Outcome 2 Unit 3
Memory
Memory
• Is an active information processing system
that receives, encodes, stores and retrieves
information.
3 steps in creating memories
Encoding, storage and retrieval
1) Encoding: changing information into
something meaningful that the brain can
understand.
The information we see in the environment is in a raw form. It is
encoded into electricity or chemicals the brain can use.
Better we encode the information the easier it
is to store.
Levels(depth) of processing by
• Ones ability to recall items depends upon the
depth processing/encoding.
How info
is stored in
LTM
Shallow - poor encoding
Medium – good encoding
Deep – excellent encoding
Type
Level
Focus
Example
Structural
Shallow (easy The physical
to forget)
characteristics of
words
Word
begins with a capital letter,
has double letters in it,
length
Phonemic
Moderate
The sound of the
word
Noticing that the word
rhymes with my name,
saying the word
Semantic
Deep (hard
to forget)
The meaning
attached to
the word
Noticing that the word is
the
same as my street name
the deeper levels of processing = stronger memory has been
formed.
• Why semantic is the best/deepest level of
processing
- More attention
- Relate new info to your own words
- Use elaborative rehearsal
- Question new info
- Connect new and old info
- Generate your own examples from own
experiences
Overall
• A deeper level of processing involves giving
attention to the meaning of information and
therefore is related to elaborative rehearsal. A
memory will be much stronger the more it is
elaborated and given meaning.
Q
• Compare and construct structural, phonemic
and semantic levels of encoding.
A
• The structural level of encoding focuses on the
physical attributes of a word and is the most
shallow level, which makes items easy to
forget. In contrast, the phonemic level of
encoding involves retaining a stimulus word
according to what it sounds like. This is a
moderate level of encoding. In comparison the
semantic level of encoding encodes by means
of understanding, or by allocating personal
meaning to the items to be remembered. This
is the deepest encoding level.
Questions
• In terms of your knowledge of levels of
processing, how can you use this to assist you
with the understanding of your Psychology
notes???
Answer
• Link new terms to terms you already know, so
that you use semantic encoding to process
them.
2) Storage
• Retention (maintaining) of information and
memories over time
3) Retrieval
• Locating and recovering the stored
information from memory so that we are
consciously aware of it.
• Actual process of
remembering is
apparent
• Michael is completing a French listening
comprehension exercise. which three
processes are required for Michael to
complete the task?
• A. attention, encoding and storage
• B. attention, storage and retrieval
• C. encoding, storage and retrieval
• D. encoding, storage and consolidation
• Sam is able to retain the vocabulary he
learned in his French class long after the class
has ended. The main memory process that
accounts for the fact that Sam can hold
information in his memory for extended
periods of time is
• A. encoding.
• B. retrieval.
• C. chunking.
• D. storage.
• Types of long term memories
- Procedural = Memory of actions and skills or
‘how to do something’
- Declarative(2 types) - Episodic Memory: holds
information about specific events or personal
experiences
Semantic Memory – memory of facts
- Retrograde amnesia – can form new memories
but cant remember old memories
- Anterograde amnesia – cant form new memories
but can remember old memories
Mechanisms in Memory
Formation
• Memories are stored throughout the brain
rather than in one particular area.
Mechanisms in Memory
Formation
• 1) Temporal lobe and Hippocampus:
- Hippocampus is found in the medial temporal
lobe.
- involved in consolidation
- essential for establishing/forming
long-term memories
- Language memories
H.M., Research
• Had his medial temporal lobe removed (where
hippocampus is located)
• Memory abilities were severely affected
How
• Results in anterograde amnesia = Cant form
new declarative memories.
• Can still retrieve and learn procedural
memories.
• Can still retrieve/remember older memories
prior to the damage.
• 2) role of neurons:
- Cant directly observe memory, BUT can study
the biological changes (what happens to the
neurons when memory is formed).
- memory trace/circuits: biological change in
the brain when a memory is formed
Structure
Function
More …..
Axons
Dendrites
Synapse
Neurotransmitters
Better connection
points (synapse) =
Long Term
Potentiation = more
than 1 firing
= Better memory
LTP = lasting strengthening of connections between
neurons resulting in enhanced functioning/firing due
to repeated stimulation.
Presynaptic (sending) neuron releases
neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic
cleft which cross to the receptors of the
receiving neuron. This fires the neuron
to pass the message along to the next
neuron and the process continues.
Things that help the signal to pass
• Amount of neurotransmitters secreted
• Presence of other molecules
• Number of receptor molecules
• 3) Amygdala (medial temporal lobe) – learning
associated with a fear or emotional response.
• Winning a grand final
• Divorce
• Phobias/post traumatic stress linked to abnormal
functioning in amygdala
• If damaged have problems with the formation of
implicit/procedural memories
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdALwuYt
G8
Implicit and Explicit memories
Implicit memory : do not require conscious
control. E.g brush your teeth.
