Memory

Unit 3: Memory

Think about it:

1. If someone asked you what memory is (to define) memory, what would you say?

2. Are there different types / kinds of memory? If so, brainstorm some.

3. How important is the ability to remember? Why? Explain your thoughts?

4. Without our memory we would not survive. Agree or disagree, and explain your choice.

5. Without memories we would not know who we are. Agree or disagree, and explain your choice.

Memory:

The concept of memory is difficult to define.

Memory is one of those abilities that we take for

granted.

Certainly memory is related to learning.

Memory:

Is the system or process by which the products

or results of learning are stored for future use.

There are many ways we memorize learned material:

Serial Learning:

- Material that has been learned must be

repeated in the order which it was presented.

Examples:

- Phone numbers

- Simple procedure like how to make coffee - Math equations

Paired-Associate Learning:- Items to be recalled are learned in pairs. During recall,

one member of the pair is presented and the other is to

be recalled.

Example: Learning a foreign language, basic definition

study, etc.

Free Recall:

- When material that has been learned may be repeated in any order. Here the task is to remember as many items as possible, regardless of their order

Example: Essay Answers.

Read Handout: Initial Studies in Memory:

1. Who was Herman Ebbinghaus?

2. What are nonsense syllables and why are they important?

3. Explain the curve of forgetting.

4. What is a recognition test (provide an example).

5. What is a relearning test? What does it show?

Music and Memory:

Advertisers have found a strategy that emphasizes free recall. . . Use music.

How many commercials have you seen or heard that did not include music or a jingle?

Advertisers assume that we are more likely to remember brands and products if they are associated with catchy phrases or jingles.

Surprisingly little research has been conducted to verify this assumption

Results of research that has been done are mixed:

Some studies have yielded a positive correlation between memory and music, some have found no relationship, and still others have found that music can actually interfere with recall.

Most psychologist conclude that items associated with musical jingles or catchy phrases are easier to retrieve from memory, but that pairing an item with music it does not necessarily enhance recognition of those items

Let’s Test Your Memory for Advertisements:

• Be all that you can be• Army• M'm, M'm good• Campbell’s Soup• Waaay delicious• Wendy’s• Winston tastes good like a

cigarette should• Winston’s Cigarettes• A little dab'll do ya• Brule Cream• Diamonds are forever• Debeers• Just do it• Nike

• Tastes great, less filling

• Miller Lite• Good to the last drop• Maxwell House• Don’t leave home without

it• American Express• Wassup?!• Budweiser• Have it your way.• Burger King• Got milk?• I’m Love’n it• McDonalds

• Eat Fresh• Subway• Have a Break• Kit Kat• Betcha can’t have just one• Lay’s Chips• Makes a nice light snack• Coffee Crisp• Pure Nature• Disani• Be Kool• Kool Aid• Look, Ma, no cavities!• Crest• Zoom Zoom• Mazda• Ingredients for life.

• Safeway• Excelerate your Breath• Excel• You’ll Find Us• Best Sleep Center• Think outside the Bun• Taco Bell• The Best a Man can get• Gillette• Do the Dew• Mountain Dew• You can do it we can help• Home Depot• What’s in your Wallet• Capital one• Is it in you?• Gatorade

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory:

The encoding-storage-retrieval model of memory would serve our purpose well if we only had one type of memory to store

However, we have at least three well-defined types of memory:

- Sensory Memory- Short Term Memory- Long Term Memory

D C R MY NS V

I E G Z

Therefore the information processing model of memory must be modified:

Encoding – “type” of storage – Retrieval

1. Sensory Memory:- Storage of sensory events such as sights, sounds, and

tastes, with no further processing or interpretation

- Provides us with a very brief image of all the stimuli that are present at a particular moment

- it is quite large

Lasts only briefly about one half to one second, depending on which sensory systems are involved

Sensory information that is not selected for further processing by higher brain centers is displaced by incoming stimuli and may be lost completely

2. Short Term Memory:

Once info has be selected from sensory memory, it is transferred to our conscious awareness

Info must be processed in STM before it can be transferred to more permanent storage in LTM

STM lasts only for a short period of time

It appears that items are lost from STM in 10 -20 seconds

For example: one study found that participants’ recall of a three-letter stimulus fell from 90% correct immediately following the presentation of the stimulus, to 5% correct after 18 seconds

There are two reasons for this:

1. Unless memories are practiced or rehearsed they become weaker and fade away

2. To make room for new incoming information some of the memories in STM are pushed out or displaced

For example: In the same experiment as above participants counted backwards by threes (an interfering task) after learning the three-letter stimulus.

The result was that most Short Term information was simply lost.

George Miller and the 7 Plus or Minus 2 Model

Theory states that we can hold approximately 7 (+-) 2 items in our STM

What about phone numbers that are 10 digits with the area code?

