Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Memory
Processes
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Memory Processes
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Processes
• Creating an acoustic code
– What it sounds like
• Creating a semantic code
– What it means
• Creating a visual code
– What it looks like
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Types and STM
• Type of code may rely on type of task
• STM refers to memory that is held
temporarily
• Evidence exists for a variety of
encoding types in STM
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Evidence for Acoustic Encoding in
STM
• Conrad (1964)
– Visually present a series of letters briefly
– Immediately write the letters viewed once
series is complete (Try it - Starts on next
click)
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Conrad (1964)
• You Viewed B C F M N P N S T V
• What errors did you make?
– F for S
– B for V
– P for B
• Not visual errors (e.g., E for F, O for Q, R for P)
• Thus, items acoustically even though stimuli
were presented visually
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Shulman (1970)
• Evidence for semantic encoding in STM
• Participants viewed 10-word lists
• Given a recognition test using visually
represented "probe words" which were either:
– Homonyms - e.g. "bawl" for "ball"
– Synonyms - e.g. "talk" for "speak" or
– Identical to the original word
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Shulman (1970) Results
• The Homonym and Synonym probes
produced similar error rates - suggesting
that an equal amount of acoustic and
semantic processing must be taking place
– Homonyms - e.g. "bawl" for "ball"
– Synonyms - e.g. "talk" for "speak"
– Identical to the original word
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Posner & Keele (1967)
• Evidence for visual encoding in STM
– Letter matching task
– Two letters separated by brief interval
– Participant had to indicate if same letter
• A-a Yes
• A-A Yes
• A-M No
– Measure reaction time
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Posner & Keele (1967) Results
• If letters were the same visually (a-a)
•
participants were faster than if the letters
were not the same visually (A-a)
Results indicate that visual code was also
present for STM
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Types & LTM
• Type of code may rely on type of task
• LTM refers to memory that may be
held permanently
• Evidence exists for a variety of
encoding types for LTM
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Semantic Encoding in LTM
• Grossman & Eagle (1970)
– Study 41 different words
– Given recognition test after delay
– 9 of the distractors were semantically
related to words on list
– 9 of the distractors were not
– False alarms for each type: 1.83 of
synonyms, but only 1.05 of unrelated
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Visual Encoding in LTM
• Frost (1972)
– Participants studied 16 drawings
– Manipulated visual orientation and semantic
category
– After a delay, participants were asked if they had
studied an object with the same name as the test
object
– Reaction time was measured
– Participants responded faster to identical drawings
than drawings in a different orientation
– This result indicates visual encoding occurred
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Acoustic Encoding in LTM
• Evidence of very long-term memory
for songs
• Rubin (1977)
• Participants recall more of the text
when provided with the melody of a
well-learned song ("Star Spangled
Banner") than when given no cue
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Transfer from STM to LTM
• Consolidation
– Integrating new information into stored
information
• Disruption of consolidation is studied in
amnesiacs
– ECT patients (Squire)
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Metamemory
• Knowing what you know
• Knowing how your memory works
• Being able to assess your own memory
• Young children lack metamemory
skills
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Principles to Strengthen Memory
• Elaborative rehearsal is better than
maintenance rehearsal
• Distributed practice is better than
massed practice
– “Spacing effect”
• Organizing information enhances
memory
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
What causes the spacing effect?
• Multiple encoding contexts theory
– Multiple study sessions lead to multiple types
of encoding, thus more possibility of
matching during test conditions
• REM Theory
– The more REM sessions following study
sessions, the more consolidation that occurs
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Mnemonic Devices to Aid Memory
• Categorical clustering
• Interactive images
• Pegword system
• Method of loci
• Acronyms
• Acrostics
• Keyword system
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Which Mnemonic is the Best?
•Roediger (1980)
[Insert Table 6.2]
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Prospective Memory
• The ability to remember a future
intention
– Buying bread on your way home from
work
– Going to the dentist on Wednesday
• Retrospective memory is memory of
the past
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Retrieval Processes
• Getting information back out
• Multiple processes can be used to enhance
•
•
retrieval
Different strategies are used for short term
storage and long term storage
Matching the type of processes done during
encoding with the type of processes done at
retrieval increases success
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Retrieval from STM
• Is the search serial or parallel?
– Serial indicates one by one search
– Parallel means all items are processed at once
• Is the search exhaustive or self-terminating?
