Psychology of Memory (K)

Structural

Memory corresponds to a place where memories are stored where

Example: Rooms in a house

Procedural

Emphasizes the processes that create & re-create the memory

Example: Acid Bath

Functional

Identify the general principles of memory based on everyday used of memory

Ebbinghaus’ Experiments

• uses consonants-vowel-consonants as stimuli (e.g., BAF,VAM, etc.)

• Learned a list of 16 nonsense syllables until he could repeat list without error  

• After a delay, he attempted to relearn list 

•  Difference between time required to learn list initially and time required to relearn list 

Forgetting curve

• After 20 Minutes - rapid forgetting of information relatively soon after Ebbinghaus learned the nonsense syllables 

• 24 hours – 2 days – very little memory loss of the remaining information over the course of the following several weeks 

Method of savings 

• The reduction in time required to relearn a previously mastered list. 

Method of savings formula: know what the symbols and numbers in the equation signify 

Q = 100* 
L-85 

 
- Q = percent savings; 
- L = initial learning time; 
- * = difference between initial learning time and 
relearning time; 

- 85 = time required for two errorless recitations 

Criticisms of Ebbinghaus’ research 

Ebbinghaus experimented only on himself, opening the door to bias and skewed data. His use of 'nonsense syllables' in the experiments makes a nonsense of the results 

Mary Calkins 

• Used word pairs (e.g., rain-cathedral) to study associative learning (known as paired associate learning)

• Found greater learning for word pairs that had an overlap in meaning 

• Discovered the recency effect 

• Memorization for items in lists results in better memory for more recently studied items than those in the middle of the lists 

Frederic Bartlett 

• Studied memory for stories 

• Found story recall is influenced by the biases and expectations of the subjects 

• Studied the processes that lead to false memories 

• Developed the theory of constructivism 

Endel Tulving  

• Distinguished between episodic memory (memory for personal experiences) and semantic memory (memory for knowledge and facts)

• Developed the encoding specificity principle (memory is most accurate when the conditions of learning are like the conditions of retrieval) 

Memory measures 

1. Recall - Generating the target memory or memory content 
without any information provided 

  
2. Recognition - Person must generate the target memory from among a set of presented item 

 

3. Implicit memory tests - Tests that draw on the nonconscious aspects of memory. 
 

4. Reaction time - The amount of time required to perform a particular task. 

 
5. Source judgments - Attributions of where or from whom we learned something. 

 
6. Metamemory judgments - The ratings or decisions we make concerning what we know about our memory processes. 

Cognitive neuroscience 

• The merging of the fields of physiology and cognitive psychology for the purpose of developing a better understanding of the neural basis of cognition. 

Invasive vs. non-invasive 

• Invasive: Physiological measure that directly contacts brain tissue. 

• Non-invasive: Physiological measure that does not directly contact brain tissue. 

In vivo vs. in vitro 

• In vivo measures: Physiological recording made from of live animal; inserting electrodes into brain tissue or lesioning brain tissue. 

• In vitro measures: Physiological recording made from extracted brain tissue or cells. 

ERP components 

• N1: Preattentive perceptual processing in primary cortex. 

• P2: Preattentive perceptual processing in primary cortex. 

• N2: Stimulus detection. 

• P3: Stimulus categorization and memory updating. 

• N400: Semantic/conceptual processing. 

• P600: Syntactic processing. 

Brain stimulation techniques 

• Involves directly stimulating specific areas of the brain & observing changes in cognition resulting from the stimulation. 

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

• Non-invasive procedure in which a magnetic field is passed through the scalp to briefly disrupt activity in a specifically targeted brain area. 

• Enables researchers to examine the contributions of specific brain areas to cognitive performance. 

• Desmond, Chen, & Shieh (2005) 

• Found that verbal working memory (short-term memory for words) was impaired after a single TMS pulse to the cerebellum. 

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) 

• Low current electricity is applied directly to the scalp in a continuous fashion. 

• Hordacre, Moezzi, & Ridding (2018) 

• Found that tDCS improved cognitive performance after stroke. 

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) 

• Implantation of a device into the brain which then sends electrical impulses to specific brain regions. 

• Has been used to treat a variety of disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, & major depression. 

• J.P. Millet et al. (2015) 

• Found that DBS pulses to the fornix area of the brain improved memory performance for individuals with severe epilepsy. 

3 Subjects Control Processes

1. Rehearsal: Preserves information in STS (Short Term Store) and copies it to LTS (Long-Term Store) 

2. Coding; Form of the information 

3. Retrieval: Getting information from LTS (Long-Term Store)  

• Amount & form of control processes determine quality of copied information 

2 Problems with modal model 

2 problems: 

1. Interaction among the three memory systems 

2. Recency Effect disappears when distractor task follows final item in list 

Coding of information in STM 

the STM mainly codes acoustically, but it can also code in other ways when prevented from coding acoustically 

Phonological loop: evidence for its existence 

• Specialized for storing verbal and auditory information ( e.g., Remembering a phone number or a name) 

Visuospatial sketchpad 

• Specialized for storing visual and spatial information 

• e.g., finding your way around campus 

Central executive 

• Coordinates that activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad 

• e.g., retrieves information from LTM switches attention among different parts of a task  

Phonological short-term store 

Holds memory trace 
- Trace fades in twenty seconds unless

Episodic buffer 

• Back-up store for serial recall 

• Integrates phonological, visual & other types of inmformation 

• Assigns meaning to stimuli 

Articulatory control process 

• Responsible for repetition that refreshes memory trace  

Phonological similarity effect?

