Joel Cooper

University of Utah

Memory Is …

The mechanism we use to create, maintain and retrieve information about the past

Processes in Memory Encoding

Processes used to store information in memory Storage

Processes used to maintain information in memory

RetrievalProcesses used to get information back out of

memory

Activity 1

Every thing that comes to mind must be written down

No talking Ready? Name all the 7 Dwarfs

Activity 2 – Now name them.

Activity 3

Turn your paper over Select the correct names from the

following list

From the Following List Identify the names of the seven dwarfs:

Crabby Sniffy Gabby Cupid Doc

Wheezy Goofy Grouchy Shy Teach

Dasher Sleepy Droopy Lazy Pop

Wishful Grumpy Bashful Scrappy Nifty

Jumpy Gloomy Dopey Silly Sneezy

Happy Shorty Smiley Cheerful Dumpy

Fearful Stubby Tearful Puffy Burpy

Activity 4

Recall the names of the 7 Dwarfs in order of appearance in the movie.

Activity cont.

Activity 1 (Recall) Activity 2 (Cued Recall) Activity 3 (Recognition) Activity 4 (Serial Recall)

Let’s look at your errors

Common errors

SoundNumber of syllablesEnding in Y

Letter “s” and “d” Meaning Different category names

Santa’s reindeerCare bearsSmurfs

Methods Used to Study Memory Which type of memory

test would you rather have?An essay or a multiple

choice exam?recall vs. recognition

Recall Tasks

Free Recall Recall all the words you can from the list you saw previously

Cued Recall Recall everything you can that is associated with _______ Participants are given a cue to facilitate recall

Serial Recall Recall the names of all previous presidents in the order they

were elected Need to recall order as well as item names

Recognition Tasks

Circle all the words you previously studied Indicate which pictures you saw yesterday

Implicit or Explicit Memory Tasks

Explicit memory tasks Involves conscious recollection Participant knows they are trying to retrieve

information from their memory

Implicit memory tasks Require participants to complete a task The completion of the task indirectly indicates

memory

Implicit Memory TasksParticipants are exposed

to a word list

TigerLion

ZebraPanda

LeopardElephant

After a delay…

Participants then complete word puzzles, they are not aware they are a type of memory test

Word fragment Completion:C_E_TA_E_E_ _AN__ E _ RAWord Stem Completion:Mon _____Pan_____

Models of Memory Represent ways that memory has been

conceptualizedAtkinson & Shiffrin’s 3 Stage Model of MemoryCraik & Lockhart’s Level of Processing ModelBaddeley’s Working Memory ModelTulving’s Multiple Memory Systems ModelMcClelland & Rumelhart’s Connectionist Model

Traditional Model of Memory

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) 3 Stage Model

Information Processing Model

StimuliSensory registers

Short Term Memory (STM)

Long Term Memory (LTM)

Sperling (1960) Iconic Memory Research

Whole report procedure Flash a matrix of letters for

50 milliseconds Identify as many letters as

possible Participants typically

remembered 4 letters Partial Report Procedure

Flash a matrix of letters for 50 milliseconds

Participants are told to report bottom row

Participants were able to report any row requested

Partial Report Technique

Averbach & Coriell (1961) Iconic Memory Research

G E U L M F S XW P M B D H J Y

- Showed matrix for 50 msec - Place a small mark above a letter at different delays - Results indicated that as many as 12 letters could be stored in sensory memory

Sensory Stores

Iconic store or Visual sensory registerHolds visual information for 250 msec

longer Information held is pre-categoricalCapacity – up to 12 items Information fades quickly

Econ or Auditory sensory register Holds auditory information for a 2-3

seconds longer to enable processing

Short-Term Memory

Attention Attend to information in

the sensory store, it moves to STM

Rehearsal Repeat the information

to keep maintained in STM

Retrieval Access memory in LTM

and place in STM

Short Term Memory (STM)

