Memory Rozalia Ivady BME – Cognitive Science Department ImpLab Scientific Society Psychology Class, McDaniels College, 29th October 2007

Memory

Rozalia IvadyBME – Cognitive Science Department

ImpLab Scientific SocietyPsychology Class, McDaniels College, 29th October 2007

Memory – an outline

Multiple stores Retention curves – serial position data Memory dysfunctions

Sensory memory Short term memory Long term memory

Three processes Forgetting Explicit and implicit memory Constructive memory

Psychology and the law

But before anything else

Provo is a picturesque region of France. Corman was a pretender to the throne of

Provo. He was tired of waiting. He thought arsenic might work.

Try to remember these!

Look at these pictures

Now look carefully at these pictures. You will need to recall them later.



Iconic memory Short term memory Long term memory

Three processes Explicit and implicit memory Constructive memory


Try to recall as many items as you can! Cat Apple Banana Hammer Toothpick Parrot Table Blackberry Fly

Chair Screw Pigeon Orange Knife Bed Dog Fork Rat

Multiple stores or MLP?

Multiple stores or MLP?

Primacy effect Recency effect

The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

Long-term memory

Working orShort-term

Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention Encoding

Retrieval

Maintenance Rehearsal

Memory dysfunctions - amnesia

Famous Anterograde Amnesiac: HM Severe epilepsy, treated with surgery to

bilaterally remove medial temporal lobes, including hippocampus

Operation 9/1953, 27 years old

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to acquire new information

“memento”

Does not affect short-term memory and general knowledge from the past

But, it is difficult to learn new facts

Affects memory regardless of modality (visual, auditory, tactile, etc). Spares skilled performance

Hyper-specific memory for those skills that are learned after onset – learning is expressed only in context in which it was encoded

Amnesia

Types of amnesia Anterograde Retrograde






There is more than we can tell…

Eidetic pictures of children

How many stripes did you see on the cat?

Sensory Memory Store

Function - holds information long enough to be processed for basic physical characteristics

Capacity - large can hold many items at

once Duration - very brief

retention of images .3 sec for visual info 2 sec for auditory info

Sensory

InputSensory Memory


Divided into two subtypes: iconic memory - visual

information echoic memory -

auditory information Visual or iconic memory

was discovered by Sperling in 1960

Sensory

InputSensory Memory

Sperling’s Experiment

Presented matrix of letters for 1/20 seconds

Report as many letters as possible

Subjects recall only half of the letters

Was this because subjects didn’t have enough time to

view entire matrix? No How did Sperling know this?

Sperling’s Experiment

Sperling showed people can see and recall ALL the letters momentarily

Sounded low, medium or high tone immediately after matrix disappeared tone signaled 1 row to report recall was almost perfect

High

Medium

Low

Memory for image fades after 1/3 seconds or so, making report of entire display hard to do

Sperling’s Iconic Memory Experiment





G V U

L S J

N A Z

A M K

X F Q

O U N

What Letters Do You See? DiLollo

…..

What Letters Do You See?

…..

…..

What Letters Do You See?

…..


Sensory memory forms automatically, without attention or interpretation

Attention is needed to transfer information to working memory

Sensory

InputSensory Memory






Working Memory Store


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention

The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

Long-term memory


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention Encoding

Retrieval



Function - conscious processing of information where information is actively worked on

Capacity - limited (holds 7 +/- 2 items) Duration - brief storage (about 30 seconds) Code - often based on sound or speech even with

visual inputs


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention


What happens if you need to keep information in working memory longer than 30 seconds?

To demonstrate, memorize the following phone number (presented one digit at a time)...

8 361975


What is the number?857-9163The number lasted in your working memory longer than 30 secondsSo, how were you able to remember the number?



Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention

Mental or verbal repetition of information

Allows information to remain in working memory longer than the usual 30 seconds

Maintenance rehearsal


What happens if you can’t use maintenance rehearsal? Memory decays quickly To demonstrate, again memorize a phone number

(presented one digit at a time) BUT, have to count backwards from 1,000 by sevens (i.e.,

1014, 1007, 1000 … etc.)

