Psychological Science – Chapter 7:

7.1 Memory Systems

• Memory is a collection of several systems that store information in different forms for differing amounts of time. • The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model o Memory is a multistage process. Information flows through a brief store into short-term memory, where rehearsal encodes it to long-term memory for permanent . are retrieved from long-term memory and brought into short-term storage for further processing. o The Atkinson-Shiffrin model includes three memory stores: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long- term memory (LTM). o Stores retain information in memory without using it for any specific purpose. o Control processes shift information from one memory store to another. o Some information in STM goes through , the process of storing information in the LTM system. o Retrieval brings information from LTM back into STM. . This happens when you become aware of existing memories, such as what you did last week. • Sensory memory is a memory store that accurately holds perceptual information for a very brief amount of time. o is the visual form of sensory memory and is held for about one-half to one second. o is the auditory form of sensory memory and is held for considerably longer, but still only about five seconds. o Iconic memory can be detected in a memory experiment: the whole report and partial report conditions. . In the whole report condition, researchers flash a grid of latters on a screen for a split second and participants attempt to as many as possible – the whole screen. Participants generally can report only three or four of the letters, and those are all in the same line. . In the partial report condition, researchers again flash a set of letters on the screen, but the display is followed immediately by a tone that is randomly chosen to be low, medium, or high. After hearing the tone, participants are to report the corresponding line – bottom, middle, or top. Under these conditions, participants still report only three or four of the letters, but they can report them from any randomly selected line. Because the tone comes after the screen goes blank, the only way the participants could get the letters right is if they recalled them from memory. Thus, it was argued that iconic memory could hold all 12 letters as a mental image. o Echoic memory is, for example, when someone asks you a question and you say, “What?” only to realize that you still have the person’s voice in echoic memory – and suddenly say “Oh!” and answer the question before they repeat the question. • Distinguishing Short-Term From Long-Term Memory Stores o Short-term memory (STM) is a memory store with limited capacity and duration (less than a minute). o Long-term memory (LTM) is a memory store that holds information for extended periods of time, if not permanently. o If your class was told to study a list of 15 words and then immediately tried to recall the words, the serial position effect would occur. o The serial position effect is that in general, most people will recall the first few items from a list and the last few items, but only an item or two from the middle. o Proactive interference is when the first information learned occupies memory, leaving fewer resources left to remember the newer information. Yet, we also remember the last few items because they still reside in our STM – a pattern referred to as the recency effect. o The last few items on the list create retroactive interference. o Retroactive interference is when the most recently learned information overshadows some older memories that have not yet made it into long-term memory. • The Model: An Active STM System o Rehearsal is when you repeat information until you do not need to remember it anymore. o Working memory is a model of short-term remembering that includes a combination of memory components that can temporarily store small amounts of information for a short period of time. o The working memory model for short-term remembering can be subdivided into three storage components. . The phonological loop is a storage component of working memory that relies on rehearsal and stores information as sounds, or an auditory code. . The visuospatial sketchpad is a storage component of working memory that maintains visual images and spatial layouts in a visuospatial code. . The episodic buffer is a storage component of working memory that combines the images and sounds from the other two components into coherent, story-like episodes. o Working memory also includes one component that is not primarily used for storing information. . The central executive is the control center of working memory; it coordinates and the exchange of information among the three storage components. . It does so by seeking out what is relevant to the person’s goals, interests, and prior knowledge. . For example, when you see a series of letters from a familiar alphabet, it is easy to remember the letters by rehearsing them in the phonological loop. . How much and how long someone can remember information is affected by the specific information that is being remembered.