– Exhaustive indicates that all items in the set are
examined
– Self-terminating means that after target is found
the search stops
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Studying Searching in STM
• Saul Sternberg (1967)
• Memorize a set of
numbers (6,3,8,2,7)
• Shown a probe digit
• Participant must
•
indicate if the probe
was in the set
Time to respond is
measured
2
6,5,8,2,7
Yes
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Sternberg (1967)
• 3 critical factors manipulated
– How many items were in the set the
participants had to memorize
– Whether the probe was in the list
– The probe’s location in the set
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Sternberg (1967)
•Possible Result Patterns
– A represents parallel
processing
– B illustrates serial
processing
– C illustrates exhaustive
serial processing
– D illustrates selfterminating serial
processing
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Sternberg’s Conclusion
• A serial exhaustive model
• But….
– Corcoran (1971) proposed that a parallel model
could also explain the pattern found
– Townsend (1971) stated it was mathematically
impossible to distinguish parallel from serial
– Thus, both models still exist
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Retrieval from LTM
• The types of cues you use to retrieve
may affect what you can retrieve…
– Free recall vs Categorized recall
– Study random list or an organized list
• What is the impact on memory?
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Bower, Clark, Lesgold, and Winzenz
(1969)
Randomized list
Naples
World
Italy
Americas
Montreal
Bristol
Washington Ottowa
Orlando
England
Europe
Dallas
Liverpool
Winnipeg
Rome
USA
London
Florence
Canada
Organized list
World
Europe
Americas
England
Italy
USA
Canada
London
Rome
Washington
Ottowa
Liverpool
Florence
Dallas
Montreal
Bristol
Naples
Orlando
Winnipeg
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Bower & Associates (1969)
• Participants remembered 65% of the
organized list, only 19% of the random
list
• Thus, Organization helps memory
retrieval
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Chechile (2004)
• Manipulated time to retrieve and
probablility of retrieval
– Little time, fewer words recalled
– More time, more words recalled
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
If You Cannot Retrieve from LTM…
• Has the memory disappeared?
• Is the memory available but not
accessible?
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Evidence Supporting “Still There” Theory
Nelson (1971)
Paired associate List
43-house
67-dog
38-dress
77-sissors
Cued recall test
43- ________
67- ________
Two week delay
Subjects recalled 75% of
items on list
But focus was on 25% they
forgot.
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Nelson (1971) Critical Manipulation
If participants forgot “38-dress” and “77-sissors” then
participants relearned either same pairs or changed pairs
Same
Changed
25%
“forgotten” Relearned
38-dress
38-dress
77-sissors 77-sissors
38-dress
77-sissors
38-apple
77-kettle
Results
78%
43%
The better performance of participants in the same
condition indicate that there was some memory left for
“forgotten” items. Otherwise both groups would remember
the same amount.
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Theories about Forgetting
• Decay theory
– Memory is weakened with disuse
– Simply passage of time…
• Interference theory
– Proactive: old memories interfere with
recall of new information
– Retroactive: new memories interfere
with recall of old information
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Interference versus Decay in STM
• Brown-Peterson Paradigm
– Participants were given 3 consonants to try
to remember (e.g., FRL)
– Participants were then given a 3 digit
number (294) & asked to count backwards
by threes (e.g., 291, 288, 285)
– After varying delays (3-18 seconds)
participants were asked to recall the 3 letters
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Brown-Peterson results (1959)
Trigrams were
forgotten by 18
seconds due to
retroactive
interference of
counting backwards
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Proactive Interference in STM
•Keppel & Underwood (1962)
– Replicated the Peterson & Peterson Task varying the time delay
to recall
– Analysis was done by trial number (1st trial, 2nd trial, 3rd trial,
etc.)
– Found support for proactive interference
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Retroactive Interference from LTM
Experimental group Learn List A
Learn List B Delay Test for
Memory A
Control
group
------------
Learn List A
Delay Test for
Memory A
The experimental group will remember less material from
the tested list A compared to the control group
Information learned afterwards interferes with retrieval of
List A.
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Proactive Interference from LTM
Experimental
group
Learn List A
Learn List B
Delay
Test for Memory B
Control
group
No study
Learn List B
Delay
Test for Memory B
The experimental group remembers less material from the
tested list B than the control group
Information previously learned (list A) interferes with
retrieval of List B
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Let’s Test Your LTM!
• You will see several words, one at a time
• Do whatever you can to try and remember
as many of the words as you can
• At the end of the list, try to recall as many
words as you can
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
BED
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
CLOCK
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
DREAM
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
NIGHT
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
TURN
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
MATTRESS
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
SNOOZE
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
NOD
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
TIRED
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
NIGHT
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
ARTICHOKE
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
INSOMNIA
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
REST
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
TOSS
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
NIGHT
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
ALARM
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
NAP
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
SNORE
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
PILLOW
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Write down the words you saw
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Here are the words in the order viewed
BED
ARTICHOKE
CLOCK
INSOMNIA
DREAM
REST
NIGHT
TOSS
TURN
NIGHT
MATTRESS ALARM
NAP
SNOOZE
SNORE
NOD
PILLOW
TIRED
NIGHT
Did you recall?
