Important Assignment!!!!. Activity Recall vs. Recognition

Important Assignment!!!!

ActivityRecall vs. Recognition

Module 12Remembering & Forgetting

Recall vs. Recognition

• Recall– Retrieving previously learned information

without the aid of or with very few external cues

• Recognition– Identifying previously learned information

with the help of more external cues

Organization of Memories

• Network Theory– We store related ideas in separate categories,

called nodes– As we make associations between

information, we create links among thousands of nodes

– Nodes make up a huge interconnected network of files

Network Hierarchy

• Nodes– Memory files that contain related information

organized around a specific topic

• Network hierarchy– Arrangement of nodes in a certain order

– At the bottom, are nodes with very concrete information

– These nodes are linked to more specific information, which is connected to more general information

Forgetting

• Refers to the inability to retrieve, recall, or recognize information that was stored or is still stored in long-term memory.

Forgetting Curve• Measures the amount of previously learned information that

subjects can recall across time

• Ebbinghaus– One of the 1st psychologists to study memory & forgetting

– He tested his own memory of nonsense syllables

4 Reasons for Forgetting• Repression

– Mental process that automatically hides emotionally threatening or anxiety-producing information in the unconscious

• Poor Retrieval Cues– Retrieval cues are mental reminders that we create by forming vivid

mental images or creating associations between new information & information we already know

• Amnesia– Loss of memory due to a blow or damage to the brain, after drug use,

or after severe psychological stress

• Interference– Recall of a memory is blocked by other related memories

Interference

• Theory that we may forget information not because it is no longer in storage or memory but rather because old or newer related information produces confusion and thus blocks retrieval from memory

2 Types of Interference• Proactive

– Old information (learned earlier) blocks or disrupts the remembering of new information (learned later)

• Retroactive– New information (learned later) blocks or disrupts the

remembering of old information (learned earlier)

blocks or disrupts

learned EARLIER (psychology)

the retrieval of related old info

Retrieval Cues

• Mental reminders that you create by forming vivid mental images of information or associating new information with information that you already know

• State Dependent Learning– It is easier to recall information when you are in the

same physiological or emotional state or setting as when you originally encoded the information

Forgetting- Cue Dependence Theory

• Explains forgetting as due to the failure to have or use adequate retrieval cues– Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: Refers to having a

strong feeling that a particular word can be recalled, but despite making a great effort, we are temporarily unable to recall this particular information. Later, in a different situation, we may recall the information.

– The inability to recall info that one knows has been stored in long-term memory

– Universal, increases with age, and occurs about once a week

Forgetting- Cue Dependence Theory• Encoding Specificity: Recall will be best when cues that were

associated with the encoding of a memory are also present during attempts at retrieving it– Context Dependent Memory: Recall to be best when the environmental

context present during the encoding of a memory is also present during attempts at retrieving it

– State Dependent Memory: Recall to be best when one’s emotional or physiological state is the same during the recall during attempts at retrieving it

– Mood Dependent Memory: Recall to be best when one’s mood is the same during the recall of a memory as it was during the encoding of that memory

– Mood Congruent Memory: Tendency to recall memories that are consistent with one’s current mood

• Helps explain the self-perpetuating nature of depression

Where should you take your psychology tests?

Discussion:If you wanted to change your study

habits, how would you use information about why we forget?

Biological Bases of Memory

• Cortex- short-term memories & long-term memories (stores)– Thin layer of brain cells that cover the surface of the forebrain

• Amygdala- emotional memories (adds emotional associations)– Almond-shaped structure lying below the surface of the cortex in the

tip of the temporal lobe– Plays a critical role in adding a wide range of emotions to our

memories

• Hippocampus- transferring memories from STM to LTM (transfers)– Curved, finger-like structure that lies beneath the cortex in the

temporal lobe– Transfers declarative information (words, facts & events) from STM

into LTM

Location of Memories in the Brain

STM: Neural Assemblies

• Groups of interconnected neurons whose activation allows information or stimuli to be recognized and held briefly and temporarily in short-term memory

• One mechanism for holding information in short-term memory

LTM: Long-Term Potential (LTP)• Researchers believe that learning changes the structure and

function of the neuron itself

• LTP refers to the increased sensitivity of a neuron to stimulation after it has been repeatedly stimulated (by changing the neuron’s structure)