6 490582


What is the number?628-5094Without rehearsal, memory fades

Peterson’s STM Task

Test of memory for 3-letter nonsense syllables

Participants count backwards for a few seconds, then recall

Without rehearsal, memory fades

Working Memory Model

Baddeley (1992) 3 interacting components

Central Executive

Phonological Loop

Visuospatial Sketch Pad

Working Memory Model

Visuospatial sketch pad - holds visual and spatial info Phonological loop - holds verbal information Central executive - coordinates all activities of working memory; brings

new information into working memory from sensory and long-term memory

Central Executive

Phonological Loop

Visuospatial Sketch pad

Long-Term Memory Store

Once information passes from sensory to working memory, it can be encoded into long-term memory

Long-term memory


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention Encoding

Retrieval


Long-Term Memory Store

Long-term memory


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention Encoding

Retrieval


Function - organizes and stores information more passive form of storage than working memory

Unlimited capacity Duration - thought by some to be permanent

Review of Long-Term Memory

Organizes and stores information Capacity unlimited Thought by some to be permanent Encoding transfers info from STM to LTM

Long-term memory


Memory

Sensory

Input

Sensory Memory

Attention Encoding

Retrieval


Summary

Modal model of memory three memory stores (sensory, working and

long-term memory)

Three processes and sins of memory

Encoding - process that controls movement from working to long-term memory store

Storage Retrieval - process that controls flow of

information from long-term to working memory store

Forgetting and the fight against it

Elaboration Chunking Thories of forgetting

Problems in encoding Problems of retention Problems of retrieval – interference ,inhibition

Elaboration

Focus on meaning of information to encode it into LTM don’t simply repeat items over and over tie item to other info in memory also called elaborative rehearsal

Ways to Use Elaboration

Actively question new information Think about its implications Relate information to things you already know Generate own examples of concepts Don’t highlight passage as you read

focus on the ideas in the text

Which Level is More Effective?

Elaboration leads to better recall than shallow processing

Typ

e of

P

roce

ssin

g

Shallow -Acoustic

Deep

Shallow - Visual

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000Percent of words recalled

Positive correlation between grades and use of elaboration in 5th grade students

In an experiment, college students assigned to use elaboration received higher grades than students not taught elaboration

More Evidence for Elaboration

Chunking

Grouping small bits of information into larger units of information expands working memory load

Which is easier to remember? 4 8 3 7 9 2 5 1 6

483 792 516

Visualization

Key word method Method of loci

Forgetting Theories

Encoding failure Role of time Interference theories

Forgetting as Encoding Failure

Information never encoded into LTM

X

Encoding Failure Demonstrations

What letters accompany the number 5 on your telephone?

Where is the number 0 on your calculator? According to this theory, objects seen

frequently, but information is never encoded into LTM

Forgetting as Retrieval Failure

Not all forgetting is due to encoding failures Sometimes information IS encoded into LTM, but we can’t retrieve it

X

Role of Time : Decay Theory

Memories fade away or decay gradually if unused

Time plays critical role Ability to retrieve info

declines with time after original encoding

Problem: Many things change with time. Something else may change and actually cause forgetting: Interference

Interference Theories

“Memories interfering with memories” Forgetting NOT caused by mere passage of time Caused by one memory competing with or replacing

another memory Two types of interference

Two Types of Interference

R etroac tiveIn te rfe ren ce

P roac tiveIn te rfe ren ce

Typ es o f in te rfe ren ce

Retroactive Interference

When a NEW memory interferes with remembering OLD information

Example: When new phone number interferes with ability to remember old phone number

Retroactive Interference

Example: Learning a new language interferes with ability to remember old language

F-

Proactive Interference

Opposite of retroactive interference

When an OLD memory interferes with remembering NEW information

Example: Memories of where you parked your car on campus the past week interferes with ability find car today

Proactive Interference

Example: Previously learned language interferes with ability to remember newly learned language