Bed? Clock?
Snore? Pillow?
Night?
Artichoke?
Toss? Toss &
Turn?
Sleep?
Explanation
Primacy Effect
Recency Effect
Spacing Effect
Distinctiveness
Clustering
False Memory
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Serial Position Curve
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Autobiographical Memory
• Memory of personal history
• Constructive in nature
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Constructive Nature of LTM
• Bartlett (1932) was the first to
demonstrate distortions for prose
– Read stories about Native Americans
– Subjects were good at recalling “gist”
information
– Omission of detail was systematic
• Tended to omit information that did not
make sense to the participants
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Constructive Nature of LTM
• Prior experience influences how we
recall information
• Having retrieval cues can help us recall
more information, but cues can also
lead to errors
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Owens, Bower and Black (1979)
Nancy arrived at the cocktail party. She looked around the room to see who was
there. She went to talk with her professor. She felt she had to talk to him but
was a little nervous about just what to say. A group of people started to play
charades. Nancy went over and had some refreshments. The hors d’oevres
were good but she was interested in talking to the rest of the people at the party.
After a while, she decided she’d had enough and left the party.
Some participants also heard that passage, but w/ this theme:
Nancy woke up feeling sick and she wondered if she really were pregnant. How
could she tell the professor she had been seeing? And the money was another
problem.
Participants were then asked to recall as much about the story as
they could
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Owens, Bower and Black (1979) Results
Studied
Propositions
Inferred
Propositions
Theme
29.2
No Theme
20.3
15.2
3.7
The “theme” offered some background information and
some retrieval cues, which increased recall.
However, the background info also led to more
intrusions (memory for information not present), such as
“The professor got Nancy pregnant.”
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Memory Distortion
• Simply recalling may distort your
memory
• Simple suggestion may distort your
memory
• Memory is constructive in nature
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Schacter’s “Seven Sins of Memory”
1. Memories are transient (fade with time)
2. We do not remember what we do not pay
attention to
3. Our memories can be temporarily blocked
4. We can misattribute the source of memory
5. We are suggestible in our memories
6. We can show memory distortion (bias)
7. We often fail to forget the things we would
like not to recall (persistence of memory)
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Eyewitness memory
• The single greatest cause of wrongful
convictions nationwide, playing a role
in more than 75% of convictions
overturned through DNA testing.
• http://www.innocenceproject.org/
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
• Participants were all shown the same
video of an accident between two cars
• Some subjects asked: “How fast were
the cars going when they smashed into
each other?”
• Others were asked: “How fast were the
cars going when they hit each other?”
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
“How fast were the cars going when they ________ into
each other?”
Word Used
Average Speed Estimated
Smashed
Collided
Bumped
Hit
Contacted
41 m.p.h.
39 m.p.h.
38 m.p.h.
34 m.p.h.
32 m.p.h.
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Problems with Lineups
• Assumption that
perpetrator is in
lineup
• Distractor selection
is also important
• Police behavior
may also influence
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Children’s Eyewitness Memory
• Be wary of repeated questioning
• Leading questions may distort memory
• Younger children are more suggestible
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
False Memories / Memory Illusions
• Roediger & McDermott (1995)
– Present a list of associated words, missing one
“target” word (e.g., tired, bed, night, dream,
etc., but not SLEEP)
– With immediate recall, participants tend to
recall the non-presented target item
– More importantly, when asked whether they
“remember” or “know” the word was on the
list, they report an actual memory for the item
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
False Memory cont’d
• Garry, Manning, Loftus & Sherman (1996)
– Participants complete Life Events Inventory
(LEI)
– Then are led through imagination exercises
– Fill out LEI again
• The results show that when participants
imagine events that they said did not
happen to them, they are more likely to say
they did happen to them
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Repressed or Recovered Memories
of Abuse
• A person remembers now that 20 years ago,
•
•
•
someone sexually abused them
Traumatic memory was previously
repressed, but was recovered (often) under
hypnosis in therapy
Validity of recovered memories?
Empirical evidence for Freudian repression?
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Can Painful Abuse Memories be
Repressed?
• Skeptics argue that repression (or in some
cases dissociation) of sexual memories is a
concept without any scientific merit
• If repression does not exist, there can be
no such thing as a recovered repressed
memory; rather, a recovered memory of
abuse can only be a false memory of abuse
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
False Memory vs. Repressed
Memory Issue
• Evidence for suggested false memory
is not automatically evidence against
repressed-recovered memories, and
vise versa
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
No Consensus on the Issue
• Results vary dependent upon characteristics sample
(volunteers, children, child services, adult recall, etc.)
