Chapter 7 Flashcards
What happend when eople were asked if they had seen nonexistent footage of a plane crash in amsterdam
more than half the People falsely reported having seen the video and when asked provided further details
What were the results in an experiment testing recall of an office?
Students remembered things about the office that were in line with their expectation of an office (ie. shelves with books) rather than what was actually there (no books)
What are transplant errors?
either
a) a bit of information encountered in one context is traansplanted into another because the two episodes become interwoven
b) elements that were part of your thinking get misremembered as being part of the actual event
how does understanding/ making connections help and hurt recall?
helps: because connections form retrieval paths to help you find the info
hurts: because you can lose sight of the borders between events and other related knowlegde
define intrusion errors
errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event
give an example of how understanding can cause intrusion errors
Participants given a prologue to a text recalled said text better BUT had 4 times more intrusion errors than those who did not receive the additional context
What is the DRM procedure? How does it show how connections hurt memory during recall?
a list of words with a common theme word are presented and later recalled. However the theme word (ie. sleep) is not on the list but because all other words are connected to it, people spontaneous remember having heard it as often as the actual words on the list
How does the DRM procedure show how connections hurt memory during recognition?
when asked to recognize presented words as being from the previous list, subjects are just as likely to recognize the theme word (sleep) as they are to recognize actual list words
What happens if subjects are warned about the nature o the DRM procedure? what does this tell us?
They continue to make errors. Shows us that the mechanisms leading to memory errors are automatic and cannot be inhibited
define schema and what it does
broad pattern of what’s normal in a situation - can be used to fill in gaps of a recalled event
- makes the world seem more normal
- makes the past seem more regular
How can schematic knowledge hurt recall?
if you forget a detail your schema will fill the gap with what is typical even if that’s not actually what was there. Creates a tendency towards regularization
How did bartlett demonstrate the tendency to regularization in his research
showed participants a native american story and asked them to recall. They changed or dropped items that were unfamiliar or inexplicable to make the story fit their existing schmatic framework. Their memories “cleaned up” the story to be more coherent
In what 3 ways can memory connection undermine accuracy
- confuse multiple episodes and other knowldge
- remember things as more regular (adding/subtracting elements to fit a schemata
- Remember whole events that never happened
Eye witness errors account for ____ of the false convictions
3/4 - more than all other causes combined
In Loftus and palmers smash/hit study what did they find?
participants asked how fast cars were going when they smashed into each-other (vs hit) estimated 20% higher speed. IN addition a week later they were asked in a neutral way about broken glass and the smashed group made this error
What did the studies about misleading information show
When given false suggestions about an event ( either from the researcher, another witness or even themselves) after some time is past up to 1/3 of subjects incorporate the misleading information into their recall
What makes an attempt at manipulating memory more successful
- plausible memories rather than implausible ones will more likely be remembered
- use “imagination inflation” and get them to vividly imagine the false event
what is consistent among all manipulation of memory experiments
regardless of procedure (subtle vs. blatant) or the materials it is always remarkably easy to alter someone’s memory of the past
what is the misinformation effect
Subjects memories are influenced by misinformation after the episode is over
Could subjects be biased to remember people differently?
yes with a few suggestions subjects remembered thin people as fat, old people as young etc.
How did experimenters show the misinformation effect on a larger scale (parents)
told students to retell an experience reported by their parents some were factitious others real. after repeated attempts 25% recall the imagined event
What happened when participants were provided with fake photo evidence
many participants remembered the event in vivid dtail although it never happned
- same effect with a simple unaltered photo to show they have acess to subjects childhoods
What experiment demonstrated childrens’ vulnerability to the misinformation effect?
Children took part in experiment with mr. sceince and then discussed ficticious events about the experience with their parents, when asked to later recall the event many included the fake details
What type of false memories can be implanted as shown by these experiments
- small details
- false memory of entire events
- emotional episodes (lost in mall)
- your own transgressions (spilling punch bowl)
how can false memories be concequential
- an implanted memory of being ill after eating something changed peoples eating habbits
- children falsely accuse adults of abuse
- people admit to crimes they never commited
Why can’t confidence be an indicator of acurate memories?