Explicit memory: conscious, intentional
recollection of previous experiences and
information. E.g writing an exam
Tasks requiring implicit memory
• mirror tracing
• reading reversed text
• singing part of a familiar song
Tasks requiring explicit memory
• paired associate learning
• identifying the head of state
• writing a term paper
4) Consolidation Theory: idea that memory /
physical changes take up to 30min to
set/consolidate and become permanent in LTM
• Interrupted = will not form
• Gradual establishment of LTM through altering
connections between neurons in the brain
during and after learning.
• During a netball game Pina was briefly knocked unconscious
when her head was bumped by another player. Pina suffered
some memory loss.
• Question 18
• Consolidation theory suggests that Pina will be
unable to remember
• A. the person who had scored the goal before
her injury.
• B. the names of the members of her team.
• C. the position she plays for her team.
• D. her mobile telephone number.
• Question 19
• According to consolidation theory, Pina’s
memory loss is due to
• A. her short-term memory being erased.
• B. the destruction of existing memory traces.
• C. her memory traces for events just prior to
the incident being repressed.
• D. a disruption to the formation of her
memory traces for the events just prior to the
incident
Q
• How may the consolidation of information
into memory be likened to the process of
concrete setting and hardening?
A
• Just as concrete takes a period of time to set,
harden and become permanent, so does the
setting of information into LTM. If the
consolidation period is disrupted, either by
accident or interference, the memory may be
altered or completely lost. Like concrete, once
the memory is consolidated, it is relatively
permanent. Consolidation takes at least
30minutes on average.
• 5) Memory decline over the lifespan:
Memory loss is not a normal (doesn't necessarily
occur) consequence of ageing.
• Largely varied – even among people of the same
age.
• Recall declines
• Recognition does not
• Reaction time decreases
• Episodic (life events) memories decrease the
most (semantic and procedural stay the same)
Old
Young
Reaction time decrease
Reaction time normal
Recall decrease
Recall normal
Recognition normal
Recognition normal
Semantic (facts) memories
normal
Semantic (facts) memories
normal
Episodic (life events) memories
decrease
Episodic (life events) memories
n
normal
Procedural (skills) memories
normal
Procedural (skills) memories
normal
Why?
1) Slowing of the NS. neurons firing more slowly
than they once did. Frontal lobe shrinks.
2) Negative stereotyping of the aged. Lack the
confidence they once had to perform well in
tests of memory.
3) Lack of motivation. See learning as
meaningless.
• Matilda is 75 years of age. She is fit and
healthy and is not suffering from brain disease
or injury. Over the last few years, Matilda has
most likely
• A. performed more poorly on recognition
tasks than previously.
• B. found it difficult to learn new material.
• C. found it difficult to remember procedural
memories.
• D. not experienced large memory losses.
• Harry is a healthy 70-year-old man who has no
brain disease or injury. Choose the statement that
most probably describes his memory abilities.
• A. He has joined a book club but cannot
remember much about the weekly meetings.
• B. He is just as likely as a young person to
recognise newly learnt information.
• C. He finds it very difficult to remember how to
do activities he once enjoyed.
• D. He is likely to forget factual information that
he once knew well.
6) Diseases
• Amnesia: some form of memory loss – can be
total or partial.
• Anterograde Amnesia: can not form new
declarative memories after injury. STM are
impacted.
• Retrograde Amnesia: cant retrieve memories
prior to injury. LTM are impacted. (usually
temporary – older events will be recovered
first)
• Which one of the following is not an expected
effect of ageing on memory?
• A. taking longer to develop new skills
• B. decline in episodic memory
• C. decline in procedural memory
• D. slowed retrieval of information from
memory
• Jenny had a brain injury two years ago. She
now finds that although she remembers and
recognises her old friends, she cannot
remember people she has met since the injury.
• She is most likely suffering from
• A. retrograde amnesia.
• B. retroactive interference.
• C. proactive interference.
• D. anterograde amnesia.
• Caitlin suffered a head injury after a bicycle
accident. Caitlin’s doctor told her that she was
experiencing anterograde amnesia.
• The doctor may have come to this conclusion
based on Caitlin’s
• A. difficulty forming new social relationships.
• B. inability to remember getting ready for
work before the accident.
• C. ability to recognise her family members.
• D. epileptic seizures following the accident.
• Five years ago Samantha sustained permanent
brain damage when she was in a serious cycling
accident. Samantha can remember most aspects
of her life prior to the accident. However, she
cannot recall anything about the accident and
she is unable to learn and remember new
information.
• Samantha’s inability to learn and remember new
information is known as _____________ amnesia.
• A. proactive
• B. retrograde
• C. retroactive
• D. anterograde
Neurodegenerative disease: progressive decline
in structure, activity and functions of brain
activity.
- Dementia and Alzheimers:
Dementia:
- describes a variety of symptoms (not only
memory loss) poor judgement, social skills,
abnormal reactions
Dementia = symptom
Alzheimer's = disease
Alzheimer’s = incurable and degenerative disease
that causes a loss of neurons and therefore
synapses in the brain.
4th largest cause of death in Australia
Appears that neurons shrink and eventually
disappear to a greater rate than normal
Damage to hippocampus – memory decline
(memory of skills/procedure are usually the last
to decline)
Treatment to slow the process – No CURE
As the disease develops
- persistent and frequent memory difficulties
especially of more recent events.