– Some abuse memories are not traumatic, and thus are
presumably not repressed, rather they may be forgotten, like
any memory
• Post-traumatic stress syndrome may also occur
– One symptom is recurrent, intrusive thoughts about the
traumatic incident—this is the opposite of repression
• Some may handle memory of sexual abuse by
blocking out of mind either by repression or
dissociation
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Flashbulb Memories
• Some researchers propose that events
that are particularly surprising or
arousing will yield flashbulb memories
• Where were you when the…
– Challenger explosion occurred?
– OJ verdict was read?
– JFK was assassinated?
– Bombing of the twin towers?
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Flashbulb Memories
• Some research proposes good memory for
– Place where you learned of information
– What you were doing when you heard it
– Where you heard the information from
– Emotions in self and others
– The aftermath
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Emotion and Memory
• There is a strong relationship (.90)
between the emotionality and vividness of
memory
– This does not mean that the memory is
accurate
• Emotional events seem to be less resistant
to forgetting over time…
– Perhaps they are perceived better
– Perhaps we think about them more
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Flashbulb Memory Results
Neisser and Harsch (1992)
– Tested immediate memory for Shuttle
Explosion, and then tested it again 3
years later
– There was little agreement with the two
“memories” despite the confidence of the
participants
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Specificity
• Memory is improved when information
available at encoding is also available
at retrieval
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Amabile & Rovee-Collier (1991)
• The match between encoding and
test for babies is very important
• 3 & 6 month old infants were
taught in crib with a particular
bumper background to kick to
move the mobile
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Amabile & Rovee-Collier (1991)
• Infants kicked more strongly in the
same context
• However, you can teach infants in
multiple contexts to weaken the
encoding specificity
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Specificity
Tulving & Thompson (1973)
1st Study list: Learn target words in capital letters
Cue
Target
head
LIGHT
grasp
BABY
2nd Free association: Generate 6 words for each word
presented
Word
Possible Generations
dark
light, black, room….
infant
sleeping, bottle, baby….
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
3rd Recognition Test: Circle any generated words that
were in the study list in capital letters
Word
dark
infant
Possible Generations
light, black, room….
sleeping, bottle, baby….
4th Recall: Recall the words from the study list in
capital letters, using these cues that they were
studied with
Word
Possible Generations
grasp
________
head
________
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Tulving & Thompson (1973) Results
Percentage of words
Recalled / Recognized
100
They recalled
more than they
recognized!
50
0
Free Association
Recognition test
Study List
Recall test
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Encoding Specificity
• Tulving (1983)
– People encode the context with the target
material
• Physical match (class, diving, smell)
• Emotional match (happy, depressed)
• Understanding match (childhood amnesia,
under the influence of drugs match)
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Memory Development--Kail
• Asked participants aged 6 to 21 to do
mental addition to a memory search
• Found age-related increases in the
amount of information that could be
held in memory
• Is it the capacity that increases or the
ability to use the capacity?
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Kail & Hall (1999)
• 12 boys and 12 girls at ages 8, 9, 10, 11, and
•
12 years
Given simple addition and subtraction word
problems
– “Nancy has 6 marbles. Eve has 3
marbles. How many marbles does Nancy
need to give away to have as many as
Eve?”
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Results
• Both domain-specific and general
information-processing skills
contribute to children's success on
word problems
• Thus, older children holding larger and
more complex bits of information
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Metamemory Knowledge in
Children
• Young children
– Underuse strategies
– Have little connection between memory
awareness and memory strategies
– Less likely to spontaneously use memory
strategies
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Appel, Cooper, McCarrell, SimsKnight,
Yussen & Flavell (1972)
• Preschoolers (4 yrs old), First Graders (7 yrs old)
•
•
•
and fifth graders (11 yrs old)
Given either a “Look” or a “Remember” task
9-15 Pictures of vehicles, clothes, food were
displayed
Children were observed to see if they showed
any behaviors indicating a memory strategy
during the “look and memory” task
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Appel et al. Results
• If told to “look”, no one used a
memory strategy
• If told to “remember”, older children
used a strategy to help, preschoolers
did not
• Older children remembered more
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Cognitive Monitoring
• What you know and what you do not
know
– Flavell, Friedrichs & Hoyt (1970)
– Preschool and elementary children asked
to study a set of items until they were
sure they could recall them perfectly…
– When tested, elementary children could
recall pretty well, the preschool children
could not.
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 6
Memory in Adulthood
• Cohen (1992)
– Older university students received better
coursework grades than younger students
– However, if timed recall was required,
they did less well.
– Most age decline can be compensated for
by expertise