Mnemonic Devices• Ways to improve encoding and create better retrieval cues by

forming vivid associations or images

• Techniques for organizing information to be memorized to make it easier to remember

– SQR4 Method

– Elaborative Rehearsal (vs. maintenance rehearsal & rote memorization)

– Overlearning

– Distributed Practice (vs. Massed Practice)

– Method of Loci

– Acronyms

– Pegword Method

– Link Method

– Narrative Method

SQR4 Method

• Student using the following processes to read and study:– Surveys: Glance through the headings throughout a section to get

an idea about which you will be reading– Questions: As you survey, develop questions that you should be

able to answer when finished– Read: Carefully read the material– Recite: Be sure you can answer all the questions and explain what

you have read– Review: Quiz yourself on the section and reread the necessary

portions that you didn’t know well– wRite: Write what you have learned in your own words.

Elaborative Rehearsal

• Processing information at a relatively deep level

• Far superior to maintenance rehearsal & rote memorization (process at a relatively shallow level)

Overlearning

• Study material beyond the point of initial mastery

• Helps performance partially due to increased confidence

Distributed Practice

• Spreading out memorization of information or learning over several sessions

• Far superior to massed practice (Cramming the memorization of information or learning into one session)

Method of Loci

• Create visual associations between already memorized places & new items to be memorized

• Mnemonic device that involves associating the items you need to remember with the landmarks of a familiar place

• You recall the items as you take a mental walk through the familiar place

Acronym

• Forming a term from the first letters of a series of words that need to be remembered

Pegword Method

• Create associations between number-word rhymes and items to be memorized

• One is a bun; two is a shoe; three is a tree; four is a door; five is a hive

• First, make-up a simple rhyme like 1= bun, 2= shoe, 3= bee, etc.

• Associate the items you need to remember with the peg words (like bun) in your rhyme

• The stranger the association, the easier it will be for you to remember the item

Link Method

• Connect images of the items you need to remember in sequence

Narrative Method

• Connect unrelated items that you must remember together in a story

Discussion:Can you describe a mnemonic method to

remember the four reasons for forgetting?

ActivitiesCreating Memories 27 8

False Memories

Can False Memories Be Implanted?• Researchers interviewed parents about events that occurred in their children’s

lives during the past 12 months

• Each 3- to 6-year-old was read a list of these events including some fictitious events

• Children were asked to “think hard” & identify the events that actually happened

Bar graph data from “Repeatedly Thinking About a Non-Event: Source Misattributions Among Pre-Schoolers,” by S. J. Ceci, M. L. C. Huffman, E. Smith & E. Loftus, 1994, Consciousness and Cognition, 3, 388-407.

How Accurate is an Eyewitness?

• Own-Race Bias– Researchers found that an eyewitness of one

race is less accurate when identifying an accused person of another race

• Confidence– 6 reviews of studies concluded that there is a

weak relationship between correct identification & level of witness confidence

Can Questions Change the Answers?

• Did the car pass the barn?– After watching a film segment, subjects were asked, “How fast was

the red sports car going when it passed the barn?”

– Although there was no barn in the film, 17% of subjects reported seeing a barn

• Was there a stop sign?– Subjects were shown slides of a traffic accident involving a stop sign

& asked questions about what they saw

– Some subjects were asked misleading questions about a yield sign instead of a stop sign

– Subjects who had been given misleading questions were more likely to report seeing a yield sign than subjects who were not misled

Source Misattribution

• Memory error that results when a person has difficulty deciding which of 2 sources a memory came from

• Factors contributing to source misattribution– false suggestions

– misleading questions

– misinformation

Cognitive Interview

• Used by investigators to interview eyewitnesses

• Technique for questioning people by having them imagine & reconstruct the details of an event & report everything they remember

Discussion:If you were on a jury, what concerns

would you have when listening to eyewitness testimony?

ActivityEarliest Memory

Discussion:What are some possible explanations for why adults don’t have memories for experiences

that occurred early in childhood?

Memory ActivitiesExploratorium

The Mind•#10 Life Without Memory: The Case of Clive Wearing•#11 Clive Wearing, Part 2: Living Without Memory•Discussion 23 3

ActivityApplying Study Skills

Applied Memory Study Skills

• Distribute rather than mass study time.Study about 20-30 minutes at a time (about one section of a module) rather than 3 hours the night before an exam.