Grouping or chunking things is the solution

STM is limited to five to nine items 7(+-)2, each of those items may consist of a chunk or group of items

Phase Two: Working Memory

Initial 15-20 second STM leads to a second phase called working memory

Working memory – the intermediate processing stage between STM and LTM, where attention and conscious effort are brought to bear on the material

For example: you are in class listening to a lecture in which a definition is mentioned. While you hold what the teacher is saying in your STM, you retrieve word meaning from LTM. Then you use Working memory to make sense of the new sentence you just heard.

Long Term Memory:

Memory stage that has a very large capacity and the capability to store information relatively permanently

Rehearsal or practice is important in the transfer of information from STM into LTM

Two types of memory rehearsal:1. Maintenance Rehearsal2. Elaborative Rehearsal

Two Types of Memory Rehearsal to Move Material into LTM: Maintenance Rehearsal: rehearsal used when we

want to save or maintain a memory for a specific period of time.

Elaborative Rehearsal: Meaning is added to the material to be remembered.

- This leads to more permanent memory and promotes transfer of information into LTM.

Why do we forget?

Some memory loss is due to fading or decay of memories over time (Curve of Forgetting)

Other memory loss is caused by interference

There are two main types of memory interference: Proactive Interference Retroactive Interference

Proactive Interference:

Situation in which previously learned (old) information

hinders the recall of information learned more recently

(new information)

For example: You move into a new house but find

yourself still using your old address and phone number

Example 2: In January many people continue to write

the previous year’s date

2. Retroactive Interference:

- Situation when information learned more recently

(new information) hinders the recall of information

learned previously (old information)

- Models of memory suggests that when a memory is

recalled from LTM and enters our consciousness, it may

be combined with new information that have been

received, creating a new memory.

- If this new modified memory is properly rehearsed it

may be transferred back to LTM for permanent storage

Bollywood Movie Trailer

1. What word was written under the diamond at the end of the trailer?

26 Right

2 Wrong

6 Right

22 Wrong

2. What mode of Transportation was used to weave between cars

Bollywood Movie Trailer

3. What colour was the first helicopter?

4 Right24 Wrong

Woman Avg =24Girl Avg = 18

19 Right9 Wrong

4.How old was the last woman / girl in the trailer?

5.Was anyone wearing a watch?

10 Techniques for Improving Memory:

Influential Factors:

1.Number of study sessions:

- Generally the greater the number of sessions the better the learning and memory

2. Distribution of Study Sessions:

- Sessions should be spread out. Spaced practice is more effective than massed practice

3. Meaningfulness of Material:

- If you attach meaning you will learn better and remember longer

4. Similarity of items:

- a group of items of the same general type will be learned better than a group of dissimilar items

5. Serial Positioning:

- Items at the beginning and end of a study session or list will be learned better than items in the middle of the study session or list

6. Mnemonic Devices:

- When you are not able to attach authentic meaning to information, creating associations to help you remember the material will increase memory

7. Imagery:

- Creating mental images or pictures in your mind enhances recognition and recall of information

8. Grouping or Chunking:- grouping similar items together into categories helps to remember them better

9. Coding:- Creating special codes to help learn material that lack relevance

10. Exercise regularly – Both mind and body

Memory Champ!

What was his technique? Walk a path several times

Then hang a memory on each significant part of the path.

We are going to do that.

Here is the Task Walk a path in the school.

Classes are in session so you need to be silent. As you walk the path create 10 anchors.

These could be rooms or teachers. It should be some place where you have a

memory. Walk the path 4 times! Memorize the order

of your anchors. Attach a memory technique on an anchor.

Try to have meaning to the association Ex. Maybe Serial Positioning could be associated

with the Foods’ Lab (Cereal -> food, get it?)

Memory Reconstruction Article:

Question #5 Will be discussed / presented and Handedin by group:

1. Leader – Leads discussion / makes sure everyone has contributed ideas

2. Recorder – Writes down group’s answers / thoughts3. Focuser – Redirects the group back to the task at hand when

they get off task4. Time Keeper – reminds group of time remaining so that task

gets complete5. Reporter – Shares key points of the groups discussion with

the whole class

Different Types of LTM

3 Major types of LTM:1. Procedural

Memory for making responses and performing skilled actions.

Different LTMs

2. Semantic Memory for general knowledge.

7-2 = ? Alberta shares a border with BC Big cities tend to be rather impersonal

Tip-Of-The-Tongue phenomenon. We will test your semantic memory.

Write down your answers to each of the following questions.

Sematic LTM

1. Which ocean is adjacent to California?2. Which type of engine is used to power an

automobile?3. What do bears do in the winter?4. What are 2 Manitoban lakes?5. What is the capital of Saskatchewon?6. Who was Canada’s first Prime Minister?7. Where will the 2019 Olympics be held?

