Cog Psyc Chap 6 Test 2

Explicit versus Implicit Memory
Semantic versus Episodic Memory

History of memory research
Episodic Memory Storage
Episodic Memory Retrieval
it can tell us about human memory

implicit (nondeclarative) (memory without awareness) explicit (declarative) (memory with awareness)

it can still unconsciously influence behavior

skills and habits, priming, nonassociative learning, simple classical conditioning

semantic (general world knowledge), episodic (personal autobiography)

memory for what you say and do, relive an experience by recalling it, imagine yourself in future situations, integrates a lot of different information, internal state: emotions, senses

Not really, they work together on a lot of things

Mnemonic Devices
Hermann von Ebbinghaus
Metamemory & Metacognition

used to help boost memory performance by:
Providing a structure for learning info
Creating a durable and distinctive memory for storage
Using good cues to help with retrieval

all three steps, encoding, retention, retrieval; method of loci, peg word

Memorized physical locations
Mental images of to-be-remembered (TBR) items
Encoding—place a mental image of TBR item in each location
Retrieval—mentally “walk” to each location to “see” the items stored there

Memorized peg words (one-bun, two-shoe, three-tree, four-door, etc.)
Mental images of TBR items
Encoding—”hang” a mental image of TBR item on each peg by forming an image of the peg word along with the item
Retrieval—remember each peg word which then helps you retrieve the TBR item

It's good for remembering in order

He was the first person to systematically study human memory

Used CVC nonsense syllables (e.g., RUV)
Avoid pre-existing associations among stimuli
Wanted to study basic principles of memory
Needed to rule out effects of prior knowledge

Devised the relearning task
Learn a list
Set it aside for a period of time
Attempt to re-learn the list

Computed a savings score
Difference in number of trials for learning
Original # - Relearning # = Savings score
10 - 6 = 4 (40% savings)

Varied the retention interval
20 min, 1 hr, 9 hr, 1 day, 2 days, 6 days, 31 days

Learned/relearned huge numbers of lists
To get his classic “forgetting curve”, it is estimated he learned more that 1200 lists of nonsense syllables

There is a lot of forgetting immediately, and then it tapers off, human memory; it is a negatively accelerating power function

Effect of repetitions—repeating information results in better memory
Effect of difficulty in learning—longer lists were harder to learn initially than shorter ones, but resulted in better memory
Overlearning—relearning lists repeatedly over time can result in perfect memory with no forgetting

document the results in an empirical way, Tackled “the mind” as a possible topic, Developed rigorous empirical methods, Founded an entire field of research

Experimental control was too limited
Lacked ecological validity
In order to really understand human memory, we need to consider how it really works under “normal” circumstances; for example, only using nonsense syllables

knowledge and insight into the workings of our own memory; How do we know when a retrieved memory is correct?
Or when we’ve learned something well enough that we can stop studying?

We must monitor our memory (awareness) and other cognitive processes all the time
We must regulate (control) our cognitive behavior based on this monitoring

how do we store information in episodic memory so that we can access it to be used later? frequency

Frequency increases likelihood of storage
We are good at estimating frequency of exposure, therefore frequency must also be automatically stored with the TBR information

distinctiveness, Distinct (unusual) information is remembered better
Isolation effect (von Restorff effect)—memory is better for items that are different from other items around it

something about the context, episodic memory

Yes, Rehearsal
Organization
Imagery

storage, Rehearsal—deliberately practicing items in STM in order to:
Maintain information in STM
Attempt to store information in LTM

retrieval is more important; thought to be due to rehearsal because information can get into long term memory

Distributed VS Massed practice
How you distribute rehearsal of the information is very important as well; you will learn less with mass practice than you will with distributed

Maintenance—just repeating/recycling information in STM (low-level)
Repeating a phone number until you dial it
Elaborative—using meaning to help store information in LTM (more complex)
Using a mnemonic device to remember a list of grocery items

We answered questions about words, did a distractor task, and then recalled the words; we were supposed to remember more words that had questions requiring deeper processes

The deeper you process information, the better you will remember it

Shallow Processing
Is there an I in CARPET?
Deep Processing
Does your grandma have a mustache?

shallow orthography? (does the word have an I? Phonology (how does the word sound) Deep meaning-does your grandma have a mustache

Circular definition—processing that is “deep” leads to better memory performance and vice versa
There’s no way to define level of processing independent of memory performance

Task effects: shows up for recall but not for recognition, recognition tests are sensitive to rehearsal

This line of research led to the development of useful tasks for memory researchers
Incidental VS Intentional learning tasks

The more you “do” with information, the better remembered it is; Generation effect—information that you come up with yourself is better remembered than information you only heard or read
Study: Long – S____ VS Long – Short

Enactment effect—when you engage in a task yourself, you remember it better than tasks that you just witness
Like a generation effect with actions!