AttentionStorage & Retrieval

Rehearsal

Short-Term Memory Short-term /working memory Limited capacity (7 + or - 2) or 2 sec. Inputs from SR and LTS Consciousness Coding: verbal/spatial Information can be maintained

indefinitely,provided it is given constant attention

Information decays in 15-20 seconds Rote vs Chunking mnemonics Webster

says… Mnemonic :Assisting or designed to

assist memory

Short-Term Memory

How is information lost? Decay ==> Time Interference ==> Older displaced by

new

Brown-Peterson Task Waugh & Norman

Brown-Peterson Task

Subjects presented with trigram (XQJ)

Experimenter presents number (257)

Subject counts backwards by 3’s (2/sec)

After x seconds, subjects recall trigram

Brown-Peterson Task

VRO

187

UYV

89IDC

131

Brown-Peterson Task

Proactive Interference in STM

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

3 sec 6 sec 9 sec 12 sec 15 sec 18 sec

Delay(seconds)

Cor

rect

Rec

all %

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Keppel & Underwood (1962) Replicated the Peterson & Peterson Task varying the time delay to

recall Analysis was done by trial number (1st trial, 2nd trial, 3rd trial, etc.) Found support for proactive interference

Loss or Decay?

Waugh & Norman -- Loss in B-P task could be due to decay or interference, because both covaried with retention interval

Independently varied time and number of intervening items

Does loss follow time or number of items?

Waugh & Norman Task Subjects presented with string of digits

Digits read at 1 or 4 per second (time)

Does recall vary as a function of time or

items?

Probe Digit : 9

Response : 4

1 per second

6 2 9 4 1 8 3 4 8 1 0 4 2 6 7 3

( 16 sec )

4 per second

6294183481042673

( 4 sec )

Waugh & Norman Task

Loss from STM

Loss is largely due to interference:

Old information is replaced by new

Rehearsal moves info to head of buffer

Long-Term Memory

CapacityThus far limitless

DurationPotentially permanent

Long Term Memory (LTM)

Long-Term Store Information comes from STS Conscious transfer -- Explicit memory Unconscious transfer -- Implicit memory Large capacity Can information be lost from LTS?

Poor retrieval cuesMemories overwritten?

Let’s Test Your LTM! You will see several words, one at a

time Do whatever you can to try and

remember as many of the words as you can

At the end of the list, try to recall as many words as you can

Bed

Clock

Dream

Night

Turn

Mattress

Snooze

Nod

Night

Artichoke

Insomnia

Rest

Toss

Night

Alarm

Nap

Snore

Pillow

Write down the words you saw

Words

Bed

Clock

Dream

Night

Turn

Mattress

Snooze

Nod

Night

Artichoke

Insomnia

Rest

Toss

Night

Alarm

Nap

Snore

Pillow

Memory Demonstration

Did you Recall? Bed or Clock Snore or Pillow Night Artichoke Toss and Turn Sleep

Explanation Primacy Recency Spacing Effect Distinctiveness Clustering False Memory

Serial Position Curve

Effects of Rehearsal Rhundus -- subjects

rehearsed outloud

Primacy curve matched rehearsal curve

Primacy determined by transfer to LTM

Effects of Distracters

Glanzer -- distractor task at end of list

Recency portion of curve abolished

Recency determined by readout from STM

Serial Position Curves

Primacy determined by

transfer to LTM Recency determined by

readout from STM

Levels of Processing Model of Memory

Craik & Lockhart (1972) Process level different

strengths of memories Deep processing better

memory; elaborating according to meaning leads to a strong memory

Shallow processing emphasizes the physical features of the stimulus; the memory trace is fragile and quickly decays

