Cognition 7e, Margaret MatlinChapter 5 Cognition Long-Term Memory Chapter 5

Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 5

CognitionCognition

Long-Term MemoryLong-Term Memory

Chapter 5Chapter 5


IntroductionIntroduction

long-term memory—large capacity; memory for experiences and information accumulated over a lifetimeepisodic memory—your memories for events

that happened to yousemantic memory—organized knowledge

about the worldprocedural memory—knowledge about how

to do something


IntroductionIntroduction

encoding—initial acquisition of informationretrieval—locating information in storage and

accessing that informationautobiographical memory—memory for

events and topics related to your own everyday life


Encoding in Long-Term Encoding in Long-Term MemoryMemory

Levels of ProcessingLevels of ProcessingCraik and Lockhart (1972)

levels-of-processing/depth-of-processing approach—argues that deep, meaningful kinds of information processing lead to more permanent retention than shallow, sensory kinds of processing



Levels of ProcessingLevels of ProcessingLevels of Processing and Memory for General Material

Craik and Tulving (1975)—meaning vs. physical appearanceDistinctivenessElaborationdeep processing also enhances memory for

faces



Levels of ProcessingLevels of ProcessingLevels of Processing and the Self-Reference Effect

self-reference effect

1. Representative researchRogers and coauthors (1977)—visual, acoustic, semantic,

self-referencepositive vs. negative instancesacross age groups, instructions, stimulimeta-analysis technique




2. Participants' failure to follow instructionsFoley and coauthors (1999)

compare different types of mental imageinstructions vs. what students actually used


Participants Failure to Participants Failure to Follow InstructionsFollow Instructions




3. Factors responsible for the self-reference effect• the self produces a rich set of cues• self-reference instructions encourage people to consider

how their personal traits are related to one another• you rehearse material more frequently if it is associated

with yourself



The Effects of Context: Encoding The Effects of Context: Encoding SpecificitySpecificity

encoding specificity principle—recall is better if the retrieval context is similar to the encoding context




Research on Encoding SpecificityMarian and Fausey (2006)—read stories in

English and Spanish; questions about the stories in matched or mismatched languages

gender of voice of reader and questioner

present context vs. other contexts

real life vs. laboratory


Encoding SpecificityEncoding Specificity




Research on Encoding Specificity1. Different kinds of memory tasks

recall vs. recognitionencoding specificity effect is most likely to occur in memory tasks that• assess your recall• use real-life incidents• examine events that happened long ago




Research on Encoding Specificity2. Physical versus mental context

feel may be more important than look



The Effects of Context: Encoding SpecificityThe Effects of Context: Encoding SpecificityLevels of Processing and Encoding Specificity

similarity between encoding and retrieval conditions

encoding specificity can override levels of processing

To determine how to store some information, you'll need to figure out the characteristics of the retrieval task



Emotions, Mood, and MemoryEmotions, Mood, and Memoryemotionmood



Emotions, Mood, and MemoryEmotions, Mood, and MemoryMemory for Items Differing in Emotion

Pollyanna Principle

1. More accurate recall for pleasant itemsMatlin & Stang (1978); Balch (2006)learn lists of words—pleasant, neutral, unpleasantrecall after delaypleasant items recalled significantly more accurately than

unpleasant items; neutral items recalled least accuratelymemory for eventsmemory for near-accidents




2. More accurate recall for neutral stimuli associated with pleasant stimuli

Bushman (1998)—media violence and commercials




3. Over time, unpleasant memories fade fasterWalker and coauthors (1997)personal events recorded and rated for pleasantness and

intensitypositivity effect—people tend to rate past events more

positively with the passage of timeagedepression



Emotions, Mood, and MemoryEmotions, Mood, and MemoryMood Congruence

mood congruence—you recall material more accurately if it is congruent with your current mood

Murray and colleagues (1999)—tendency towards depression and recall of positive/negative trait words


Mood CongruenceMood Congruence



Individual Differences: Social Goals and Individual Differences: Social Goals and MemoryMemory

social goalsapproach social goalsavoidance social goals



Individual Differences: Social Goals and Individual Differences: Social Goals and MemoryMemory

Strachman and Gable (2006)story about interpersonal relationships, recall of

positive/neutral/negative statements from the story

overall number of items recalled

social goal type was related to whether statements were recalled as more positive or more negative than they actually were


Retrieval in Long-Term Retrieval in Long-Term MemoryMemory

Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksExplicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksDefinitions and Examples

Explicit Memory Tasksrecall

recognition



Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksExplicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksDefinitions and Examples

Implicit Memory Tasks—task does not directly ask for either recall or recognition; shows the effects of previous experience when we are not making a conscious effort to remember

word completion

repetition priming—recent exposure to a word increases the likelihood that you'll think of this particular word, when you are given a cue that could evoke many different words



Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksExplicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksResearch with Normal Adults

material not remembered on explicit memory task may be remembered when tested on an implicit memory task

anesthesia studiesdissociation

levels of processing and explicit/implicit memory tasks

proactive interference



Individuals with AmnesiaIndividuals with Amnesiaamnesiaretrograde amnesia—loss of memory for events

that occurred prior to brain damageanterograde amnesia—loss of memory for

events that have occurred after brain damage



Individuals with AmnesiaIndividuals with Amnesiahippocampus—H.M.Warrington and Weiskrantz (1970)

presented English words to individuals with anterograde amnesia and controls

tested with explicit and implicit memory tasksdissociation



ExpertiseExpertiseexpertise—consistently exceptional performance in a

particular areapractice more important than inborn skill



ExpertiseExpertiseThe Context-Specific Nature of Expertise

• strong positive correlation between knowledge about an area and memory performance in that area

• more accurate than nonexperts in both recognition and recall

• immediate and delayed testing• no difference in general memory skills or

intelligence



ExpertiseExpertiseHow Do Experts and Novices Differ?

