Chunking: The process of taking single items of information and collecting them based on similarity, association, or other organizing principles, into larger wholes.
Engram: The hypothesized chemical change in the brain resulting from the storing of memory information; also called memory traces.
Functional Amnesia: A severe type of memory loss caused by psychological factors such as anxiety, hysteria, or repression.
Organic Amnesia: A permanent form of memory loss, resulting from biological devastation to the brain, such as disease, alcoholism, chemical poisoning, and senility.
Mnemonic: Technique or device used to aid in memorization
Serial Position Effect: A characteristic of retrieval in which a person's recall of first and last items in a list is better than recall of other items.
Sparklection Day
Are you scared of Alzheimer’s?How do we remember? What is your theory?Besides smell, which is believed to have strong ties to memory, what other stimuli can conjure up memories, in your opinion?
Chunking: The process of taking single items of information and collecting them based on similarity, association, or other organizing principles, into larger wholes.
Engram: The hypothesized chemical change in the brain resulting from the storing of memory information; also called memory traces.
Functional Amnesia: A severe type of memory loss caused by psychological factors such as anxiety, hysteria, or repression.
Organic Amnesia: A permanent form of memory loss, resulting from biological devastation to the brain, such as disease, alcoholism, chemical poisoning, and senility.
Mnemonic: Technique or device used to aid in memorization
Serial Position Effect: A characteristic of retrieval in which a person's recall of first and last items in a list is better than recall of other items.
Memory Memory
Memory
Memory Memory Memory
MemoryMemoryMemory
MemoryMemory
Memory
Memory
True or False??
1. When people go around a circle saying their names, their poorest memories are for what was said by the person just before them.
2. Our experiences are etched on our brain, just as the grooves on a tape receive and retain recorded messages.
3. Although our capacity for storing information is large, we are still limited in the number of permanent memories we can store.
4. The hour before sleep is a good time to commit information to memory.
The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model
The Environment
Sensory Registers
Short Term Memory
Long Term Memory
Sensation
Encoding
Consciousness
Retrieval
G R F K
B Y P W
V M S O
H Q N D
L A J C
U F B Q
Also called Working Memory
Whatever information is in conscious awareness. Any information that we are remembering or manipulating occurs in STM.
A typical individual’s digit span
TiredPillowSnoozeDrowsyNaptimeWearyBedspreadSlumber
DozeDreamSandmanBlanketSiestaMoonlightBedspreadNighttime
Primacy Effect
Recall %
Serial Position of word
Recency Effect
Recall %
Serial Position of word
How many of you remembered the word sleep?
(It wasn’t actually on the list)
SleepTiredBlanket
Awake Party
SlumberNighttime
Structural – Is the word in capital letters ?
Phonemic – Does the word rhyme with “deep”?
Semantic – What does the word mean?
Personal – How does the word relate to you?
Recall vs Recognition GrouchyGabbyFearfulSleepySmileyJumpy
HopefulShy
Droopy
DopeySniffy
WishfulPuffy
DumpySneezyLazyPop
Grumpy
BashfulCheerful
TeachShortyNifty
HappyDoc
WheezyP-Diddy
The Answers• Research suggests the order,
from most likely to least likely recalled is as follows:– Sleepy– Dopey– Grumpy– Sneezy– Happy– Doc– Bashful
Seven Dwarfs and STM• Now, turn over the sheet and
recall the names of the seven dwarfs on the back of the sheet
Memory
• Memory–persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information
Memory• Encoding
– the processing of information into the memory system
• Storage– the retention of encoded
information over time• Retrieval
–process of getting information out of memory
Ebbinghaus and Memory
• Systematic and controlled study of memory in laboratory
H. Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)
Ebbinghaus and Memory
• Ebbinghaus –Used nonsense syllables:
TUV ZOF GEK MONUL WAV FALEM
–the more times practiced on Day 1, the fewer repetitions to relearn on Day 2
Ebbinghaus’ Retention Curve
20
15
10
5
08 16 24 32 42 53 64
Time in minutestaken to relearnlist on day 2
Number of repetitions of list on day 1
• Most forgetting occurs right after learning–approx. 50%
in first 40 min
• Relationship between delay and forgetting not linear
Ebbinghaus and Forgetting Curve
Ebbinghaus and Memory
• Other important findings–Beneficial effects of distributed practice for repetitions (ie., ‘spacing effect’)
–List-length effect
Encoding
• Automatic Processing• Effortful Processing
Encoding
Effortful Automatic
Types of Encoding
• Encoding Meaning• Acoustic Encoding• Visual Encoding
Encoding Aids
• Meaning (semantics)• Imagery• Mnemonics
–memory aids–E.g., ‘peg-word’ system
Imagery
To remember:“Monkey, briefcase, spiral, dentist”
Encoding Aids
• Mnemonics–Method of loci
Mnemonics:
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism
Encoding Aids
• Chunking–organizing items into familiar, manageable units
–use of acronyms•HOMES-Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
Remember as many of the following numbers as you can:
• 1776198514922004
• 1776198514922004
Remember as many of the following letters as you can:
• XIBMSATMTVPHDX
• X IBM SAT MTV PHD X
Chunking: Try and remember the following string of letters (in order):
XCI AFB IVC RDN AIB MQZ
Chunking: Try and remember the following string of letters (in order):
XCI AFB IVC RDN AIB MQZ
X CIA FBI VCR DNA IBM QZ
Encoding Aids
• Hierarchies–Organization of knowledge under narrower concepts/headings
• Rehearsal–conscious repetition of information
Memory Storages
• Sensory• Short term (working
memory)• Long term
The Modal Memory System
Stage 1: Sensory Memory
• Iconic memory was demonstrated in Sperling’s classic experiment, and lasts about 1/3 second
