10/15/2019
Seven Sins of Memory
Memory Retrieval 2
Seven Sins of Memory
Dan Schacter (Harvard) Compared seven common memory errors to deadly sins If you avoid these, you are rewarded with good memory! But, sinning is not all bad and serves a purpose How good is everyday memory? Shepard (1967) Shepard (1983) Patterson and Baddeley (1977)
Seven Sins of Memory
The sins Transience Absent Mindedness Sins of Omission Blocking Misattribution Suggestibility Sins of Commission Bias Persistence Each sin tells us something about how memory works
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Constructive Nature of Memory
Memory = what actually happens + person’s knowledge, experiences, and expectations Bartlett’s “war of the ghosts” experiment Source Monitoring Source memory Source monitoring error Cryptomnesia
Constructive Nature of Memory
Jacoby et al. (1989): “Becoming Famous Overnight”
Transience
Deterioration of memory Hermann von Ebbinghaus (1885) Studied meaningless nonsense syllables (wuj) Tried to recall syllables Forgetting curve Example: Forget the plot of a book
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Absent Mindedness
Lapses of attention results in poor encoding Reduced memory due to lack of attention Change blindness Inattentional blindness Simons & Chabris (1999) Hyman, et al. (2010), “Did You See the Unicycling Clown?...”
Absent Mindedness
Attention can be narrowed by specific stimuli Weapon Focus Effect Stanny and Johnson (2000) Subjects watched crime video in which a gun was or was not discharged
Blocking
When trying to retrieve memory, something blocks access Inability to retrieve needed information Proactive interference Retroactive interference Release from PI shows we can unblock Tip of the Tongue phenomenon von Restorff effect
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Blocking
Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) Condition Category Items 12-1 FRUIT BANANA Related to von Restorff effect CLOTHES BLOUSE As number of memorized items per ……… category increases, memory for 12-2 FRUIT BANANA individual items decreases APPLE CLOTHES BLOUSE Studied lists of 12, 24, or 48 words SOCKS For each length, number of words per ……… category was 1, 2 or 4 12-4 FRUIT BANANA Free recall vs. category cued recall APPLE PEAR PEACH CLOTHES BLOUSE SOCKS JEANS JACKET
Blocking
Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) Results Number of items/category influenced cue effectiveness More distinct a cue = better memory
36 Cued Recall 32 Free Recall
28
24
20
16
12 Mean#Words Recalled
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4 124 124 124 12 Items 24 Items 48 Items
List Length and Number of Items Per Category
Blocking
Retrieval Induced Forgetting Partial practice can hurt memory Anderson, Bjork & Bjork (1994) Intervening test of some items inhibits memory for others Three phases to experiment Study Practice Test Condition Drink Vodka --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Rum --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Gin --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Bourbon --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Ale --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Whiskey --- Drink _____ Unpracticed-unrelated item (NRp) Fruit Tomato --- Fruit _____ Unpracticed-related item (Rp-) Strawberry --- Fruit _____ Unpracticed-related item (Rp-) Banana --- Fruit _____ Unpracticed-related item (Rp-) Orange Fruit Or_____ Fruit _____ Practiced Item (Rp+) Lemon Fruit Le_____ Fruit _____ Practiced Item (Rp+) Pineapple Fruit Pi______Fruit _____ Practiced Item (Rp+)
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Blocking
Anderson, Bjork & Bjork (1994) Memory was better for NRp items than Rp- items Suppression (“inhibition”) of unpracticed category items 100
80 FRUIT DRINK
60
40
20 orange banana vodka whiskey % Correct RecallCorrect % 0 Rp+ Rp- NRp Rp+ 81% Rp- 40.3% NRp 56% NRp 56%
Misattribution
Assigning memory to the wrong source Bystander effect Attributing the actions of one person to another Not the same bystander effect as in social psychology Memory conjunction errors Combining/blending information from two sources Study: spaniel varnish Retrieve: Spanish
Misattribution
Payne, Jacoby and Lambert (2004) Examined influence of stereotypical black names versus white names on memory for occupations Memories of events are not isolated and independent
Less accurate for inconsistent stereotypes
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Suggestibility
Tendency to incorporate information into our recollections Leading questions by attorneys Coercive questioning by police “That was a nice blue shirt Bob was wearing.” Loftus and Palmer (1974) Misinformation Effect Subjects viewed video of car accident “About how fast were the cars going when they _____ each other?” hit, smashed, collided, bumped, or contacted
Suggestibility
Loftus and Palmer (1974) Results Speed estimates were influenced by the verbs “severity”
45 43 41 39 37 35 33 31 29 27
Mean Speed Estimate (mph) Speed Estimate Mean 25 Contacted Hit Bumped Collided Smashed Verb Used in Question
Suggestibility
Loftus and Palmer (1974) Results Question wording caused subjects to think something was present, when it was not “Was there any broken glass in the accident?” Verb Used in Sentence “Smashed” “Hit” Saw Broken Yes n = 16 n = 7 Glass? No n = 34 n = 43
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Suggestibility
Lindsey (1990) Subjects heard a story and then again two days later, but with some details changed Told to ignore the changes Same voice for both stories created source monitoring errors Changing voice (male to female) did not create as many errors
Bias
Feelings, beliefs, and worldview distort memory for events Hindsight bias (hindsight is always 20/20) “Feel like we knew something all along” Ronald Regan as the ‘deficit and unemployment fighter’ Bryant and Brockway (1997) Examined hindsight bias of the OJ Simpson verdict Asked about likelihood of guilt 2-hours before and 2-days after Guilt was rated higher 2-hours before
Persistence
Remembering things we wish we could forget White bear phenomenon Associated with post-traumatic stress disorder
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False Memory
Encoding items related to a critical item/event can lead one to falsely remember seeing that item/event Deese, Roedigger & McDermott (DRM) False Memory Effect Study a list of words related to a critical lure Recall or recognize the list items Studied item Critical lure Non-studied associate
Studied Item Non-Studied Associate Critical Lure 65% 14% 41%
False Memory
Your Coglab Performance
False Memory
Activation/source-monitoring account Associates activate the lure during encoding During retrieval, subjects have difficulty determining the source of activation of the critical lure
snooze pillow
night SLEEP rest
dream wake
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