pyschology - MEMORY

what is sensation?

psychological process involving sensory receptors in the sensory organs detecting environmental stimuli and the conversion of sensory information into electrochemical energy

sensation process

cognition can only occur if info from our environment is detected, converted into a message our brain can understand and sent to the brain for processing

reception --> transduction --> transmission

reception

- sensory receptors detect presence of a stimuli

- your bosys ability to DETECT stimuli in the environment

- this involves receptors on sensory neurons in your sense organs detecting changes

transduction

- sensory receptors convert stimulus energy into electrochemical energy

- CONVERTING this stimuli into an ELECTROCHEMICAL message

- light --> action potentials and impulses

transmission

- neural signals are relayed to the brain

- SENDING that information to the BRAIN for processing

- transmitting impulse along neurons

what is perception?

the psychological process of organising and interpreting sensory stimuli from the senses to achieve a meaningful form

perception process

selection --> organisation --> interpretation

selection

- feature detectors filter the stimuli by responding to specific features of a stimulus and ignoring the rest

- filtering info to detirmine what to ignore and what to process further

organisation

- sorts/categorises the features of sensory stimuli in a meaningful manner

- GROUPING features to make a whole

interpretation

- give meaning to sensory stimuli

- give. MEANING to these groups/wholes

what is attention?

-refers to what you are actively processing

- usually what you focus on is what you pocess

- attention can be;

--> selective

--> divided

--> habituation and dishabituation

processing

- how much focus required for a specific task and can be;

--> automated

--> controlled

selective attention

involves focusing on one stimulus and blocking out all the others

habituation

reduced attention to a repeated stimulus

eg: noisy road

dishabituation

if the stimulus changes slightly it occurs

divided attention

involves focusing on two or more stumli at the same time

what is the cocktail party effect

1953 - our ability to focus on one specific auditory while filtering out others

how does the cocktail party effect findings relate to selective attention

- when we hear two or more messages at the same time we are not able to recall/process all of the auditory info

- instead we selectively attend to distinct pieces of info that catch our attention

what is memory?

memory is the process/ ability/ faculty of encoding, storing and retrieving information

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

multistore model of memory (1968)

- developed the stage model of memory

- this model emphasises the storage structures and suggests if info is to be store for a long time, it must pass through THREE memory stages:

1. sensory register

2. short term memory

3. long term memory

each memory stage is characterised by 3 differences

1. capacity: max amount of info able to be stored at a given time

2. duration: the length of time info can be stored for

3. encoding: the form in which info is stored

sensory register

- info received from senses is paid attention to

- stores and receives sensory info/stimuli from the environment (via sense organs) an unconscious and automatic response

- stored for a short period of time

SR - duration, capacity and encoding system

duration: 0.5-3 seconds

capacity: unlimited

encoding system: iconic - visual memory and echoic - auditory memory

short term memory

- info that has been attended to is transferred from SR and it is stored for a short period of time

- if info is rehearsed, it is transferred to LTM

- STM holds all current info (thoughts and experiences)

- STM can also retrieve info from LTM

STM - duration, capacity and encoding system

duration: 0-30 seconds

capacity: limited between 5-9 pieces of info

ecoding system: active processing and rehearsal

ways to improve STM

maintenance rehearsal: remembering for immediate use

elaborative rehearsal: make infor more meaningful

long term memory

- relatively permanent storage for a limitless amount of info that sends and retrieves info from the short term store

LTM - duration, capacity and encoding system

duration: indefinitely

capacity: unlimited but can decay over time

encoding system: physical chnages in neurons for storage

two major memory types in LTM:

1. procedural memory

2. declarative memory

procedural memory

- stores info on HOW tasks are performed

- sometimes called implicit memory and is not a conscious memory process

- mainly refers to learning of motor skills

- requires little effort to retrieve and retrieval takes place more or less automatically

declarative memory

allow you to declare how things are or what you remember

there are two types of declarative memory:

