AP Psych Agenda11.29.10

Unit Objectives at bpi.edu. Complete #s 1 – 5 for homework tonight.

What is your first memory? Why do you think you remember it?

Snow White memory actvity.

Chapter 7: Human Memory

Human Memory: Basic Questions

How does information get into memory? How is information maintained in

memory? How is information pulled back out of

memory?

Figure 7.2 Three key processes in memory

Encoding: Getting Information Into Memory

The role of attention Focusing awareness Selective attention = selection of input

Filtering: early or late?

Figure 7.3 Models of selective attention

Levels of Processing:Craik and Lockhart (1972)

Incoming information processed at different levels

Deeper processing = longer lasting memory codes

Encoding levels: Structural = shallow Phonemic = intermediate Semantic = deep

Figure 7.4 Levels-of-processing theory

Figure 7.5 Retention at three levels of processing

AP PSYCHOLOGY AGENDA

11.30.10

Quiz…

1. Define the concept of memory1. Encoding2. Storage3. retrieval

2. Distinguish between iconic and echoic memory3. Describe the concept of elaboration4. How does visual Imagery help with memory5. How does self-referent encoding help a person’s

memory.6. How does attention limit the capacity of short-

term memory

Enriching Encoding: Improving Memory

Elaboration = linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding Thinking of examples (relate info to your own

life) Visual Imagery = creation of visual images

to represent words to be remembered Easier for concrete objects: can picture a

spider, cannot picture the word truth. Self-Referent Encoding

Making information personally meaningful

Storage: Maintaining Information in Memory

Analogy: information storage in computers ~ information storage in human memory

Information-processing theories Subdivide memory into 3 different stores

Sensory, Short-term, Long-term

Figure 7.7 The Atkinson and Schiffrin model of memory storage

Sensory Memory

Brief preservation of information in original sensory form

Auditory/Visual – approximately ¼ second George Sperling (1960)

Classic experiment on visual sensory store

P Y F G V J S A D H B U

P Y F G V J S A D H B U

Figure 7.8 Sperling’s (1960) study of sensory memory

AP PSYCHOLOGY

12.2.10

Quiz…

1. What are two specific functions of short-term memory?

2. Define long-term memory.3. How is information transferred

(encoded) into long-term memory?4. What is the difference between

semantic versus visual LTM.5. What is the difference between

procedural and declarative LTM

For tonight…

#s 9,10, 11 and 12 from the unit objectives sheet

Short Term Memory (STM)

Limited capacity – magical number 7 plus or minus 2 Chunking – grouping familiar stimuli for

storage as a single unit Limited duration – about 20

seconds without rehearsal Rehearsal – the process of repetitively

verbalizing or thinking about the information

. . .. . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

………………………………………………….

…………………………………………..

……………………………………….

…………………………………….

. . . . . . . . .

Figure 7.9 Peterson and Peterson’s (1959) study of short-term memory

Primacy and Recency

Horse Dog Ape Chinchilla Cat

Boa constrictor Gerbil Raccoon Fish Ferret

Donkey Cow Lemur Gazelle Lion

Short-Term Memory as “Working Memory”

STM not limited to phonemic encoding Loss of information not only due to decay Baddeley (1986) – 3 components of

working memory Phonological rehearsal loop Visuospatial sketchpad Executive control system

AP PSYCH AGENDA

12.7.10

Long-Term Memory: Unlimited Capacity

Permanent storage? Flashbulb memories Recall through hypnosis

Debate: are STM and LTM really different? Phonemic vs. Semantic encoding Decay vs. Interference based

forgetting

How is Knowledge Representedand Organized in Memory?

Clustering - tendency to remember similar or related items Conceptual Hierarchies - multilevel classification systems

based on common properties among items. Schemas and Scripts - organized clusters of knowledge about a

particular object or event abstracted from previous experience. Scripts are, type of schema, organizing what a person knows about common activities…for example going to a restaurant

Semantic Networks -- nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related concepts….explains why thinking of butter makes bread easier to remember.