1. Experts possess a well-organized, carefully learned knowledge structure, which assists them during both encoding and retrieval.

2. Experts are more likely to reorganize the new material they must recall, forming meaningful chunks in which related material is grouped together.

3. Experts typically have more vivid visual images for the items they must recall.



ExpertiseExpertiseHow Do Experts and Novices Differ? (continued)

4. Experts work hard to emphasize the distinctiveness of each stimulus during encoding.

5. Experts rehearse in a different fashion.

6. Experts are better at reconstructing missing portions of information from material that they partially remember.

7. Experts are more skilled at predicting the difficulty of a task and at monitoring their progress on this task.



ExpertiseExpertiseOwn-Race Bias

own-race bias—people are generally more accurate in identifying members of their own ethnic group than members of another ethnic groupexpertisedistinctiveness



ExpertiseExpertiseOwn-Race Bias

Walker and Hewstone (2006)discrimination task—photos differing along a continuum of race; 2 photos judged same or differentBritish high school students, White and South Asianaccuracy of responses

contact hypothesisage group expertise


Own-Race BiasOwn-Race Bias

Figure 5.2 Percentage of Accurate Responses in a Discrimination Task, as a Function of the Ethnic Group of the Student and the Ethnic Group of the Faces.


Autobiographical Autobiographical MemoryMemory

autobiographical memory—memory for events and issues related to yourself; verbal narrative, imagery, emotional reactions, procedural information; measured in terms of accuracy

ecological validity



Characteristics of our memory for life events1. Although we sometimes make errors, our memory

is often accurate for a variety of information (Theme 2).

2. When people do make mistakes, they generally concern peripheral details and specific information about commonplace events, rather than central information about important events.

3. Our memories often blend together information; we actively construct a memory at the time of retrieval.



Schemas and Autobiographical MemorySchemas and Autobiographical Memoryschema—your general knowledge or expectation

distilled from past experiences with an event or a person

consistency bias—we tend to exaggerate the consistency between our past feelings and beliefs and our current viewpoint

Honig (1997)—Chicana garment workers strike



Source MonitoringSource Monitoringsource monitoring—the process of trying to

identify the origin of memories and beliefs

Marsh and colleagues (1997)—recognition for own ideas and someone else's ideas; recognition vs. generation test

"wishful thinking bias"

source monitoring at a societal level



In Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesIn Depth: Flashbulb Memoriesflashbulb memory—memory for the

circumstances in which you first learned about a very surprising and emotionally arousing event



In Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesIn Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesThe Classic Study

Brown and Kulik (1977)—memories triggered by important political events; details of location and people

later studies suggested that people made numerous errors in recalling details of national events, even though they claimed that their memories for these events were very vivid



In Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesIn Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesMemories about September 11, 2001

Talarica and Rubin (2003)memories of ordinary event vs. "flashbulb memory"delay before recallconsistent and inconsistent detailsconfidence


Flashbulb MemoriesFlashbulb Memories

Figure 5.3 Average Number of Consistent and Inconsistent Details Reported for a Flashbulb Event (9/11/2001) and an Ordinary Event, as a Function of the Passage of Time



In Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesIn Depth: Flashbulb MemoriesMemories about September 11, 2001

Pezdek (2003)—proximity to New York City; factual details vs. autobiographical

rehearsal frequency, distinctiveness, elaborationaccuracy over time



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness Testimonyquestioning the validity of eyewitness testimony

DNA vs. eyewitness testimony



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyThe Post-Event Misinformation Effect

post-event misinformation effect—people view an event, are given misleading information about the event, mistakenly recall the misleading information rather than the event itself

retroactive interference



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyThe Post-Event Misinformation Effect

Loftus and coauthors (1978)—stop/yield sign experiment; consistent vs. inconsistent information

faulty source monitoringconstructivist approach to memoryconsistency bias


Post-Event Post-Event Misinformation EffectMisinformation Effect



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyFactors Affecting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony

• People may create memories that are consistent with their schemas

• People may make errors in source monitoring• Post-event misinformation may distort people's

recall

plus



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyFactors Affecting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony (continued)

• Errors are more likely when there is a long delay between the original event and the time of the testimony.

• Errors are more likely if the misinformation is plausible • Errors are more likely if there is social pressure • Errors are more likely if eyewitnesses have been given

positive feedback.



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyThe Relationship Between Memory Confidence and Memory Accuracy

in many situations, participants are almost as confident about their misinformation-based memories as they are about their genuinely correct memories

confidence not strongly correlated with accuracy



Eyewitness TestimonyEyewitness TestimonyThe Recovered Memory/False Memory Controversy

1. The two contrasting positions in the controversy

recovered-memory perspectivefalse-memory perspective




2. The potential for memory errorsautobiographical memory is less than perfectsource monitoring and difficulty recalling whether or not we

actually did somethingtherapist suggestionsoften can't determine accuracy




3. Laboratory evidence of false memoryRoediger and McDermott (1995)—misremembering words

on lists; false-recall, intrusion errorsrole of associationsconstructing false memories for childhood events




4. Arguments for recovered memorylab studies lack ecological validitycan't create false memories for very embarrassing eventsER/legal system studiesFreyd and DePrince—betrayal trauma




5. Both perspectives are partially correctsome people have truly experienced childhood sexual abuse

and may forget about the abuse for many decades until a critical event triggers recall;

other people may never have experienced childhood sexual abuse, but a suggestion about abuse creates a false memory of experiences that never really occurred;

in other cases, memory for abuse is accurate for years afterwards

Documents

Cognition 7e, Margaret MatlinChapter 5 Cognition Long-Term Memory Chapter 5