1/19/12 Memory MAR 3503 January 24, 2012 Basic memory processes •  Encoding –  Codes can be acousAc, visual, or semanAc •  Storage –  Can store episodic, procedural, or semanAc memories •  Retrieval –  Can be done via recogniAon or recall Sensory memory •  “Holding cells” –  Holds informaAon from the sensory registers unAl it can be processed further •  FleeAng •  Brings conAnuity to the world •  Only some is passed on for further processing 1 1/19/12 Short-­‐term (working) memory •  Holds limited amounts of informaAon unAl it is: –  Used in response –  Stored more permanently –  Lost •  InformaAon can be encoded: –  AcousAcally (ECVTGB or HLEITF) –  Visually –  And other ways (e.g., kinestheAcally) STM capacity •  Is determined with a memory span test •  “Magic number” thought to be 7 +/-­‐ 2 •  Capacity can be increased by “chunking” •  7 meaningful units, rather than 7 le\ers or numbers STM: The importance of rehearsal • Ps given a list of nonsense syllables • Told to count backwards (to prevent rehearsal) • Stopped a^er certain number of seconds, tested for memory of syllables Peterson & Peterson, 1959 2 1/19/12 Long-­‐term memory •  …Holds informaAon more permanently a^er it has been transferred from STM •  PotenAally unlimited capacity •  Usually involves semanAc coding –  Surface features are less important A model of memory Environmental input Response Retrieval Short-­‐term (working) memory Sensory memory Encoding Long-­‐term memory Storage How LTM and STM interact 3 1/19/12 How LTM and STM interact •  The serial posiAon curve •  Primacy effect –  Early items in list remembered well because you had Ame to transfer them into LTM •  Recency effect –  Later items in list remembered well because they’re sAll in STM •  Obvious implicaAons for –  Lists –  Commercials The seven sins of memory •
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The sin of transience The sin of absent-­‐mindedness The sin of blocking The sin of misa\ribuAon The sin of suggesAbility The sin of bias The sin of persistence Transience •  Memories are connecAons between neurons in the brain –  Without use, these connecAons weaken or even disappear •  Forgedng –  InformaAon is likely sAll there, just not being retrieved properly 4 1/19/12 LTM: How do we get info to stay in? •  Rehearsal –  Transmits info to LTM, strengthens connecAons between neurons –  Not just any rehearsal though (some work be\er than others) •  Best: ElaboraAve rehearsal/elaboraAve encoding –  This helps us create cues for remembering ElaboraAon # of words recalled (of 10) 3 t Ac
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ic 2.5 –  Whether it was in 2 uppercase le\ers –  Whether it rhymed with 1.5 XXXX 1 –  Whether it meant the 0.5 same as YYYY –  Whether it described 0 them Ph
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•  Ps saw 40 adjecAves •  For each, they were asked to indicate: Rogers et al., 1977 How LTM is organized AssociaAve Network OREO cow milk farm cookie chocolate wheat flour brown bakery cake mud slice pie golf 5 1/19/12 Principles of an associaAve networks •  Spreading acAvaAon •  Priming –  …AcAvaAng a node in memory –  A primed, or acAvated, node may then acAvate other nodes and may trigger associated behaviors •  One implicaAon –  The more associaAons a node (e.g., a product) has, the be\er its chance of gedng acAvated/
retrieved Retrieval from LTM •  Retrieval cues –  Pull informaAon from long-­‐term memory into short-­‐term memory •  Which cues will be effecAve? –  Encoding specificity •  The best cues for retrieval are the ones that were there at encoding Retrieval: Context dependence Cues can be very broad. Memory can be helped by similariAes between the encoding and retrieval environments. Godden & Baddeley, 1975 6 1/19/12 Retrieval: Context dependence •  Retrieval is be\er when the condiAons of retrieval match the condiAons of encoding –  Under water –  Classroom –  Mood –  Odors –  Chemicals Encoding (Learning) Retrieval (Test) Cues and context Absent-­‐mindedness •  Lapses of a\enAon that result in failing to remember informaAon –  Info that never gets encoded properly –  Info that is available in memory by is overlooked at the Ame we need to retrieve it •  Divided a\enAon o^en at fault –  