Content

Content

1. Theories of Memory

   • LOP Craik and Lockheart
     • Types of rehearsal
       • Maintenance
         • Rehearse information to preserve it for a short time
         • Unlikely a strong memory will be established
       • Elaborative
         • Deeper consideration of information, giving it meaning
         • More durable memory is made
     • Information processing
       • If information requires time or effort to process or is distinctive and relevent, it is likely to be processed deeply
       • Deeper processing means information is more likely to be retained in the memory system
       • Craik and Tulving conducted an experiment to determine if recall is affected by the way we process information
       • 3 types of processing
         • Structural
           • Most shallow form of processing
           • About the physical structure of a word
         • Phonetic
           • More deep than structural
           • The sound of the word
         • Semantic
           • Deepest process
           • Meaning of the word
     • Evaluation
       • Advantages
         • Hyde and Jenkins
           • Asked participants to learn 24 words under 5 conditions
             • Rate pleasantness
             • Judge how frequently the word might be used
             • Check for letters
             • Describe what part of speech the word related to
             • Judge if it fit a given sentence
           • Tasks required different levels of processing
           • Processing the meaning of words increased memorability
         • Wide applications
           • Enhance learning and revision
           • Applied to language and reading
         • Accounts for diversity of memory
           • Explains the difference in memory durability unlike MSM
       • Disadvantages
         • Many variables determine whether a durable memory is achieved
           • Relevence/distinctiveness of information
           • Elaboration given
           • Time and effort spent on processing
           • Definition of depth is not given
         • Morris et al.
           • P's recalled more phonetically processed words
           • Task nature determines depth of processing
             • Not depth determining retention directly
         • Only used to explain improved recall in explicit memory
           • Memory that requires conscious recall
           • Doesn't affect recall from implicit memory
             • Automatic recall
         • Descriptive
         • Doesn't account for all learning
   • MSMM Atkinson and Shiffrin
     • Memory consists of 3 separate stores
       • Sensory
         • Buffer for all information in the environment
         • Holds sensory information for a breif period until we decide to give it attention
         • After attention is given, it moves to short term memory
       • Short term
         • Limited store for attended information
         • 7 + or - 2 pieces of information held for 18-30 seconds
         • Rehearsal is used to hold information for a longer duration
           • Moves to LTM
       • Long term
         • Potentially infinite capacity and can hold memories for many years
     • Evaluation
       • Large amount of supporting research
       • Overly simplistic vview of complex memory system
   • Working memory Baddeley and Hitch
     • STM not seen as a single unit, but consists of several systems
       • Phonological loop
         • Deals with verbal information, particularly its rehearsal
         • Inner voice
       • Primary acoustic store
         • Holds acoustic information
         • Inner ear
       • Visuo-spatial scratchpad
         • Deals with visual and spatial information
         • Inner eye
       • Centeral executive
         • Directs the flow of information recieved to the appropriate system
   • Spreading activation Model of Semantic memory Collins and Loftus
     • Quillian
       • LTM arranged into hierarchial network of sematically related concepts
       • A node represents each concept, and a neural network links each node
         • When a nod is activated (thinking of it) activation spreads to further related nodes within the hierarchy
     • Extension
       • Concept networks not represented in a hierarchy
       • Sometimes when we activate a concept iwe dont recall related concepts, but abstract ones
       • Less rigid structure of semantic network
         • Concepts linked by relatedness
         • Higher related, closer together
           • Explains why related concepts are quick to recall
   • Reconstructive memory
     • Only fragments of an original event are stored
     • Fill out the detail
       • Draw on knowledge of what is likely to fir the scenario
     • Bartlett described the process of active recall as reconstructive memory

2. Theories of forgetting

   • Cue-dependent
     • Fairlure to remember is an accessability problem
     • When we encode a new memory we also store information that occurred around it
     • Tulving's encoding specificity principle
       • The greater the similarity between the encoding and retrieval events, the greater the liklihood of recalling the original memory
     • Explains tip of the tongue phenomenon
     • Context dependent
       • Context is a powerful aid to recall
       • If we're not in the same situation as when learning, we may not access the memory as easily
       • Godden and Badeley experient (study in detail)
       • Environmental cues
         • Smith experiment
           • Mozart, Jazz or silence while learning words
           • Forgetting occured when music was different
       • Chocolate also a cue
     • State-dependent
       • When encoding a new memory, we also encode details about our emotional and physical state
       • State cues being absent may make it more difficult to remember
       • Duka et al
         • Gave alcohol or placebo
         • Asked to learn a list of 40 word pairs
         • Recollection of words was better when the learning and recall states were the same
     • Evaluation
       • Advantages
         • Plenty of anecdotal evidence
           • Difficult to study
           • Result to unrealistic experimentation
         • Lots of supporting evidence
         • Meta-analysis showed across all studies context was important to remembering
       • Disadvantages
         • Research evidence mainly from learning world lists
           • Lacks ecological validity
         • Can't be proven or disproven
         • Difficult to distinguish state and context cues
   • Trace decay
     • Learning causes a physical change in the neural network of the memory system
     • The physical change produces a memory trace or engram
     • The engram must be reinforced by repetition to strengthen it
     • If not reinforced, the trace will weaken and decay
   • Interference
     • Forgetting may occur due to confusion between old and new memories
     • Memory not necessarily lost, but may become distorted or changed as a result of conflicting memories
     • Proactive interference
       • Difficulty remembering new information because its affected by old memories
     • Retroactive interference
       • Difficulty remembering old information because similar new information has been learnt
     • Both types have been tested
       • Got participants to learn a list of 10 words
       • Then rest for 10 minutes before learning other lists (3 digit numbers, antonyms and synonyms)
       • The more similar the second list to the original list, the worse recall was
       • Evidence for retroactive interference
   • Displacement
     • New info pushes old info out of STM because it has a limited store