Chapter 7- Long term memory- Encoding, Retrieval, Consolidation Flashcards
Encoding
The process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM
Retrieval
Bringing information into consciousness by transferring it from LTM to working memory.
Maintenance rehearsal
Rehearsal without any consideration of meaning or making connections with other information, like when you’re rehearsing a phone number. Involves structural and phonemic processing. This usually results in little or no encoding
Elaborative rehearsal
Remembering by considering meaning or making connections to other information, like if trying to memorize a phone number and the last 4 digits are the year you were born. Involves semantic processing. Results in better memory than maintenance rehearsal
Levels of processing theory (Craik and Lockhart)
States that memory depends on the depth of processing that an item receives. Depth of processing distinguishes between shallow and deep processing. Deep processing results in better memory across numerous encoding tasks, on both recognition and recall tasks, and regardless of whether participants expect to be tested.
Shallow processing
Involves little attention to meaning, like when a phone number is repeated over and over or attention is focused on the physical features of words
Deep processing
Involves close attention and elaborative rehearsal that focuses on an item’s meaning and it’s relationship with something else. This results in better memory than shallow processing
Craik and Tulving levels of processing study
Participants were presented a list of words and were asked 3 different types of questions- questions about physical features (shallow processing), rhyming (deeper processing, and a fill in the blank question (deepest processing). When given a memory test, it was found that participants were more likely to remember the words if they engaged in the deepest level of processing. This was true across encoding tasks, on both recognition and recall tests, and regardless of if participants expect a final test.
Paired associate learning
A list of word pairs is presented. Later, the first word of the pair is presented and the participant’s task is to remember the word it was paired with.
Bower and Winzenz visual imagery study
Tested whether using visual imagery (generating images in your head to connect words visually) can enhance memory. They used paired associate learning. Participants were presented with 15 word pairs. One group was told to silently repeat the word pairs, the other group was told to create a mental picture where the two words were interacting. It was found that the participants who created images remembered more than twice as many words as the participants who had just repeated word pairs.
Self reference effect
Memory is better if you are asked to relate a word to yourself. This is likely because the words are linked to a well known subject (yourself) and statements that result in more detailed representations in a person’s mind results in better memory.
Self reference effect study Leshikar
Participants looked at a series of adjectives. In the self condition participants indicated whether the adjectives described themselves. In the common condition, participants indicated whether the word was commonly used. In a memory test, memory was better in the self condition than the common condition.
Generation effect
Generating material yourself, rather than passively receiving it, enhances learning and retention. Extra work at encoding leads to stronger memory.
Slameka and Graf generation effect study
Participants learned word pairs in a read group (just reading the words) or in a generate group (filling in the blank with a word related to the first word). Memory was improved in the generate group.
Retrieval cue
A word or other stimulus that helps a person remember information stored in memory. Remembering words in a certain category could serve as a retrieval cue (the word apple could serve as a retrieval cue for other fruit names). Bower found that organizing information is related categories enhanced memory ability
Bransford and Johnson organization study
When reading a very disorganized passage, participants had a difficult time remembering it. Once they were able to form a mental picture of what was going on in the story, memory improved.
How does relating words to survival value enhance memory?
Narine presented participants with a list of words. They were asked to rate each word based on how relevant it was to finding food/supplies if the participants were stranded on a desert island. On a memory test, it was found that the “survival” task generated better memory than other elaborative coding procedures.
Retrieval practice effect
Karpicke and Roediger- participants studied a list of Swahili- English word pairs, the the participants were assigned to groups where the amount of studying or testing of the words was manipulated. Group 3 was tested less on the pairs of words as the experiment progressed- a word pair was no longer tested once it had been remembered correctly. Group 3 performed much worse on a memory test than the other groups, where only studying was decreased
Testing effect
Enhanced performance due to retrieval practice.
Elaboration
Thinking about what you’re reading and giving it meaning by relating it to other things you know. This helps transfer the material you’re learning into LTM.
Why is testing an effective study method?
Taking an active role in creating material is a powerful way to achieve strong encoding and long term retrieval. Testing is another form of generation, and making up questions is just as helpful as doing pre-existing questions. Self testing indicates what you know and increases your ability to remember what you know later.
Why is organizing material an effective study method?
It creates a framework that helps relate some information to other information, making the material more meaningful and strengthening encoding. Organization also helps to reduce the load on memory. It can be achieved by making outlines or “trees”.
Spacing effect
Memory is better when studying is broken into a number of short sessions, with breaks in between, than when it is concentrated into one long session. This is true even when total study time is the same.
What techniques are considered “illusions of reading”?
Rereading material appears to be effective due to greater fluency- repetition causes the reading to be easier. It also creates the familiarity effect- the material becomes familiar, so you interpret that as understanding. Highlighting also seems to be an elaborative process, but often there is little deep processing of the material.
Why are handwritten notes generally better than typed notes?
Laptop notes are faster, but also tend to contain more word for word transcription of the lecture. Typed notes generally result in shallower processing.
Retrieval cues
Words or other stimuli that help us remember information stored in our memory. Location can also serve as a retrieval cue for memories associated with that place.
Free recall
A participant is asked to recall stimuli- the stimuli could be words or events. This method was used in the serial position curve experiment.
Cued recall
The participant is presented with retrieval cues to aid in the recall of previously experienced stimuli. These cues are typically words or phrases.
