Forgetting and false memories

Question 1

what is forgetting?

Answer 1

• when we talk about forgetting were interested in how information is lost from long-term memory
• the inability to recall something now that could be recalled on an earlier occasion (Tulving 1974)

Question 2

what did Ebbinghaus (1879) suggest?

Answer 2

• self-experimentation
• novel nonsense words
• encoding method
  - train to criterion
• retrieval method
  - savings in learning

Question 3

what is the forgetting curve?

Answer 3

• initial quick loss
• by day 1 only 33% left
• by day 6 only 25% left
• decrease in memory retrieval performance is non-linear
• fast forgetting initially more gradual forgetting later
• associative process
• variations in difficulty
• stress/sleep

Question 4

what are the modern methods?

Answer 4

• Ebbinghaus methods are very labour intensive
• how do we examine memory performance today
• recognition
  - trying to pick out presented old items from new items
• free recall
  - effortful retrieval from memory without external cues
• cued recall
  - retrieval from memory using an associated cue or hint

Question 5

what is the interference theory?

Answer 5

• lots of content in memory
• why do we forget
• memories interfere with each other and compete for storage

Question 6

what is positive interference?

Answer 6

• sometimes old memories seems to stop new memories
• called pro-active because the effects of the interference are felt in the future
• this can be really damaging to our behaviour
  - navigating a new house
• but this can be really helpful
  - general likes and dislikes are not based on most recent experiences
• typically thought to be due to problems with retrieval
• people search through irrelevant memories and this is where interference occurs

Question 7

what was Bäuml & Kliegl 2013 study?

Answer 7

• learn list of words
• conditions:
  - remember PI (study list 1, remember list 1, study list 2)
  - no PI (filler task, study list 2)
  - forget PI (study list 1, forget list 1, study list 2)
• these data suggest PI is controllable
• this directed forgetting technique is very effective

Question 8

what is retroactive interference?

Answer 8

• sometimes new memories seem to overwrite or push out older memories
• called retroactive because the effects of the interference are felt on memories from the past
• can be damaging to behaviour (learning languages)
• but also helpful (changing faces of those that we know)

Question 9

what are the effects of retroactive interference?

Answer 9

• seems to be strongest when the new info resembles the old info
• misra et al., 2012 studied picture naming in bilinguals
• if they named picture in english first then time to name in chinese was impaired
• suggests that the formation of new memories leads to inhibition of competing old information

Question 10

how do we understanding forgetting?

Answer 10

• PI and RI suggest that the hard disk analogy is a poor one
• memories are associated
• memories have semantic content
• that is memory is relational
• these properties lead to interference resulting in storage and retrieval issues

Question 11

what is cued recall?

Answer 11

• recall is better when cues are provided
• generally better than free recall
• relevant cues are anything that is associated with the item at time of encoding
• associated items can be external such as the context/room in which it is learnt
• can be internal e.g., mood state

Question 12

what did Godden and Baddeley 1975 research?

Answer 12

• forgetting is greatest when there’s a poor match between the information in the memory trace and that available at retrieval
• encoding specificity principle

Question 13

why do we forget?

Answer 13

• because old (PI) and new (RI) info interferes with retrieval
• the retrieval context doesn’t match encoding

Question 14

what is consolidation?

Answer 14

• new memories are in a fragile state and need to undergo a transfer to long-lasting memories
• transfer from hippocampus to the neo-cortical memories
• when recent memories are retrieved the hippocampus is more active
• at this point assumed to be vulnerable to interference

Question 15

what are the failures of consolidation?

Answer 15

• failure to rehearse
• failure to sleep
• intoxication
• Moulton et al., 2015
  - drinking alcohol before encoding impairs memory formation
  - what about drinking alcohol after encoding
  - prediction: alcohol should disrupt new memories so less interference
  - confirmed this pattern - better memory for info encoded before alcohol

Question 16

what is re-consolidation?

Answer 16

• suggests a paradox of memory
• successful retrieval potentially weakens that memory
• retrieval places memory in a labile state and can modified
• huge implications for the clinic and society e.g, anxiety, phobia

Question 17

what are false memory?

Answer 17

• we’ve seen that memory is subject to errors and interference
• it is not a veridical copy of experience
• it is fragile and can be malleable
• this has huge implications for society
• memory is not veridical
• can be distorted in various ways
  - imagination
  - source monitoring errors
  - info from before & after memory event
• reconsolidation might be key here

Question 18

what did Loftus find?

Answer 18

• it is claimed that the memory of the event was significantly altered by the prompt
• a false memory was created
• are there alternative accounts of these effects
• problems with this interpretation

Question 19

what are the problems?

Answer 19

• maybe the prompts are recalling true past memories
• smashing might evoke a memory of a recent car crash with broken glass
• this might conflict with recall of the event and so a false memory hasn’t been created
• can we develop a better test of false memory
• are these just demand characteristics
• when a participants response reflects an expectation brought about by the experimenter rather than the manipulation per se
• in car crash experiment participants reads smashed and concludes a higher speed is desired by the experiment
• this is difficult to control for and it should be considered an issue with this type of research

Question 20

what did Wade, Garry, Read & Lindsay 2002 study?

Answer 20

• interview 1
  - free recall
  - guided imagery
  - subjects given photo booklet and asked to focus on recalling the forgotten events each night
• waited 3-7 days
• interview 2
  - guided imagery techniques
• waited 3-7 days
  - guided imagery techniques
• 50% of the participants in this experiment generated a false memory

Question 21

can the problems be solved?

Answer 21

• Laney et al., 2008
• developed a false memory for childhood likes & dislikes for food
• red herring - planted cues to lead participants towards another purpose to the experiment
• at the end they asked participants to openly state what they thought the purpose was
• found that Ps who believed the red herring as the purpose still showed false memories
• those who believed the true purpose showed equivalent levels of false memories