Maintenance rehearsal (Rote) vs. Elaborative rehearsal

Support for Levels of Processing

Craik & Watkins (1973)Participants listened to lists of wordsTask was to recall the last word in the list which

began with a particular letterThe number of intervening words between

words beginning with the target letter was varied

Craik & Watkins (1973) Results

Recall of words was independent of the length of time (the number of intervening words) it was maintained in STM Conclusion: Maintenance rehearsal did not

automatically lead to LTM Levels-of-Processing Interpretation: Students

rehearsed the words without elaborating on the meaning of the words, only concentrating on the initial consonant sound—rehearsing at a shallow level

Depth of Processing

Craik & Lockhart

LEVEL QUESTION- Structural Capital letters - Phonemic Rhyme - Categorical Type of fish- Sentence Fit in sentence

*

**

*******

Craik & Tulving (1975) Results

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Yes No

Sentence Type

Rec

og

niz

ed

Case

Rhyme

Sentence

Criticisms of LOP Model Circular definition of levels Transfer appropriate processing effect

Morris, Bransford, and Franks (1977) Two processing tasks: semantic vs. rhyme Two types of tests: standard yes/no recognition vs. rhyme test  Memory performance also depends on the match between encoding

processes and type of test

 

Encoding Task Recognition Rhyme

Semantic 0.83 0.31

Rhyme 0.62 0.49

Phonological Loop

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Central Executive

Working Memory ModelBaddeley & Hitch, 1974

Articulatory control process

Spatial - Where

Visual - WhatPhonologica

l store - 2 sec.

Norman and Shallice – 1986

•Action Plan

•Contention Scheduling

•Supervisory attentional system (SAS)

Working Memory Model Articulatory Loop

Used to maintain information for a short time and for acoustic rehearsal

Visuo-spatial Sketch Pad Used for maintaining and processing visuo-spatial

information

Episodic Buffer Used for storage of a multimodal code, holding an

integrated episode between systems using different codes

Working Memory Model

Central Executive Focuses attention on relevant items

and inhibiting irrelevant ones Plans sequence of tasks to accomplish

goals, schedules processes in complex tasks, often switches attention between different parts

Updates and checks content to determine next step in sequence of parts

Working Memory Model Support Baddeley (1986)

Participants studied two different list types 1 syllable: wit, sum, harm, bay, top 5 syllables: university, opportunity, aluminum,

constitutional, auditorium Reading rate seemed to determine recall

performance Supports conceptualization of an articulatory

loop

Working Memory Model Support

Visuo-spatial Sketch PadDual-task paradigmSketchpad can be disrupted by requiring

participants to tap repeatedly a specified pattern of keys or locations while using imagery at the same time

Multiple-Memory Systems Model

Tulving (1972) Semantic Memory

General knowledge Facts, definitions, historical dates

Episodic Memory Event memories (first kiss, 6th birthday)

Procedural Memory Memories on how to do something (skiing, biking,

tying your shoe)

Multiple-Memory Systems Model Support Nyberg, Cabeza, & Tulving (1996)

PET technology to look at episodic and semantic memory

Asked people to engage in semantic or episodic memory tasks while being monitored by PET  

Results  •Left (hemisphere) frontal lobe differentially active in encoding (both) and in semantic memory retrieval•Right (hemisphere) frontal lobe differentially active in retrieval of episodic memory

Connectionist Perspective Parallel distributed processing model

Memory uses a networkMeaning comes from patterns of activation

across the entire network Spreading Activation Network ModelSupported by priming effects

Deficient Memory

Amnesias Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for events that occurred before the trauma

Infantile Amnesia Inability to recall events of young

childhoodAntereograde Amnesia

No memory for events that occur after the trauma

Amnesia Studies Study antereograde amnesiacs using

implicit and explicit memory tests Amnesiacs show normal priming (implicit),

but poor recognition memory (explicit) They did not remember having seen the

word list, but completed the word fragments at the same rate as normals

Hippocampus and Memory Hippocampus

Critical for integration and consolidationEssential for declarative memoryWithout the hippocampus only the learning

of skills and habits, simple conditioning, and the phenomenon of priming can occur