1. semantic memory

2. episodic memory

semantic memory

for impersonal factual knowledge - facts and general knowledge

episodic memory

(autobiography) for personally significant events in your life

multi-store model strengths and limitations

- extremely successful in the amount of research it generated

- model is too simplistic when it comes to STM

what is the working memory model

- view of short-term memory as a dynamic storage system capable of simultanesly holding pieces of info

- states that STM is an active process with several componants

-in 1974, Baddeley and Hitch suggested that WM consists of a 'centural executive' which intergrated info from two slave systems

what is the central executive responsible for

organising info

coordinating the slave systems

analysing infor from ltm and ss

what is working memory

- current and preferred term to STM

- like STM, has a limited capacity

- isnt a unitary system as propsed in the multi-store model --> it is an active multi component memory system that performs a variety of tasks

- working memory is the subsystem of STM that temporarily stores and manipulates a limited amount of info needed to perform cognitive tasks

what are the two slave systems in the working memory model (1968)

phonological loop

visuospatial sketchpad

phonological loop

stores and processes auditory info and rehearses it silently

--> articular control system (inner voice): repeats heard words in a loop allowing for maintenance rehearsal to occur

--> phonological store (inner ear): storage for works that are heard ( eg: recalling sounds of favourite song)

visuospatial sketchpad

- stores visual and spatial info and constructs and manipulates visual images including details of shape, colour, motion, pattern and position and represents mental maps

- used when visualising something in the mind - house you grew up in for example

- spatial info pertaining to location of items and our bodies in relation to their surroundings - eg: reading a map and navigating through a crowd

episodic buffer

- 3rd slave state added by baddeley in 2000

- temporary storage system that is capale of holding and intergrating info from the other slave systems into a single structure or episode

- limited capacity and is accessible by the consciousness

- prepares memories for storage in episodic LTM to create episodes/intergrated segments of visual, spatial AND verbal

-->may combine info about what your friend said (from PL), their expression as they said it (VS) and a previous convo you had (LTM)

differences between MSM and WM

msm: single component system, wm: multi component system

msm: measured with simple span tasks, wm: complex span tasks

msm: passive process, wm: active process

hippocampus location

location: sits deep within the temporal lobe - region called the medial temporal lobe

hippocampus role

- binding together the different elements of our experiences and consolidating these explicit memories in the neurocortex

--> contains spatial memories and damage can cause the inability to remember direction

- also responsible for formation of episodic memories

Henery Molaison

- had hippocampus surgically removed --> experimental surgery to treat seizures

- seizures decreased but could no longer form memories or remember prior 11 years of his life

the operation

removed parts of the temporal lobe

- 8cm of tissue from hippocampus

- research showed amygdala may have been destroyed

effects of his surgery

- lost his ability to form many types of memories, such as new facts or faces

- info in STM couldnt be encoded into LTM

--> antergrade amnesia: the inability to form new memories after developing amnesia

- able to recall childhood events but lost ability to recall experiences a few years before his surgery

--> retrograde amnemia: the inability to recall past memories prior to the onset of amnesia

findings

- hippocampus forms new memories

- plays a role in forming declarative/explicit memory only

- doesnt form procedural memories

amygdala location and structure

in front of hippocampus and almond shape

role of the amygdala

- key role in emotional componant of declarative memories

- formation of fear response

- attaches emotional significance to memories

hippocampus role in formation of memories

- forms new memories

- plays role in the formation of declarative/explicit memories (only episodic and semantic)

- does not form procedural memories

hippocampus role in the storage of memories

- memories are temporarily held in hippocampus then moved to the pre-frontal cortex

- contains spatial memories

cerebellum role in formation of memories

- one the regions that forms procedural memories

cerebellum role in the storage of memories

- it is involved in the storage of procedural memories, specifically of learned sensorimotor skills (eg: cutting paper with scissors)

amygdala role in the formation of memories

- responsible for formation of emotional memories, particularly fear

- such a fearful memories can be established with just a few repetitions

amygdala role in the storage of memories

- it is unlikely amygdala stores memories

- amygdala strengthens episodic memories stored in other regions of the brain

what is forgetting

the inability to retrieve memories

retrieval failure

The inability to consciously

recall information stored in the long- term store due to the absence of retrieval cues that could trigger memory retrieval.

retrieval failure - retrieval cues

mental reminders or prompts that we create to assist our recollection later on.