F-

Retrieval Cue Theories

Retrieval cue - a clue, prompt or hint that can help memory retrieval

Forgetting is the result of using improper retrieval cues

Encoding Specificity Principle

Learn word list generate ‘cue’ when

see word (jam - jelly) at recall cues given as

retrieval aid(jelly or traffic)

Cues generated during learning (jelly) more effective during retrieval than new cues (traffic)

Context-Dependent Memory

Improved ability to remember if tested in the same environment as the initial learning environment better recall if tested in classroom where you initially

learned info than if moved to a new classroom if learning room smells of chocolate or mothballs,

people will recall more info if tested in room with the same smell compared to different smell or no smell at all

Context-Dependent Effects

Compare words learned underwater vs on land Words heard underwater are best recalled underwater Words heard on land are best recalled on land

Context Dependent Effects

Time of day is also important

9

6

12

3

Learn at 3 pm Perform better at 3 pm

9

6

12

3 9

6

12

3

Than 9 pm

State-Dependent Memory

Recall improved if internal physiological or emotional state is the same during testing and initial encoding

Context vs State dependent Context-dependent - external, environmental factors

State-dependent - internal, physiological factors

State-Dependent Effects

Mood or emotions also a factor

Bipolar depressives information learned in manic state, recall more if

testing done during manic state information learned in depressed state, recall

more if testing done during depressed state

State Dependent Effects

If drink during learning

May recall better with drink

Than without

But not as well as sober all the way!






Constructing memories

Recall the sentences from the beginning of the lesson! Write them down.

Memory Construction

Recall not an exact replica of original events Recall a construction built and rebuilt from various

sources Often fit memories into existing beliefs

Remember those drawings? Can you draw them?

Time can be even shorter The War of the Ghosts

One night two young men from Egulacwent down to the river to hunt seals, and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: "Maybe this is a war-party". They escaped to the shore, and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men m the canoe, and they said:

"What do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people". One of the young men said: "I have no arrows". "Arrows are in the canoe", they said. "I will not go along. I might be killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you", he said, turning

to the other, "may go with them." So one of the young men went, but the other returned home. And the warriors went on up the river to a town on the other side of Kalama. The people came down to the

water, and they began to fight, and manywere killed. But presently the young man heard one of the warriors say: "Quick, let us go home:that Indian has been hit". Now he thought: "Oh, they are ghosts". He did not feel sick, but they said he had been shot.

So the canoes went back to Egulac, and the young man went ashore to his house, and made a fire. And he told everybody and said: " Behold I accompanied the ghosts, and we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, and many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit, and I did not feel sick".

He told it all, and then he became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried.

He was dead.

Recall the story

3 months later Some warriors went to wage way against the ghosts. They

fought all day and one of their number was wounded. They returned home in the evening, bearing their sick comrade.

As the day drew to a close, he became rapidly worse and the villagers came round him. At sunset he sighed: something black came out of his mouth. He was dead.

Schema Theories

Schema - mental representation of an object, scene or event example: schema of a countryside may include green

grass, hills, farms, a barn, cows, etc. Scripts - type of schema

mental organization of events in time example of a classroom script: come into class, sit

down, talk to friends, bell rings, instructor begins to speak, take notes, bell rings again, leave class, etc.

Schemas & scripts provide framework for new information

Eyewitness Testimony

Memory can be distorted as people try to fit new info into existing schemas

Eyewitnesses usually see something complex just once then have to remember it

Sometimes new information is distorted by fitting into an existing schema subsequent information (famous experiment by Loftus)

Loftus Experiment

Subjects shown video of an accident between two cars

Some subjects asked: How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?

Others asked: How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?

Loftus’s Results

Speed estimates depended on how the question was phrased

Subjects memory for broken glass also depended on the phrasing of the speed question. But this was a false

memory: there was no broken glass






EpisodicM em ory

Sem anticM em ory

E xp lic it M em ory

P roceduralM em ory

C lassicalConditioning

Prim ing

Im p lic it M em ory

Long-term M em ory

Long-term Memory Systems

Explicit Memory

Also known as declarative or conscious memory

Properties: memory consciously recalled or declared Can use to directly respond to a question

Two subtypes of explicit memory

Subtypes of Explicit Memory

Episod ic M em ory Sem antic M em ory

Explic it M em ory

Episodic Memory

Memory tied to your own personal experiences

Examples: what did you have for dinner? do you like to eat caramel apples?

