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Tip of Tongue situation- read out series of definitions of relatively obscure words and ask

participants to name the object being defined

Instructed to indicated if they knew the word but were unable to produce itAsked to guess number of syllables in the word and to provide any other information

Providing participant with initial letter, often resulted in correctly recalling word

In general, feeling of knowing something is good indicator that you do know it

Target Memory- particular memory sought during retrieval

Retrieval cues- bits of information which allow access of a memoryRetrieval- process of recovering a target memory based on cues, subsequently bringing it to

awareness

Associations- connections between memory traces

Retrieval is progression from one or more cues to target memory via associated connectionsContent Addressable memory- any aspect of the content of a memory can sever as a remind that

could access the experience

Activation Level- variable internal state of each memory trace that contributes to its accessibility

at a given point

Higher levels reflect greater accessibility and increase when something related to it is perceived

and persists for sometime even after attention is absent

Spreading Activation- memories automatically spread activation to other memories to which

they are associatedThe stronger the association, the larger the spread, possibly activating other associations

Retrieval is less effective if cues are present but not attended, or not attended enough

Activation given to a concept increases with attentionDiminished attention might make a cue less useful and lead retrieval to fail

Retrieval grows worse when attention is distracted by secondary tasks

Effects of divided attention attention are largest when you have to generate items from memorythrough recall, but are also found when doing recognition

Distraction more effective if secondary task is of same nature as primary task

Interfering effects of unrelated task grows as task becomes more demandingDivided attention at retrieval is less disruptive than divided attention at encoding

Retrieval can proceed with less attention than encoding

Once cues are presented and attended, automatic spreading activation can bring a trace to mind

Encoding Specify- the more similar the cues available at retrieval are to conditions present at

encoding, more effective the cues will be

Presented with target words for later recall, each target was accompanied by a cue that had weak

association with the word to be retainedAfter encoding, asked to recall targets, either unaided or prompted by the cue with which each

was paired

Cue words substantially increased recall of the targetsWords not present during encoding less effective

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Retrieval improves when more relevant cues are added

Adding cues is not merely additive but supperadditive with benefits between cues greater thanindividual cues together

Higher frequency words are better remembered because they are more represented resulting inrepeated exposureMore time given to encode words, improves recall of those words

If target has low activation, lower starting point makes it more difficult for a cue, even a relevant

one, to activate that item

Strategy of encoding influenced strategy of retrieval

Perspective provides a schematic structure that guides retrieval, constraining recall of

information relevant to that schemaRecall improved by including multiple perspectives

Retrieval mode- cognitive set, or frame of mind, that orients a person towards the act of retrieval,ensuring that stimuli are interpreted as retrieval cues

Presented with words on left or right of screen and then words mixed with new ones

Asked on episodic trials to judge whether the word was one seen earlier and on what side it

appeared and on semantic trials to judge whether the word referred to an object capable ofmoving on its own

Greater activity over right frontal cortex, area of attentional control, when retrieving rather than

making semantic judgmentsConsecutive episodic judgments increase in performance over time

Context cues- retrieval cues that specify aspects of conditions under which a desired target was

encoded, including the location and timeAlso includes mood, physiological and cognitive contexts

Direct/Explicit Memory Test- memory assessments that overtly prompt participants to retrievepast events

Free recall relies n context the most because people must retrieve an entire set of items without

overt cuesCued recall provides additional cues which provide specific supplementary information that

focuses search

Cued recall is easier than free recall because it doesnt rely as heavily on retrieval strategies

Recognition tests are the easiest type of direct test because they simply require a decisionRecognition tests can rely heavily or barely on context

Indirect tests measure the influence of experience without asking to recall past

First encode list of words, making a simple judgment for each word and then perform a task withcombination of old and new words without recalling any particular experience

Performance improves when doing task for previously viewed words than for new words even

when unaware of connection

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Repetition priming- enhanced processing of stimulus arising from recent encounters with

stimulus, form of implicit memory

Amnesiacs show normal performance on indirect tests through repetition priming

Context Dependent Memory- memory benefits when the spatio-temporal, mood, physiological,

or cognitive context at retrieval matches encodingContext-dependent memory effects increase as delay between encoding and retrieval increasesContext-dependent memory effects present even when relying on imagination alone

State dependency present only in recall, absent in recognition

Mood Congruent Memory- bias in recall of memories such that negative mood makes negative

memories more available than positive memories and vice versa. Unlike mood dependency, does

not affect recall of neutral memories

Mood congruent memory focuses on what is remembered rather than ease of rememberingMood-Dependent Memory- form of context dependent effect whereby what is learnt in a given

mood in recalled best in that mood

Language context influences recall such that one language will provide ease of recall for

memories associated with that language and another language will relate to other memories