- Episodic memory disappears first
- forgetfulness of well known people and places
- vagueness in everyday conversation is common.
In its later stages,
- requires 24-hour care, and they will eventually
lose their capacity to provide speech
- need assistance walking and showering
• What happens to the brain:
- Atrophy: Brain shrinks
- Amyloid plaques: grow between the neurons
and turn hard preventing the neurons from
communicating with each other effectively
- Tangles: build up of protein form inside
neurons and prevent communication
- Decrease in Acetylcholine (ACTH)
Neurotransmitter
• Alzheimer's Disease, a serious brain disorder, in
which levels of ACTH can drop by up to 90
percent. The gradual death of cholinergic brain
cells results in a progressive and significant loss of
cognitive and behavioural function.
• Acetylcholine is the primary chemical carrier of
thought and memory. This excitatory
neurotransmitter is essential for both the storage
and recall of memory, and partly responsible for
concentration and focus. A deficit in acetylcholine
is directly related to memory decline and reduced
cognitive capacity.
Normal Age Related memory
decline
Alzheimer’s Disease
Descriptio
n
Not dementia
May be linked to motivation,
confidence and slowing of the NS
Misconception that all old peoples
memory will decrease with age (varies
with individuals)
Type of dementia
Occur mainly in the old
A progressive and largely incurable
disorder that impairs memory and other
cognitive functions
Key Brain
Structures
Some reduction in size and activity of
frontal lobe
Neurons in the brain decline in speed
of processing
Degeneration of neurons in the brain,
brain tissue shrinks and eventually dies
Plagues and tangles
Lower level of neurotransmitter
involved in memory
Usually begins in the hippocampus
(spreads to other areas)
Memory
processes
Affected
Some decline- episodic memory
No decline in semantic or procedural
problem solving can take longer
Can learn new memories, though may
take longer
Memory loss, forgetfulness, confusion,
poor judgment can occur
Loss of ability to learn new tasks
Initially impaired episodic memory
Then all other memories decline
considerably
Types of memory
• Atkinson-Shiffrin’s multi store model of
memory describes three levels of memory.
Sensory Memory
• Entry point
• Stimuli that bombard our senses are retained
in their original/raw form
• Limited duration (.3 – 4 seconds)
• Unlimited capacity
• We are not consciously aware of the majority of information
that enters sensory memory.
• Any stimulus that is registered in sensory memory is available
to be selected for attention and for processing in STM
• There is a sensory register for each 5 of our senses (we will
only look at 2).
What things are bombarding our
senses?
Types of sensory memories
• 1) Iconic Memory: Visual sensory memory,
stores visual images for around .3 of a second.
• 2) Echoic Memory: Auditory sensory memory,
stores sound in their original form for up to 34 seconds.
• (E.G ask what did you say but you then answer
it anyway) (clap hand and see if the sound lasts)
• Tactile = touch
Sensory memory and attention
• sensory memory needs to be attended to if it
is to enter STM
Sensory memory
• Duration = limited (.3 – 3-4)
• Capacity = unlimited
• Derek perceived Jack playing on the swing as a
continuous moving image rather than a
sequence of still frames moving quickly.
• This is because of Derek’s
• A. iconic memory.
• B. echoic memory.
• C. central executive.
• D. short-term memory.
• Sensory memory is generally thought of as
having _________ capacity and _________
duration.
• A. large; short
• B. large; long
• C. small; long
• D. small; short
• Iconic memory lasts for
• A. a fraction of a second and retains only
visual information.
• B. about a second and retains only auditory
information.
• C. about 3–4 seconds and retains only visual
information.
• D. up to 20 seconds if it is rehearsed.
Short Term Memory (STM)
• Limited capacity and duration
• Once information has been paid attention to it
moves to STM, where 7±2 items of
information can be held for approximately 30
seconds
• Capacity = 7+-2. (overcome by
chunking).
• Duration = average of 20 30seconds. (over come by
rehearsal).
Chunking (capacity)
• Remembering items in clusters and groups
rather than individually.
Increase capacity by increasing the amount of
information in an item. Still 7-9 piece of info.
10100100010000100010010
• 10, 100, 1000, 10000,1000, 100, 10
• 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 9, 6, 7 = ??
Effects of Rehearsal (duration)
• Rehearsal = actively manipulating information so that
it can be retained in memory.
• 1) Maintenance Rehearsal: involves repeating the
information over and over to retain it in STM.
• Very fragile – if interrupted it becomes lost.
• Does little to encode or add meaning to the
information, therefore does not guarantee the
retention of information in to LTM.
• Extends duration
• 2) Elaborative Rehearsal: manipulate new
information to make it more meaningful and
link it with existing information in LTM
(elaborating on information).
• E.g = giving directions. Remember how to get somewhere you
link it to familiar places you already know.
• More active process than maintenance
rehearsal and helps the info to be encoded
and therefore more likely to be transferred to
LTM.
Part of elaborative rehearsal
• Self-referencing effect = involves mentally
involving yourself.
• E.g = remembering the name of a movie or
who was in it you may think of where and who
you watched the movie with.