Semantic LTM (TOT) Name the province each of

the following cities are in:1. Edmonton2. Dauphin3. Wistler4. Ottawa5. Medicine Hat6. Fort Nelson7. Fort Francis8. Abbotsford9. Flin Flon10. Moncton11. St. John’s12. Peterborough

AMBOSBOBMNNO

Episodic Memory

Personal experiences. Also Called Flashbulb!

Think of a comera Take a picture and it will stay in memory.

Here are some of mine: May 25th 2002 4:03PM 35 cm of Snowfall Nov. 15th 2005 Nov 26th 2007 The death of Michael Jackson Sep 11th 2001

Eye Witness Testimony Height from: 5’3 - 6’3 Weight from: 150 – 220 lbs Age From: 17 - 37 years old Shirt: Yellow, Green, White, Plaid Pant Style: Khaki, Cargo, Dress, Slacks Pant Colour: Cream, Tan, Beige, Dark, Black,

Brown, Green Hair Style: Short, Spiky, Curly, Straight Hair Colour: Black, Dark Brown, Light Brown,

Brown, Blonde Mole Black Briefcase White Necklace Non-Athletic Had a knife “Looked like a white Boughen”

5’10175 lbsBrown HairYellow ShirtGreenish Grey Dress Pants

Glasses21 years old

Déja Vu

French for “Already Seen” There are 40 theories 70% of population stated to have

experienced it Most in ages 15 – 25 result from an overlap between the neurological systems

responsible for STM and those responsible for LTM. The events would be stored into memory before the conscious part of the brain even receives the information and processes it.

Disorders Eye seeing faster than the other eye.

Eye- Witness Testimony One of the most intriguing applications of the “encoding

specificity hypothesis” has been in the area of eye witness testimony

Such testimony often play an important part in jury trials Listen to story.

What cues were present when the accident was present? What cues were present when the statement was made? Is it possible for the drivers of the 2 cars to modify the memories

of the eye witness as they discussed the accident? When you retrieve a memory from LTM it is placed in

STM. New information can then me added to the memory.

Encoding Specificity Hypothesis

The” states that the effectiveness of memory retrieval is directly related to the similarity of the cues present when the memory was encoded.

More Examples of Stat-Dependent Learning

The possibility that eyewitness reports may be inaccurate has stimulated a large amount of psychological research

Psychologists have found that when a memory is retrieved from LTM, it appears to be placed in STM for processing

While in STM it is possible to add new information to a memory and then re-encode the modified memory

The next time you retrieve the new memory, your report may not correspond exactly to what actually happened because the new memory now contains the additional information

This effect was tested in several experiments conducted by Elizabeth Loftus

Eyewitness Continued…

Elizabeth Loftus – Memory Research

American psychologist

Focus of her work was on human memory and how it can be changed by facts, ideas, suggestions and other forms of post-event information

Her interest in memory began with one of her first studies The Lost in the Mall experiment.

Discovered what she termed as “False Memory Syndrome”

Discovered the “Misinformation Effect: a memory bias that occurs when misinformation affects

people's reports of their own memory.

Her Research:

Famous Car Accident Reconstruction Experiment:

Experiment:- Two groups of people watched a series of slides that

showed a collision between a red sports car and another automobile

- One groups saw the red sports car approach a stop sign at the intersection, the second group saw the sports car approach a yield sign at the intersection

- After the slide presentation was complete the participant were asked a series of questions about what they had seen.

For half of the participants in each group the questions were consistent with what they had seen

For the participants in each group, the questions were inconsistent with what really happened – if they had seen a stop sign, the question referred to a yield sign, etc.

Finally, all participants were shown both pairs of slides and asked to pick the one they had actually seen.

The results were startling:

75% of individuals who were asked consistent questions after seeing the slides correctly picked the slide that they had seen

Only 40% of the participants asked the inconsistent questions were able to select the slide they had actually seen.

The experiment proved that questioning had altered their memory of the incident

Loftus repeated a similar experiment, called the Crash Experiment and found similar results.

Recently Loftus had found similar findings in what became known as the “Bugs Bunny” experiment

In addition to demonstrating the memory –alteringeffects of questioning. Loftus did many othercontroversial experiments involving the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies.

Her findings all concluded three important things:

1. Participants have trouble distinguishingbetween individuals of other races

2. Violence interferes with memory retrieval

3. The degree of confidence of an eye witness is not related to the accuracy of the memory.

Unit 5: Thinking, Language, Intelligence, and the Brain

Think about it:

Q1: What does it mean to have the ability to think? That is, what is thinking?

Q2: What does it mean to be intelligent?

Q3: What are the characteristics of an intelligent person?

Q4:Is intelligence a result of your genes (nature) or you environment (nurture)?

Q5:Can a person learn intelligence?