define encoding specificity. What does it tell us about how people learn?
the tendency to place in memory both the target materials and the context of those materials. Said materials will only be recognized as familiar if presented as the same whole/ in the same context
* it tells us people learn the whole not the parts
what are nodes and associative links
nodes are the representations of ideas in memory and associative links are connections made during learning.
Explain the process of spreading activation in memory
Nodes receive activation from their neighbours and once their activation level reaches threshold they fire (are found) and become an energy source and send activation to their neighbours
What ae the 3 ways a node can reach threshold
- If it receives a strong enough signal to reach threshold
- The combination/summation of multiple signals
- Having recently been activated and then receiving a sub threshold activation
When you start at a node how do you choose where to go from there?
You do not choose, activation spreads in equal directions simultaneously
How can we explain the advantage of hints (memory cues) using the process of spreading activation?
Because the target node is now receiving simultaneous activation from two different sources (the question and the hint)
ex. What is the capital of South dakota?
hint: it’s a mans name
- -> Pierre gets activation from associations with man’s name and south Dakota which will bring that node to threshold and allow the name to be “found”
How does spreading activation explain context reinstatement effects
The node for the target info (ie. a word on the list) will be receiving double input from both your thoughts about the list and your connections from the environment
What is key assumption is central in both memory cues and context reinstatement?
The summation of sub-threshold activation
Explain the results of the lexical decision task involving pairs of words that were either related or not related
In related pairs, semantic priming from the first word transmits sub-threshold activation to the second related word and thus accelerates the process of activation for the second word in the pair. Lexical decision responses were 100 ms faster if the words were related
How can people affect the spreading of activation in memory
- they have control over their starting point
- They can ‘shut down’ spreading if they think the wrong nodes are being activated
Context reinstatement effects only work if
If begin at the correct starting point
define source memory
You have a recollection of the source of your current knowledge. (I know loon was on the last list because I remember the picture that came to mind when I read it)
- works off the same theory as other forms of memory (ie. spreading activation)
How is recognition a hybrid?
Because you’re making a recognition judgement based on what you RECALL from the learning phase (connections in memory to images etc.)
Define familiarity
feeling of recognition without source memory (distinct from it), in which you cannot place the memory
give an example of source memory without famliarity
Capgrass syndrom (they know how the faces but feel no sense of familiarity - Much more rare than familiarity without source memory
which brain area is crucial for source memory as indicated by the fMRI scans from the “remember” vs. “know” experiment
Heightened activity in the Hippocampus for “remember” judgements
which brain area is crucial for familiarity as indicated by the fMRI scans from the “remember” vs. “know” experiment
heightened activity in the anterior parahippocampus for “know” judgements
Which brain area was active during learning phase if the participants later made a “know judgement”
during learning the rhinal cortex is active, suggesting it plays a key role in the establishment of familiarity
Which brain area was active during learning phase if the participants later made a “remember judgement”
the hippocampal region, suggesting it plays a key role in the establishment of source memory
How do lexical decision tasks change in words that have been primed? Do participants remember having seen these words? What is this an example of?
It’s an example of MEMORY without AWARENESS
- Lexical decisions are faster for words presented previously on the list but when asked whether certain words were on the lists participants select randomly.
- This suggests that they don’t consciously remember them but are nonetheless influenced by this earlier exposure
What were the results of priming participants with a list of words and then asking them to identify other words (some of which were on the list) when presented briefly on a computer screen
Performance improved for previously seen words although participants had no conscious memory of which words had been on the list
Explain the word-stem completion task and it’s results
When given the first 3 letters subjects must complete the word. They are more likely to choose words they have recently seen despite having no conscious memory of their recent encounter
what are the two types of memory and how are they tested?
EXPLICIT MEMORY (w awareness) - Information you have consciously stored and can retrieve, tested using direct memory testing /conceptual (recall and recognition) IMPLICIT MEMORY - Information that influences your behaviour but you have no conscious memory of experiencing it, tested with indirect memory testing/ perceptual (lexical decision task and word stem completion)
What did false fame task involve. What did it show?
participants read list of names. Then are given a list with famous names and made up names (some of which are from the previous list) and must rate their fame. Subjects either do fame judgements directly after or 24 hours later. Those in the 24 hour condition misinterpret the feeling of familiarity to fame, while the immidiate condition accurately attribute the feeling to the previous list.
Explain the study that demonstrated the illusion of truth.
Participants read sentences(said by either a man or woman) and are told that either all male sentences are false or the reverse and they must rate how interesting. Then a second list is presented (containing some repeat sentences) and they must rate credibility. Credibility is increased by familiarity, even if they were originally told these statements are false (because they can’t remember if a man or woman said it)
In Jacoby’s experiment involving bursts of noise, what did subjects attribute their fluency of perception to? what is this a case of?
When subjects hear a repeated sentence they judge the noise as being quieter because they more easily perceived it. The reverse was true as well (novel sentence = louder noise)
- this is an example of repetition priming
in the noise bursts experiment was there a sense of familiarity to the repeated sentences
There was no subjective sense of familiarity. The implicit memory did affect how participants felt about the sentences, instead it changed their opinion on a completely different stimulus (they misattributed it to the noise level)
What is source confusion? example
Misattributing familiarity to the wrong source
Ex. subjects witness a crime and see a series of mug shots. 4/5 days later they see a line up and must select the criminal. Subjects misattribute the sense of familiarity to the crime when actually the source was the mug shots
Define processing pathway
The sequence of detectors (features)/nodes(memories) and connections between them that the activation flows through when recognizing a stimulus or retrieving a memory
Use of a pathway increases __________. meaning?
processing fluency - meaning speed and ease with which the pathway will carry activation
How does processing fluency influence lexical decision
it speeds up your decision because the pathway is warmed up, providing evidence for implicit memories
In order to say people attribute their processing fluency incorrectly what assumption are we making?
