The Basics of Memory Flashcards
What is one of Hermann Ebbinghaus’s first experiments on memory?
What are the three main theories that he came up with a still being examined together
having himself to memorise nonsense word trigrams (the reason why the words have to be nonsense is because once the meaning of the words are removed > can understand the process of memory)
spacing effect
list length effect
forgetting paradigm (memories decay the quickest when they are recently acquired. However, the rate slows down for old memories)
Describe the three laws of memory
The law of recency
> recent information is also better remembered than old information
> the function is non-linear: older information decays slower than new information
The law of primacy
> things that are mentioned at first tend to be remembered better than mid/end items
> does not have to be a list, but can also be the shifting of modality (Murdock and Carey, 1972)
The law of repetition
Repetition
> things are better remembered when they are repeated with the spacing effect
> Peterson paradox: however, mass repetition can lead to better recalling performance than spaced repetition in a short delay
Testing
> Testing also facilitates memory in a long run compared to relearning
> However, relearning can boost performance in a short delay
What is the difference a law and a theory
law = invariance and regularities of data
(a law does not have to explain everything, just like the Newton Law also breaks down in the quantum level)
theory = an explanatory framework that explains a law
What leads to forgetting
encoding failure: information is not encoded into the memory
retrieval failure: the information is encoded into memory, but for some reason there is an inability to retrieve it (e.g., time)
Explain the decay (one observation that decay theory cannot explain) and the interference theory
Decay theory
> memories decay in time.
> Brown-Peterson paradigm: participants already forget the trigram after ~20 secs without any rehearsal
> however, cannot explain why there is a huge variance > can be explained by proactive interference, as more previous trials = forgetting more
interference theory
> forgetting is due to more interfering mental activity, since there is competition between the things that we attempt to remember
> we learn from making associations with things. The more associations there are, the harder it is to remember
The two interferences are: proactive (forget new cues due to the old cues) and retroactive (remember new cues but forgetting the old cues)
> Supported by the ABCD vs ABAC paradigm
> To release interference, simply by changing modality
Explain the consolidation theory
There are two stages of memory consolidation
> preservation stage: this is when memory just entered the brain without any further consolidation
> consolidation stage: this is when memory is consolidated and permanently stored
Three assumptions of the consolidation theory
1. the longer memory is preserved after the preservation stage, the more likely it goes into the consolidation phase
> experiments show that longer resting between set 1 and set 2 = better learning
> also shows that learning before sleeping = better learning
- Interrupted preservation will hinder the memory reaching consolidation
> confirmed by retrograde amnesia
> H.M: lost of hippocampal = forget events 3-5 years before the injury
> believed that memory was lost because didn’t reach the consolidation phase
> also gave electroconvulsive shocks to mice, show that shocks after learning affect memory, but not when after a period of time - If consolidation did not happen, memory should not be consolidated and should be impossible to remember
> after giving ECS to the mouse > show forgetting > but 72 hours later they showed memory (spontaneous recovery)
> does not support the consolidation theory
More on forgetting, seems like some memories are never forgotten
> face and language
What is the hybrid theory, the two forgetting functions and the temporal context
hybrid theory
> the hybrid theories of consolidation theory and interference
> interference happens to when the memory is still at preservation stage; whilst once memories reach the consolidation stage interference does not affect memory
> memory transporting from hippocampus to the cerebral cortex
the two forgetting functions
> exponential function
> power function (supported by most research)
Temporal context
> found that not only rest between learning benefit learning, but also resting before learning
> shows that as long as learning is separated = better performance
What leads to the exploration of the inhibition theory, the setup and the results
discovering retrieval-induced forgetting
setup
learn two categories of items to memorise
three conditions
test on some items in some categories
retest of all items
RP+ = practiced items in the practiced category
RP- = unpracticed items in the practiced category
NRP = unpracticed items and categories (control)
results
RP+ > NRP > RP-
What is the therefore the interpretation of the mentioned results (i.e., inhibition theory)? Also, how can the interference theory explain the results> Lastly, what is hypotheses of the interference dependence of the inhibition theory?
> Anderson, Bjork and Bjork suggested the inhibition theory (RIF is caused when recalling certain items in a category, and therefore other items in the same category is suppressed)
however, interference theory can also explain RIF, as the association between cues that are practised are strengthened, therefore causing retroactive interference
Interference dependence of inhibition theory:
strong items in the RP- categories will suffer most from RIF > since they are often recalled unwillingly > therefore causes most suppression.
What are the other two principles of the inhibition theory
cue independence: changing cues do not help alleviating the RIF effect
only retrieval practise causes RIF (e.g., restudying the materials do not infer RIF)
