Memory (cont.)
CHAPTER 9
Exercise on Priming
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Say the 1st, 2nd or 3rd answer that comes to mind
based on what I ask you to remember.
Example: I say “Name of a team 2nd
association”.
If the 1st team that comes to mind is the
Panthers and the second team is the Butler
Bulldogs then what do you write?
After we are done put these 15 away somewhere
Types of Encoding
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Visual Encoding – the encoding of picture
images
Acoustic Encoding – the encoding of sound
Semantic Encoding – the encoding of meaning
ACTIVITY – On visual vs. acoustic encoding
Q. Based on results which form of encoding
works best?
Visual Encoding
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Visual encoding – encoding of picture images
Imagery – mental pictures.
 Jerry Lucas and Imagery
 Super autobiographical memory subjects
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Memory Tendencies…
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Spacing effect – we retain info better when rehearsal is
distributed out over a period of time. (Studying every
night is BETTER than cramming) 
Next in line effect.
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Complete Activity with list of words
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Serial Position Effect
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Directions: Listen to the list of words then write
down as many as you can remember (in any
order). Don’t ask how many there are supposed
to be.
SPE words
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sharp, point, hurt, syringe, thimble, haystack,
thread, needle, prick, pin, sewing, knitting, pain
Serial Position Effect
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The tendency to be more/less likely to recall
items/names/events .etc based on the position
of when they fall.
Recency Effect- tendency to recall last item
Primacy effect- tendency to recall first item
Priming/Deja Vu list
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Rest
Snore
Sound
Tired
Bed
Comfort
Awake
Eat
Wake
Dream
Slumber
Night
Retrieval - Priming
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Priming – the activation of a particular
associations in memory
Oftentimes this does not require a conscious effort
 Can be words, tastes, smells, names, voices, pictures,
 Assignment: write down as many words as you can
remember after I prime you to recall them
 YOUTUBE: psychological priming – YouTube
 YOUTUBE Priming our brain - YouTube
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Retrieval
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Déjà vu – (already seen) – cues (associations)
from the current situation may subconsciously
trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
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What is déjà vu VIDEO
Mood-Congruent memory
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Mood-congruent memory – tendency to recall
experiences that are consistent with ones current
mood (good or bad). P. 365
Ex. Psychotherapists have to sort this out as
patients discuss past events.
State Dependent memory
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State dependent memory – recalling events
encoded while in a particular state of
consciousness. Context relates to this.
Ex. Caffeine (test taking), Car keys/ Vegas and
intoxication.
Forgetting
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Why do we forget?
Failure to encode
 Storage decay
 Retrieval failure
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Retrieval failure
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Retroactive interference – New information
keeps you from recalling old information Failure to Remember the OLD
New phone number keeps you from recalling your
old phone number
 New locker combination keeps you from learning
old.
 http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.prenhal
l.com/livepsych/livepsych_ad/index.html&sa=U&ei
=ZjjETp_tHoeUtweX44HDCg&ved=0CBIQFjAA
&usg=AFQjCNG6ia-j1uFYytjTEdrbzV3ebawS6A
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Retrieval failure
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Proactive interference – old information keeps
you from recalling information learned more
recently – Failure to Remember the NEW
Old locker combination keeps you from
remembering your new combination
 Old girlfriends phone number prevents you from
remembering your new girlfriends phone number.
 PsychSim 5e - Online Edition SLIDE 11
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Storage Decay
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Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve
Ebbinghaus memorized nonsense syllables and then
studied how quickly he forgot the words.
 The course of forgetting is initially rapid and then
levels off with time.
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Neuroscience (Biology) and
Memory
 Amnesia – the loss of memory
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Patients who show loss of memory are evidence that
memory is not in one location.
Hippocampus - a neural center in the limbic
system the helps process explicit memories
(conscious recall – knowledge and episodic
memories) for storage. This is where new
memories are encoded and temporarily
stored. With time these memories may move to
other parts of the brain.
Neuroscience - hippocampus
Hippocampus is lateralized (found in each
hemisphere)
 Damage to the left hippocampus – trouble
remembering verbal information
 Damage to the right hippocampus – trouble
recalling visual images and locations
 Our memories are NOT in one place
 Anterograde amnesia – inability to encode new
memories
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Video – Media Archives Beginning with Debra
Wearing talking.
Neuroscience and Memory
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Cerebellum – processes implicit (without
conscious recall – skills and conditioning effects)
memories
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Amygdala – emotional memories are stored in the
amygdala
Neuroscience and memory
Video- Endless memory Part 2 (effects of
adrenaline)
 Following high frequency stimulation, synapses
will strengthen – this is called Long Term
Potentiation
LTP is the neural mechanism that explains
memory and learning.
 Examples: memorizing through repetition,
Coaches “practice does not make perfect,
perfect practice makes perfect.”
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Memory and Eyewitness
Testimony
The Eyewitness Test: How do you stack up? –
YouTube]
Can YOU spot the murderer? - Eyewitness - BBC
Two – YouTube
What Do They Remember About the Crime?- part
2
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1st half of 60 Minutes video on Ronald Cotton
in Burlington, NC.
Constructive Memory
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Constructive Memory – false memories and
recollections of events, memories are distorted
by adding or changing details
Leading questions may cause us to recall an
event differently than it actually occurred
Constructive memories feel like accurate
memories
Misinformation Effect
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Elizabeth Loftus and the Misinformation Effect
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Show a film of a traffic accident and then asked “How
fast were the cars going when they smashed into each
other?” or “How fast were the cars going when they hit
each other?” Loftus and Palmer study
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A week later the witnesses were asked if there was glass at the
scene of the accident. Those who were asked the first question
reported glass. (when there was none)
Video – True or False? – Disc 3 Psych American
Frontier
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Misinformation effect – incorporating misleading
information into one’s memory of an event
Source amnesia – attributing the wrong source to an event
we have experienced (Mr. Science, Ronald Reagan, Hillary
Clinton)
Misinformation Effect
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Recall how false memories can be implanted
into our head:
Q How did questions asked eyewitnesses of a
car crash differ (regarding speed and broken
glass).
NC has led the nation in using computers to
assist victims in picking out potential criminals
(eliminate victim bias) and requiring a course on
human memory and eyewitness testimony.
Misinformation Effect
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Creating False Memories – YouTube
The Bunny Effect
Memory and Eyewitness
testimony
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Show 2nd half of video on Ronald Cotton
explaining what went wrong with Jennifer’s
memory.
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Eyewitness Testimony Part 2 - YouTube