• The Magical Number 7 o STM can rehearse only seven units of information at once before something. o Whenever possible, we expand our memory capacity by chunking. o Chunking is when you organize smaller units of information into larger, more meaningful units. . For example, when you memorize someone’s telephone number, you memorize the numbers in groups of 3 or 4. • The Phonological Loop o The word-length effect suggests that people remember more one-syllable words than four- or five-syllable words. o The Brown-Peterson test is a technique for measuring the duration of working memory. It relies on two main elements – meaningless stimuli and interference. . First, participants read a trigram (unpronounceable series of three letters). Then, they read a three-digit number, and they must count backward (by threes) from the number to interfere with rehearsal (to make sure they cannot repeat the trigram to themselves). They do this until the experimenter says to stop, and at this point, the participants are to report the trigram. . Most of the forgetting tends to take place within 15 to 18 seconds. Thus, the duration of the phonological memory is approximately 15 seconds. • The Visuospatial Sketchpad o Feature binding is the process of combining visual features into a single unit. o After visual feature binding, visuospatial memory can accurately retain approximately four whole objects, regardless of how many individual features one can find on those objects. This may be evidence of a second magical number – four. o For example, if you are driving, you probably would not look at a car in front of you and remember images if red, shiny, and smooth. Instead, you would simply have these features bound together in the image of the car, and you would be able to keep track of three or four more such images without much problem. • The Episodic Buffer o The episodic buffer is the most recently hypothesized working memory system and researchers are still examining evidence for and against it. o The episodic buffer seems to hold 7 to 10 pieces of information, which may be combined with other memory stores. o This aspect of its operation can be demonstrated by comparing memory for prose (words strung into sentences) to memory for unrelated words. When people are asked to read and remember meaningful prose, they usually remember 7 to 10 more words than when reading a random list of unrelated words. o Some portion of working memory is able to connect the prose with LTM (knowledge) to increase memory capacity. Because the phonological loop is not doing the binding, some psychologists have proposed that this phenomenon may demonstrate the episodic buffer at work. • Long-Term Memory Systems: Declarative and Nondeclarative Memories o Declarative memories are memories that we are consciously aware of and can be verbalized, including facts about the world and one’s own personal experiences. o Nondeclarative memories include actions or behaviors that you can remember and perform without awareness. . Procedural memories are patterns of muscle movements (motor memory), such as how to walk, play piano, or shift gears while driving. . is another type of nondeclarative memory as people can be classically conditioned without awareness. o Declarative memory comes in two varieties. . Episodic memories are declarative memories for personal experiences that seem to be organized around “episodes” and are recalled from a first-person (“I” or “my”) perspective. . Semantive memories are declarative memories that include facts about the world. . is, for example, your knowledge of what a bike is, whereas is the memory of when you first (or last) rode a bike, a specific ride that was enjoyable to you, or the last time you rode into a fence. • The Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory o With the behavioral and cognitive aspects of memory, the biopsychosocial model reminds us that everything involves a biological component as well. o Psychologists also look at how the nervous system changes with the formation of new memories, and they examine which areas of the brain are actively involved in remembering. • Memory at the Neural Level o At the neural level, memory formation beings with long-term potentiation. This process underlies the permanent changes that occur across numerous brain cells as memories are forming, strengthening, and being stored. o Long-term potentiation (LTP) means that there is an enduring increase in connectivity and transmission of neural signals between nerve cells that fire together. . In the process of classical conditioning, after two or three pairings of an unconditioned stimulus, a neutral stimulus, and an unconditioned response, the neurons that respond to each one develop a history of firing together. This simultaneous activation provides the opportunity for LTP to being, representing the first stages of memory. o Long-term potentiation is far from permanent, so it might not account for memories that may last days, weeks, or even years. o Consolidation, the process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories in the brain. o Cellular consolidation is the process in which, when LTP continues long enough, neurons adapt to make changes more permanent.