• We may create them deliberately,

implicitly or both.

• Could be context-dependent

(environment) or state-dependent

(internal, e.g. emotion)

retrieval failure - tip of the tongue phenomenon (TOT)

knowing you are aware of the name, item or material you are trying to remember but cannot retrieve in the moment

• We might be able to recall features of the name e.g. long/short, first letter

• Shows that we intentionally search for retrieval cues.

• "What's his name? I can see his face, the colour of his hair, his eyes - and his name starts with R. Ron? Rob? Rod? Rodger?..."

interference

When other competing or similar information stored in

memory affects the ability to retrieve information

• This might happen when learning two phone numbers, or two PIN numbers for bank accounts.

• There are two types:

- Proactive interference

- Retroactive interference

proactive interference

Previously stored/learned information interferes with retrieval of new learning.

Gamers - You press the "B" button instead of the "A" button to jump, because older games/consoles you

played with used the "B" button for jumping. Old button prompt (B) interferes with retrieval of new learning (A).

retroactive

New learning interferes with retrieval of previously stored information.

Playing the Piano - When you learn a new piano song, it can make it hard to remember how to play an older song. The new song interferes with recalling

the old one, showing retroactive interference.

motivated forgetting

forgetting that results from a strong desire to forget (typically due to the experience being too traumatic or painful to remember)

There are two primary categories that perform the same goal - forgetting to reduce anxiety

suppression

a deliberate attempt to prevent

memories from entering one's

conscious awareness

repression

an unconscious effort to prevent memories from entering one's conscious

decay theory

Decay theory proposes that memory fades

with the passage of time.

• Information transferred from SR to STM or STM to LTM, a memory trace is established.

• Memory trace erodes over time, rehearsal counteracts decay.

• LTM is relatively permanent, it is thought that decay theory predominately affects

STM.

• Decay alone does not cause forgetting - additional processes play a role.

define remembering

The ability to retrieve memories from long-term memory to working memory/short-term

memory.

define recall

Accessing information from long-term memory

there are three types of recall

free recall

Retrieval of as much stored information as possible about a

specific topic, in any order

- A list of items to purchase from the

supermarket.

- Name the teachers you remember from

Primary School

serial recall

Retrieval of information without

cues in order of presentation

- Names of cities visited on an overseas

journey.

- List the order of planets in the solar system

started nearest the sun.

cued recall

Retrieval of information with the

use of hints/prompts

- 'The surname is short and begins with L'

- Fill in the missing words within a sentence.

define recognition

- Identifying the correct information

from a number of alternatives

- Identifying the correct information among a list of incorrect pieces of information.

- E.g. Multiple-choice questions - selecting the correct answer from a list of four alternatives

- Recognition tasks typically result in more successful retrieval than recall tasks as retrieval cues are provided.

recognition vs cued recall

Think of the Year 7 English class example...

• Recognition - You are provided with a list of names that

included the correct students along with many others.

• Cued Recall - You would be given retrieval cues to assist in remembering the information e.g. a photograph, the initials of the students, but not the evidence of the items to be remembered (not the actual names)

define re-learning

When learning something a second time, it takes less time

• Re-learning identifies information that was not remembered and can now be successfully encoded into LTM via elaborative rehearsal

• Easier to learn again something that was previously committed to memory than learn something for the first time.

• E.g. Writing down everything you learned about a

topic in class, identifying the key points you missed,

then have a classmate re-teach them to you. Or returning to a sport or playing a musical instrument after not playing for a long time.

savings score

Time taken to learn the material originally can be measured and compared with the time taken to relearn the same material, then a savings score can be calculated.

Savings score =

(Time for original learning) - (Time for re-learning) divided by

(Time for original learning) x100

Levels of Processing (LOP) Model of Memory (Craik & Lockhart, 1972)

Proposes that memory is retained on the basis of how deeply it (memory)

is processed.

• Depth refers to the meaningfulness extracted from the stimulus.

• The more deeply info is processed, the longer a memory trace is

predicted to last.

