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