chapter 8 Chapter 8: Memory chapter 8 Overview Reconstructing the past The power of suggestion In pursuit of memory Three-box model of memory How we remember Why we forget Autobiographical memories chapter 8 The manufacture of memory Memory is the capacity to retain and retrieve information. Memory is a reconstructive process. Source misattribution The inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told later about an event chapter 8 The fading flashbulb Some unusual, shocking, or tragic events hold a special place in memory. Called flashbulb memories because of their surprise, illumination, and photographic detail Even flashbulb memories have errors. chapter 8 Conditions of confabulation Confabulation Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or. . . A belief that you remember something when it never actually happened Confabulation is most likely when. . . you have thought or heard about the event many times. the image of the event contains many details. the event is easy to imagine. chapter 8 The eyewitness on trial Eyewitnesses are not always reliable Factors influencing accuracy Cross race identification Question wording (e.g., “crashed” vs “hit”) Misleading information chapter 8 Children’s testimony Under what conditions are children more suggestible? When they are very young When interviewers’ expectations are clear When other children’s memories for events are accessible chapter 8 Children’s testimony When asked if a visitor committed acts that had not occurred, few 4–6 year olds said yes. 100% of 3-year olds said yes. When investigators used techniques taken from real child-abuse investigations, most children said yes. chapter 8 Explicit memory Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or item of information. Recall: The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously learned material Recognition: The ability to identify previously encountered material chapter 8 Implicit memory Unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered information on current thoughts or actions. chapter 8 Relearning Compares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material. chapter 8 Priming A person reads or listens to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects performance on another type of task. chapter 8 Parallel distributed processing (PDP) Model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operating in parallel Recall, Recognition, and Relearning • Recall is a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test. • Recognition is a measure in which a person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiplechoice test. 14 chapter 8 Three-box model of memory chapter 8 Sensory memory A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information Pattern recognition The identification of a stimulus on the basis of information already contained in long-term memory Information that is not quickly passed to shortterm memory is gone forever. chapter 8 Short-term memory A limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief periods Also used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary use Working memory A memory system which includes STM and mental processes that control retrieval of information from LT memory and interpret that information appropriately for a given task Chunk Meaningful unit of information which may be composed of smaller units chapter 8 The value of chunking You have 5 seconds to memorize as much as you can. Then draw an empty chess boards and reproduce the arrangement of the pieces. Two Types of Sensory Memory • Information first enters the memory system through the senses. • Iconic memory is a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli, a photographic or picture-image memory lasting less than a second. • Echoic memory is a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli. Even if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within three or four seconds. 19 chapter 8 Long-term memory The memory system involved in the long-term storage of information One way information is organized is in semantic categories (e.g., animals). chapter 8 Conceptual grid chapter 8 Types of long-term memories chapter 8 Your turn What kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round? 1. 2. 3. 4. Procedural memory Semantic memory Episodic memory Flashbulb memory chapter 8 Your turn What kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round? 1. 2. 3. 4. Procedural memory Semantic memory Episodic memory Flashbulb memory chapter 8 Contents of long-term memory Procedural memories Memories for performance of actions or skills “Knowing how” Declarative memories Memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events; includes semantic and episodic memory “Knowing that” chapter 8 Contents of long-term memory Semantic memories General knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositions Episodic memories Personally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred Figure 9.13 Memory subsystems 27 Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers chapter 8 Serial-position effect The tendency for recall of first and last items on a list to surpass recall of items in the middle of the list chapter 8 Your turn You are asked to recall the following list of letters: Z, S, E, R, F, V, B, H, U, I, K, M, N, G, B, F, O Which letters are you most likely to remember in longterm memory? 1. 2. 3. 4. Z, S, E, R F, V, B, H U, I, K, M G, B, F, O chapter 8 Your turn You are asked to recall the following list of letters: Z, S, E, R, F, V, B, H, U, I, K, M, N, G, B, F, O Which letters are you most likely to remember in longterm memory? 1. 2. 3. 4. Z, S, E, R F, V, B, H U, I, K, M G, B, F, O chapter 8 Rehearsal Maintenance rehearsal: rote repetition of material in order to maintain its availability in memory Elaborative rehearsal: association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information to make it memorable chapter 8 Deep processing In the encoding of information, the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus chapter 8 Mnemonics Strategies and tricks for improving memory, such as use of a verse or a formula MDAS ROYGBIV Thirty days hath September. . . Encoding in Remembering Verbal Information • This research also highlights the futility of trying to remember words we do not understand and the benefits of rephrasing what we read and hear into meaningful terms. • The self-reference effect suggests that by making information “relevant to me,” we process it more deeply, and the information will remain more easily accessible. 34 chapter 8 Decay theory The theory that information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed Applies more to short-term than long-term memory chapter 8 Forgetting curve Herman Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables. Forgetting was rapid at first and then tapered off. chapter 8 Linton’s forgetting curve In contrast to Ebbinghaus, Linton’s memory for personal events was retained over a period of several years and then decreased rapidly. chapter 8 Replacement The theory that new information entering memory can wipe out old information In one study, researchers showed subjects slides of a traffic accident. The experimental group was misled into thinking there was a stop sign instead of a yield sign. Even after being debriefed on the purpose of the study, subjects insisted that they really saw the stop sign. The new information which came from the researchers replaced what the subjects saw. chapter 8 Interference Similar items interfere with one another. Retroactive interference: forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previously Proactive interference: forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material chapter 8 Cue-dependent forgetting The inability to retrieve information stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recall Physical state can be a memory cue State-dependent memory: the tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning chapter 8 Mood-congruent memory The tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not. A Test for Recall: Can You Write Down the Names of Santa’s Nine Reindeer? 42 Now Try Recognizing the Names (Need Help? Answers Appear in Appendix B) • • • • • • • A) Rudolph B) Dancer C) Cupid D) Lancer E) Comet F) Vixen G) Blitzen • • • • • • • H) Crasher I) Donner J) Prancer K) Sunder L) Thunder M) Dasher N) Donder 43 chapter 8 Amnesia The partial or complete loss of memory for important personal information Psychogenic amnesia: the causes of forgetting are psychological, such as the need to escape feelings of embarrassment, guilt, shame, disappointment Traumatic amnesia: the forgetting of specific traumatic events, sometimes for many years chapter 8 The repression controversy Repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the selective, involuntary pushing of threatening or upsetting information into the unconscious Individuals are more likely to struggle with forgetting traumatic events. It is hard to distinguish repression from other forms of forgetting. chapter 8 When should we question recovered memories? If a person claims memories of first year or two of life If over time the memories become more and more implausible If therapist used suggestive techniques such as hypnosis, dream analysis, age regression, guided imagery, or leading questions chapter 8 Childhood amnesia The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two or three years of life Cognitive explanations: Lack of sense of self Impoverished encoding A focus on the routine Different ways of thinking about the world