• Information in short-term memory, at any
given time, typically consists of
• A. information from sensory memory only.
• B. information from sensory memory and
long-term memory.
• C. information from long-term memory only.
• D. information from neither sensory nor longterm memory.
• Which one of the following is an example of
an elaborative rehearsal that could be used to
learn the names of a group of people?
• A. writing a list of names
• B. looking at each face and saying the name
over and over
• C. rehearsing the names in alphabetical order
• D. reading the names many times
Long Term Memory
• Is the relatively permanent memory system that
holds vast amounts of information for a long
period of time.
• 4 types of LTM – Procedural and Declarative.
Declarative is
split into episodic
and semantic memories
• Info enters STM memory by
attention
• Info enters LTM memory by
elaboration/processing
Procedural Memory ‘how to do’
• Memory of actions and skills.
• ‘how to do something’. (tie shoe laces, make
pasta)
• Less likely to forget this memory
• Things that require little conscious
effort
• Implicit memories
Declarative Memory ‘knowing
that’
• Memories of events and facts that can be
brought consciously to mind and explicitly
stated or declared.
• Split into 2 types – Episodic and Semantic
• 1) Episodic Memory:
- specific events or personal experiences.
- details about the time, place and
psychological and physiological state of the
person when the event occurred. E.g most
embarrassing moment, first day of school
• Your name is a semantic memory (as you can
not remember the moment you were named)
• 2) Semantic Memory:
- stores facts and information we know about
the world.
- do not depend on a particular place or time
but are simply facts.
• E.G. Knowledge in areas of expertise, academic knowledge, rules, stories
about the world
• There are 7 continents
• A year has 365 days
Difference between Episodic and
Semantic
EPISODIC
SEMANTIC
Refers to oneself and personal
experiences
Refers to general knowledge
Is organised by time
Not organised by time
Events are remembered
consciously
Susceptible to forgetting
Information is known
Relatively permanent
• Knowing how to play tennis
• What did you do last new years eve?
• What is the name of this character?
Note
• Our name is a fact = semantic memory
• Not episodic because you can not remember
when you were born
• Adam is looking through his atlas for a suitable
outline map of New Zealand to trace.
• His ability to recognise New Zealand is a
function of his
• A. geographical memory.
• B. procedural memory.
• C. semantic memory.
• D. episodic memory.
Serial Position Effect
Is the tendency to remember items from the
beginning and end of a list than the middle.
Serial Position Effect
• When psychologists have studied memory for
serial lists (lists of words and numbers are
presented in a particular order and must be
recalled in that order), a constant finding has
emerged. This is known as the serial position
effect.
• Shows evidence that STM and LTM are
separate.
• Research finding suggests, when using free
recall items at the end, then the beginning of
a list are usually recalled better than those in
the middle of the list.
• Crown, ship, tulip, giraffe, tea, golf, radio,
emotion, shadow, purple, Germany, ice
WHY?
• Primacy Effect – superior recall of items at the
beginning of the list. These words receive
most attention and rehearsal therefore they
enter LTM.
• Recency Effect – superior recall of items at the
end of a list. These words are the last words
heard and are still being help in STM.
• What would happen if there was a 30 second
delay between the last word and recalling
them?
Research suggests
• If recall occurs immediately after the list is learned,
the last few items in a list are remembered best
because they are still in STM. The first few items in
the list are remembered well because they received
more attention and rehearsal then other items and
therefore are transferred into LTM. Items in the
middle of the list are presented to late to be
rehearsed and transferred into LTM and too early to
be held in STM without rehearsal, so they are more
likely to be forgotten.
• If there is a delay in the recall of items from a list
(30 seconds) the recency effect is not evident
because this exceeds the duration of STM .
30 second delay
• If there is a delay in the recall of items from a
list (30 seconds) the recency effect is not
evident because this exceeds the duration of
STM .
• Sinead listened to a list of 20 words. She was
asked to recall the list 10 minutes later.
• Sinead was more likely to remember items
from
• A. both the beginning and end of the list.
• B. the middle of the list.
• C. only the beginning of the list.
• D. only the end of the list.
Q
• Why do we not remember any of the middle
words?
A
• Inferior recall of middle items occurs as they
are beyond the capacity of rehearsal and
encoding from the beginning of the list and
are outside the capacity of short term
memory (7 +-2) for items from the end of the
list.
Q:
• Why would the recency effect disappear when
there was a 30 sec delay before subjects asked
for recall?
A:
• No recency effects because last items could
not be held in STM for that long.
Q:
• What would be the difference between serial
recall and any order recall?
A:
• In serial recall there again would be no
recency effect. By the time you recited items
to be remembered from the beginning in the
serial order, the items at the end could have
decayed from STM.
• Due to the very large capacity of the longterm memory it is vital for us to have a
mechanism in place to help us find relevant
information quickly and easily.
• Without organisation in the long-term
memory we would spend a very long time
searching through all of the information to
find exactly what we were looking for. One of
the theories explaining organisation of the
long-term memory is called the semantic
network theory.
Semantic Network Theory –
Organisation of information in LTM
• Information in LTM is organised systematically
in the form of hierarchial networks of
concepts that are interconnected and
interrelated by meaningful links.
