Memory

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Memory

• Psychology 1106

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Introduction

• What is memory?
• Basically some indication that learning has
  persisted over time
• Early on lots of study went into memory
• Ebbinghaus and nonsense syllables
• Found savings

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A teensy bit of history

• Then along came the behaviourists
• Nobody wanted to talk about memory
• WWII, information theory
• Cognitive revolution
• Today we study memory extensively

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A framework

• Information theory talks about inputs and outputs
• Basically encoding, storage and retreival
• Information processing approach to memory
• Atkinson and Shiffrin

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The Atkinson Shiffrin Model
Sensory Register
Short Term Memory
Long Term Memory
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Encoding

• Automatic vs. Effortful processing
• Massed vs Distributed practice
• The Spacing effect
• Serial position effect
• Early and later stuff better remembered

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More encoding

• Semantic vs. acoustic vs. visual
• Meaning vs. sensory properties
• AKA conceptually driven vs. data driven
  processing
• We may encode imagery
• Al Paivios ideas
• Concrete vs. abstract words

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Encoding still.

• The key may be meaning
• (Bransford and Johnson, 1972)

If the balloons popped, the sound wouldnt be
able to carry since everything would be too far
away from the correct floor. A closed window
would also prevent the sound from carrying, since
most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since
the whole operation depends on a steady flow of
electricity, a break in the middle of the wire
would also cause problems. Of course, the fellow
could shout, but the human voice is not loud
enough to carry that far. An additional problem
is that a string could break on the instrument.
Then there could be no accompaniment to the
message. It is clear that the best situation
would involve less distance. Then there would be
fewer potential problems. With face to face
contact, the least number of things could go
wrong.
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Context is the key

• People remembered the passage much better with
  the picture on the left
• The one on the right does not fit though it has
  all the same images

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Encode this

• By the way, those data show how important it
  probably is to read the chapters BEFORE coming to
  class
• We organize information in chunks and hierarchies
• A chunk is the smallest unit of information we
  can remember
• Phone numbers for example
• Experts are better chunkers than non experts
• Some forgetting is a failure of encoding

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Storage

• Sensory memory or register
• Icon
• Echo
• Information lasts for a very short time in the
  sensory register
• Information is raw in a way

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The icon
JHGF MNBV PUYT
X
People cant report the G, but can report the H
and the F!
Lasts maybe a second or so
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Storage in STM

• Again, pretty brief if information is not
  processed at all
• A couple of seconds
• 7 /- 2 chunks
• Interference
• Working memory
• Visuo spatial sketchpad and phonological loop

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Storage in LTM

• Essentially limitless capacity
• Episodic vs. semantic memory
• Tulving
• Dissociable

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Flashbulb Memories

• Seem to be hyper accurate
• Seem to be super detailed
• Almost always about shared cultural experiences
• But they are NOT as accurate as they seem

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How is stuff stored?

• Long Term Potentiation (LTP)?
• New Connections?
• Seems sensible, but, not clear yet
• Hormonal effect on memory
• Chemical effects
• Stronger emotions often lead to stronger memories

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Forms of memory

• Episodic vs. Semantic (Tulving)
• Declarative vs. Procedural (Squire)
• Hippocampus is probably key
• Removal of Hp leads to loss of ability to encode
• Hmm
• Implicit vs. Explicit Memory

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Priming

• Priming of implicit memory
• Even amnesiacs show normal priming!
• Recently been shown in non humans
• (Brodbeck, 1997)

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Retrieval

• So, how do we get stuff out of memory?
• Recognition failure of recall
• Why do we recognize stuff better than we recall
  it?
• Retrieval cues

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Retrieval Cues

• Context effects
• May very well explain deja vu
• State dependent learning
• Drug states act as retrieval cues
• Emotional states act as retrieval cues
• Keeps you sad, or happy

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Interference

• So, forgetting may be a failure of recall
• Proactive interference
• Retroactive interference
• Then again, competing information can help
• Transfer of training, savings

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Please just listen

• Pin
• Inoculation
• Haystack
• Sharp
• Pointy
• Knitting
• phonograph

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Memory construction

• Our memories are not perfect
• Its not a VCR
• We fill in gaps with reasonable guesses
• Like we do with flashbulb memories
• Eyewitnesses can be affected by the wording of
  questions
• Young kids are prone to this
• Though adults are too
• We do not forget the traumatic

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Raise you hand if you heard this word earlier

• Pin
• Book
• Chair
• Ceiling
• Sharp
• Pointy
• Haystack
• needle