Connectionist, or parallel distributed processing models, assume that cognitive processes depend on patterns

Retrieval: Getting InformationOut of Memory

The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon – a failure in retrieval Retrieval cues -- recall is often guided by

partial information about a word…retrieval cues.

Recalling an event Context cues -- easier to recall long-

forgotten events if you return after a number of years to a place where you used to live.

Reconstructing memories Misinformation effect -- did I read that

somewhere or think of it on my own?…cryptomnesia is inadvertent plagiarism that occurs when you think you came up with it but were really exposed to it earlier Source monitoring -- the process of making

attributions about the origins of memories…people make decisions at the time of retrieval about where their memory is coming from

Reality monitoring -- type of source monitoring involving determining whether memories are based in actual events (external sources) or your imagination (internal source)

Forgetting: When Memory Lapses

Retention – the proportion of material retained Recall -- involves requiring subjects to reproduce

information on their own without any cues Recognition -- involves requiring subjects to select

previously learned material from an array of options Relearning -- requiring subjects to relearn previously

learned information to see how much LESS time or effort it takes them

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

Figure 7.16 Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve for nonsense syllables

Figure 7.17 Recognition versus recall in the measurement of retention

Why Do We Forget?

Ineffective Encoding forgetting…it may have never been inserted

into memory in the first place pseudoforgetting…usually due to lack of

attention so that encoding does not occur Ineffective encoding occurs when you

encode on a more superficial level than you need to…for example, you are distracted when studying and encode what you are reading on a phonemic rather than a semantic level.

Decay theory -- Decay theory proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time.

Interference theory -- The negative impact of competing information on retention is called interference. Interference theory holds that people forget information because of competition from other material

Proactive Interference --occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information

Retroactive Interference -- occurs when new information impairs the retention for previously learned information.

Figure 7.19 Retroactive and proactive interference

Figure 7.20 Estimates of the prevalence of childhood physical and sexual abuse

Retrieval Failure

Encoding Specificity -- the effectiveness of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code that represents the stored item…the closer a retrieval cue is to the way we encode the info, the better we are able to remember.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing -- holds that when the initial processing of information is similar to the type of processing required by the subsequent measure of retention, retrieval is easier.

Repression -- motivated forgetting of painful or unpleasant memories. Recent years have seen a surge of reports of repressed memories of child sexual abuse. Authenticity challenged

Memory illusion – remember the list of sleep-related words?

Recovered Memories -- fallibility and malleability of human memory.

Figure 7.22 The prevalence of false memories observed by Roediger and McDermott (1995)

The Physiology of Memory

Biochemistry Alteration in synaptic transmission

Hormones modulating neurotransmitter systems Protein synthesis

Neural circuitry Localized neural circuits

Reusable pathways in the brain Long-term potentiation -- long-lasting increase in

neural excitability at synapses along a specific neural pathway. This supports the idea that memory traces consist of specific neural circuits.

The Physiology of Memory

Anatomy Anterograde Amnesia – damage

precludes memory of subsequent events. Retrograde Amnesia – damage precludes

memory of prior events. Cerebral cortex, Prefrontal cortex,

Hippocampus, Dentate gyrus, Amygdala, Cerebellum

Figure 7.23 The anatomy of memory

Figure 7.25 Retrograde versus anterograde amnesia

Are There Multiple Memory Systems?

Declarative (facts/events) vs. Procedural (how to do something)

Semantic (general facts) vs. Episodic (personal facts)

Prospective (remembering to do things in the future) vs. Retrospective (past events)

Figure 7.26 Theories of independent memory systems

Improving Everyday Memory

Engage in adequate rehearsal Distribute practice and minimize

interference Emphasize deep processing and

transfer-appropriate processing Organize information Use verbal mnemonics Use visual mnemonics