• Each concept/node, is linked with a number of
other nodes. When we retrieve information,
the activation of one node
causes related nodes to be
activated to.
• Longer links between concepts = a weaker
association and will take longer to activate
(and therefore retrieve) the information that is
further away.
• The shorter the links between concepts = the
stronger the association. This will activate
other relevant memories.
Notes
• The retrieval of information from LTM begins
with someone searching a particular ‘region’ of
memory and then tracing associations for links
among concepts in that region, rather than
randomly searching the vast information stored
in LTM.
• A theory that attempts to describe and explain
how information is arranged in long-term
memory is called the
• A. spreading activation theory.
• B. semantic network theory.
• C. consolidation theory.
• D. serial position effect.
• Which one of the following statements about
semantic network theory is not true?
• A. Grouping of information in long-term
memory is based on meaning.
• B. Concepts with strong relationships have
strong links.
• C. Retrieval of a memory may trigger retrieval of
other linked memories.
• D. Only meaningful material can be stored in
long-term memory.
• Multi-store model has 1 criticism.
They explained short-term memory as being
simply a passive ‘holding space’ for
information.
Working Memory Model was introduced by
Baddeley and Graham
Working Memory (second model
of memory)
Baddeley and Hitch
• Is a mental workbench that allows us to
manipulate (not just store it) info from
sensory and LTM.
• working memory is more active and complex
model for the short-term memory.
•
-
Consists of
Central executive
Visuo-spatial sketchpad (sub system)
Phonological loop (sub system)
Episodic buffers
1. Central Executive
Uses info from other parts of working memory.
Uses info from LTM
Makes decisions (most important). Active in
what we attend to or what we ignore.
2. visuo-spatial sketchpad
• Slave system
• Temporarily stores and manipulates
information of a visual and spatial nature from
sensory memory or LTM (when trying to
produce a memory of an image)
• Examples: remembering shapes and colours,
location of speed of objects in space, planning
of spatial movements.
3. phonological loop
• Slave system
• Stores and manipulates information of an
auditory nature (read, listen, speak).
• Consists of 2 sub-systems
1) phonological store: stores info
2) articulatory control system/loop: enables you
to repeat info
4. Episodic Buffer
• Newest slave system
• Can hold info from all parts
• It will retrieve info from LTM that is necessary
to perform tasks (central executive)
How all systems work together
• You hear a familiar sounds (phonological loop)
and as you turn your head towards the sound
you recognise it is your name is being called
out(central executive). Looking out in the
distance you see a person waving at you (visuospatial sketchpad), so you try to recognise their
face by selecting certain features to focus on
(central executive – hair height) and placing
them in the context of being near the year 12
lockers. So the central executive accesses LTM
and retrieves their name to call out.
• In 2000 Baddeley added a fourth component
to the model, called the 'episodic buffer'. This
component is a third slave system, dedicated
to linking information across domains to form
integrated units of visual, spatial, and verbal
information with time sequencing (or
chronological ordering), such as the memory
of a story or a movie scene. The episodic
buffer is also assumed to have links to longterm memory and semantic meaning
Brodie was playing a game while
talking to his friend. Explain in
terms of working memory why
Brodie could do both tasks.
• The visuo spatial sketchpad is used for playing
the game and the
• Phonological loop was used when listening and
• The central executive was able to coordinate
the information from both stores at the same
time as they are involved in different functions.
• Shelley was using mental arithmetic to calculate the cost of
six bread rolls at the bakery. Which subsystems of her
working memory was Shelley using?
• A. the visuo-spatial sketchpad to visualise the calculation,
the phonological loop to mentally say the times tables
and the central executive to integrate her knowledge of
multiplication
• B. the central executive to integrate her knowledge of
multiplication, the visuo-spatial sketchpad to visualise the
calculation and echoic memory to mentally say the times
tables
• C. the visuo-spatial sketchpad to visualise the calculation,
the phonological loop to integrate her knowledge of
multiplication and the central executive to mentally say
the answer
•
•
•
•
•
The visual-spatial sketchpad is
A. activated by verbal command.
B. part of long-term memory.
C. part of working memory.
D. part of iconic memory.
• Working memory refers to
• A. the temporary storage and processing of
information that can be used to solve problems,
respond to environmental demands, or achieve
goals.
• B. memory for facts, images, thoughts, feelings,
skills and experiences that may last as long as a
lifetime.
• C. memory specifically dedicated to working
only with semantic memories.
• D. memory that is expressed in behaviour, and
acquired through conditioned learning and
association
• Ethan is deciding whether to catch the bus or
walk to school. According to Baddeley’s theory
of working memory, the subsystem mainly
responsible for Ethan’s decision making is
• A. the phonological loop.
• B. the visuospatial sketchpad.
• C. the central executive.
• D. the articulatory control system.
Forgetting
• The inability to retrieve previously stored
information when it is required.