Because there are factors influencing confidence that have no affect on accuracy
ex. when shown blury footage and asked to identify the criminal. Groups who recieved positive feebn]back were much more confident than those who did not regardless of the accuracy of their choice
why can’t emotion be a detector of false memories
false memories are just as upsetting as real ones
Why can’t the remember/know distinction serve as an indicator of false memories
Although remember judgements are more often associated with true memories, the reverse pattern can also be observed
Faster response speed is associated with ______?
Accurate memories
So what indicator can we use to determine false memories
there is none, they are undetectable
Why isn’t forgetting the name of someone you just met not actually forgetting?
Because the problem was in acquisition, you never actually learned the name in the first place
What is a retention interval
amount of time that elapses b/w learning and retrieval. THe more time that passes the more likely you are to forget
Explain the “decay” theory of memory loss over time
over time memories fade or erode (brain cells die off). The passages/connections need to be constantly refreshed or they begin to weaken
Explain the interference theory of memory loss over time
TIme is correlated with but doesnt cause memory loss. Instead it just provides oppertunity for new learning, and this is what distrupts old memories
Explain the retrieval failure theory of memory loss over time
Memories are best recalled when in the same perspective as when they were learned. The higher the retention internal the higher the likelihood that your perspective will change leading to a retrieval failure
Which hpothesis (decay, interference theory or retrieval error) is correct?
They all are
What is partial retrieval failure
The TOT phenomenon (tip of toungue) when you know some aspects of the desired info but not all
What evidence showed that interference was more important in forgetting than decay?
A study in which rugby players were asked to recall the team they played a month ago. But for some team members there were many intervening games b/w while for others it was the last team they faced. Because the interval was held constant the difference in memory loss was the fault of intervening events.
why can’t new information co-exist with old memories?
- memories get interwoven and people get confused
2. new memories erase old memories
Can we undo forgetting? what were some suggestions?
Not really
hypnosis - memories are a mix of recollection, guesses and inferences
Drugs - are sedatives that just make people more willing to tlak, doesnt actually improve memory
Stimulation during brain stiulation - probably just halucinations or vivid reconstructions
The cognitive interview is the technique used by investigators to improve memory/ diminish forgetting, explain.
- encoding specificity: reinstate context (psych state)
- use all retrieval paths: recall everything in a variety of orders
- different perspective: diverse cues
- shows us that forgetting is in a sense retrieval failure and can be undone
How can we avoid forgetting?
By revisiting memories
- ex. students who take exams on materials they’ve learned are more likely to form long term memories
Why are memory errors and forgetting mostly advantageous
they are a side product of mechanisms that overwise help you.
a small price to pay
define autobiographical memory. what 3 factors are central to it?
memory that each of us contains for the full recollection of our lives. Shapes how we think of ourselves and how we behave
- involvement
- emotion
- long delay
what is the self-reference effect?
Memory advantage for materials pertaining to the self
- things you’ve said, adjectives that describe you, places you’ve been
define self schema and the errors it is susceptible to
reflection of your normal behaviour
- we are biased to you the past as being more like the present
- biased to emphasize consistency
How did experimenters show that having a positive view of the past can influence memory
students generally recall their highschool grades as better than they actually were
What is memory consolidation?
The process through which memories are biologically cemented in place
How does emotion promote memory
- emotional arousal promotes memory consolidation because it triggers a response in the amygdala which increases activity in the hippocampus (crucial for establishing memories)
- emotional events are important to you so you pay attention and mull over them after (rehearsal)
How does emotion change the way memories are percieved?
- there is a narrowing of attention to certain aspects (related to your goal) and those specific aspects will be held firmly in place while the rest of the event won’t be remembered
define flashbulb memories
memories of extraordinary clarity, typically highly emotional, retained despite the passage of time. Somethign so emotionally arousing that it leaves a ‘scar’
ie. where were you when you hear about 9/11
Are flashbulb memories accurate? what determines how accurate they are?
Same are while others have large scale errors
- determined by the consequentiality for the person
ie. someone living in NY with friends working in the trade centre will have a better flashbulb memory of 9/11 than someone in canada - how important they rate the event
why does consequentiality matter fro recollection?
Because the more important it is to you,the more you will think about it, talk about it and rehearse the memory in general!
in a study comparing americans recollections from 9/11 what results were found
many differences in their reports between days after and a year after. But memory stabalized between 1 and 3 years. Memory recall was better for those who engaged in convos about the incident. - even our most vivid memories are subject to error!
why are MOST traumatic experiences well remembered?
