Long-term memory Flashcards
what is Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) modal memory
multistore theory in which memory involves the transfer of information from active short-term storage to passive long-term storage via rehearsal
retrieval involves reactivation of relevant information from the long-term store, copied back into the short-term store where it can be acted upon
what did Ebbinhgaus (1885) contribute to the study of memory ?
wanted an experimental approach to memory using simple quantitative measures.
characterised memory as the storage and retrieval of information
decided prior knowledge was a confounding effect
however this misguided subsequent demonstrations of the importance of understanding and organisation during learning
however principles such as the forgetting curve and primacy and recency effects are valid
studying familiar meaningful material rather than nonsense syllables allows experimental study of a wider range of factors at both encoding and retrieval stages
What are explicit measures of memory?
those that ask people to engage in conscious acts of recollection
recall: free and cued
recognition: yes/no or choice (measured on confidence scale)
What are implicit measures of memory ?
tests memory in action
Performance: relearning and improvement
Priming: RT and word completion tasks e.g T_B__
Does repetition improve memory?
No
Blake et al. (2015)
repetition leads to poor memory
took stimuli participants should have good memory for and demonstrated participants have poor memory for them
given real apple logo among line up of similar distractors
50% identify it correctly
when asked to draw the logo, most people miss key basic features
Does the intention to remember information improve memory?
No
Hyde and Jenkins (1973)
compared incidental and intentional learning
participants were presented with material
intention manipulation: were / weren’t told they would be tested on it
depth processing manipulation: capital letters or describe pleasantness
results:
marginal improvement when the intention is to learn
better memory when making pleasantness judgements
depth of processing more important than intention to learn in memory
What factors affect information encoding
attention
deep encoding
elaborative encoding
desirable difficulties
How does attention affect memory?
Craik et al. (1996)
Compared how varying degrees of attention paid to a word pair learning task affected subsequent memory of word-pairs.
Baseline: full attention - 9/12 word-pairs recalled
Combined word pair learning task with reaction time to stimuli on computer screen task Manipulated level of attention focus on reaction time both equally memory task
Results
memory worse in all cases compared to baseline although does improve with increased attention
Explanation
Memory best when word-pair task has greatest attentional weight
Perceptual load
Bottleneck: semantics not processed
What effect does space have on memory?
Distributed vs Massed practise
presented with words to learn for a later memory test
each word is shown twice
manipulation
massed practise: appear immediately after each other
distributed practise: words in between
Results
objective memory
significant improvement for distributed practise over massed practise
overwhelmingly repeated
perceived memory
asked people to rate how well they thought they would remember later on
people thought they would learn better in mass practise case
(may pay more attention to words second time, especially if they had been forgotten .’. remember them later)
What evidence supports the idea of ‘desirable difficulties’ (Bjork, 1994)?
Learning needs to be an active process as this ‘forces’ the extraction of meaning.
Morgan et al (1988)
Manipulation: amount of detail in lecture handout
full text (students express preference for this)
headings
no handout
Results: measured by test score the following week
no difference between full text and no handout (performed equally)
significantly better performance when only headings
Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014)
Manipulation: typing or handwriting notes
handwriting forces people to write fewer words so they tended to condense and extract the meaning
linked to better memory and conceptual understanding
(again doesn’t align with students preferences)
How does retrieval affect memory?
the act of retrieval improves later memory
repeated testing
distributed testing
perhaps when we get something wrong we pay more attention to it and so are more likely to get it right the next time
What is more important studying or testing?
Testing
(Karpicke and Roediger, 2008)
Tested memory forSwahili-English word pairs e.g mashua – boat
Manipulated amount of testing/ studying done
study and test - every pairing always occurred in both the study and test cycle
No study no test: items dropped out after the first time they were recalled from both the study and test list (only see the ones they got wrong)
Study no test: study at each cycle but dropped from test condition after one right answer
No study but test: selectively dropped out of study list but tested every cycle
Results >75% recall study and test <25% recall no study no test 25% recall study no test >75% recall no study but test
Explanation: pay attention to wrong answers to have better memory next time around
how does the level of processing affect memory?
Craik and Lockhart (1972)
more we process information in terms of its meaning, rather than shallow perceptual features, better it will be remembered later on
Manipulation
capital letters?
rhymes with ‘train’?
animal?
fits the sentence: “He saw a __ in the street”?
Vast difference in % correct recognition as a function of the task participants will perform
Confounding factor:
Time taken in processing
focus on perceptual features may hinder words being read properly
How does elaborating on information affect learning?
Brashaw and Anderson (1982)
The degree to which we’re able to elaborate on information in terms of meaning at the time of encoding makes for better memories
Task: learn one fact for each 28 historical figures included in study
Manipulation
one fact each
3 facts each - not related
3 facts each - related
Results
better recall when learning extra related information than single facts
process of understanding and integrating with prior knowledge
What effect does context have?
Bransford and Johnson (1972) Read a passage of 18 sentences manipulation no context two words context 'washing clothes'
results understanding no context: 2.3 context 4.5 recall no context: 2.8 context 5.8
understanding leads to dramatically improved memory later on
