Methods and Principles Flashcards
Name an important distinction in learning when measuring memory
Explicit memorisation is called intentional learning (participant given explicit instructions to learn). The alternative is that a person just happens to learn something during the course of other activities. This is called incidental learning (instructions to attend to and think about the information, often with a cover task).
What two ways are described in which you can rehearse information? How effective are they?
When people try to learn,
they may simply repeat the information over and over. This is called rote
rehearsal. In general, recall memory does not improve much with rote rehearsal,
and recognition is only slightly improved
In contrast, the more people think about the meaning of information, the more likely they are to use knowledge that they already have, making inferences and elaborating on the to-be-learned information. This connecting and generation of knowledge to build on the information that is given is called elaborative rehearsal.
How do the two different types of learning differ in their levels of processing?
Information that receives little elaboration is processed less. For example, suppose a task is to think about a set of words and only say whether each is printed in upper- or lowercase letters. This is a shallow level of processing because it requires little attention to meaning and prior knowledge. However, if the task is to determine whether the word makes sense in a sentence this is a deeper level of processing. In some sense, shallow processing evokes more incidental learning, whereas elaborative processing is more like intentional learning, although there may not be an overt effort to memorise.
What is meant by mental imagery and how is it involved in memory?
One way to elaborate on information, and engage in deeper processing, is to use mental imagery to create a mental picture of what is being learned. The use of mental images improves memory (better than rehearsing according to Stanford students.)
What theory did the benefit to memory of mental images lead to?
dual code theory; According to this view, people store information in memory in at least two forms: a verbal/linguistic code of what they are reading or hearing and a mental image code that they create from their imaginations.
Why does dual code theory suggest that memory improves through mental imagery?
These two codes can be associated to each other if they refer to the same thing. Memory improves because, with mental imagery, there are multiple memory retrieval pathways to the same information and more memory traces containing the desired information. This
makes successful remembering more likely.
For the levels of processing framework, the more information is elaborated, the better it is remembered. What effect demonstrates this? Describe it
the generation effect: Information that a person generates is remembered better than material that is simply read or heard
Name and describe three other effects related to the generation effect
A generation effect is also observed when people solve a puzzle or a problem. This is called the “aha” effect (generating their own solution vs someone else or reading about it.)
memory is better when people actually perform a task rather than watch someone else do it or read about it. This is the enactment effect. However, note that this memory benefit only occurs when a person enacts only some of the items, not all of them. People are mentally organizing and structuring information differently when they perform the action
the production effect, in which people are asked to either say aloud what they are trying learn, or read it silently. The finding is that people remember more if they read things aloud (they “produce” them) than if they do not. Same with mouthing, whispering or typing.
What is meant by automaticity of encoding?
Memory can be similar with incidental and intentional encoding, depending on how people think about the information at the time and intentional/incidental effects may not be present on certain memory tests, such as recognition. In some cases, there is an automaticity of encoding in which information is stored in memory with little effort. Because the information is automatically encoded, further efforts at learning do not provide additional benefit.
What types of information, if any, are more likely to be encoded than others?
knowledge of event frequency, time, and location.
What is meant by a nominal and functional stimulus?
It is possible that the researcher and the participant may interpret the task in different ways. What an experimenter thinks the participant is memorizing is the nominal stimulus. The stimulus the participant identifies and thinks about is the functional stimulus. Usually these are the same thing, but in some cases they are very different. (DAX= nonsense or name)
Why does it matter what type of stimulus the subject is memorising?
Memory can vary depending on the nature of the materials being memorized.
What does the concept of savings demonstrate about memory?
First, this nicely illustrates the fact that although we may not be consciously aware of knowledge from our past it may still affect our ability to learn and remember. Second, it shows that information we already know something about, even if we’re not conscious of it, is easier to remember than something we encounter for the first time. In general, the more information taps into our prior knowledge, the easier it is to remember.
Are pictures or words remembered better? Give a name for this effect and why it occurs (2)
pictures are remembered better than words. This is the
picture superiority effect. It occurs because we are better attuned to processing
perceptual than linguistic information. Also, a picture is more likely to be unique
and contain a higher degree of detail.
How can pictures vary in how easily they are remembered? (2)
depending on how meaningful they are. For example, people find it easier to remember pictures of faces than pictures of snowflakes or inkblots. Moreover, the picture superiority effect can be magnified with dynamic images (e.g., video) over static images
Despite these behavioural differences, are there any differences between words and images neurologically in regards to memroy?