• 2 categories of explanations
• Cue dependent explanations= memory loss =
failure to access the necessary cues (retrieval
failure)
• Trace dependent explanations = memory loss
= result of physical alterations to memory
traces located in the brain (interference,
decay, motivated)
Theories of Forgetting
Cue Dependent
• 1) Retrieval Failure Theory/cue dependent forgetting
is an inability to retrieve material due to an absence
of the right cues.
• suggests that memories stored in LTM are not
forgotten, but are temporarily unavailable because of
the lack of cues.
retrieval cue = prompt or a hint eg, photo, question,
song
• Ads
- Research: results improved from 38% (recall)
to 96% when asked to recognise.
- Info is organised in logical ways
• Dis:
- Why do we forget some memories and not
others
TOT phenomenon
• is the feeling of knowing something
but not being able to
retrieve the information
at that point of time.
• supports the retrieval
failure theory
• Indicated memory is
stored in a number of
places
• Why?
1) Inadequate encoding: info may have been
encoded with inadequate retrieval cues
2) Interference from similar things: blocked by
interference from similar sounding material
Trace Dependent Theories: loss occurs as a result
of physical alterations to memory traces
• 1) Interference Theory: forgetting occurs
because other memories interfere with the
retrieval of what we are trying to recall
• more similar the info = more likely it is that
interference will occur
• stronger the initial encoding weaker the
interference
• 2 types
• A) Proactive Interference: old info can interfere
with our ability to recall new information. E.g
continue to type in your old password
PON = proactive: old interfering with new
• B) Retroactive Interference: new information
interferes with the ability to retrieve old
information. E.g cant remember old teachers
name
Tests
Proactive Interference
Learn List A – Password for computer
Learn List B – Learn a new password
Test List B – Trying to remember your
new password (List B)
PON = OLD (list
A) interfering
with new (list B)
Tests
Retroactive Interference
Learn List A (witness an accident at school)
Learn List B (hearing other people talk about
the accident)
Test List A (attempt to recall your own details
that you remember) List A
Retrograde = New
(list B ) interfering
with old (list A)
• NOTE:
• In both the above types of interference, the
one factor that makes interference more
marked is the similarity of the material.
Interference is greatest when information is
similar to the test material.
• 2) Motivated Forgetting: forgetting that arises from
a strong motive/desire to forget, usually because
the experience is too upsetting to remember.
• Based on Freud and his defence mechanisms
• 2 types
• Repression – an unconscious process,
which an individual blocks a memory from
entering conscious awareness.
• Freud - Block b’c it is too psychological
painful or unpleasant to remember the
specific information. Seen as a survival
mechanism.
• Suppression: being motivated to forget by
making a deliberate, conscious effort to keep
it out of C awareness.
• remains aware but actively choose not to
think about it.
• Weakness of motivated forgetting
- Strong emotions result in vivid memories not
forgetting
- Maybe false memories
- Some unpleasant memories, such as car
accidents or victims of assault, may be lost
due to interruption to consolidation rather
than repression
• 3) Decay Theory: forgetting occurs because a
memory trace fades through disuse as time
passes.
• synaptic connections in the neurons decreases
• This theory is most relevant to explain
memory loss in STM.
• However the idea of decay in LTM is not as
widely accepted.
• Weaknesses of decay theory:
Doesn't explain why some elderly people still
have vivid memories that occurred in early
childhood even if they do not use them
• Suggests memories are not permanent
• Also over time memories can be found
therefore other factors rather than decay of
memory traces over time may be responsible
for memory loss.
Other reasons we forget
• Organic causes of forgetting = Brain damage in
the memory area due to physiological causes.
Damage can be from: disease, stroke, head
injury, long term alcoholism, severe
malnutrition, brain surgery or aging.
• Korsakoff’s syndrome - is a neurological
disorder caused by a lack of thiamine in the
brain. Linked to chronic alcohol abuse or
severe malnutrition.
• Which theory explains that forgetting is a
result of a fading memory trace?
• A. decay theory
• B. consolidation theory
• C. levels of processing theory
• D. motivated forgetting theory
• When phoning her sister at work Olivia asks the
receptionist for her sister by her original
surname, rather than her married surname,
which Olivia’s sister now uses.
• According to the interference theory of
forgetting this is an example of
• A. proactive interference.
• B. retrograde interference.
• C. retroactive interference.
• D. anterograde interference.
• According to the decay theory of forgetting
• A. early memories are lost because of
competition from the many subsequent
memories formed.
• B. the right cues for retrieval are lost over
time.
• C. the rate of forgetting increases with age.
• D. a memory is lost because its physical trace
fades.
• Proactive interference is the term used when
• A. previously learnt information makes it
difficult to remember new information.
• B. new information makes it difficult to
remember previously learnt information.
• C. a head injury makes it difficult to remember
information learnt after the injury.
• D. a head injury causes information known
before the injury to be forgotten.
• Fred suffered a stroke.
• The forgetting caused by Fred’s stroke is an
example of
• A. an organic cause of forgetting.
• B. motivated forgetting.
• C. decay theory.
• D. old age.
• Jenny had a brain injury two years ago. She
now finds that although she remembers and
recognises her old friends, she cannot
remember people she has met since the
injury.
• She is most likely suffering from
• A. retrograde amnesia.