• Pronunciation time refers to the amount of time it would take to say aloud the items being rehearsed in working memory. 

• poor serials recall performance for lists composed of similar‐sounding words compared to lists of dissimilar‐sounding items 

Articulatory suppression? 

• the process of inhibiting memory performance by speaking while being presented with an item to remember 

Word length effect 

• Shorter the items, the more the items can be rehearsed 

Working memory capacity 

• Extent to which information can be retained over a period in which there is distraction or shift of attention away from the store information  Characteristics of sensory memory 

Characteristics of sensory memory 

• A very brief memory system that holds literal information for a fraction of a second to allow cognitive processing. 

George Sperling’s research: whole report technique, partial report technique 

• Whole report technique: 12 letters presented for 50 ms and then report all letters. 

• Whole report results: 4-5 (33-42%) letters reported. 

• Partial report technique: 12 letters presented for 50 ms and then report all letters in row indicated by tone. 

• Partial report results: 3.3 out of 4 (82%) letters reported. 

Iconic memory 

• Visual sensory memory. 

Echoic memory 

• Auditory sensory memory. 

Duration of sensory memory 

• 250 ms before information decays. 

Capacity of sensory memory 

• Unlimited

Primary memory 

• A term used to mean short-term memory. 

• Originally used by William James to refer to working memory but has fallen out of favor because of current conceptions of working memory. 

Secondary memory 

• memories that are stored in our brains for extended periods 

Decay vs. Interference 

• Decay: Information fades with passage of time due to lack of rehearsal. 

• Interference: Memory for extraneous material interferes with memory for target information. 

Serial position effect 

• People remember things at the beginning of a list (primacy) or at the end of a list (recency) better than the middle.  

• it serves as support for the STM and LTM being separate memory stores. 

Primacy effect 

• The observation that memory is usually superior for items at the beginning of a serial position curve; thought to be caused by the encoding of those items into long-term memory. 

Recency effect 

• The observation that memory is usually superior for items at the end of a serial position curve; thought to be caused by the maintenance of those items in working memory. 

Short-term memory capacity 

• activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten. 

• Limited  

Keppel and Underwood’s research 

1. Method 

Used Brown-Peterson task 

2. Examined performance on the first trial for each retention interval 

  3. Results 

No decline in recall performance on first trial across the retention intervals 

4. Conclusion 

Interference rather than decay is causing forgetting  

Mechanisms of Forgetting 

•A.  Interference vs. Decay 

• Interference: Memory for extraneous material interferes with memory for target information 

• Decay: Information fades with passage of time due to lack of rehearsal 

B. Brown (1958); Peterson & Peterson (1959):  

Distraction prevents rehearsal & induces forgetting 

1. Method 

– Presented three consonants (e.g., CHJ) 

– Distracter task (Count backwards in threes from 100 

– 3,6,9,12,15, & 18 sec. delays 

– Recall presented stimuli 

 

2. Results 

– Memory performance declined as retention interval increased 

 

3. Conclusion 

- Forgetting was the result of decay 

Encoding specificity principle 

• Difficulty of a memory task is degree to which encoding & retrieval contexts match one another 

Extensions of the encoding specificity principle 

• Greater similarity between encoding & retrieval conditions will result in greater memory for information 

Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) research 

Studied memory in British naval divers  for a list of words 
• Created four conditions for encoding and retrieval: 
1. Encoding on land/Retrieval on land 
2. Encoding on land/Retrieval underwater 
3. Encoding underwater/Retrieval on land 
4. Encoding underwater/Retrieval underwater

State-dependent memory (encoding specificity based on state of mind) 

• Mood dependent memory (aka mood 
  congruence) 

• People are more likely to remember 
  events or information that are positive 
  when they are in a positive mood and 
  more likely to remember events or 
  information that are negative when they 
  are in a negative mood 

Mood congruence 

• means that you are more likely to remember events or information that are positive when you are in a positive mood and more likely to remember events or information that are negative when you are in a negative mood. 

Context-dependent memory (encoding specificity based on environment) 

• You are more likely to recall a memory if you are in a similar environment to when you encoded a memory. 