Yes, the right part of the hippocampus is more active for processing pictures, whereas the left is more active for processing words.
prolly not necessary
Furthermore, using fMRI scans, Vaidya, Zhao, Desmond, and Gabrieli found that during the encoding of pictures there is bilateral activation of the fusiform area, the lingual-medial occipital lobe, and the inferior temporal gyrus. Moreover, a subset of these areas, namely the fusiform area and the inferior temporal gyrus, is also activated during retrieval for items studied as pictures, even if the memory probes are words.
Describe an effect which describes how the content of information (word) decides its easiness in remembering it
It has also been found that concrete information—words like “car,” “house,” or “book”—are remembered better than abstract information—words like “truth,” “betrayal,” or “redemption.” This is the concreteness effect.
Give an explanation for the concreteness effect
Concreteness may aid memory because it involves more perceptual qualities: Concrete information is more likely to be supported by an additional image code.
Are there neurological differences between concrete and non concrete information?
Concrete words are associated with greater basal extrastriate cortex activation, suggesting more perceptual processing (although there is some involvement for abstract information as well. Finally, there is greater activation of the right hemisphere for concrete words, whereas abstract words tend to involve more left hemisphere processing
How does emotion effect memory? (3)
Emotional memories are often better remembered than neutral memories. Moreover, emotional memories are more vivid and contain more detail. Emotional information seems, over the long term, to be preferred for consolidation during sleep.
Why may emotion effect memory in this way?
More emotionally intense events may affect memory because of their more primitive, visceral, and survival-based qualities. In contrast, emotional, but less intense, events may influence memory based on their seeming importance.
What is meant by the Pollyanna principle?
In addition to emotional intensity, memory may be affected by emotional valence, that is, whether an event is emotionally positive (e.g., “courage”) or negative (e.g., “ordeal”). According to the Pollyanna principle, there is a
tendency to remember positive information better than negative information.
When does the Pollyanna principle not hold true?
circumstances where negative information is remembered better than positive information, such as with flashbulb memories for surprising, and often negative, events. Negative words are learned faster than emotionally neutral words (but not positive). Finally, relative to neutral information, negative memories are more likely to benefit from the consolidating effects of sleep
Describe one other way, apart from visual, emotional valence, concreteness and optimism in which stimulus quality affects memorising
Frequency; that is, how often a given item is encountered. Typically, word frequency is operationalized in terms of how often a word occurs in the language.
How does frequency affect memory in tasks?
Frequency is a bit odd in some respects. Memory is better for frequent information for recall tests but it is better for rare information for recognition tests. Common things are easier to recall because there are more ways to get at them, which makes them more likely to be recalled. However, with recognition, less frequent items have fewer competitor memory traces, so they are recognized more easily
Name and describe three types of recall task
Free recall- People report as much of the information as they can (learn 20, report what you remember)
Forced recall- People are forced to report a certain amount of information (learn 20, report 20)
Cued recall- people learn a set of information. The experimenter designates some of this information as target information to be recalled. Associated with this are other sets of information that serve as retrieval cues.
What is free recall good for? (3)
Because there is very little additional information provided, free recall is a good way to find out what a person knows well. Presumably, what is known well is what is reported. Information that is known, but not very well, is less likely to be reported because people are less likely to successfully retrieve it, or they may not have confidence in the memory and so hold back their responses. (similar to an exam)
Apart from finding out what people accurately remember, what else can free recall measure? (3)
It can also be used to study errors of omission (what people don’t remember) and errors of commission (information that is reported, but was not, in fact, part of the event).
Moreover, studying recall order, that is, the order in which people report things on a free recall test, can give some insight into how memories are structured (teams in same division). Stronger, better stored memories are more likely to be reported early in free recall, whereas weaker, less well known memories are likely to be reported later.
What are errors of commission known as?
Intrusions
Name a problem with free recall and how forced recall solves this problem
One problem with free recall is that there might be information that people remember, perhaps faintly, but that they are unwilling to report because they lack confidence in those memories and do not report them in case they might be wrong. Also, sometimes people report memories more generally when they have more precise knowledge that they may be withholding. One way to encourage people to report weaker memories is to give a forced recall test. Unlike free recall, where people can report as much or as little as desired, in a forced recall test people are forced to report a certain amount of information.
