5 - Learning & LTM Slides in full

Long Term Memory

• Archive of information about past events and knowledge learned.

• Works closely with working memory.

• Storage stretches from a few moments ago to as far back as one can remember.

Types of Learning

Incidental vs Intentional Learning

• Intentional Learning:

  • Deliberate, conscious, purposeful learning.

  • Examples include learning a new language or instrument, studying for exams.

• Incidental Learning:

  • Unplanned or unintended learning; occurs during task engagement.

  • May involve some awareness of information learned without intention.

  • Examples include learning the layout of a new house or recognizing a familiar face at a tram stop.

Implicit vs Explicit Learning

• Explicit Learning:

  • Achieved with full conscious awareness of the knowledge being acquired.

• Implicit Learning:

  • Occurs without conscious awareness of what has been learned.

  • Differences between incidental learning (may involve some consciousness) and implicit learning (no consciousness).

Assessing Implicit Learning

• Serial Reaction Time Task:

  • Participants press keys corresponding to stimuli appearing in a complex sequence.

  • Demonstrates learning even without conscious awareness.

  • Performance typically improves across trials, but slows with the introduction of a novel sequence.

Differences between Implicit and Explicit Learning

• Identified by Reber (1993):

  • Robustness, age independence, low variability, IQ independence, commonality of process.

• Evidence suggests they engage different brain areas and are influenced by varying factors.

Levels of Processing Theory (Craik & Lockhart, 1972)

• Memory retention depends on the depth of information encoding.

• Deep Processing:

  • Close attention to meaning leads to better memory.

  • Semantic analysis increases retention.

• Shallow Processing:

  • Little attention to meaning, focusing on physical characteristics results in poor memory.

Experiments by Craik & Tulving (1975)

• Comparison of recognition performance based on processing depth.

  • Shallow (grapheme task) vs. deep (semantic task).

  • Results indicated significantly better recall with deep processing.

Implicit Memory and Levels of Processing

• Challis et al. (1996) explored if levels of processing apply to implicit learning.

  • Found that implicit memory is not significantly affected by processing level.

Memory Types

Non-declarative Memory

• Procedural memory: Skills associated with specific tasks.

• Evidence for non-declarative memory from studies (e.g., Patient H.M., serial reaction time task).

Declarative Memory

• Episodic Memory:

  • Memory for personal past events, characterized by the aspects of "what, where, when."

  • Not a precise reproduction; open to errors and illusions.

• Semantic Memory:

  • General knowledge about the world and concepts.

  • Research shows episodic memory may be impaired in some with intact semantic memory (e.g., amnesia).

Amnesia

• Types include:

  • Retrograde Amnesia: Memory loss for events prior to brain injury.

  • Anterograde Amnesia: Impaired ability to learn new information after the injury.

• Both types can coexist, impacting learning and personality.

Forgetting and Memory Interference

Causes of Forgetting

• Ebbinghaus (1885/1913): Time to relearn information reflects memory retention over time.

• The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve shows how much information is forgotten over various intervals.

Encoding Specificity Principle (Thomson & Tulving, 1970)

• Recall is improved when the retrieval context matches the encoding context.

• Example: Godden & Baddeley's (1975) underwater learning experiment showed context effects in recall performance.

Interference

• Interference disrupts memory processes, with two types:

  • Proactive Interference: Old information hampers new learning.

  • Retroactive Interference: New information interferes with retrieval of old information.

  • Paired Associates Task: Used to demonstrate these types of interference.

Minimizing Interference

• Techniques identified by Bäum and Kliegl (2013) to reduce proactive interference.

Recall vs. Recognition

• Recall involves retrieving details actively without cues.

• Recognition relies on memory cues making it easier, as in multiple-choice questions.

Memory Consolidation

• Consolidation Theory: Describes the transition of new information into stable long-term memories, involving the hippocampus and neocortex.

• Reconsolidation refers to reactivation of memory traces, which can lead to updating or altering those memories.

Errors in Memory

• Misremembering effects can occur, influenced by reactivation of memories (Hindsight Bias, Post-event misinformation effect).

• Notable work by Elizabeth Loftus shows misleading information can distort eyewitness accounts.