Declarative memory 

• Our conscious recollections of events or facts that we have experienced or learned in the past 

Semantic memory 

• Memory for knowledge about the world not tied to specific personal experience 

Episodic memory 

• Memory of the events in our lives 

• i.e., autobiographical memory 

Autobiographical memory 

• A combination of episodic and semantic memory consisting of the memory we 
  have for the events that make up our “life stories” 

 

 Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging evidence for the distinction between episodic and semantic memory 

Neuroimaging Evidence 
• Retrieval 
– Right prefrontal lobe: Involved in episodic retrieval 
– Left prefrontal lobe: Involved in semantic retrieval 

 Neuropsychological Evidence 
• Case Study of K.C. 
– Suffered extensive brain damage after a motorcycle accident 
– Semantic memory was intact 

•  Could remember Stanley Cup winners & how to repair car engines  

– Encoding and retrieval from episodic memory was 
impaired 

• Could not remember important details from his life such as the death of his brother 

Mental Imagery 

• Representations and the accompanying experience of sensory information without a direct external stimulus. 

Uses of mental imagery 

• Useful in understanding how to elicit imagery during therapy? 

Why is mental imagery important? 

• Occurs in many cognitive tasks 

• May help us understand related phenomena 

• Hallucinations 

• Daydreams 

• Dreams 

• May be useful for understanding how to elicit imagery during therapy 

 

Imageless thought controversy 

Galton’s research 

• Asked participants to describe their breakfast table as it happened that morning. 

• Galton’s questions 

• Consider the “picture that rises before your mind’s eye” 

• Illumination 

• Is the image dim or fairly clear? 

• Definition 

• Are all the objects pretty well defined at the same time? 

• Coloring 

• Are the colors distinct and natural? 

• What Galton found 

• Collected around 100 responses 

• Some reported rich images, with wealth of detail 

• Others vague images 

• Some (about 10%) claimed to have no images at all 

 

Paivio’s (1975) dual-coding hypothesis 

• 2 coding systems for representing information in memory 

• Nonverbal coding 

• Verbal coding 

• Concrete words coded nonverbally (with imagery) & verbally 

• Abstract words coded only verbally 

• Concrete words have memory advantage due to dual coding: 

• Coded nonverbally (with imagery) & verbally 

• Abstract words coded only verbally 

Shepherd and Metzler’s (1971) mental rotation experiment 

• Is there a correspondance between the processes of mental & physical rotation? 

• Results: Increase in angle of rotation led to increase in RT (slower response). 

 Partial Report Coglab

12 letters presented for 50 ms 
-Report all letters in row indicated by tone 

 

Duration 
-Delayed tones or time to report letters 
• Iconic Memory 
-Duration = 250ms before information decays 

Remember-Know Coglab

Design of experiment 
• Phase 1: 80 words presented 
• Phase 2: 160 trials; Participants make 
old/new judgments 
• 3 categories of presented words 
• 1. Old words from synonym condition 
• 2. Old words from rhyme condition 
• 3. Lures: New words not previously presented 

3 types of judgments 
1. Remember: Conscious recollection of 
word on Phase 1 list 
2. Know: Non-conscious recollection of 
word being on Phase 1 list 
3. No: Absence of any recollection that 
word was on Phase 1 list 

Expected results 
• Levels of processing effect: 
• Greater proportion of remember 
responses for Synonym condition than 
Rhyme condition 
• Greater proportion of know judgments for 
Rhyme condition than Synonym condition 

Brown-Peterson CogLab 

- This lab is based on the original Peterson & Peterson (1959) study, but with a few changes. You will be asked to count backwards only by 3s, and the delay durations are 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 s. You should find the counting backward task to be difficult because it is: it is designed to be hard enough that you are not able to rehearse the letters. 

Operation Span CogLab 

Procedure 
– Subjects are asked to read & verify a simple math problem 
– Subjects are then asked to read a word 
– After a series of math problems & words are presented, subjects 
are asked to recall the words that followed the problems 

 
• Rationale 
• Number of operation-word strings in a sequence is increased & decreased to measure the subject’s operation span 
• Operation span score is a measure of how much information can be retained during a period of distraction 

Cortical areas associated with memory? 

• the amygdala - emotional Memory

Working memory model vs. modal model of memory? 

• STM in the modal model consists of a single component, whereas working memory consists of several components. 
   
  •Working memory emphasizes the processing that takes place in STM over its storage capacity.

Conrad’s research 

• Ask subjects to recall lists of letters but some lists are different sounding letters that looked similar 

 

• Others list are similar sounds letters that looked different  

• Results: 

Whether or not subjects heard the letters pronounced or read the letters their recall errors were based on the sound of the letters

Levels of processing theory: structural

involves shallow processing in which an individual tries to focus on a stimulus's physical structure

 

Analog vs. propositional views of mental imagery 

• Analog representations means we store visual images in a manner a lot like pictures. 

• Propositional representation means that we store visual images in terms of a language-like code. 

• not deny that our images appear to us as pictures 

Levels of processing theory: acoustic

represents intermediate processing where an individual attempts to focus on what a word sound like.

Levels of processing theory: Semantic coding

is considered a deeper processing strategy in which an individual attempts to focus on the meaning of the stimuli or input.