• Memory at the Cortical Level o Cross-cortical storage is the phenomenon in which long-term declarative memories are distributed throughout the cortex of the brain, rather than being localized in one region. o Long-term memory storage of declarative memories requires a critical phase of consolidation that takes place in the hippocampus. Although the hippocampus is not where most declarative memories are actually stored, it is still key to the consolidation process. Without a functioning hippocampus, it becomes very difficult to form new long-term memories. o The activity of the hippocampus during encoding is part of a second level of consolidation called systems consolidation. . The hippocampus maintains LTP until the acquired behavior can form multiple connections throughout the cortex. . Once the memory traces are formed, the memory is distributed in an entire network of cells. . If an individual experiences damage to the hippocampus, the person would be less likely to lose long-term memories that have been consolidated. o Long-term memories can be updated regularly, such as when someone reminds you of an event from years ago, or when you are reminded of information you learned as a child. o Reconsolidation is the process in which the hippocampus functions to update, strengthen, or modify existing long- term memories. • and Memory Systems o is a profound loss of at least one form of memory. o is a condition in which memory for the events preceding trauma or injury is lost. o is the inability to form new memories for events occurring after a brain injury. o At the point of the lesion, retrograde amnesia reflects problems with existing memories, whereas anterograde amnesia blocks new memories from forming. 7.2 Encoding and Retrieving Memories

• Encoding and Retrieval o Encoding is the process of transforming sensory and perceptual information into memory traces. o Retrieval is the process of accessing memorized information and returning it to short-term memory. o Storage refers to the time and manner in which information is retained between encoding and retrieval. • Rehearsal: The Basics of Encoding o Common sense suggests that the keys to encoding are: . Rehearsing and repeating information. . Intentionally trying to remember that information. o Rehearsing information with the intention to learn it is a type of memorization known as rehearsal to psychologists (some people call it learning by rote). o Rehearsal is associated with better memory at times, but studies show that rehearsal itself is not very effective, especially for the recall. o It is not how long we rehearse information, but rather how we rehearse it that determines the effectiveness of memory. o Maintenance rehearsal is prolonging exposure to information by repeating it. o Elaborative rehearsal is prolonging exposure to information by thinking about its meaning. . This significantly improves the process of encoding. • Levels of Processing o The different ways in which information is encoded and retrieved can be understood by considering what are called levels of processing (LOP). o Encoding is most directly related to how information is initially processed. Additionally, but less important, is how often the information is encountered or how long one is exposed to it. o Differences in processing can be described as a continuum from shallow processing (which is similar to maintenance rehearsal) to deep processing (which is more similar to elaborative rehearsal). Deep processing is generally the preferred method of encoding information, as it is associated with better retention and retrieval. o The self-reference effect is your increase in tendency to remember information that relates to you or is somehow useful to you. • The encoding specificity principle predicts that retrieval is most effective when it occurs in the same context as encoding. o Context-Dependent Learning. Retrieval is more effective when it takes place in the physical setting as encoding. o State-Dependent Learning. Retrieval is more effective when internal conditions – such as heart rate and arousal (physiological state) – match those experienced during encoding. o Mood-Dependent Learning. People remember better if their mood at retrieval matches their mood during encoding. • Context-dependent forgetting is the phenomenon such as when you walk into a room to retrieve something, only to find that you have no idea what you were looking for. o This can be reversed by the context reinstatement effect, which occurs when you return to the original location and the memory suddenly comes back. • Emotional Memories o Emotions seem to facilitate deep processing. o The link between emotions and memory also has biological roots in the limbic system. . The limbic system includes the hippocampus (the structure associated with the encoding of long-term memories) and the amygdala (two small structures involved in emotional processing and responding). . Brain imaging shows that emotional memories often activate the amygdala, whereas non-emotional memories generated at the same time do now. o is an extremely vivid and detailed memory about an event and the conditions surrounding how one learned about the event. • The : How Soon We Forget… o Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve showed that most forgetting occurs right away, and that the rate of forgetting eventually slows to the point where one does not seem to forget at all. o Bahrick’s long-term forgetting curve indicated the rate at which adults forgot the foreign language they took in high school. Compared to new graduates, those tested two to three years later forgot much of what they learned. After that, however, test scores stabilized. • : Improving Your Memory Skills o Mnemonics are techniques that are intended to improve memory for specific information. o An acronym is a pronounceable word whose letters represent the initials of an important phrase or set of items. . For example, “scuba” came into being with the invention of the self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. o The first letter technique uses the first letters of a set of items to spell out words that form a sentence. . It is like an acronym, but it tends to be used when the first-letters do not spell a pronounceable word. . For example, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” is used for the five lines on the treble clef in musical notation. It even has an acronym to go along with it: “FACE” represents the four spaces between E, G, B, D, and F. o These types of techniques work by chunking – that is, by organizing the information into a pattern that makes more sense than the original information. o Acronyms have a meaning of their own, so the learner gets the benefit of both elaborative rehearsal and deeper processing.