Because of consolidation which is promoted by emotional arousal in the amygdala
What are the hypotheses offering explanations for why some traumatic events are forgotten?
- events are forgotten due to young age
- events are accompanied by sleep deprivation, head injury or substance abuse which disrupt memory
- The extreme stress disrupts consolidation - no memory established
- highly painful memories are repressed (controversial) pushed from consciousness but can be recovered
list 4 reasons why repression is probably wrong
- traumatic events are TYPICALLY well remembered
- if repressed memories are forgotten this occurs at the same rate as ordinary memories
- The recovery of “repressed” memories may simply be that the victim is now willing to talk about the memories
- inability to recall might just be the fault of ordinary retrieval failure
what is troubling about recovering traumatic memories?
- they may be false (happens more often when recalling the distant past)
- These memories could serve as evidence for crimes
What was shown int he experiment using highschool yearbooks?
graduates from up to 50 yrs ago were asked to ither match a name with pictures or recall the name with a picture cue. Performance on recall was 90% correct after 34 years. and recall was 60% after 7 yrs
what was shown in the experiment testing students on recall of a course they had taken
there was an initial period of forgetting during the first 3 years, but after performance stabilized and they remembered the same amount after 10 years as they did after 3
Why does some information not seem to be affected by retention interval?
- how much you are effected by the passage of time depends on how well the info was originally established in memory. If learned very well (ie. names of students you see everyday) those memories will experience only a slight impact from retention interval
what happens when a memory reaches permastore
it is immune to the passage of time
What two steps can be taken to limit the effect of the retention interval
- Learning the material really well to establish it in memory
- Revisiting the memories periodically
In autobiographical memory which portions of an individuals life are especially well and poorly remembered
- Poor memory for early years (before age 3) b/c brains aren’t developed and no skills for establishment
- Best memory for adolescence and young adulthood (highschool and college) are best remembered - called the reminiscence bump
WHat are the general principles that apply to all memories
- all memories depend on connections
- connections promote retrieval
- dense connections allow memories to blur
- connections fade with time and are filled with shematic knowledge
high conceptual learning (generating an antonym) leads to better performance on _________ memory tests
DIRECT
high perceptual learning (seeing only the target word with no antonym) leads to better performance on _________ memory tests
INDIRECT
example of direct memory test
old-new decisions
example of indirect memory testing
tachsidostopic identification
Whats the record keeping model?
– Searching a storehouse of records of past events
– Finding the memory is like re‐experiencing it
• Appealing in some ways
• Fits with the computer metaphor
what is the constructionalist model?
– Recollecting the past is a process of reconstruction. The past is recreated or inferred, not re‐experienced.
whats proactive vs. retroactive interference
– retroactive interference
• new learning interferes with old
– proactive interference
• old learning compromising new
what is retrieval inhibition?
– recalling part of the story results in poorer recall for the rest of the story later on
_ implication for eye witnesses
what is retrieval induced forgetting (fruits and vehicles experiment)
• Forgetting results from interference by previously recalled information
- given lists of fruits and vehicles
- cued for some fruits
- memory impared for fruits not cued, but memory intact for all vehicles not cued
Explain distortions based on perspective - the soap opera effect
story persuades subject to identify with certain character and when recalling their memory favors the perosn they identified with (the skier was too slow vs. the boat wasn’t close enough)
how can shematic influences lead us to remember new sentences as old
new sentence is related to one on the previous list, and and both fit the schema
how can prior knowledge interfere with memory?
a people given a story either told its about hitler or gerald. Those who recieved hitler confused their knowledge about hitler with their knowledge on the story
What were the results of Holst and Pezdek’s bank robbery experiment testing false recognition
people recalled events that are typical to a robbery even though those things weren’t specifically said by the witness. even more false reports if given misleading cue from attorney
in the stop/yeild sign experiment what happened?
if misled, participants chose the wrong sign, when given the chance to try again guesses were random
What happened in the home buyer vs. burgler experiment testing perspective change
subjects read in one perspective (burglar/home buyer) at recall they were either given the same or different perspective. With new perspective subjects remembered 7-10% more