Why are these explicit memories?

Because you can actively declare your answers to these questions

Semantic Memory

Memory not tied to personal events General facts and definitions about the world Examples:

who was George Washington? what is a cloud? what is the climate at the north pole?

These are explicit memories because you can describe what you know about them.

Unlike episodic memories, your knowledge does NOT include your personal experience i.e., You may never have been to the north pole but do know about it.

Implicit Memory

Also known as nondeclarative memory

Influences your thoughts or behavior, but does not enter consciousness

Three subtypes

Subtypes of Implicit Memory

C lassica lC ond ition ing

Procedura lM em ory

Prim ing

Im p lic it M em ory

Classical Conditioning

Studied earlier Implicit because it

is automatically retrieved

Procedural Memory

Memory that enables you to perform specific learned skills or habitual responses

Examples: Riding a bike How to speak grammatically Tying your shoe laces

Why are these procedural memories implicit? Can’t readily describe their contents

try describing how to tie your shoes They are automatically retrieved when appropriate

Priming

Priming is influence of one memory on another

priming is implicit because it does not depend on awareness and is automatic

Here is a demonstration

Priming Demonstration

Unscramble the following words:

O R E S L T E P AK T A L S TSME L O B S O M SELAF

ROSE PETALSTALK STEMBLOSSOM

Priming Demonstration

ELAF = LEAF

Why not respond FLEA?

Because flower parts were primed (flower power)

Priming

Activation of one or more existing memories by a stimulus

Activation not a conscious decision BUT, can effect subsequent thoughts and actions Two types of priming

Two Types of Priming

C onceptua l Perceptua l

Prim ing

Conceptual Priming

The semantic meaning of priming stimulus influences your encoding or retrieval

Thought to involve activation of concepts stored in semantic memory

Example: Flower power priming demonstration

Does not depend on sense modality: pictures can conceptually prime sounds AS THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS

Priming across modalities

Look at the picture . Then when the instructor says a word, write it down.

Perceptual Priming

Prime enhances ability to identify a test stimulus based on its physical features

Does not work across sense modalities

Perceptual Priming

Can you identify the fragmented stimulus to the right?

Perceptual Priming

What if you were shown the following slide earlier in the lecture?

Perceptual Priming

Can you identify the fragmented stimulus to the right?

Evidence for Separate Implicit/Explicit Systems Neurophysiological evidence Patient H.M.

life-threatening seizures originating in temporal lobe surgically removed portions of temporal lobe

Temporal Lobe

Includes: hippocampus amygdala

Patient H.M.

Surgery was effective in reducing seizures BUT, had other side effects as well Can remember explicit memories acquired before the

surgery e.g., old addresses, normal vocabulary

Cannot form NEW explicit memories e.g., remembering the name of someone he met 30

minutes prior cannot name new world leaders or performers can recognize a picture of himself from before his

surgery but not from after and doesn’t recognize himself in a mirror

Patient H.M.

H.M. has severe explicit / declarative memory disorder

H.M. is almost normal on procedural or implicit memory tasks including priming, classical conditioning, and learning motor skills

This shows that explicit memory depends upon the temporal lobes and implicit does not

Patient H.M. Summary

Temporal lobe damage led to deficits in explicit, but not implicit memory H.M. had both episodic and semantic memory deficits

Damage to the hippocampus alone produces episodic, but not semantic memory deficits

Why did H.M. show both types of explicit memory deficits? He had damage not only to hippocampus, but to other

structures as well






Thank you for your attention, that much on memory today….

Documents

Memory Rozalia Ivady BME – Cognitive Science Department ImpLab Scientific Society Psychology Class, McDaniels College, 29th October 2007