Memory Flashcards
what is coglish?
analogy of human memory to a computer
3 stages of memory
acquisition
retention
retrieval
what is acquisition?
encoding
the process of attending to a stimulus and encoding into memory
e.g. saving a file onto a flash drive
what is retention?
the preservation of stored material over an interval
e.g. if the file stays on the drive it is said to be retained
what is retrieval?
the process of getting information back for use so that it can be worked with
e.g. opening stored file
differences between computer and human memory
computer memory is passive
human memory is active
human memory involves perception as observer must infer what has occurred
human memory relies on eyewitness testimony which can be effected by post-event misinformation - current context can effect the way something is remembered
difficult for human memory to recall when times were different due to change in world view - current interpretation of the world effects inference
the multi-store model of memory
introduced late 1960s
information moved from one compartment to another
3 different types of storage compartments in the MSM
sensory
short-term
long-term
sensory store in MSM
upon initial presentation of a stimulus, we immediately form a sensory memory of it
e.g. auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, tactile feature
sight: iconic memory - very short (few hundred milliseconds)
sound: echoic memory - important for understanding speech (~4 seconds)
large but brief
short term store in MSM
consciousness
items that we are currently aware of allows us to experience the world in an integrated fashion
what happened 1 second ago is not lost but integrated into current experience
limited capacity - 7+/- 2 items (Miller phone numbers)
information can be lost via decay or displacement
limited duration - 20 seconds if no rehearsal
define decay
with time it’s like the memory trace rusts
define displacement
new items enter STM and knock others out
types of rehearsal and definitions
maintenance rehearsal: keeps items active in STM
elaborative rehearsal: transfers items from STM to LTM
how can you increase the capacity of STM?
chunking
- if items can be grouped together such that they form larger wholes, capacity of STM can be increased greatly
- occurs with expertise:
- chess master experiments: shown chess board for 5 seconds, then asked to report the position of the pieces.
- With common chess arrangement: Chess masters did much better than novices
- With random positioning of pieces, experts were no better than novices
long term store in MSM
information passed from STM to LTM through elaborative rehearsal
many types of LTM
levels of processing (LoP)
- Memory is determined by how information is processed, not by “what box it’s in.” (i.e., STM, LTM)
- Shallow processing: processing of superficial features; physical properties; not good memory
- Deep processing: processing for meaning; results in better memory
LoP study: Craik and Tulving 1975
- Have people study concrete nouns, but have them process them during study in different ways: to process the case of the letters in the word (shallow), the rhyme of the word (medium) or for meaning of the word (deep).
- Results (percent recalled):
o case: 17%
o rhyme: 37%
o sentence: 65%
types of LTM
episodic
semantic
episodic memory
context-specific - occurring in a time and place in your life
obeys principles of encoding specificity
encoding specificity
episodic memory is based on retrieval cues which are cues present at the time items were learned
matching retrieval cues matches the encoding and retrieval context
examples of encoding specifity
o Baddeley and the land/water study.
o State-dependent Learning: match between “states”
(e.g., mood, drug influence) of encoding and retrieval
reveals better memory.
semantic memory
general memory - not tied to particular context e.g. definitions
representations form a semantic network
semantic network
cluster of related concepts that form a schema
evidence for semantic network
semantic priming
if a work is processed immediately preceding a second related work, the processing of the second word is enhanced
trace-driven passive memory
a trace is what is left behind in memory after an event has occurred
can be retrieved at any time after the event has occurred
random parts of a trace deteriorates with time but is not altered by schemas
flashbulb memories
occurs for surprising vivid experiences e.g. disasters, assassinations
easily recoverable memories with details
possible to remember where you were, who you were with, how you found out
easy to recount details
schema-driven active memory
- Schema: a set of expectations about the way the world works that affects the information we attend to and remember.
- Memory is not a literal re-experiencing depending on current expectations, interpretation and biases, memory of the past will vary.
- Bartlett: One of the first memory theorists to really develop the notion of the schema in memory
o Remembering (1932) - revolutionised the field
o BARTLETT ARGUED SCHEMAS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN MEMORY
Bartlett’s findings - Method of serial reproduction
- Transformations were in the direction of accepted conventional representations (drawings become more “normal”)
- Features that could not be labeled were elaborated until a recognised form was produced (i.e., weird bits are transformed into something familiar - odd wing becomes a tail)
- Once a recognisable form is produced, simplification into something more conventional (e.g., cat)
- Assignment of a name influences what is reproduced (“Portrait d’homme” - “Portrait of a man”)
- Preservation of certain details once recognised form is achieved (e.g., tail on cat)
Bartlett’s findings - War of the ghost
- Story became simplified and made more coherent; many of the details that weren’t crucial to the general gist were lost
- Bartlett: “No trace of an odd, or supernatural element is left: we have a perfectly straightforward story of a fight and a death.”
- This simplification and coherence was achieved by:
o Omissions: ghosts omitted early; the wound became a matter of flesh, not spirit
o Rationalisation: retelling the story of what must have occurred from the storyteller’s world outlook (evidence of inferences in memory processes)
o Transformation of details into something more familiar and conventional
o Changing order of events In short, people tended to leave out parts that were unconventional, and fill in bits with information that was consistent with their viewpoint
Illusory truth effect
Vellani et al. (2023)
- Compared people’s belief in and tendency to share repeated versus novel statements
- Half the statements were true and half were false
- Two experiments:
o Experiment 1: health related misinformation – e.g. removing sugar from diet
o Experiment 2: general knowledge misinformation – e.g. cyclops