• No distinct stores.

types of encoding - structural (involves maintenance rehearsal)

description: Encoding physical qualities and/or appearances of a stimulus (e.g. upper/lower case / started with

vowel/consonant, long/short).

type of processing:

shallow

example:

pOTato

brick

BOOK

Apple

instructions:

Recall words that contained upper

case letters

recall: only 20% recalled

types of encoding - phonemic (involves maintenance rehearsal)

Description:

Encoding the sounds of a

stimulus/auditory information

Type of

Processing:

shallow

Example:

bull

style

amazing

radio

Instructions:

Think of a rhyme (bull/full,

style/smile ...) or rhyme and rhythm

(what a song/I love phrasing/and

that tune/is just amazing!)

Recall:

50% recalled

types of encoding - semantic (involves elaborative rehearsal)

Description:

Involves encoding the meaning of a word and relating it to similar words with similar meaning

Type of

Processing:

deep

Example:

gate

yacht

truck

apple

Instructions:

Put the word into a meaningful

sentence ('She opened the gate and entered the garden.')

Recall:

80% recalled

types of encoding - elaboration (involves elaborative rehearsal)

Description:

Involves linking new

knowledge with existing knowledge/giving

new meaning

Type of

Processing:

deep

Example + Instructions +

Recall:

- Reworking - putting information in your own words or talking about it with someone else

- Method of loci - when trying to remember a list of items, linking each with a familiar place or route

- Imagery - by creating an image of something you want to remember, you elaborate on it and encode it visually (i.e. a mind map)

Craik and Tulving (1975)

Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory

Craik and Tulving aim

to investigate the relationship between the depth

of processing (shallow vs. deep) and the subsequent retention of words in episodic memory.

Craik and Tulving participants, materials and design

PARTICIPANTS: 24 undergraduate students from the University of Toronto who volunteered for

the experiment.

MATERIALS:

• List of words that served as stimuli for the memory tasks

• three types of processing tasks: structural (shallow processing), phonemic (intermediate

processing), and semantic (deep processing).

• tachistoscope

DESIGN:

• IV: level of processing, manipulated by the

type of task participants were assigned (shallow

vs. deep processing).

• DV: ability to recall words in a subsequent

memory test as measured by the proportion of

words recognised (%)

Craik and Tulving procedure

1. Participants were presented with 60 words and were asked a yes/no style

question about each word. Words were exposed for exactly 200 ms on a

tachistoscope.

2. The questions required participants to use either shallow or deep processing

• Shallow (structural) - Provides an answer that discusses the word's

structure e.g. Was the word in capital letters or lower case?

• Shallow (phonemic) - Provides an answer that discusses the sound of the

word e.g. Does the word rhyme with another word?

• Deep - Provides an answer requiring understanding of the word e.g. Does

the word fit in the following sentence?

3. The researchers then measured which of these 60 words participants were able

to recognise from a list of 180 words

Craik and Tulving key findings

Participants who engaged in deep semantic processing demonstrated

significantly better recall than those who processed the words at a shallow,

structural level.

• This supported the hypothesis that the depth of processing influences the

encoding and subsequent retrieval of information.

Craik and Tulving contribution to psychology

- Craik & Tulving confirmed that deeper levels of processing leads to better recall

- It helped establish the Levels of Processing (LOP) framework, proposing that memory

performance is influenced by the extent to which information is deeply processed.

- Empirical evidence from the study enabled other researchers to run similar experiments and not only allow for reliability to be assessed, but to additionally demonstrate high reliability

- The study significantly contributed to our understanding of memory processes by emphasising

the importance of cognitive processing depth in information retention.

Craik and Tulving criticisms/limitations

- Deeper processing is more time consuming, the time taken to process information requires more effort

which could be the cause of better recall rather than the level of processing

- The concept of depth is ambiguous and covert, therefore it is difficult to objectively measure Unclear whether it is the depth of processing that improves retrieval from LTM or the fact that greater effort is used during encoding.

- Low External Validity:

The study primarily used undergraduate students, limiting the generalisability of the findings to other age groups or

populations.

