Chapter 7-LTM: Encoding, Retrieval & Consolidation Flashcards
Encoding
Acquiring information and transforming it into memory
Retrieval
Transferring information from LTM to working memory
Maintenance rehearsal
Repetition of stimuli that maintains information but does not transfer it to LTM
Elaborative rehearsal
Using meanings and connections to help transfer information to LTM
Levels of Processing Theory
Memory depends on how information is encoded
Depth of processing:
- Shallow processing
- little attention to meaning
- focus on physical features
- poor memory - Deep processing
- close attention to meaning
- better memory
Coglab: Levels of Processing Theory
Craik and Tulving
Three tasks:
- Case (physical): capital letters?
- Rhyme (phonetic): rhyme with train?
- Sentence (semantic): fit in sentence
Measured recognition performance
- incidental memory task
- not told to memorize
Craik and Tulving levels of Processing experimental results
Synonym recognition had the greatest recall (deep), rhyme recognition, then letter recognition last (shallow)
Most people use semantic information as a cue to retrieval
Circular Reasoning
Which task causes deeper processing?
-using a word in a sentence or deciding how useful an object might be on a desert island?
Can empirically measure the memory trace in each condition
-conclude that stronger memory trace must have been caused by deeper processing
But depth of processing has not been defined independently of memory performance
-therefore this is circular reasoning
Limits to levels of Processing theory
If the test asked you whether there was a word on the list that rhymed with a particular test item, you would do better for those items you made a rhyme judgement on in Phase I than the items that you processed deeply
Argues against levels of Processing. Consistency between first and second phase are important
Slide in lecture
Factors that aid encoding
- visual imagery
- self reference effect
- generation effect
- organizing to be remembered info
- relating words to survival value
- retrieval practice
Visual imagery
Visualize pair interacting (better memory)
Boat-tree
Self reference effect
Association with yourself allows you to remember better
Generation effect, Slameka and Graf
Reading group: read these pairs of related words (e.g. king-crown)
Generate group: fill in the blank with a word that is related to the first word (e.g. king-cr____)
Test phase: king WHAT
Result: the generate group learned 28% more word pair than the reading group (creating cue on own)
Organizing info (Bower)
One group learned the words in four organized trees for 1 minute each and could recall 73 words
The other group learned the same words but randomly placed under trees. They learned only 21 words
Organization, comprehension and memory
Branford and Johnson
Presented participants with difficult to comprehend info
EG 1: first saw a pic that helped explain the info
EG 2: saw the pic after reading the passage
CG: did not see pic
EG 1 outperformed the others
-having a mental framework of comprehension aided memory encoding and retrieval
Relating words to survival value
Try to see if these words are related to your survival
You can remember better this way
Retrieval Practice Effect
Group 1: studied and tested all words/ all sessions
Group 2: studied only words missed in previous tests; tested on all words
Group 3: studied all words; tested only on words missed in previous test
Group 3 later performance< than groups 1 and 2
Shows testing memory retrieval can improve memory
Main idea of encoding?
You try to associate new information with something you already have in your mind
More association=more remembering
Most of our failures of memory are failures to _____
Retrieve
Location can act as a retrieval cue
Cued-Recall
A cue is presented to aid recall
- increases performance over free recall
- retrieval cues are most effective when they are created by the person who uses them
E.g. remembering nouns using self generated retrieval cues is greater than remembering nouns using other person generated retrieval cues
Coglab: Encoding Specificity (background)
Tulving: The Encoding Specificity Principle
Remembering an event depends on the interaction between the properties of the encoded event and the properties of the encoded retrieval information (consistency between learning and testing)
You can’t say things like:
Recognition is easier than recall
Deep processing is better than shallow
Pictures are recalled better than words
Meaningless because the encoding and retrieval properties are not mentioned
Coglab: Encoding specificity experiment
Tulving
- target words presented alone at study and some with a cue
- at test there are three conditions: no cue, cue, diff cue
- what determines your ability to recall a particular target is the interaction between how you processed it at encoding and how you process it at test
- if the cue changes, it is likely you will process the item in a slightly different way than when the same cue is presented again
Encoding specificity results
Study phase:
Strong associates: white-black
Weak associates: train-black
Test phase:
Strong cues: white
Weak cues: train
More accurate at recalling the target when the cue at encoding matched the cue at retrieval
Encoding specificity: Baddleys “diving experiment”
We learn information together with its context
Best recall occurred when encoding and retrieval occurred in the same location
State dependent learning
Learning is associated with a particular internal state
-better memory if a person’s mood at encoding matches mood during retrieval
Distributed versus massed practice effect
Difficult to maintain close attention throughout a long study session
Studying after a break gives feedback about what you already know
Consolidation
Transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state
Synaptic consolidation: occurs at synapses, happens rapidly
Systems consolidation: involves gradual reorganization of circuits in brain
Muller and Pilzecker experiment: one group learns 2 list one after another, the other group has a delay. Second group does better
Information storage at the synapse
Herb
Learning and memory are represented in the brain by physiological changes at the synapse
Results in a neural record of experience
Long term potentiation
Enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation
Structural changes and enhanced responding
Standard model of consolidation
Retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation; after consolidation hippocampus is no longer needed
Reactivation: hippocampus replays neural activity associated with memory
Fragility of new memories
Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events prior to trauma
Graded amnesia: memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events
Systems consolidation-multiple trace model of consolidation
Multiple trace model of consolidation
- hippocampus is activated during retrieval of both recent and remote memories (Gilboa and coworkers)
- response of the hippocampus can change over time (Viskontas and coworkers): experiment with alligator and candle. Hippocampus response remained the same did pictures that were remembered at both the 10 mins and 1 week but decreased for pictures for which the remember response was absent at 1 week
Nader et al
Condition 1: anisomycin is injected on day 1 before consolidation, so no memory for the tone shock pairing is formed
Condition 2: anisomycin is injected on day 2, after consolidation, so memory for the tone shock pairing remains
Condition 3: anisomycin is injected after reactivation on day 2, so the memory for the tone shock pairing is eliminated
Hupback et al
Condition 1: list A in blue basket on day 1 and then on day 2 they have list B on table but ask “remember day 1”.. test is to recall list A
Condition 2: list A in blue basket on day 1, day two is just list B on table..test is to recall list A
Condition 1 resulted in more intrusions from list B compared to condition 2