That people are sensitive to the degree of processing fluency caused by implicit memories. people recognize a vague sense of specialness that triggers an attribution process
How do we define familiarity?
As a conclusion that you draw rather than a feeling triggered by a stimulus?
What 4 (UNCONSCIOUS) steps must take place fro a stimulus to feel familiar?
- you have encountered the stimulus before
- That encounter allows for faster processing fluency (due to practice of that pathway)
- The person recognizes this processing fluency as the stimulus being distinct/special
- They try to figure out why it seems special, and you reach the conclusion that you must have seen it before
What do you experience consciously in the steps towards familiarity
simply the end product - that a stimulus feels familiar
in what 2 circumstances are you more likely to decide a stimulus is familiar
- if you have an explicit source memory ( i saw this yesterday)
- If the surrounding circumstances support it (ie. if you are asked if you’ve seen it before)
Give an example of how fluency can be misattributed?
Instead of realizing fluency is due to prior experience you unconsciously attribute it to some other stimulus (the loudness of the noise)
What is the illusion of familiarity?
Experimenters can manipulate a stimulus to be processed more fluently and people mistakenly attribute this to familiarity.
how can explicit memory be subdivided into two types?
- episodic memory (memory for events)
2. Semantic memory (general knowledge)
how can implicit memory be subdivided into 4 types?
- Procedural memory (memory for skills)
- Priming (previous experience)
- Perceptual learning (recalibration of perceptual systems as result of experience
- Classical conditioning (associations among stimuli)
define retrograde and anterograde amnesia
retro - loss of memories before the event
Antero - Loss of memories after onset of amnesia
* many cases involve both types
There is a double disscoiation between ____ memory and ____ memory. because?
episodic, semantic
- because patients (clive wearing) can have one memory type disrupted (episodic) while the other is completely intact (semantic/generic)
What happened to H.M?
had epilepsy and had bilateral removal of temporal lobes including hippocampus. THen experienced anterograde amnesia , but WM and LTM intact for past events
WHat is Korsakoff’s syndrome?
caused by thiamine deficiency but often associated with alcoholism. Also causes anterograde amnesia.
How did Edourad Claparede test if a Korsakoff’s patient had implicit memory? what did he find?
He shook her hand with a pin in his palm. The next day he went to shake her hand she withdrew but couldn’t explain why. Shows hat she doesn’t have episodic but does have implicit memory
What type of memory is damaged in anterograde amnesia
explicit memory
What was the cards experiment
korsakoff patients are shown cards with questions and then given the answers. said cards are put back in the deck and redrawn at which point they get the answer correct. But they don’t know why they know it. Meaning they have implicit but not explicit memory
How are amnesic patients results for implicit memory tests?
they score in the normal range and are indistinguishable from normal people
which damaged brain area is associated with loss of explicit memory
hippocampus
which damaged brain area is associated with implicit memory loss?
The amygdala
What was the blue light experiment
a blue light was followed by a horn. when later presented the stimulus patients with hippocampal damage couldn’t say which light had the horn but did have a fear response, while the opposite effect was found for subjects with amygdala damage
When is the optimal learning strategy?
multiple perspectives approach: building pathways from many different sources and connections with multiple ides. So regardless or how your tested when of your pathways can take you to the target information
What are the 3 principles of mnemonics?
- provide a structure.
- create a durable
record (e.g. visual images). - Guide retrieval by providing effective cues
Whats the difference b/w conceptual and perceptual fluency?
• Perceptual fluency – If you have perceived the stimulus, fluency develops for perceiving the stimulus • does not lead to conceptual fluency • specific to stimulus details • Conceptual fluency – If you have thought about the meaning, fluency develops for thinking about the meaning • does not lead to perceptual fluency • specific to perspective taken
give example of perceptual specificity (fill in the blanks)
- E.g. word fragment completion:
• having completed the fragment: __O__N__T__O__
• helps to complete: __O__N__T__O__
• but NOT to complete: C__G___I__I___N
– Even physical differences like font can be crucial
• Perceptual fluency is very specific to the physical details of the stimulus
Give example of conceptual specificity - if participants are given the prime “The boy took the money he earned from the paper route to the bink.” and must decide if last were is a word
- when the context matches the original priming context repetition priming is high
(The boy took the money he earned from the paper
route to the bank.” - When the context is differnt but semantically the same repetition priming is not as strong
(“She realized she needed cash and she headed for the bank.”) - when context is different in structure and meaning repetition priming is much reduced
(“She jumped into the river and she swam to the opposite bank.” )
What happened when HM performed the mirror task
H.M improved at the procedural task but did not remember performing the task
→ Suggested the existence of implicit memory
In the fame test, how do results differ based on attention
Full attention - more likely to correctly attribute familiarity to memory (controlled processes dominate)
divided attention - more likely to misattribute to fame (automatic processes dominate)
What did the moving dots experiment tell us about familiarity
subjects incorrectly attributed fluency due to less noise (dots) as being a sense of familiarity caused by seeing that word on the last list