- Deception:

Participants were told that the study was assessing perception, which was not the case. Specific details of the debriefing process are not available, so it is not known if they were told of the nature and purpose of the deception.

what is rehearsal

Rehearsal increases the time (duration) information is held within the short-term store or memory, providing the time needed for

encoding to operate.

• There are two rehearsal techniques

named in the syllabus:

• Maintenance rehearsal

• Elaborative rehearsal

maintenance rehearsal

Definition: The continuous repetition or

review of the information to keep it in short-term memory

• A simple and repetitive mental practice used

to maintain information for a short duration,

such as when remembering a phone number

long enough to dial it.

• This repetition is typically used to prevent the

decay of information in STM and to temporarily retain it for immediate use, without engaging in deeper processing for long-term

storage.

• This could be thinking of the information OR

saying it over and over.

• Unlikely to be encoded into the long-term

memory store.

maintenance rehearsal advantages

Allows info to be stored in STM for longer than the usual 18-20

seconds.

• Good for remembering

meaningless

information.

maintenance rehearsal limitations

Easily interrupted by

info entering STM from SR or LTM.

• Restricts entry on new info into STM.

• Does not add to

understanding.

• Limited effectiveness in

transferring info from STM to LTM.

elaborative rehearsal

Definition: it involves making meaningful

connections between new information and

existing knowledge/personal experiences

• Cognitive process of encoding and retaining information in LTM by actively and meaningfully

engaging with the material.

• Individuals relate new info to existing knowledge or personal experiences, making connections

and associations that enhance comprehension

and memory retention.

• By connecting new info with previously acquired knowledge, using mnemonic devices, creating mental images, or engaging in other meaningful

techniques, elaborative rehearsal facilitates the transfer of info from STM to LTM.

elaborative rehearsal advantages

Increases understanding

because it requires deep processing.

Adds more detail, which increases retrieval chances.

Increases the possibility of LT retention because it

organises new info

according to meaning.

Makes info more

accessible because it creates more potential retrieval cues.

elaborative rehearsal disadvantages

Takes longer than

maintenance rehearsal.

Relies on the ability to retrieve info previously stored in LTM.

Difficult to practice in situations where info entering STM is rapidly changing

Requires more conscious effort than maintenance

rehearsal.

Role of Repetition - Ebbinghaus & the Forgetting Curve (1885)

Hermann Ebbinghaus pioneering psychologist known for his extensive research on memory and learning.

The forgetting curve represents the decline in memory

retention over time - used to support Decay Theory

Ebbinghaus conducted experiments on himself to study how quickly information is forgotten after it's initially

learned.

• Memorising 'nonsense' syllables combined from letters

to produce non-existent words e.g. "lef"

• Recorded the number of trials taken to memorise a list,

then attempted to recall the list at different intervals

Role of Repetition - Ebbinghaus & the Forgetting Curve (1885), his research

His research showed that memory retention is strongest

immediately after learning new material, but it diminishes

rapidly in the hours and days that follow. Significant drop in

memory recall shortly after learning, but the rate of

forgetting gradually levels off over time.

Ebbinghaus also introduced the idea of "spaced

repetition" to counteract the effects of the forgetting curve.

This technique involves reviewing information at increasing intervals to improve long-term retention.

Laid the foundation for the study of memory processes and contributed significantly to our understanding of how

information is learned and retained over time.

Role of Repetition - Ebbinghaus & the Forgetting Curve (1885), the curve

Ebbinghaus' forgetting curve shows that recall of memories weakens over time, with the most dramatic decrease occurring early.

• Ebbinghaus found that recall can be improved with (spaced) repetition. Repeated exposure to a stimulus/information results in improved memory retention/slower rates of forgetting over time.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy [CTE]

Progressive brain condition that is believed to be caused by REPEATED

concussions and HARD hits to the head - TRAUMA to the brain!

• Causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, known as degeneration, which is thought to be related to the development of memory problems.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy [CTE] - symptoms

• Dementia

• STM loss

• Frequent changes in mood

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Agitation

• Attention and concentration loss

• Difficulty in making decisions

• Aggression

• Suicidal behaviour