Module 24 Memory

Behavioural Perspective * Concentrates on OVERT behavior * Stress S – R relationship and argues that this one “STAMPED IN”

Cognitive Perspective O
Predict
Expect
Evaluate
Memory

Predict
Expect
Evaluate
Memory

S R

Chimpanzees Experiment: Waiting at the place where the drone went pass to get it down
Insight – the sudden understanding of how to solve a problem as a result of re-organizing the problem.

Memory – the learning that persists overtime.

Measuring Memory * Recall – retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time. (i.e. Fill-in-the-blank question) * Recognition – identifying items previously learned. (i.e. Multiple choice question) * Relearning – learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time. (i.e. measures the time you save when learning the same thing the second time)

Tests of recognition and of time spent relearning demonstrate that we remember more than we can recall.
As rehearsal increases, relearning time decreases.

Information processing model * Encoding – get information into our brain * Storage – retain that information * Retrieval – later get the information back out

Parallel processing – the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously, the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions.

Connectionism * Neural connections are established. * When it is activated, then different pathways are used. * Every time you learn something new, your brain’s neural connections change, forming and strengthening pathways that allow you to interact with and learn from your constantly changing environment.

Three-stage model (Atkinson and Shiffrin’s) 1) First we record to-be-remembered information as a fleeting sensory memory. 2) From there, we process information into short-term memory, where we encode it through rehearsal. 3) Finally, information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval.

Sensory Memory * Preserves information in its original form for a short time. * The sensation lingers briefly after the S has ended. * Iconic memory – a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second. * Echoic memory – a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 s. * Decays when time in seconds between presentation of consonants and recall request is longer. * Fades away and not continue in the memory system.

Short-Term Memory * “Working memory” – information that we’re consciously aware of * Can hold information for about 15-20s. * Has a limited capacity and can hold 7+2 pieces of information (memory span) * Works on a “buffer system” * Displacement occurs

Baddeley * Working memory of STM * Working memory is a newer understanding of STM that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from LTM.

Auditory Rehearsal Central Executive Visual-Spatial Information
(i.e. mentally repeating a (focuses attention) (i.e. mentally arranging password to enter it online) furniture in a room)

Long-Term Memory (weak evidence) * Elaborative Rehearsal which is forming associations * Has an unlimited capacity * Information is stored indefinitely
Formal elaborative rehearsal Techniques 1) Chunking – organizing items into familiar units; often occurs automatically (i.e. TV.YMCA.FBI) 2) Mnemonics – memory aids especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. a) Peg word system – take items and associate them with rhythms b) Method of loci c) Acronyms (i.e. HOMES) 3) Hierarchies – composed of a few broad concepts divided and subdivide into narrower concepts and facts.
Evidence
1) Flashbulb Memories 2) Age-regression through hypnosis 3) Penfield ESB (electrical stimulation of the brain)

Spacing effect – the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
Testing effect – effective way to distribute practice.

Effortful processing * Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. Learning to read wasn’t automatic. But with experience and practice, your reading became automatic.
Explicit memory * Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” (declarative memory).
Automatic processing * Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
Implicit memory * Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection (nondeclarative memory)

Levels of Processing
Level 1 Appearance
Level 2 Sound Shallow processing
Level 3 Meaning Deep processing

* The deeper the processing, the better our retention. We are more likely to memorize it because we understand them more thoroughly. * The amount remembered depends both on the time spent learning and on your making it meaningful for deep processing.

Memory

=>effortful processing (Myers)
Declarative memory system [explicit memory] * Stores in frontal lobes and hippocampus * Memory for information + facts a) Semantic Memory * General information about rules on things that we over learned (I.e. color of 5-dollar bill) b) Episodic Memory * Memory for specific events, they are usually unique events rather than repeated ones. (i.e. first kiss)

* Recalling a password and holding it in working memory would activate the left frontal lobe. Calling up a visual party scene would likely activate the right frontal lobe. * Memory Consolidation – Hippocampus seems to be where the brain temporarily holds the elements of a remembered episode – its smell, feel, and location. Then, memories migrate for storage elsewhere.