How information is structured or re-structured as it is being stored in LTM also plays a role in memory performance

Ss learn list of 60 words
Words came from four categories: animals, personal names, vegetables, professions
Presented in random order at study
On free recall test, Ss tended to clump related words together
They organized the words as they learned them

Ss learn words presented as lists with headers; Organized condition VS Random control condition;

Imagery: Mentally picturing TBR information increases memory performance
When Ss are asked to form an image at study, memory performance is much better
This effect lasted over long retention intervals

Concreteness effect—concrete words (CHAIR) are remembered better than abstract words (IDEA)
Dual-coding hypothesis—concrete information can be stored in memory twice (in 2 different forms)
Verbally as a word
Pictorially as an image

The best way to understand storage is to consider it in light of retrieval; Encoding Specificity—memory for information includes the context in which it was experienced

Scuba-diving Ss learned a list of words—either on land or underwater
Test for words took place either on land or underwater; conditions of encoding and conditions of retrieval, crossed them

state-dependent learning; mood, drunk, physiological, psychological

retrieval, episodic memory; decay and interference

Decay theory does not adequately explain forgetting from LTM; The mechanism responsible for forgetting is time
Actually, what happens during the passage of time is more important

Interference theory does a better job of explaining forgetting than does Decay theory

Ss study nonsense syllables
Either sleep or stay awake during a retention period
At test, Ss who slept recalled more than Ss who stayed awake
What was experienced while awake interfered with memory; consolidation happens while sleeping, new memories temporarily stored in hippocampus, later during consolidation is moved to the medial temporal lobe (?)

nformation can be permanently lost from LTM; LOST or GONE from memory; Retrieval Failure

information is never permanently lost, we just can’t find it; retrieval failure

Tip of the tongue state (TOT); induce tip of the tongue states, recalled partial information, picked out of lists

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon (TOT)—on the verge of retrieval without success
Rate = 1 per week, but increases with age
Very common with names
Blockers = semantically & phonologically similar words

Can guess 1st letter 50% of the time
Can guess # syllables 50% - 80% of the time
50% are resolved within 1 minute

Can’t access retrievable memory, usually because other words are being retrieved instead
Memory contains incomplete information

Availability—the information must be there
Accessibility—you must be able to find/retrieve it

lost in memory (i.e., it’s not accessible)

whether we can access information from LTM; Encoding specificity

vary in difficulty and how they cue retrieval of information

coming up with the information on your own; you are given a cue but you must still come up with it yourself, you pick out the word from a list; the item itself

no, yes, yes

Ss encoded words under various conditions
No Cue (CHAIR)
Weak Cue (glue – CHAIR)
Strong Cue (desk – CHAIR)

At test, type of memory cue was varied
No Cue (_______)
Weak Cue (glue – _______)
Strong Cue (desk – _______)

Music—a song that reminds you of a specific episode
Smells—can remind you of a person or event
Déjà vu—a combination of cues can lead you to feel like you’ve experienced something before

it is better to practice generating

learning; generating information in response to a cue

This helps store the cue (e.g., Who is the father of memory research?) along with the answer (Ebbinghaus) so that you can retrieve it effectively

mistakes; Retrieving the wrong information can result in a cue becoming connected to the wrong thing; Error-free learning is the way to go

as a loss of memory (or memory ability) as a result of brain damage or disease; Retrograde—loss of information that was experienced (or learned) BEFORE an injury

Anterograde—loss of information experienced AFTER an injury (or an inability to store new information)

Amnesia can result in a dissociation between different types of memory and brain structures

Patient K.C.: Serious brain injury, especially the frontal regions, from a motorcycle accident

Complete loss of episodic memory from both before and after the accident
Can’t remember anything he has ever done
Semantic memory (general world knowledge) is fine

frontal lobes must be very important to episodic memory;
Semantic and episodic memory are distinct systems
One is damaged, the other is not

generalizing from case studies;

Patient H.M.:Henry Gustav Molaison;

Widely studied amnesic from the 1950s until his death in Dec 2008—his brain is still being studied
Had epilepsy which may have been the result of a bicycle accident at age 9
Surgery to control seizures removed hippocampus and resulted in severe anterograde amnesia
H.M. could no longer store new memories

H.M.’s long-term explicit episodic memory was severely impaired
He did not remember the people who worked with him
He had no memory for tasks that he had completed
He could no longer form any new memories

Procedural memory—HM showed motor skill learning
Mastered mirror drawing
Showed improvement on Tower of Hanoi
Could draw a map of his residence
Repetition priming—previous exposure to information (e.g., a word) increases RT to that same information at a later exposure; H.M. showed repetition priming

Now resides at The Brain Observatory at UCSD
In Dec 2009, his frozen brain was cut into 2401 paper-thin slices over a 53-hour period
Goals of the project:
Provide a complete microscopic survey of his brain
Uncover the neurological basis of his memory impairment

hippocampus, medial temporal cortex

Also important to time related to memory