• B. retroactive interference.
• C. proactive interference.
• D. anterograde amnesia
• Marika carries out an experiment on memory.
She performs a test of significance and finds that
p < 0.05.
• This means that
• A. there is a less than 5% chance that the results
are due to chance.
• B. there is a greater than 5% chance that the
results are due to chance.
• C. less than 5% of the results are due to chance.
• D. more than 5% of the results are due to
chance.
• A psychologist tests memory recall under two
different conditions.
• A test of significance finds that p > 0.05.
• This means that there is a
• A. less than 5 in 100 chance that the results are
due to chance.
• B. greater than 5 in 100 chance that the results
are due to chance.
• C. less than 5% difference between the results
of the two conditions tested.
• D. greater than 5% difference between the
results of the two conditions tested.
Manipulation and Improvement of
Memory
•
•
•
•
The FORGETTING CURVE
Ebbinghaus and his forgetting curve:
Used nonsense syllables to investigate the rate
and amount of forgetting over time.
Nonsense syllables (3 letters consisting of a
vowel in between) eg. BOF
Why: meaningless, didn’t form associations
with already-learnt words in memory, difficult
to encode.
The Forgetting Curve
- More than half the memory loss
occurs within the first hour of
learning
• Graph shows that forgetting is rapid soon after
the original learning, then the rate of memory
loss gradually declines, followed by stability in
the memories that remain.
• 22 minutes = 42% lost
• 1 hour = 55% lost
• First 8 hours = 65% lost
• The forgetting curve applies regardless of how
long the material is studied
• However
• The forgetting curve for meaningless
information is steeper than for meaningful
material.
• Note: when nonsense syllable words were not used , the rate
of forgetting followed a path similar to the curve, but was not
as fast
• Limitation – does not tell us the cause of
forgetting.
• Ebbinghaus is known for his work on the
features of the forgetting curve. When
Ebbinghaus tested subjects on their ability to
recall nonsense syllables he found that the rate
of forgetting was
• A. steady for the first two days followed by little
decline after that.
• B. slow for the first 8 hours followed by a rapid
decline for two days.
• C. slow for the first 20 minutes followed by a
rapid decline for two days.
• D. rapid for the first 30 minutes, then slowing
with little decline after two days.
Measures of RETENTION
• 3 types
• methods used to find out how much
information has been retained.
• 1) Recall: requires a person to recover stored
information using minimal amount of cues to
assist retrieval (also 3 types of recall).
Types of recall
• A) Free Recall: recalling information in no particular
order with little cues (a list of grocery items, short
answer questions) least sensitive
• B) Serial Recall: recalling information in the order it
was presented ( list of places you are visiting for an
overseas journey in correct order, what you have
eaten all day in order, words from a list)
• C) Cued Recall: where various prompts (cues) are
used to assist the retrieval of information (this
surname is short and begins with D! this place is hot,
is a tourist destination and a bomb went of their in
2002!)
2) Recognition
• involves identifying the correct information
from incorrect alternatives. E.G multi choice
questions, recognising a killer from a range of
pictures)
• E.G if you were asked to remember the names of the people
in your English class last year how many would you
remember with no cues?? compared to if you were asked to
remember the people in your English class from a lost of 50
names??
3) Relearning “method of savings”
• learning information again (another occasion)
that has been previously learnt. Measure the
amount of information ‘saved’ from previous
learning.
• Most sensitive = most detected.
• E.G, toddler takes 5 min to do up shoe lace the
first time, then 3 min to do it the next time.
Toddler has actually saved 2 minutes, thus
providing an estimate of retention
• Note: If a person learns something more
quickly the second time, then we can assume
that they have remembered something from
the first time it was learnt.
Saving Score
Way to measure the saving from each learning.
• Saving score (ebbinghaus) = a way of
measuring the amount of information saved
from previous learning.
• NOTE: Time can be replaced with number of
trial
• (5 – 3) / 5 X 100 = 40 (40% has been retained)
Relative sensitivity of measures of
retention
• Effort required to access the memory
• Recall = least sensitive (most effort)
• Recognition = less sensitive than relearning but
more sensitive than recall
• Relearning = most sensitive (least effort)
Note
• The most sensitive measure of retention is not
necessarily the one that produces the greatest
amount of retrieved information.
• Relearning = try to remember original
information you are not going to remember
as much as if you are able to recognise the
information.
• Therefore recognition results in the most information
remembered
• Which of the following statements is the most
accurate?
• A. Relearning is a less sensitive measure of
retention than recognition.
• B. Recall is a more sensitive measure of
retention than recognition.
• C. The most sensitive measure of retention is
recognition.
• D. The most sensitive measure of retention is
relearning.
• Michael began a job as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company.
He had to learn the names and uses of the company’s 30 products
before he was allowed to begin selling. To test his knowledge, he
was asked to state the names and uses of the 30 products (Task 1).
• Michael did not do well on Task 1 so he was given a list of 40
products and their uses, including the 30 he had studied, and was
asked to identify the original 30 products (Task 2).
