Cognitive_325_Week_7b_-_Remembering_II

Cognitive Psychology Overview

• Cognitive Psychology 325 involves the study of mental processes and includes various subfields such as:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience

  • Perception

  • Attention

  • Memory Systems

  • Memory Errors

  • Concepts

  • Computational Cognition

  • Imagery

  • Language

  • Problem Solving/Experimentation

  • Computational Neuroscience

  • Judgments, Decisions, and Reasoning

  • Brain Imaging

  • Intelligence & Creativity

Today's Topics: Memory

• Focus on various aspects of memory:

  • Remembering II

  • Encoding Strategies

  • State Dependent Learning

  • Eyewitness Testimonies

  • Implanted Memories

  • Memory and the Brain

  • Disorders related to memory: Korsakoff’s Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease

Improving Long Term Memory

• Effectiveness of memory retention is influenced by:

  • Rehearsal Quality: Rehearsing information superficially leads to shallow memory.

  • Diversity of Methods: Diversifying how information is studied and distributing learning over time enhances retention.

Practical Implications of Long-Term Memory Research

• Factors affecting retention include:

  • Curriculum design and instruction schedules, rather than individual aptitude.

  • Suggestions for improving retention:

    • Spread course content over extended periods.

    • Implement cumulative re-examinations.

    • Incorporate review courses.

Encoding Strategies for Long Term Memory (LTM)

• Elaboration / Relational Processing:

  • Deep processing through connections between new and existing memories.

  • Strengthens retrieval of information.

  • Chunking: Grouping information together aids retention.

Encoding Specificity Principle

• Memory retrieval is enhanced when the encoding context matches the retrieval context:

  • Example: Losing and finding keys based on recalling the context.

Research on Encoding Specificity

• Scuba Diving Study:

  • Participants studied underwater remembered better underwater versus on land.

• State-Dependent Effects:

  • Matching internal states during encoding and retrieval enhances memory.

  • Example: Intoxicated learning should be retrieved while intoxicated.

Mood Dependent Memory Conditions

• Influences of mood on memory recall:

  • Memory generation must be participant-driven.

  • Reliability of mood-dependent effects is enhanced without explicit cues.

  • Stronger mood states lead to better memory recall.

Depression and Memory

• Study by Hertel and Hardin (1990):

  • Depressed mood significantly impairs word recognition compared to neutral mood.

Memory Techniques: Tricks

• Method of Loci:

  • Imagining a familiar path and associating items with specific locations.

• Acrostics:

  • Creating phrases where the first letter of each word acts as a cue, e.g., “Every Good Boy Does Fine.”

• Acronyms:

  • Forming words from the initial letters of phrases, e.g., SCUBA for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing

• Memory retrieval is more successful when cues closely match the original memory content.

  • Examples include contextual cues in skill-related memories.

Expertise and Memory

• Research by Chase & Simon (1973) shows:

  • Chess experts have superior memory for game configurations compared to novices, especially for meaningful arrangements.

Memory Impairments: Childhood Amnesia

• Childhood amnesia refers to the inability to recall episodic memories prior to age 3.

  • May be tied to the absence of language during early years.

Reminiscence Bump

• An increase in memory recall occurs between the ages of 10 and 30 due to:

  • Significant life events that shape identity.

  • Culturally significant experiences during these years.

Permastore Concept

• The concept of permastore refers to stable memory retention observed after initial decay, particularly noted in language learning studies by Bahrick (1984).

Imagery and Memory

• Picture Superiority Effect:

  • Recognition memory higher for pictures than for words, especially shortly after exposure.

Distorted Memory and Confidence

• High confidence in memories does not correlate with accuracy.

  • Conditions exist where memory accuracy is crucial, such as eyewitness testimonies.

Eyewitness Testimonies

• Risks and challenges associated with eyewitness accounts:

  • Misinformation effects can alter original memories.

  • Leading questions can significantly influence recall accuracy.

Eyewitness Testimony Research by Loftus and Palmer (1974)

• Study illustrating how wording of questions can change memory recall, affecting speed estimates of vehicles in a car crash scenario.

Weapon Focus Phenomenon

• High stress during crimes causes witnesses to focus primarily on weapons, impairing the ability to recall other details.

Eyewitness Errors - Familiarity

• Innocent individuals can be misidentified due to familiarity errors in line-ups involving people previously seen in videos.

Recommendations for Eyewitness Procedures

• Improve methods to enhance accuracy:

  • Inform witnesses that a suspect might not be in the line-up.

  • Use similar-looking individuals.

  • Present suspects sequentially to avoid direct comparison.

Repressed Memories

• Recovered memories, such as those from Eileen Lipsker's case, show the challenges of reliability in memories brought forth under suggestion or therapy.

Memory Dynamics

• Memory is dynamic and can be altered upon reactivation, leading to different recall experiences from the original events.

Scripts in Memory

• Scripts guide expected behaviors in specific situations and are resistant to change over time, reflecting personal experience.

Stress Effects on Memory

• Chronic stress impacts memory through:

  • Disrupted sleep and emotional distress.

  • Attention, learning, recall, and regulation of cortisol levels.

  • Can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Ecological vs. Lab-Based Memory Research

• Both ecological approaches and lab-based studies are necessary for a comprehensive understanding of memory processes.

Aging and Memory

• Age-related decline in memory is particularly evident in episodic memory:

  • Semantic memory is less affected.

  • Implicit memory remains stable.

  • Variability exists in how memory declines among individuals.

Memory and the Brain

• The hippocampus is crucial for:

  • Consolidating short-term memories into long-term storage.

  • Activation of recently acquired memories.

Specific Memory Impairments

• Korsakoff’s Syndrome:

  • Alcohol-induced amnesia characterized by confabulation and difficulty in retaining new information.

• Alzheimer’s Disease:

  • The most common type of dementia, leading to impairments starting with episodic memory.

  • The ultimate diagnosis requires examination after death.

Summary of Topics Covered

• Encoding Strategies

• State Dependent Learning

• Eyewitness Testimonies

• Implanted Memories

• Memory Function in the Brain

• Korsakoff’s Syndrome

• Alzheimer’s Disease