Cognitive Psychology - Chapter 7

Encoding

Aquiring information and transforming it into memory

Retrieval

Transferring information from Long Term Memory (LTM) to Working Memory (Consciousness)
Most of our failures of memory are due to failures to retrieve.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The repetition of stimuli that maintains information, but does not usually transfer to your LTM

Elaborative Rehearsal

Using meanings and connections to help transfer information to your LTM

Encoding LTM: Depth of Processing

Memory depends on how information is encoded. There are two kinds of Depth of Processing:
Shallow Processing
Deep Processing

Shallow Processing vs. Deep Processing

Shallow: Little attention to meaning, focus on physical features, poor memory

Deep: Close attention to meaning, better memory

Levels of Processing Theory

Which task causes deeper processing?
-Using a word in a sentence?
-Deciding how useful and object might be on a desert island.

Deeper processing (Fill in the blank questions) are associated with better memory

Circular Reasoning

Reasoning that ends and begins in the same place. No evidence is offered
Basing an argument on an assumption that has not been proven or is impossible to prove.

Depth of Processing is Circular Reasoning because..

Depth of processing has not be defined independently of memory performance.

Factors that Impact Encoding

-Visual Imagery
-Self-reference effect
-Generation effect
-Organizing to-be-remember information
-Relating words to survival value
-Retrieval practice/testing effects

Visual Imagery Study (Encoding)

Bower and Winzenz (1970)
Two groups:
Repeating Word Group: Repeated word pairs aloud ("boat-tree" "boat-tree" "boat-tree")
Repeating Image Group; Imagined visual images of word pairs. (imagine a boat sitting in a tree)

The participants who formed visual images were more likely to remember the word pairs than the other group.

Organizing to-be-remembered Study

Bower (1969)
Presented participants with a hierarchical tree

Testing Effects Study

Roediger & Karpicke, 2006
Had participants read a 7 minute long passage, then solve math problems for 2 minutes.

In the testing group, the participants had a recall test on the read passage
In the rereading group, the participants reread the passage.

Delay: 5 minutes, 2 days, 1 week

Both Groups take a recall test

After five minutes, the reread group did a little better, but only short term memory
After 1 day and 1 week, the testing group did much better than the reread. (Practice!!!)

Retrieval Cues

Anything that serves to help a person retrieve a memory (smell, location, word, certain song, person, etc.)

Free Recall vs. Cued Recall

Free: Tell me that list of words I gave you earlier without the use of cues.

Cue: Tell me that list of words I gave you earlier using the different cues I gave you

Retrieval: Cued Recalled

Cue presented to aid recall showed Increased performance over free-recall.

Retrieval cues are most effective when created by the person who uses them. (If I gave you someone else related word, you could only get them right about 50% of the time)

Encoding Specificity and Experiment

We learn information together with its context. (Learning is influenced by context)

Baddeley's 1975 "Diving Experiment"
Best recall occurred when encoding and retrieval occurred in the same location. (If you are studying in the library, you will do best on the test if you write it in the library

State Dependent Learning

Learning is associated with a particular internal state. Better memory if person's mood at encoding matches mood during retrieval.
(Study happy > Write exam while happy)

Cognitive Matching Study

Morris et al (1977)
Had participants encode either a Meaning task or a rhyming task.

Meaning: The __ had a silver engine. Train (yes or no)
Rhyming: ___ Rhymes with pain. Train (yes or no)

He then tested the participant on retrieving either the opposite task they studied, or the same.

Participants did better on the rhyming test when they had a rhyming-based encoding task.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing

You want to match your task. You want your encoding task to match your retrieval test

Consolidation

Transforms new memories from fragile state to more permanent state (How we strengthen a memory)

Synaptic Consolidation vs. System Consolidation

Synaptic: occurs at the synapses, happens very rapidly. How consolidation influences the synapses (that one element of consolidation happens over periods of minutes rather than hours)

Systems: Involves graduate reorganization of circuits in the brain. Takes much longer than Synaptic to finish it's process

Consolidation Experiment

Muller and Pilzecker (1990)
Participants learn a list of nonsense syllables
Immediate group vs. Delay Group
The delay allowed for the consolidation of memory

Standard Model of Consolidation

Retrieval depends on hippocampus during consolidation; after consolidation the hippocampus is no longer needed

Reactivation: Hippocampus replays neural activity with associated memory

Sequence of events that occur during consolidation according to the standard model of consolidation:
A) connections between the cortex and the hippocampus are initally strong.
B) as time passes, activity occurs between the hippocampus and the cortex, a process called reactivation.
C) over time, connections are formed between corical areas, and the connections between the hippocampus and the cortex are weakened

Long Term Potentiation

Enhanced firing of neurons after repeated stimulation
Structural changes and enhanced responding

Hebb: Neurons that fire together, wire together

Long Term Potentiation Theory

Donald Hebb (1948)
Learning and Memory represented in the brain by physiological changes at the synapse.
When a neuron fires, that if at the connection strengthens over time. It strengthens the entire neural circuit / your entire experience.
Our memories are reflected in the strengthen of our synapse (neural record)
Hebb did not have the techniques to confirm later on people did and received a nobel prize

Neural Record of Experience

Overtime, there is structural changes in the synapse. The post synaptic receptors show increase infinity, and increase the number of receptors.
Because neuron A has began to make more neurotransmitters and release more neurotransmitters.

Neuron B has increased it firing rate. The structural changes has enhanced the neural responding of Neuron B. This enhanced responding is what has been proposed strengthens your memory

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for events prior to the trauma. You remember nothing from you past whatsoever

Graded Amnesia

Memory for recent events is more fragile than for remote events (can't form new memories, but have old ones still)
Memories are more likely to suffer from the ones that occured just before the accident. But if you ask what color the car was, ambulance, etc. they won't be able to remember any of it.

(The memory hasn't been properly consolidated by other areas of the cortex)

Multiple Trace Hypothesis of Consolidation

Counters the standard model of Consolidation.
The hippocampus has been shown to be activated during retrieval of both recent and remote memories. (throughout consolidation and afterword)

The hippocampus continues to be important after consolidation if what you are remember has a lot of rich episodic detail associated with it. If its something more sematic, the standard study holds true.

The Response of the Hippocampus can change over time

(Viskontas et al, 2009)
Tested using a Remember-Know procedure.

Epsodic memory decreases over time (Remember reponses)

Hippocampal activity decreased when the Remember responses changed to know responses over 1 week.

Hippocampus remains involved in the retrieval of episodic memories, but is less involved when episodic memories are lost.

Are Memories Permanent?

When a memory is retrieved it needs to be consolidated again. Research has shown that when a memory is retrieved it becomes fragile, and subject to change until it is reconsolidated.

Permanent Memory Rat Study

Nadar et al. (2000)
Rats were conditioned to freeze to a tone due to tone + shock pairings.
Rats were injected with a substance that blocks synaptic changes responsible for forming new memories

Study1: Inject just before consolidation - rat does not freeze to the tone
Study2: Inject rat after consolidation - rat freezes to the tone
Study3: Inject during reactivation (tone only) - rat does not freeze to the tone

Memory is fragile when it is reactivated to allow updates.

Evidence-based Study Tips

Elaborate - associate what you are learning to something you already know

Generate and test - The generation effect

Take breaks - memory is better for multiple short study sessions (the spacing effect) Consolidation is enhanced if you sleep after study (no all nighters!)

Avoid the "Illusion of Learning"- familiarity does not mean comprehension!