What would life be like without memories?

Memory“…you are what you remember. Without

memory…there would be no savoring of past joys, no guilt or anger over painful recollections. You would instead live in an enduring present, each moment fresh. But each person a stranger, every language foreign, every task… a new challenge. You would even be a stranger to yourself.”

What is memory?Memory: the input, storage, and retrieval of

what has been learned or experienced

MemoryOne important to thing to remember when

discussing memory:

Memory is personally constructed!

What is Memory?Processing Model of Memory- Atkinson

and Shiffrin (1968)

Sensory MemoryA very brief memory storage immediately

following initial stimulation of a receptor

Sensory Memory Cont. Types of Sensory Memory

Echoic (sound) or Iconic (visual) memory How long does it last?

Iconic lasts up to 1 second Echoic lasts up to 1 to 2 seconds

If it is not rehearsed or thought to be important than it is forgotten

Purpose: Keeps you from being overwhelmed Decision time Allows stability & continuity

Short Term Memory (STM)STM is memory that is limited in capacity to

about seven-ten items and in duration by the subject’s active rehearsal

Lasts anywhere from 20 seconds to 1 minute Maintenance Rehearsal- If information is not

rehearsed then it will be forgottenWorking memory

Focusing on what is novel or important When using information from Long Term Memory it

is believed the information enters into STM so we can “work” from that information

How many circles are on the next slide?

Chunking

Chunking

Chunking

The process of grouping items to make them

easier to remember.

Roy G. Biv

You have 5 seconds to remember the following list…

Mrs. Sunda’s Grocery List MilkCheeseButterEggsFlourCat food Sugar ApplesGrapesShampooBread Green beans Jam

What does Mrs. Sunda need from the grocery? List as many as you can remember!

Mrs. Sunda’s Grocery List MilkCheeseButterEggsFlourCat foodSugar ApplesGrapesShampooBread Green beans Jam

Primary Recency Effect- you are

better able to recall info at the beginning and end of the list.

Long Term Memory (LTM)Long Term Memory is the storage of

information over extended periods of time

LTM does not work like a filing cabinet Instead we reconstruct the information that we

need at a given time

LTM is the result of the other two levels of memory

Types of LTMSemantic- knowledge of language, including

its rules, words and meaningsEpisodic- chronological retention of the

events of one’s lifeDeclarative- stored knowledge that can be

called forth consciously as needed Procedural- permanent storage of learned

skills that does not require conscious recollection

LTM Continued

Miscellaneous Process of memory is limited and fallible

Primarily focus on important stimuli or novel stimuli

Information we do keep in STM rapidly decays unless rehearsed

Flashbulb MemoryA clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

The Processes of Memory There are 3 ways to process memoryEncodingStorageRetrieval

1. EncodingThe processing of information into the

memory system

How We Do IT:Two types of processing

AutomaticEffortful

EncodingAutomatic Processing

Occurs with little to no effortAutomatic processing is another

example of parallel processingCannot switch off encoding

EncodingEffortful Processing

Information we remember only with effort and attention

Boost memory through rehearsal: conscious repetition of information either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it

EncodingRehearsal was demonstrated by Hermann

EbbinghausStudied learning and forgetting

EncodingJIHBAZFUBYOXSUJXIRDAXIEQ

VUMWAVZOFGEKHIW

Ebbinghaus discovered the simple principle of memory and learningThe amount remembered depends on

the time spent learningEven after we learn material additional

rehearsal increases retention

EncodingSpacing Effect

We retain information better when rehearsal is distributed over time

Spacing effect= much better than cramming!!!!!!!!!!

EncodingSerial Position Effect (Primary Recency

Effect)Our tendency to recall best the last and first

items in a list

EncodingWhat we encode:

When encoding verbal information we usually encode its meaning We remember what is encoded

Encoding Verbal InformationSemantic encoding- encoding meaningAcoustic encoding- encoding of soundVisual encoding- encoding of picture images

EncodingCraik and Tulvig

Flashed words at people and then asked a question that required the people to process the words visually, acoustically or semantically Found semantic encoding elicited much better

memory Ebbinghaus estimated that meaningful material required

1/10 of the effort when compared to learning nonsense material

What does this mean?We recall information we can relate to ourselves

Self-reference effect Find personal meaning in what you are studying!!!!!

EncodingEncoding imagery

Imagery: mental imagesRosy retrospection: people tend to recall

events more positively than they evaluated at the time

EncodingMnemonics: memory aids, especially those

techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devicesDeveloped by the ancient Greeks

Storage The process by which information is

maintained over time. How much information is stored depends on

how much effort was put into encoding the information and it’s importance.

Info can be stored for a few seconds or for much longer.Think about playing an instrument:

What all goes into this?

StorageKarl Lashley (1950) found that memories do

not reside in a particular spot of the brainTrain rats and cut out parts of the brain and

can still run a maze

MEMORY IS STORED THROUGHOUT THE BRAIN!

StorageSynaptic Changes

Kandel and Swartz (1982) looked that the Aplysia Found that during the learning process (classical

conditioning) the slug released serotonin Synapses then become more efficient at

transmitting signals.

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)- increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be the neural basis of memory

StorageConfirmation of Long-term Potentiation

(LTP)- Drugs that block LTP interfere with learningMutant mice engineered to lack enzyme

needed for LTP can’t learn their way out of a maze (and vice-versa)

Injecting rats with a chemical that blocks the preservation of LTP erases recent learning

StoragePharmaceutical Companies are competing

to develop new memory boosting drugsAlzheimer’sMild cognitive impairments

Drug would boost the protein CREB- turns genes off or on

Repeated neural firing of genes produce synapse strengthening proteins allowing Long-term Potentiation .