• Echoic memory
• Iconic and echoic memory systems may allow us to experience the world as a continuous stream
Stage 1: Sensory Memory
Stage 2: Short-Term Memory
• Short-Term Memory –limited in duration and capacity
–George Miller’s “magical” number 7 +/- 2
Stage 2: Short-Term Memory
0102030405060708090
3 6 9 12 15 18
Time in seconds between presentationof contestants and recall request
(no rehearsal allowed)
Percentagewho recalledconsonants
Rapid decaywith no
rehearsal
Stage 3: Long-Term Memory
• Rajan Mahadevan’s Amazing Memory– Memorized first 30,000 numbers of PI
• SolomonShereshevskii– “What a crumbly yellow voice you have.” – Would “feel” images, “taste” colors, and
“smell” sounds
Stage 3: Long Term Memory
Long Term Memory Systems
• Explicit memory involves conscious effort
• Implicit memory occurs without deliberate effort
Explicit Memory
• Explicit memory involves the processes used to remember specific information which can be declared
• Episodic memory is personal
• Semantic memory involves knowledge of facts
Implicit Memory
• Implicit memory is the pervasive process by which people show without awareness that they are remembering something
• Implicit memory does not require attention and is automatic
• Consider “procedural memory”
• Repetition priming
Retrieval• Recall
–retrieve information learned earlier
• Recognition–identify items previously learned
The surrounding environment can be used as a cue for memory
Retrieval Cues
• Reminders of information we could not otherwise recall
• Guides to where to look for info–Context Effects
• Priming– the activation, often unconsciously,
of particular associations in memory
Retrieval: Priming
Retrieval: State Dependence
0
10
20
30
40
Water/land
Land/water
Water/water
Different contexts for hearing and recall
Same contexts for hearing and recall
Land/land
Percentage ofwords recalled
Retrieval
• Mood-Congruent Memory–tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood
Recall – Coming up with an item from scratch
Recognition – Identifying an item from a list of items
Cue Dependent Recall – Coming up with an item after a hint is given
Try and Remember these paired associates
Strawberry – Jam
Boxing – Punch
Rip – Tear
Tennis – Ace
Clock – Wind
Small – Minute
Jetstream – Wind
Glacier – Snow
Poker – Ace
Hour – Minute
Hiking – Trail
Butter – Knife
Crying – Tear
Fruit – Punch
Picture – Frame
Puppy – Kitten
Monkey – Banana
Traffic – Jam
Forgetting
• Interference–Proactive (forward-acting) Interference
–Retroactive (backwards-acting) Interference
The Decay Theory
Interference Theory:Retroactive Interference Proactive
Interference
New replaces old
Old replaces new
Interference and Forgetting
Interference and Forgetting
Without interferingevents, recall isbetter
After sleep
After remaining awake
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Hours elapsed after learning syllables
90%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentageof syllables
recalled
Amnesia
• Retrograde Amnesia–Loss of past
memory
• Anterograde Amnesia–Can’t form
new memories
Anterograde Amnesia
Demonstration
• Take out paper and pen…
How many of you remembered…• Flame• Smoke• Fire???• Bed• Snore• Sleep???
Flashbulb Memories: Where were you when…• Brown & Kulik
–JFK assassination• Neisser & Harsch
–Challenger explosion study
Are traumatic memories accurate?
• Generally accepted theory:–Central facts remembered more accurately
–Peripheral details inaccurate and often fabricated in later stories
Eyewitness Testimony
Method: Show video of car accident2 conditions: “hit” vs. “smash”
Results: Broken glass? No, butone week later: “smashed” = 33% yes
“hit” = 14% yes
False Memories
• Loftus–Imagination inflation–Mall study
• Leo–Suspects found to make false confessions during police interrogations
Attention and Memory• Attention: internal
processes used to focus our awareness on a subset of perceptual information
• Attention affects what we remember
Cocktail Party Phenomenon
Cocktail Party Phenomenon• Studied in labs using the
dichotic listening technique– Two different messages presented,
one in each ear– Participants later asked to recall
information, or sometimes have to “shadow” the words presented to one ear
“Much of intelligent behavior depends on successfully managing your attention. For example, while driving a car, you might devote most of your attention to the conversation, but if the traffic gets bad or if you have to look for a particular street, you might shift you attention more to the driving…”
CHAIR LEOPARD SNOW TISSUE COFFEE GRASS CHURCH
CHAIR LEOPARD
Selective Attention: Recognition TestCircle the words that you think were on the list that was
presented to your unattended ear.
tiger tree snow
igloo leopard coffee
churchwine carrot
grass chair mail
book temple novel
tissue
Biology of Memory
• Karl Lashley (1950)–trained rats to solve maze, then cut out pieces of their cortex and retested their memory of maze
–partial memory retained
Biology of Memory
• Lashley found beer to have same effects as cortex removal on rat maze performance
Biology of Memory
• Hippocampus–Involved in explicit memory
• Cerebellum–Involved with implicit memory
–Skills, conditioning, procedural memory
Improve Your Memory
• Study repeatedly to boost recall• Spend more time rehearsing or
actively thinking about the material
• Make material personally meaningful
• Use mnemonic devices – associate with peg words--something already
stored– chunk information into acronyms
• Study in spaced intervals
Improve Your Memory• Activate retrieval cues--
mentally recreate situation and mood
• Minimize interference • Test your own knowledge
– to rehearse it– to determine what you do not yet
know
1) Short term memory is limited to ~7 items, but long term memory is unlimited
2) Because of a Parallel Distributed Processing Mechanism, the way to a better memory is adding lots of cues
3) Forgetting is due primarily to interference, when cues are blocked.