The Retrieval Process

Question 1

retrieval on memory

Answer 1

• many failiures of memory are failures of retrieval
• tip of tongue state
• tip of finger state reported in sign language users

Question 2

retrieval process

Answer 2

• a progression from one or more retrieval cues to a target memory trace through associative connections
• the aim is to make the target available

target memory trace: the particular memory we are searching for

retrieval cues: bits of information about the target memory that guide the search

associations:
- bonds that link together items in memory
- vary in strength

Question 3

spreading activation

Answer 3

activation level:
- the internal state of a memory, reflecting its level of excitement
- determines accessibility of the item
- increases when something related to the memory is encountered
persists for some time

spreading activation:
- the automatic transmission of “energy” from one memory to related items via associations
- proportional to the strength of connections

Question 4

pattern completion (spreading activation)

Answer 4

pattern completion = the process by which spreading activation from a set of cues leads to the reinstatement of a memory
- hippocampal mechanism

retrieval = reinstatement (via spreading activation) of features that represent a memory

features will spread activation to other features

Question 5

Name all the factors determining retrieval success

Answer 5

1. attention to cues
2. relevance of cues
3. cue-target associative strength
4. number of cues
5. Strength of target memory
6. Retrieval strategy
7. Retrieval mode

Question 6

explain the “attention to cues” retrieval determinant

Answer 6

reduced attention to a cue impairs its ability to guide retrieval

Question 7

explain the “relevance of cues” retrieval determinant

Answer 7

retrieval cues are most effective when they are strongly related to the target

Question 8

explain the “cue target associative strength” retrieval determinant

Answer 8

retrieval success depends on the strength of cue target association

Question 9

explain the “number of cues” retrieval determinant

Answer 9

access to additional, relevant cues facilitates retrieval (such as elaborative encoding)

Question 10

explain the “strength of target memory” retrieval determinant

Answer 10

weakly encoded targets are more difficult to retrieve

Question 11

explain the “retrieval strategy” retrieval determinant

Answer 11

success is increased by:
- the organisation of materials at encoding
- adopting efficient strategies of memory search

Question 12

explain the “retrieval mode” retrieval determinant

Answer 12

frame of mind allows interpreting environmental stimuli as episodic cues to guide subsequent retrieval

Question 13

direct/explicit memory tests

Answer 13

• ask people to recall particular experiences
• require a contextual cue
• reveal impaited performance in amnesiacs
• in many cases rely on hippocampus

free recall - recall studied items
cued recall - what word was presented with x
yes/no recognition - did you study x
forced choice recognition - did you study x or y

Question 14

indirect/implicit memory tests

Answer 14

• measure the unconscious influence of experience without asking the subject to recall the past
• priming: recent experience with the stimulus improves performance
• reveal normal performance in amnesiacs

stem completion - fill in letters MO__
fragment completion - fill in letters A_P_E
conceptual fluency - “name as many birds”

Question 15

contextual cues

Answer 15

spatio-temporal/environmental: location and time cues during an event

mood: emotional state that one was in during the event

physiological: physical state one was in during event

cognitive: collection of concepts one has thought about the event

WE ENCODE INFO ALONG WITH CONTEXT - CONTEXT FACILITATES RETRIEVAL

Question 16

context dependent memory : environmental factors study

Gooden and Baddeley (1975)

Answer 16

task:
- taught divers word pairs in one of two contexts: dry land or underwater
- tested cued recall in same or different environment

results:
- material is recalled best in the environment it was learned

Question 17

context dependent memory : environmental factors study

Grant et al. 1998

Answer 17

Investigated study in both noisy and quiet environments, and then tesing in noisy and quiet environments
- all combinations studied

results:
- participants did better when the testing condition matched the study condition

Question 18

state-dependent memory

Answer 18

• like context dependent but relating to internal state/environment
• recall depends on the match between the participants’ internal environment at encoding and retrieval

match even true when:
- drunk
- under influence of marijuana or caffeine
- exercising or rest

state dependency dissapears under recognition tests

Question 19

mood-dependent memory

Answer 19

about the person/person match

recall is dependent on the match in mood states between encoding and retrieval

Question 20

mood-congruent memory

Answer 20

about the person/item match

it is easier to recall events that have an emotional tone that matches the current mood of the person

depressed individuals are likely to recall mostly unpleasant memories

Question 21

mood dependent memory: Eich, Macaulay, and Ryan (1994)

Answer 21

task:
- encoding: pleasant or unpleasant mood
- test: 2 days later, same or opposite mood prior to recall

results:
- free recall was vastly improved when mood states matched

Question 22

cognitive context dependent memory

Answer 22

retrieval is better if hte same cognitive features/tasks are involved

ideas, thoughts and concepts that occupied our attention

memory facilitated when cognitive context at encoding matches retrieval

Question 23

cognitive context dependent memory: Marian and Neisser (2000)

Answer 23

Marian and Neisser’s bilingual study
task:
- memory cues/interviews were provided in either russian or English
- participants asked to recall life events from any period

results:
- memories are easier to access when retrieval takes place in the same language mode as they were encoded

Question 24

Signal detection theory

Answer 24

Signal detection theory

decide whether one encountered a stimulus (recognition decision)
- tone presented against background noise

matrix of results

Question 25

SDT and dual-process theory

Answer 25

• SDT cannot account for all recognition memory phenomena
• word frequency effect: low frequency words are better recognised (although high frequency words are better recalled)
• SDT incorrectly predicts low frequency words should be less familiar

Question 26

Dual Process theory - Yonelinas, 2002

Answer 26

Recognition memory is based on 2 types of memory or processes (Mandler, 1980):

familiarity:
- a sense of memory without being able to remember contextual information
- described by signal detection
- faster and more automatic

recollection:
- retrieving contextual details about a stimulus - like cued recall
- slower and more attention demanding
- can be disrupted by divided attention (at encoding and recognition), advanced age, and damage to prefrontal cortex

Question 27

measuring recognition memory

Answer 27

Remember/Know Procedure (Tulving, 1985)

Remember the item being presented previously:
- recollect contextual details
- measure of recollection

know it was presented previously
- seems familiar
- measure of familiarity

Question 28

Recognition memory in the brain

Answer 28

Aggleton and Brown (1999) Model

Hippocampus
- recall/recollection
Surrounding cortical regions (perirhinal/entorhinal cortex)
- recognition memory; familiarity

Structures within medial temporal lobe thought to support recognition memory