• Task 1 is a test of _____________ and Task 2 is a test of
_____________ .
•
•
•
•
A. recognition; relearning
B. recognition; recall
C. recall; recognition
D. recall; relearning
• When Jane was 19 she completed the first two
units of a German language course. Ten years
later, she began the course again and found that
she learned the material in the fist two units
25% more quickly than she did originally.
• This is probably because
• A. relearning is the most sensitive measure of
memory.
• B. the savings score could be calculated.
• C. the material in the first two units was the
easiest.
• D. she was older and therefore her memory
worked better.
• Which of the following is the least sensitive
measure of memory retention?
• A. free recall
• B. recognition
• C. relearning
• D. cued recall
Context and State Dependent cues
1) Context – dependent cues: environmental
cues where memories were formed that act as a
retrieval cue.
E.G : sounds, smells, temperature, sights.
Example = preparing for exams – use similar
timings, location and structure of the exam
Eg. criminal cases, where people are taken back to the
context in order to prompt their memory of the crime. It
reminds us of the power of context dependent cues as far
as our memory is concerned.
Research:
Participants were initially asked to learn a list of
words on land or 20 feet underwater
then given a recall test either in the same or
different conditions.
Those who learnt on land recalled much more on
land while those who learnt underwater did
better when tested underwater.
• 2) State-dependent cues: internal physiological
and psychological cues that act as retrieval cues
at the time the memory was formed.
• Research: Two groups of participants in two
stages. First, the experimental group learn
information while in a special state (alcohol or
marijuana) while the control group learns in
no special state at all. In the second stage of
the study, participants are tested for recall in
the same state in which they learnt or in a
different state. Results show that participants
do better when in the same state as they
learnt compared to a different state.
• The police took Derek back to the park so that
he might be able to remember more detail
about the woman he had seen.
• The police did this because they hoped that
_____________ would help Derek to
remember.
• A. method of loci
• B. narrative chaining
• C. state-dependent cues
• D. context-dependent cues
Mnemonic devices
• Are techniques used for enhancing or
improving memory
• How
- Encoding info more efficiently – imagery and
rehearsal
- Linking with info already in LTM
• 1) Acronyms: Words which are formed from the
initial letters of other words.
• EG: ‘Roy G Biv’ for ‘red orange yellow green blue
indigo violet’
• ANZAC = Australian and NewZealand Army Corps
• EFTPOS = electronic funds transfer at the point of
sale
• created using a version of chunking
Examples
• news - North, east, west, south
Laser – Light Amplified by the stimulated
emission of radiation
WHO = world health organisation
AAMI = Australian Associated Motor Insurers
• 2) Acrostics: phrases or poems where the first
letter of each word functions as a cue to help
memory
Remembering the planets: ‘my very energetic
mother just sits up near pop’ (mercury, venus,
earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune,
pluto)
• Musical notes = every good boy deserves fruit.
• E,G,B,D,F
• Does sue ever paint – declarative, semantic,
episodic, procedural
• Acronyms use initials to form a name/word,
Acrostics take initials from each concept to
form a sentence
3) Narrative Chaining: involves linking otherwise
unrelated items to one another to form a
meaningful sequence or story (narrative)
Put these words into a story
Soup, head, goal, dance, shirt, stream, ice-cream
• The man with the bowl of soup on his head
kicked a goal and then danced all night. When
he awoke the next day, his shirt was filthy so
he washed it in the stream and then ran to get
an ice-cream.
Advantages and Limitations
• Ads:
- encoding information through
elaborative rehearsal.
- linking it with information already in long-term memory.
- Retrieval of a part of the information assists retrieval of
the rest (image).
Dis:
- more effective for information that can be put in word list
form (not complex material)
- used for smaller units of information
Eyewitness testimony – effects of
leading questions
• Eyewitness testimonies: identifying the
perpetrator of illegal behaviour.
• The research of Elizabeth Loftus: found the type
of question(s) presented can have a major
impact on people’s memory.
• First experiment:
• Aim: to investigate the effect of leading
questions on the accuracy of speed estimates
in a perceived car crash.
• Showed a film of a car accident, then asked
questions
• Leading questions = suggests to the witness
what answer is desired by
including false information.
• Research questions: about how fast were the cars
going when they contacted each other?
• The verb contacted was varied (as the IV) with hit,
bumped, collided or smashed being used. All
together 5 different groups/5 conditions.
• The participants estimates of speed (the DV) were
plotted against the verb.
Results
• Results suggest ppl can integrate new and
false information from leading questions
making memory wrong.
- A week later Loftus also asked same participants
- Q = did you see any broken glass?
- Results = people who had been asked with the
smash = 32% compared to those who had been
asked with hit = 14%
• Second Experiment
• 1) Did you see the broken headlight?
Or
• 2) did you see a broken headlight?
• IV = wording of the question
• DV = if they saw or didn't see a broken head
light
• knowing that there had been none.
• Results
• Witness thinks they have missed it so they add
it into their memory.
• Conclusion: memory of an event is not always
accurate but a reconstruction due to leading
questions which contain false information.
• Memory is more likely to be accurate if leading
questions aren't used.
• Leading questions can mislead eyewitnesses
and cause them to incorrectly believe
information.