Cognition

COGNITION

Memory Concepts

  • Memory Defined: The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

  • Recall vs. Recognition:

    • Recall: Requires retrieving information without cues (e.g., fill-in-the-blank tests).

    • Recognition: Involves identifying information when presented with options (e.g., multiple-choice tests).

    • Generally, recognition is easier than recall.

Three Box Model of Memory

  • Model Overview:

    1. Sensory Memory:

    • Characteristics:

      • Large capacity.

      • Contains sensory information.

      • Very brief retention (visual: up to 1/2 second; auditory: up to 2 seconds).

    1. Short-Term Memory (STM):

    • Characteristics:

      • Limited capacity (about seven digits, +/- two).

      • Brief storage (up to 30 seconds without rehearsal).

      • Engaged in conscious processing of information.

    1. Long-Term Memory (LTM):

    • Characteristics:

      • Unlimited capacity.

      • Lifelong storage, considered permanent.

      • Information is organized and indexed.

Types of Memory

  • Memory Types:

    • Sensory Memory

    • Short-Term Memory

    • Encoding

    • Long-Term Memory

    • Retrieval

Sensory Memory Details

  • Definition: Immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system.

    • Echoic Memory: Sensory memory for sound that lasts for 1-2 seconds.

    • Iconic Memory: Sensory memory for visual stimuli lasting a fraction of a second.

George Sperling’s Experiment

  • Methodology: Participants viewed a chart of three rows of three letters for only 1/20th of a second.

  • Results: Participants could recall only about half of the letters.

  • Modification: When connected with specific sounds after viewing, participants recalled more letters.

Short-Term Memory (Working Memory)

  • Characteristics:

    • Holds a few items briefly (approximately seven bits of information).

    • Information can be lost or transferred to long-term memory.

  • Rehearsal: Necessary for transferring information from short-term to long-term memory.

Components of Short-Term Memory

  1. Phonological Loop:

    • Holds verbal and auditory information.

  2. Visual-Spatial Sketchpad:

    • Briefly stores visual information and allows for mental manipulation.

Strategies for Enhancing Short-Term Memory

  • Chunking: Organizing items into familiar units.

  • Mnemonic Devices: Techniques like using knuckles for days of the month, and acronyms like ROY G. BIV.

  • Rehearsal: Conscious repetition to reinforce memory.

Tricks to Encoding

  • Mnemonic Devices: Include strategies like associating items with visual imagery, stories, and acronyms.

  • Examples:

    • Kings play chess on fine glass sets (taxonomy classification).

Memory Process

  • Stages:

    1. Encoding: The process of information into long-term memory (e.g., typing info).

    2. Storage: Retaining encoded material (e.g., Ctrl S to save).

    3. Retrieval: Accessing stored information (e.g., finding and opening a document).

Long Term Memory Types

  • Explicit (Declarative) Memories:

    • Easy to explain.

    • Episodic Memories: Events experienced.

    • Semantic Memories: Facts and knowledge acquired.

  • Implicit (Non-Declarative) Memories:

    • Difficult to articulate.

    • Procedural Memories: Motor and cognitive skills.

    • Conditioned Memories: Learned through classical or operant conditioning.

Other Types of Memory

  • Prospective Memory: The ability to remember to perform actions in the future.

Encoding Strategies

  • Primacy Effect: Better recall of the first items.

  • Recency Effect: Better recall of the last items.

  • Serial Positioning Effect: Tendency to recall better at the beginning and end of lists.

Spacing Effect

  • Principle: Avoid cramming; distributed learning improves long-term retention.

  • Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve: More repetitions lead to better retention.

Processing Information

  • Automatic Processing: Unconscious encoding of incidental information (e.g., background details).

  • Effortful Processing: Requires attention; often includes rehearsal.

Levels of Processing

  • Shallow Processing: Focus on physical features (visual, acoustic).

  • Deep Processing: Focus on meaning (semantic encoding).

    • Experiment by Fergus Craik and Endel Tulving demonstrated effectiveness of semantic processing.

Contextual Effects on Memory

  • Déjà vu: Current cues trigger memories from similar past experiences.

  • Flashbulb Memories: Vivid memories of important moments.

  • Mood Congruent Memory: Recalling memories that match one’s current mood.

  • State Dependent Memory: Information learned in one state is best recalled in that state.

Self-Reference Effect

  • Definition: We remember information better when it relates to ourselves.

Forgetting Phenomena

Clive Wearing Case Study

  • Types of Interference:

    • Retroactive Interference: New information hinders recall of old.

    • Proactive Interference: Old information hinders recall of new.

Next-in-Line Effect

  • We often forget what the person before us has said if we are the next in line.

Long Term Potentiation

  • A lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons resulting from synchronous stimulation.

  • This mechanism is believed to underpin the formation of memories.

Constructive Memory

- Concept: Memories can be distorted and reconstructed.