• Dual coding occurs when information is stored in more than one form. o For example, a verbal description and a visual image, or a description and a sound – and it regularly produces stronger memories than the use of one form alone. o Most children growing up in the United States learned the alphabet with the help of a song. In fact, even adults still find themselves humming portions of that song when necessary. o The simplest explanation for the dual-coding advantage is that twice as much information is stored. • These mnemonics also make use of levels of processing by requiring elaboration with the images, and the elaboration seems to be the most important component in ensuring the effectiveness of memory. • The method of loci is a mnemonic that connects words to be remembered to locations along a familiar path. o To use the method of loci, one must first imagine a route that has landmarks or easily identifiable spaces – for example, the things you pass on your way from your home to a friend’s house. Once the path is identified, the learner takes a moment to visually relate the first word on the list to the first location encountered. • Desirable difficulties make studying slower and more effortful, but result in better overall remembering. They include spacing out your studying rather than cramming, and studying material and varying orders. • The testing effect is the finding that taking practice tests can improve exam performance, even without additional studying.

7.3 Constructing and Reconstructing Memories

• How Memories Are Organized and Constructed o When we read a book or watch a movie, we tend to remember the basic plot for a very long time (may be referred to as the gist of the story) and that impacts us much more than the characters’ names, which are often just details. o Much of the way we store memories depends on our tendency to remember the gist of things. • The Schema: An Active Organization Process o A schema is an organized cluster of memories that constitutes one’s knowledge about events, objects, and ideas. . For example, the event could be gathering clothes and going to the laundromat. The object could be what clothes are and what detergent is. The idea could be why clean clothes are desirable. This may describe your typical laundry schema – your personal collection of concepts and memories. . When your schema is activated, you are prepared to make sense of a vague description of the memory. That is, if you were presented with a paragraph describing how you arrange things into different groups, how the groups may be different, that you may need to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, etc., it may not make much sense to you. However once you are informed that it is about doing laundry, the paragraph will make much more sense when you read through it again. o Schemas are involved in all three stages of memory: They guide what we attend to during encoding, organize stored memories, and serve as cues when it comes time to retrieve information. o Schemas appear to be products of culture and experience. o We all have schemas about ourselves, and they are referred to as self-schemas. They may contribute to psychological problems. . For example, someone with a very negative self-schema will pay attention to things that are consistent with the depressive symptoms, and will be more likely to recall events and feelings that are consistent with this schema. Thus, the schema contributes to a pattern of thinking and focusing on negative thoughts. • Constructing Memories o Constructive memory is a process by which we first recall a generalized schema and then add in specific details. o Schemas tell us what to expect in a situation as well as what is relevant and important. o In a schema we are familiar with, objects typically found in environment are all schema consistent. Objects that are unusual and not a part of your schema are schema inconsistent. o Schemas can affect our memory in two ways: . Organization. When we encounter a new situation, some objects and events will undoubtedly fit our schemas (i.e., our expectations) better than others. When the new information makes sense – that is, when it fits our schema – it can be easier to recall, yet it may be more difficult to recognize or report the exact details. . Distinctiveness. When we encounter new information, some of it will not fit our schema. If the new information stands out as weird or unusual, it will be easy to recall. If it does not fit our schema, but is not all that unusual, it will likely be forgotten. • Biopsychosocial Perspectives: Your Earliest Memories o Infantile amnesia refers to the phenomenon in which you tend not to have any personal or autobiographical memories from before your third birthday. o The most plausible reason for this is because the nervous system, including key memory regions, continues to develop through infancy and toddlerhood. Its immaturity limits the degree to which a young person can think, reflect on, and remember their personal experiences. • A is when you remember an event that did not occur, or incorrectly recall details of an event. o The elements of a memory must be reconstructed each time they are revisited. o Remembering is a process of reconstructing stored information. It does not store information as accurately as a video camera would. • The happens when information occurring after an event becomes part of the memory for that event. o In one study, students viewed a videotaped staged event, such as a car crash. In experimental conditions, participants were asked about an object that was not in the video, for example, a yield sign, when in fact there was no yield sign, only a stop sign. Later, when asked if they had seen a yield sign, participants in the experimental group were likely to say yes. o As this experiment demonstrates, one can change the details of a memory just be phrasing a question in a certain way. • The DRM Paradigm o The Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm (DRM), named after the psychologists who developed it, is probably the most straightforward procedure used in false memory research. o In the DRM procedure, participants study a list of highly related words called semantic associates (which means they are associated by meaning.) . The word that would be the most obvious member of the list just happens to be missing, and this word is called the critical lure. . When participants are given a memory test, a significant proportion of them remember the critical lure, even though it never appeared on the list. When this happens, it is called an intrusion. . This does not mean that memory is prone to mistakes; in fact, memory is generally accurate and extremely efficient, given the millions of bits of information we encounter every day. . The DRM effect reflects the fact that normal memory processes are constructive.