CREB may help to reshape and consolidate STM into LTM

Developing drugs that boosts glutamate Enhances synaptic communication

StorageElectroconvulsive therapy

Passing an electric current through the brain will not disrupt old memories but will wipe out recent memories

StorageEmotions/Stress and Memory

When stressed or excited hormones make more glucose energy

Amygdala boosts activity and available proteins in brain’s memory forming areas“Stronger emotional experiences make for

stronger, more reliable memories.” (and vice versa)People given drugs that block stress

hormones are more likely to forget details of stressful events

StorageImplicit memory: retention independent of

conscious recollectionExplicit memory: memory of facts and

experiences that one can consciously know and declare

StorageHippocampus:

Explicit-facts and episodes are processed here and fed to other parts of the brain for storage Works like a store room

Active during slow-wave sleepLeft damage- impacts verbal memoryRight damage- impacts visual memory and

location memory

StorageCerebellum

Forming and storing implicit memories created by classical conditioning reflexes

Dual implicit and explicit memories explains infantile amnesiaInability to recall information prior to three years of

ageThe implicit reactions and skills we learned during

infancy reach far into our future, yet as adults we recall nothing (explicitly) of our first three years.

Hippocampus one of the last brain structures to mature.

Retrieval Occurs when information is brought to mind

from storage. The ease with which information can be

retrieved depends of how efficiently it was encoded and stored.

RetrievalRemembering is more than storage and

encodingMemory is:

Recall- A measure of memory in which a person must retrieve information learned earlier, info not in our conscious awareness.

Recognition-A measure of memory in which a person need only identity items previously learned

Relearning-Measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Learning occurs faster the second time around

RetrievalHarry Bahrick

Studied high school graduates that were 25 years removed Had these graduates look at pictures from

their yearbookCould not recall classmates out-right, but 90% could recognize names and faces

RetrievalRetrieval cues

Retrieving is like a spider web Associate bits of information and these bits serve as

retrieval cuesPriming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations

External contexts and internal emotion influence retrievalContext leads to retrievalGreater recall when learning and testing

context was the same

RetrievalDéjà vu:

Eerie sense that “I’ve experienced it before.” Cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

StorageLoftus and Loftus (1980) analyzed vivid

memories and found that flashbacks appeared to have been invented and not relived as previously thought

Forgetting

Forgetting is as important as recollecting… If we remembered everything, we should be as ill off as if we remembered nothing. It would take as long for us to recall a spaced of time as it took the original time to elapse, and we should never get ahead with our thinking. ~William James

ForgettingForgetting: refers to apparent loss of

information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory

ForgettingAmnesia- Loss of Memory

H.M. lost part of his brain due to surgery.

He could not form new memories but his old memories were intact.However he could still learn…Able to grasp implicit but not

explicit.

ForgettingJill Price-

Memory of every day since she was 14 years old

Forgetting7 sins of memory (Daniel Schacter)

3 sins of forgettingAbsent mindednessTransience- storage decay over timeBlocking- in accessibility of stored

information(encoding errors, storage errors, and

retrieval errors)

ForgettingForgetting Curve

Forgetting3 sins of distortion

Misattribution- confusing source of informationSuggestibility- lingering effects of

misinformationBias- belief colored recollections

1 sin of intrusionPersistence- unwanted memories

ForgettingTypes of interference

Proactive: disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive: disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

ForgettingMotivated Forgetting

People revise their own historyRepression: psychoanalytic theory, the basic

defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Children’s Eyewitness RecallCeci and Bruck studied children and their

memoriesUsing suggestive wording, researchers were

able to make students have false memories Pre-schoolers overheard remark of rabbit getting

loose in the class (not true) 78% recalled seeing the rabbit

Children’s Eyewitness RecallCan Children be eyewitnesses?

Yes Other studies show that when given neutral words

and questioning techniques most children can respond with more accurate recall

Repressed or constructed memories of abuseTherapist estimate 11% of the population

have repressed memories of sexual abuse7 out of 10 report using hypnosis or drugs to

help patient recall repressed memoriesWhat might be wrong with this idea?

Repressed or constructed memories of abuseTwo sides

One side argues that repressed memories exist and should be recalled

Other side argues repressed memories can be false memories conjured up by thoughts the therapist places in their minds

Repressed or constructed memories of abuseBoth sides can agree on some things

Sexual abuse happensInjustice happensForgetting happensRecovered memories are common placeMemories prior to age three are unreliableMemories recalled under the influence of

drugs/hypnosis are even more unreliableMemories, whether real or false, can be

emotionally upsetting

Improving MemoryHow can we improve our memory:

Study repeatedlyMake material meaningfulActivate retrieval cuesUse mnemonic devicesMinimize interference Sleep moreTest your own knowledge

http://www.learner.org/resources/series142.html?pop=yes&pid=1584

AmnesiaTwo types:

Retrograde: Forget past memories or cannot recall past memories

Anterograde: Cannot form new memoriesOccurs due to head injury or disease

Children’s Eyewitness RecallAnother study children were asked to choose a

card with a story on it After 10 weeks of interviews 58% of the

preschoolers produced false stories