=>automatic processing (Myers)
Procedural memory system [implicit memory] * Stores in cerebellum and basal ganglia * Cerebellum – classical conditioning; Basal ganglia – motor movement * Memory of skills and action * Infantile amnesia – conscious memory of our first three years is blank.

Emotions * When we are excited or stressed, those hormones make more glucose energy available to fuel brain activity, signaling the brain that something important has happened. Moreover, stress hormones focus memory. Stress provokes the amygdala to initiate a memory trace in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia and to boost activity in the brain’s memory-forming areas. * Emotional events produce tunnel vision memory. They focus our attention and recall on high priority information, and reduce our recall of irrelevant details. * Flashbulb memories – a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. * Long-term potentiation (LTP) – increased efficiency of potential neural firing, provides a neural basis for learning and remembering associations. * Approaches to improving memory: focuses on drugs that boost the LTP-enhancing neurotransmitter glutamate, and developing drugs that boost production of CREB, a protein that also enhances the LTP process.

Why is information not accessible from LTM?
(Tip of the tongue)
Due to 1) Context-Dependent Memory * Not being able to recall because the cues used at encoding and retrieval do not match * Encoding specificity principle – the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it. * Retrace the context when trying to find something, cue of the end notes of a song, prof finds it difficult to recognize the student when not on campus

2) State-Dependent Memory * Physical/mental states (D-D > S-D & D-S) * Mood-congruent memory – the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

3) Interference * Learning –---------------------- Retrieval retention interval a) Retroactive Interference (backward acting) * Newer information interferes with the recall of older information Study Economics => Study Psychology => Economics Test b) Proactive Interference * Older information interferes with the recall of newer information
Study Psychology => Study Economics => Economics Test

Serial-Position Effect * Beginning (primacy effect) => Position in list => End (recency effect) * When interval is longer, then it is tougher to remember things in position in list and recency effect is not in effect.

Module 26
Anterograde amnesia – an inability to form new memories
Retrograde amnesia – an inability to retrieve information from one’s past * Encoding failure
Working memory => long-term memory storage
Encoding failure leads to forgetting * Storage decay
The course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time. (Ebbinghaus’) * Retrieval failure
Proactive interference – the forward-acting disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
Retroactive interference – the backward-acting disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information. * Motivated forgetting
We repress painful or unacceptable memories to protect our self-concept and to minimize anxiety. But the repressed memory lingers, he believed, and can be retrieved by some later cue or during therapy.

Memory construction errors

1) Distortion * Inaccurate in color of the dress 2) Construction * We “add on” to information stored in memory * We make an inference to fill the gap a) Misinformation Effect * When misleading information into your memory of the event (misleading information given after the event) b) Imagination Effect * Imagining over and over and it becomes like real memory
Source amnesia * Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
Priming – the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

Module 27 Thinking

Concept – A grouping of things that have some underlying similarity
Prototype – An ideal model or best example of a particular concept

Problem-Solving 1) Trial + Error (doesn’t guarantee an answer) 2) Insight (sudden realization) 3) Algorithm – Step-by-step method that will guarantee a solution 4) Heuristic – Uses a “shortcut” but doesn’t guarantee a solution

Obstacles to Problem-Solving 1) Confirmation bias – we tend to see only information that supports our preconceptions. (Tend to ignore the information that contradicts) superstitions 2) Fixation – we become fixed, stuck, hung up on a wrong solution and are blind to alternatives. 3) Functional Fixedness – we tend to see that an object can have different functions. 4) Mental Set – sets you up in terms of how you think

Things that Influence decisions on judgments: 1) Availability Heuristic – we assume that events are common than they really are because they’re vivid or memorable. (Thinking that winning is more common than losing) (plane crash draws more attention than car crash) 2) Overconfidence – overestimate the accuracy of the knowledge we acquired 3) Belief Perseverance 4) Framing – how we present an issue (80% will pass vs. 20% will fail)