• Imagery and False Memories o The more readily and clearly we can imagine events, the more certain we are that the memories are accurate. Based on this evidence, researchers found that images could be used to lead to false memories in several different ways. o Guided imagery involves a researcher giving instructions to participants to imagine certain events. o Like the misinformation effect, guided imagery can be used to alter memories for actual events, but it can also create entirely false memories. . For example, in one study, volunteers were asked to imagine a procedure in which a nurse removed a sample of skin from a finger. Despite the fact that this is not a medical procedure and that it almost certainly never occurred, individuals in the experimental group reported that this actually happened to them more often than their peers in the control condition. • inflation refers to the increased confidence in a false memory of an event following repeated imagination of the event. o The more and more a person recalls a false memory, the more confident they feel that it really happened. • False Photographs o Photographic images tend to leave it to the subject to fill in the gaps as to what actually “happened.” . For example, people were shown images of themselves as children on a balloon ride. The participants had some memory for the balloon ride event, but this could not have been possible because the images were doctored (experimenters digitally cut and pasted from a real photo of the participant onto the balloon image). • The Danger of False Remembering o Our ability to organize and construct memories store large amounts of basic information, yet it also leaves us vulnerable to false memory. o Recovered memories are memories of a traumatic event that are suddenly recovered after blocking the memory of that event for a long time, often many years. o The idea that we suppress is popularly known as repression from Freudian psychoanalysis. o The worse effects of false remembering individuals have been the well-documented occurrence of false recovered memories. People can be negatively affected by recovered memories that did not actually happen. o The recovered memory controversy is a heated debate among psychologists about the validity of recovered memories. . For example, in the early 1990s, Beth Rutherford sought the help of her church counselor to deal with personal issues. She became convinced that her father raped her and when she became pregnant, he forced her to have an abortion. This negatively affected her family, as well as the reputation of her father. When a medical investigation was finally conducted, absolutely no evidence was found that Beth had ever been raped or that she had ever been pregnant. o Most memory recovery techniques are based on the same techniques that cognitive psychologists use to create false memories, especially imagery.