• Reinforce rather than punish “good” student behavior.

Do something fun (watch TV, talk on the phone, shoot hoops) AFTER you have done your studying.


• Create a study area.Okay, so you can’t afford one room just for studying. Have a STUDY LAMP that you bring to your kitchen or bedroom when you study. When your lamp is on, you don’t eat, watch TV, talk on the phone, etc. Try the library. Choose an area that is free of distractions.

• Become active (reciting, walking, or taking notes) rather than remaining passive while studying.

We all have had the experience of reading two pages mindlessly and not remembering a thing we’ve read. Put your brain in gear. Ask yourself questions about the material, ask questions during class, make flashcards, arrange study groups.


• Discover meaning rather than merely memorizing.– Can you do the concept reviews and summary

tests without looking at the answers? – Do you understand what the material means well

enough to answer the study questions?– Try to put the lecture or textual material into your

own words.– Take time to integrate new material with concepts that

you already understand.


• Use mnemonics (techniques to improve recall).– Employ acronyms (FOIL, ROY G BIV)– Use peg words– Utilize the method of loci

• Eliminate interference.Study one subject at a time, space study periods, study before or after sleeping.


• Understand the concept rather than recognizing having seen it.

The most common reason that students FORGET is that they never LEARNED the material in the first place- remember, what’s on a penny?.

• SQ4R- Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review, and wRite.

Use this method…our text fits great with it.


• Overlearn.Studies show that the more one reviews material (even material one has mastered), the better it is remembered and the easier it is to retrieve. This is not to be confused with OVERSTUDYING which is another word for cramming at the last minute.

• Encode in as many different ways as possible.- Visual: highlight text, visually arrange notes, use imagery- Auditory: tape record lecture or yourself going over important concepts, teach someone else, use tutoring services- Tactile: rewrite notes or combine lecture notes with textbook information, use hands-on where possible (get a brain model)


• Take good notes.– Rephrase what the teacher has said in your

own words (so that you understand it and can associate it personally).

– Write more than what is put on the board or screen (add examples and other students’ questions).

– Rewrite your notes after class. – Compare your notes with other students (for missing

information or other way of understanding). – Divide your note page vertically so that the left side

can be used later for important terms or added notes.


• Strategic textbook reading– Read before as well as after the lecture on the

material. The former helps you understand the lecture better, the latter reinforces it.

– Write comments in the margins of the text.

– Look up difficult words (keep a dictionary handy).

– Remember that reading does not equal studying. Reading textbooks are not like reading a novel. Being familiar with the material does not mean you will remember the specifics.


• Managing Time– Get a date book and with a syllabus in hand set up a

realistic study schedule.

– Divide up larger tasks (such as term papers) into smaller sub-tasks.

– When registering for classes make sure that your goals and times are manageable (balance family, job, fun).

– Go to class and if you should miss get notes and assignments from a good student.


• Test Taking Skills– Multiple-choice is choosing the BEST choice, so

make sure you read all answers. – If part of a true-false is false then the entire question

is false.– On essays, jot down a quick outline before you start

writing. Do the essays before the multiple choice.– Skip questions you do not know and come back to

them (later questions may help you remember).– Relax.


• Choose friends wisely.– Choose friends that are interested in learning

and a career. – Their motivation will help you get involved

and keep you on track (and vice-versa).

Movie: Overboard• What is the cause of Goldie’s amnesia and what

are some other ways a person may develop amnesia?

• What triggers Goldie to remember everything about her life at once? What could possibly explain the instantaneous recovery of her memory?

• Do you believe someone’s personality could change, like Goldie’s character, if during a period of amnesia, you were made to believe that your were someone you really weren’t? Why or why not?

Movie: While You Were Sleeping

• How did Bullock’s character come to be engaged to her first fiance’?

• How easily do you think people are influenced to believe false memories? Have you ever been influenced to have false memories?

• How accurate is oral information? Cite examples from movie for support.

The Brain•#17 Learning as Synaptic Change•#18 Living With Amnesia: The Hippocampus & Memory•#20 A Super-Memorist Advises on Study Strategies

PsychSim 4.0Forgetting

PsychQuestCan We Rely on Memory?

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Important Assignment!!!!. Activity Recall vs. Recognition