Prevents us from transferring info to LTM –  Interferes with recollecAon (specific details of event) but not familiarity (remembering that an event happened) Absent-­‐mindedness •  Failures of retrospec(ve memory –  Not remembering something that happened in the past –  Divided a\enAon o^en at fault •  Prevents us from transferring info fully to LTM, or creaAng the right cues •  Interferes with recollecAon (specific details of event) but not familiarity (remembering that an event happened) •  Failures of prospec(ve memory –  Not remembering something that you’re supposed to do •  Time-­‐based cues easy to forget •  Event-­‐based cues easier to elaborate on, more likely to succeed 7 1/19/12 Blocking •  Two types of interference –  RetroacAve interference •  Learning new info interferes with the memory of the old Blocking •  Interference, conAnued –  ProacAve interference •  Old knowledge interferes with ability to learn something new –  Part-­‐list cueing •  Learn a list •  Recall for part of the list is cued •  The parAal retrieval can block recall of the rest of the list –  Ex. “We’re be\er than Tide and Cheer” Blocking •  Names are very commonly blocked –  Name retrieval comes a^er visual and conceptual memory, which can interfere with the name •  They’re also only tenuously linked to a name –  Also partly due to there being only one name per person, so you can’t fall back on a synonym •  The Ap of the tongue effect 8 1/19/12 Tip of the tongue •  Most common for infrequent words –  Lack of use weakens connecAons between lexical and phonological aspects of words •  They sAll exist; that’s why you can know what the first le\er is •  “Ugly sisters” play a part –  The related but incorrect words that you come up with –  Like part-­‐list cueing—blocks the true word from coming forth Misa\ribuAon •  Another reason why the filing cabinet metaphor isn’t right •  Deese lists and lures •  Schemas can be acAvated at encoding and misapplied –  (Similar to miscategorizaAon) –  Leads to schema-­‐consistent recall •  Can work in a marketer’s favor •  Or against it SuggesAbility •  The power of the quesAon –  Watch a tape of a car accident –  How fast were the cars going when they…? Contacted? 31.8 mph Hit? 34.0 mph Collided? 39.3 mph Smashed? 40.5 mph • 1 week later: Did you see any broken glass when they: • Smashed: 32% yes • Hit: 14% yes • Control condiAon (no verb): 12% yes Lo^us & Palmer, 1974 9 1/19/12 Bias •  Our desires and beliefs guide our memories –  Just as the format of a quesAon can shape the answer, so can the answer we want to give shape the answer we actually give •  Stereotypes influence what we recall about others –  People “remember” women were more emoAonal than men last month –  People are more likely to “remember” Black-­‐sounding names correspond to criminals than White-­‐sounding names •  We’ll talk about biased memories more later in the semester Persistence •  Ever get a song stuck in your head? •  The opposite of the other sins—remembering something you want to forget •  Usually negaAve memories fade faster than posiAve ones (see bias, too)—why don’t these? –  ConAnual reminding –  Cues too common or too strong –  Suppression backfires Why the irony? •  Two processes: –  AutomaAc target search: automaAcally “looks for” the unwanted (to-­‐be-­‐suppressed) thought all during the suppression period, and if it finds the target it alerts the controlled distracter search to focus on something else –  Controlled distracter search: operates when the person implements the plan to think of something else. But when cogniAve resources are scarce or stretched to the limit (for instance, under cogniAve load, as when you are asked to remember a number for later recall), this distracter search may fail 10 1/19/12 Ironic sexism Summary •  How can memory be improved? –  Rehearsal and chunking keeps info in STM longer •  This may aid transfer to LTM –  Elaborate encoding (including self-­‐relevance) encourages integraAon into LTM –  Retrieval and encoding should occur under similar condiAons –  Interference should be minimized •  But, what’s stored might not be the same as what’s retrieved. Watch out for –  Schemas –  Leading quesAons Next Ame •  What are adtudes? •  How do we form them? 11