Bilinguals are better at remembering information when tested in same language it was studied in

Reconstructive memory- active and inferential process of retrieval whereby gaps in memory are

filled in based on prior experience, logic, and goals

Driven by background knowledge that suggests plausible inferencesErrors grow more likely as time goes by because original memory is less accessible

Recognition Memory- ability to correctly decide whether they have encountered a stimulus

previously in a particular contextRecognition tests only meaningful if includes both new and old items

Distracters- new non-studied items

Forced Recognition test- presented with new and old items, must choose one of the itemsYes/No Recognition test- present one item at a time, ask to make yes no decision regarding new

and old items

Signal Detection Theory- memory targets and lures on a recognition test process an attribute

known as strength or familiarity which occurs in a graded fashion with previously encountered

items possessing more strength than novel items

Process of recognition involves ascertaining given test items strength and then deicing whetherit exceeds a criterion level of strength, above which items are considered to be previously

encountered

Signal detection theory provides analytic tools that separate true memory from judgment errors

Presented with tone and background noise and may either make a hit, miss, false alarm or correct

rejection of tone

Traces vary in familiarity depending on how much attention item received at encoding, or howmany times it was repeated

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Ability to discriminate two sets of items can be measured by distance between new and old

distributions

People choose a criterion level of familiarity, above which they judge a test item as old andbelow which they judge as new to make recognition judgments

On free recall tests, words used frequently in language are better recalled than words usedinfrequentlyIf item strength underlies this, then high frequency words should be better recognized but in fact

low frequency words are better recognized than high frequency words in recognition memory

One can have a very high degree of familiarity but without complete recognition

Familiarity Based Recognition- fast, automatic recognition process based on the perception of

memories strength. Proponents of dual process models consider familiarity to be independent ofthe contextual information characteristic of recollection

Recollection- slower, more attention demanding component of recognition memory in dual

process models which involves retrieval of contextual information about the memoryDual Process Theories of recognition- recognition memory judgments can be based on two

independent forms of retrieval process: recollection and familiarity

Remember/Know Procedure- procedure to separate influences of familiarity and recollection on

recognition performanceFor each test item, participants report whether it is recognized because the person can recollect

contextual details of seeing the item (remember response) or because the item seems familiar in

the absence of specific recollections (know response)Process Dissociation Procedure- technique for parceling out the contributions of recollection and

familiarity within a recognition task

If attention divided during an experience, less likely later to have ability to recollect it, butstimuli involved in experience might remain familiar

Distraction during recognition test consistently more disruptive to recollection than to judgments

of familiarityRecollection is a controlled, attention-demanding process

Damage to prefrontal cortex, associated with diminished attention, show deficits in recollection

but normality in familiarity for recent stimuliInformation about how familiar a stimulus seems is also retrieved much more quickly than

information necessary for recollection

Source Monitoring- process of examine the contextual origins of a memory in order to determinewhether it was encoded from a particular source

Contextual details need to be examined to ascertain a memorys origins

Done by exploiting regularities in the information we receive from different sources

Breakdowns in source monitoring associated with inability to separate imaginings from trueoccurrences

Incidental Forgetting- memory failures occurring without the intention to forget

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Motivated Forgetting- intentional forgetting as well as forgetting triggered by motivations but

lacking conscious intentions

Hyperthymestic Syndrome- uncontrollable remembering

Forgetting increases as time progressesForgetting Curve- decline in memory retention as a function of time elapsed as described byEbbinghaus

Forgetting slows down over time; rate was logarithmic rather than linear

Rapid initial decline and steady subsequent decline, especially when recall was testedRecall much worse than recognition when tested

Forgetting levels out after about two years with little further loss up to 50 years later

Permastore- stable language learning performance

Overall retention determined by level of initial learning

Recognition is generally easier than recall

Accessibility and Availability Distinction- accessibility refers to ease with which a storedmemory can be retrieved at a give point in time while availability refers to the distinction

indicating whether a trace is or is not stored in memory

Inaccessibility is considered forgetting

Reserving forgetting to refer only to memories made unavailable renders it impossible to evermeasure forgetting

Recognition can fail even if trace is in memory

When memories transition from being recallable to only recognizable, might be due toweakening in trace

Memories are not equally vulnerable to forgetting at all points in their history

Josts Law- if two memories are equally strong at a given time, the oldest of two will be moredurable and forgotten less rapidly

Consolidation- time-dependent process by which a new trace is gradually woven into memory

and by which its components and their interconnections are cemented togetherSynaptic Consolidation- imprint of experience takes time to solidly because it requires structural

changes in the synaptic connections between neurons

Systematic Consolidation- hippocampus is initially required for memory storage and retrieval butthat its contribution diminishes over time until the cortex is capable of retrieval on its own

