Topic 7.2- Encoding

Encoding

Getting information into memory

• Attention maximizes this

• Mnemonics can also be helpful in learning new information

• Using rhymes (with pegwords)

• Songs/music

• Method of Loci

• Many mnemonics involve linking new information to meaningful concepts already stored in L T M

The Next-In-Line effect

a cognitive bias where individuals have difficulty recalling information from events that occurred just before their turn to perform or speak. This is because the anticipation of performing creates a state of high anxiety and distraction, causing attention to be diverted from encoding incoming information. This results in an encoding deficit, where the information is never properly stored in memory.

memory for common objects

complex topic that includes the ability to recognize them (visual memory), recall object details (semantic memory), and use them in daily life. Research shows people are surprisingly poor at recalling fine details of common objects, like the exact image of a penny, even if they see it frequently.

Storage

keeping information in memory

• Depends on our interpretations and expectations

Schemas

 organized knowledge structures or mental models that we’ve stored in memory. We often use these to “fill in the gaps”

 Can be useful in interpreting new situations but can also be misleading (too simple) and lead to biases.

Retrieval

Reactivation or reconstruction of experiences from our memory stores

• Many types of forgetting are failures of retrieval, which is reconstructive

• Using retrieval cues (“hints” related to the original information) can help

Recall

generating previously remembered information without the help of cues. This can be free, (e.g., listing all items in a list), serial, (recalling items in a specific order), or cued, (recalling information after given a cue). An example would be answering an essay question on a test.

Recognition

 identifying previously learned information after encountering it again. This is typically easier than recall because the item itself serves as a retrieval cue. Multiple-choice questions on a test are a common example of a recognition task

Relearning

measures how much faster information is learned the second time around compared to the first time. Even if you feel you have forgotten something entirely, you will likely master it more quickly upon review, a phenomenon called the savings method. This demonstrates that some memory traces remain even when recall and recognition fail.

Tip-of-the-Tounge phenomenon

 Retrieval failure occurs when we are sure we know information, but can’t remember what that information is.

• When people believe that something is on the tip of their tongues, they’re frequently right

• The information can sometimes be retrieved by a related cue (hint)

Law of distributed vs Massed practice

Studying information in small increments over a large amount of time (distributed) is much more effective than studying large increments over a brief amount of time or cramming (massed), a finding that is often called the spacing effect

• This well-established principle from psychology shows that spacing out study sessions improves a person's ability to recall and apply information over time.

Encoding Specificity

 More likely to remember something when the conditions at the time of encoding are also present at retrieval

• Two kinds: context-dependent learning and state-dependent learning

Context Dependant Learning

Superior retrieval when the encoding context matches the retrieval context

State Dependant Learning

Superior retrieval of memories when the organism is in the same physiological or psychological state as it was during encoding

• Can extend to mood- dependent learning and the retrospective bias