PSYC 213 - Lecture 11 (Memory Pt. 2)

What is the generation effect/testing effect?

active rehearsal

actively generate and engage with content rather than just reading it

• eg. practice testing

remembering words based on second word after it

eg. king-crown vs. k__g-crown

second way with fill in the blanks is better for memory

What is the Method of Loci technique?

choose a familiar location

imagine yourself moving through the space

associate items you want to remember within places in the space

creating a ‘map’ of new info

What is the decay theory for how we forget?

memories are lost over time due to disuse

like a muscle you don’t use, a memory gets weaker

What is the interference theory for how we forget?

interference is responsible for much of forgetting

• encoded memories are labile and need to be consolidated into stable forgetting

• during pre-consolidation period, memories are susceptible to disruption and effects of interfering info

What is proactive interference? Give example.

prior info interferes with encoding a new memory

eg. trouble learning a new phone number because your old number keeps popping up in your memory

What is retroactive interference? Give example.

newly learned info interferes with a prior encoded memory

eg. trouble remembering an older password after you formed a new password

How can we test proactive interference?

experimental group: 1 group learn a recipe for mulligatawny soup then learns recipe for broccoli soup

control group: group rests and then only learns recipe for broccoli soup

people in experimental group remember fewer ingredients for broccoli soup since info from mulligatawny interferes

How do we test for retroactive interference?

experimental group: 1 group learn a recipe for vanilla cupcakes then learns recipe for cheesecake

control group: group learns only vanilla cupcakes and then rests

people in experimental group remember fewer ingredients for vanilla cupcakes since new info is interfering

What are similarity effects with interfering memory?

the more alike something is to what is already learned, the more it will mingle and interfere with memory

What is the encoding specificity hypothesis?

memory retrieval is better when there is overlap in some source with encoding

we learn something better when we retrieve it in the same context that we encoded it in

• eg. major source of overlap is CONTEXT (internal state/mood, external environment, processing)

What is an example of internal context learning - state dependent learning?

alcohol dependent learning

had participants learn and encode info while sober or drunk

4 groups of participants:

2 groups studied a list of items while sober

2 groups studied the items while drunk

2 group were tested in a matched state (sober → sober) (drunk → drunk)

2 group were tested in a mismatched state (sober → drunk)

participants that were sober recalled more items

groups that were drunk and tested drunk recalled a lot of items

the groups in a matched state recalled more than those in a mismatched state

What is an example of external context learning?

match between environment when encoding and retrieving

tested deep sea divers

learn list of words on land; recall on land

learn underwater; recall underwater

learn on land; recall underwater (MISMATCHED)

memory was much better when people learned and retrieved them in a matched environment

What is an example of processing context learning?

the overlap between processes during encoding and retrieval determines memory strength

shallow encoding task: focus on words in capital letters

deep encoding task: does this word fit into this sentence

shallow test: what words were printed in capital letters

deep test: what word fits in this blank

better memory when there’s overlap in study and test conditions

What is episodic memory?

recollecting unique events within their specific time and place

eg. retrieving what, where, when of an event

eg. recalling your high school graduation

What is semantic memory?

culturally-shared knowledge (facts and vocab) and knowledge about the self (knowing that I have straight hair) that isn’t attached to a time and place

eg. no retrieval of learning, just what you know

recalling that graduations occur after high school

What is semantic dementia?

affects temporal poles

early on in disease:

• relatively spared at episodic memory tasks

  • learn list of words and remember it

• impaired at word naming and picture matching tasks (semantic memory)

Where is episodic memory based in the brain?

hippocampus

children with hippocampal damage

• episodic memory impaired (cannot copy images after a delay)

• semantic memory preserved (normal facts and general knowledge)

*could acquire new info but don’t remember from where

What are the three types of memory retrieval - types of consciousness?

anoetic consciousness

noetic consciousness

autonoetic consciousness

What is anoetic consciousness?

implicit memory

no awareness or personal engagement

you might be aware that your tying your shoes but you’re not thinking about retrieving a memory

What is noetic consciousness?

semantic memory

awareness but no personal engagement

What is atonoetic consciousness?

episodic memory

awareness AND personal engagement

mental time travel

self-knowing (episodic memory are quite personal since you’re thinking back to a personal task)

THIS IS WHAT MAKES US HUMAN

What is the reappearance hypothesis?

early hypothesis

an episodic trace is recalled the same way at each retrieval

• it is reproduced, not reconstructed

store memory in fixed form and you retrieve the emory in the exact same form each time

based on clinical observations

• recurrent memories are unchanged from the original event in causes like PTSD

• involuntary memories (memoir

• suggestion that memories reappear for highly emotional memories (eg. embarrassing memories)

What are flashbulb memories?

emotional arousing, surprising/shocking, important to the self

eg. birth of a child, death of a family member

often reflect public events

• you retrieve specific details about the time and place you were when hearing about the event

eg. where were you when you learned that… COVID lock down was happening?

or 9/11

• Thought to be supported by special mechanisms leads to repetitive

  detailed recall, resistant to forgetting

What study did they do to measure flashbulb memories? Describe the setup.

participants recalled 2 memories in detail:

1. 9/11

2. an everyday autobiographical event

had them comeback after 1 week, 6 weeks, 32 weeks

scored the details used to describe the memories

collected ratings of memory vividness, belief and confidence in their memory

How consistent are flashbulb vs. solid everyday memories? How strong is the belief or vividness for each?

memories for both had a reduction in the consistent details

• become more distorted

people reported that flashbulb memories were more vivid over time compared to everyday memories

flashbulb memories have more confidence over time

What has flashbulb memories shown us about recurrence?

Flashbulb memories are not recurrent recordings of events

• Flashbulb memories changes over time and are not resistant to memory distortion, even if memory feels strong

• Distinction between subjective and objective memory

• Must accept the theory that memories are reconstructed

What does constructing memories mean for memories?

constructing memories means these memories are susceptible to distortion

How do schemas distort memories?

schemas organize and categorize info to match what we expect

eg. we may use general knowledge, semantic memory (schemas) to infer the ways things ‘must have been’ in a recalled memory

eg. when recalling a story with unfamiliar supernatural details, the story changed over time

• story became simpler over time

• changed uncommon activities to conventional activities according to their schemas of how the world works

• excluded uncommon details entirely

Can schemas distort our own autobiographical memories?

yes

often impacts people with a negative self view

• people with depression

can affect a past memories

can affect how they view a future event

eg. ‘I was so embarrassing at that party’ → distorted memory

What is the misattribution false memories effect?

a familiar feeling can lead to incorrect associations

eg. retrieving info from the wrong source

• a failure in source monitoring

What is the misinformation effect?

details can be added to memories retrieval

leading questions can cause false memory formation (the way you’re asked about something can alter how you retrieve it)

What are implanted memories?

false memories that are deliberately or unintentionally introduced into a person’s mind

memories can be formed through suggestion, misinformation, or repeated exposure to a fabricated event

in an experiment, 20% of people had a false memory of this event by the end of the third session

How can false memories be encoded?

experiences are encoded and then consolidated into a long-term memory trace

when retrieving from LTM to active memory the memory is reconsolidated

• retrieval changes a memory trace

Why do we have a constructed memory?

the same processes that help us construct memories help us imagine the future and plan for our lives

these are processes of the hippocampal episodic memory system

YOU NEED YOUR PAST TO IMAGINE YOUR FUTURE