Hippocampus replays memory until original memory is recreated and is independent of

hippocampus and may take years in humans

Personal memories, if retrieved periodically, grow resistant to forgetting like permastore

More often retrieve a memory; more often retrieval events are in memory with its own context

and particulars and if incomplete will alter what is remembered

Interference- retrieval of a memory can be disrupted by presence of related traces in memory

Trace decay- gradual weakening of memories resulting from the mere passage of timePartially determines loss of information from verbal and visual WM

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Repetition priming and familiarity effects decay quickly

Demonstrating behavioral decay is difficult and requires a demonstration that forgetting grows

over time in absence of other activities such as storage of new experiences or rehearsalRehearsal must be controlled because retrieval strengthens memories, which would undercut

efforts to see decay

Even if forgetting occurred in absence of interference, remains unclear if due to unavailability orinaccessibility

Over time people store new similar experiences that interfere with retrieving a particular trace

Contextual Fluctuation- gradual drift in incidental context over time, such that distance

memories deviate from the current context more so than new memories, thereby diminishing the

formerspotency as a retrieval cue for older memories

Retrieval hinges on number and quality o cues available during recallWhen irrelevant cues used, retrieval can fail, retrieval can fail when a cue that was previously

relevant changes over time

When incidental context at retrieval does not match the one present at encoding, forgetting ismore likely

As time progresses, context becomes greater

Because number of similar traces will increase over time, interference provides a straightforwardaccount of forgetting curve

Interference arises whenever the cue used to access a target is associated with additional

memoriesCompeting Assumption- memories associated to a shared retrieval cue automatically impede one

anothers retrieval when the cue is presented

Any negative effect between competitors is called interference

Interference increases with the number of competitors a target memory hasCue-Overload Principle- tendency for recall success to decrease as the number of to-be-

remembered items associated to a cue increases

Retroactive Interference- tendency for recently acquired information to impede retrieval of older

memories

Introducing highly related second list impairs ability to recall items from first list, compared tocontrol and increased training on second list items continues to harm retention of first list items

further as training progresses

Especially true when each list shares common cue word

Increasing training on second list of pairs improves memory for pairs, whereas retention of first-list pairs grows worse

Proactive Interference paradigm differs retroactive paradigm in that it testspeoplesmemory for

the list-two responses rather than the list-one responses and in the control condition the restperiod replaces list-one learning rather than list-two learning

People more likely to forget items from a list when a prior list has been studied

Amount of proactive interference greater when the two lists share a common cue and mostsevere when recall is tested rather than recognition

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Part-set Cuing Impairment- when presenting part of a set of items hinders your ability to recall

the remaining items in the setProviding part of the set as cues impaired recall for remaining items in set

Set of items defined by some common cue to which many items are associated

Stronger items provide greater competition during retrieval of noncue items, impairing theirrecallConsistent with finding that as more members of set are provided as cues, the worse memory

becomes for the remainder

Collaborative Inhibition- group of individuals remember significantly less material collectively

than does combined performance of each individual

Generation of lots of information can produce interference and disrupt retrieval

Retrieval Induced Forgetting- tendency for retrieval of some target items from long-term

memory to impair the later ability to recall other items related to those targets

Retrieval Practice Paradigm- procedure used to study retrieval induced forgettingFollowing retrieval practice, test is given in which people are asked to recall all examples they

remember seeing from every category

Retrieval practice enhances recall of practiced items but impairs related items

Selectively reviewing facts impairs nonreviewed material, particularly related materialOmitting study material will hasten its forgetting relative to studied material

Asking people about some stolen items impaired memory for related items

Children recalled nondiscussed elements less well than did a control of children who engaged inno discussion

Childrens memory of growing up with be shaped by way in which parents reminisce, with

nondiscussed aspects growing appreciably less accessible

Forgetting is contagious in that when among others discussing past events we spontaneouslyrecall those events along with the person and in so doing subject ourselves to retrieval induced

forgetting for whatever the speaker remains silent about

Associative Blocking- explain interference effects during retrieval, according to which a cue fails

to elicit a target trace because it repeatedly elicits a stronger competitor, leading people to

abandon efforts to retrieve the targetMemories compete for awareness when their shared cue is provided

Degree of interference increase as the cue grows more strongly associated to competitor,

exhibiting strength-dependent competition

People forget unpracticed exemplars of practiced categories because associations to the practicedmemories dominate retrieval

The more memories associated to a cue, the more likely to should be to accidentally retrieve a

wrong answer, setting the blocking process in motion

Unlearning- proposition that the associative bond linking stimulus to memory trace will be

weakened when the trace is retrieved in error when a different trace is sought

Association may grow so weak that it will no longer activate the trace such that the stimulus willbe decoupled from the response

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Explains retrieval induced forgetting if we assume that during retrieval practice, competing items

intrude and are punished

Whereas blocking attributes forgetting to very strong competitors, unlearning says thatassociations into the target are too weak

Unlearning and blocking are not incompatible, in fact both are needed according to two-factor

model

Stopping is thought to be accomplished by a mechanism that inhibits the response

Inhibition reduces the activity level of the response, ceasing its production in a manner

analogous to how inhibiting a neuron would reduce its influence on other neuronsPerforming retrieval practice on fruit-orange impairs recall of banana because banana as the

competing memory is inhibited by activation reducing mechanisms

Retrieval induced forgetting should generalize to new cues, thus exhibiting cue independence

According to blocking and unlearning, retrieval-induced forgetting is cue dependentNeed to overcome interference during retrieval triggers inhibition

Active retrieval or practiced items should be necessary to induce forgetting of competitors

Even though both retrieval practice and extra study exposures strengthen memory for thepracticed items to the same degree, only retrieval practice impairs retention of the unpracticed

competitors

High frequency examples might be prime targets for inhibition because they come to mind so

readily, whereas low frequency exemplars might not need to be inhibitedInterference dependence- tendency for retrieval-induced forgetting to be triggered by

interference from a competing item

The amount of forgetting unrelated to how strong the practiced associations become as a result ofpractice

Possible to greatly strengthen practiced items through repeated study, without impairing

unpracticed competitors

Strengthening a competitor may not be necessary at all to trigger retrieval induced forgettingMany of our experienced with forgetting might arise from the need to control interference

Because we are distracted by momentarily irrelevant information in our memories that we

engage inhibition to refocus on what we hope to retrieve from memoryForgetting is adaptive because it helps to reduce interference from information that might no

longer be relevant

Much of forgetting experienced due to need to control the retrieval process in the face of

competition

It is the process by which we combat interference that precipitates forgetting

Reducing the accessibility of competing traces is adaptive because it facilitates retrieval, but alsoo because it makes subsequent retrieval of the same information easier, reducing future

competition

Cue Independence- tendency for forgetting caused by inhibition to generalize to novel test cueson the independent probe test (monkey-b for banana, which was originally studied with the cue

fruit)

Retrieval Specificity- active retrieval from LTM is necessary to induce forgetting to relationinformation. For example, having to retrieve orange, given fruit-or- generates retrieval induced

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forgetting of unpracticed competitors (banana) whereas simply studying the intact pairing (fruit-

orange) does not

Strength Independence- the degree to which competitors are strengthened by retrieval practice isunrelated to the size of the retrieval-induced forgetting deficit

Thus strengthening an item by presenting the intact pairing (fruit-orange) does not induce

retrieval induced forgetting, whereas engaging in an impossible retrieval attempt (fruit-lu-) stillresults in forgetting of unpracticed competitorsInterference Dependence- interference by competitors during retrieval of targets is necessary for

retrieval-induced forgetting of those competitors to occur

Therefore high-frequency competitors (fruit-banana) which pose greater competition than low-frequency competitors (fruit-guava) are more likely to be inhibited than vice versa

Part-set cuing disrupts recall

Retrieval Induced Forgetting- act of remembering some material disrupts retrieval of other,

related materialGenerality- social cognition, eyewitness testimony, perception

Standard Procedure- learn list of category-exemplar pairs

10 categories, 12 exemplars per category

Cued multiple times to retrieve half of exemplars from half of categoriesGiven category cues and asked to recall all studied exemplars

Study- Fruit: Orange

Practice- Fruit: Or___

Test- Fruit:_____

Remember studied and practiced words bestDecreased recall for unpracticed items from practiced categories relative to items fromunpracticed categories

Inhibitory processes that suppress related material when practiced material is correctly recalled

MacLeod/Macrae- Impression format of two different individuals (10 traits each)

Practice session where half of traits describing one of individuals are recalled

Memory best for practiced traits but better for unpracticed traits from unpracticed individualrelative to unpracticed traits from practiced individual

Inhibition and strategy influence how we remember information and what we can access

Remember through third person observer perspective or first person field perspective

Field- affective reaction, physical and psychological states and experiences

Observer- how they appeared, what they did, location of scene and objects in scene

Event Age- see self as actor for past events but not recent events

Observer memories for social interaction, especially in the case of self-conscious people

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Issues- why one perspective over another

How perspective affects subjective memory experience

Role of emotion, age of memory, age of observer