Download doc Chapter 7 Notes

How Does Attention Determine What Is Remembered - 281
• attention is limited, and when it is divided among too many tasks or the tasks are too
difficult, performance suffers
• Visual Attention in Selective and Serial - 282
• Anne Treisman - studies on attention
• theory on attention and recognition: we automatically identify “primitive
features” (colour, shape, orientation, movement etc) within an environment
• proposed that separate systems analyze objects different visual features
• through parallel processing these systems all process information at the same
time, and we can attend selectively to one feature by effectively blocking the
further processing of the others
• visual search task - participants look at a display of different objects and search
for targets that differ from the other in only 1 frame
• looking for red dot in a group of black dots
• although searching for a single feature (red stimulus) is fast and automatic,
searching for 2 features is serial (you need to look at the stimuli at one time) and
effortful (takes longer and requires more attention
• conjunction task: stimulus you are looking for is made up of 2 simple features
• trying to find red X’s in a display of different coloured X’s and Y’s
• Auditory Attention Allows Selective Hearing - 282
• because attention is limited, it is hard to perform two tasks at the same time,
especially if they rely on the same mechanism
• E.C. Cherry described the cocktail party phenomenon
• you can focus on a single conversation in the midst of a chaotic cocktail
party, yet a particularly pertinent stimulus, such as hearing your name
mentioned in another conversation, can capture your attention
• while proximity and loudness influence what you will attend to, your
selective attention can also determine which conversation you hear
• some important information gets through the filter of attention, but it needs to be
personally relevant information (your name) or it has to be particularly loud or
different in some obvious physical way
• Selective Attention Can Operate At Multiple Stages of Processing - 283
• Donald Broadbent developed the filter theory to explain the selection nature of
attention
• assumed that people have a limited capacity for sensory information and
thus screening incoming information, letting in only the most important
• certain sounds (especially high-pitched sounds) are harder to ignore than others
• adult’s screams which generally signal distress, such as pain or fear, tend to
be much higher pitched than normal speaking voices
• some evidence says that decisions about what to attend to are made early in the
perceptual process
• studies also reveal that unattended information is processed at least to some
extent (people are often influenced by information delivered subliminally or
incidentally)
• change blindness: the fact that we are often “blind” to large changes in our
environment because we cannot attend to everything in the vast array of visual
information available to us
• 50% of people giving directions never noticed they were talking to a different
person as long as the replacement was of the same sex and race as the
first stranger
change
blindness shows that we can attend to a limit amount of information and
•
that large discrepancies exist between what most people believe they see and
what they actually see
• change blindness shows how attention influences memory
• sometimes it is not because we forget them (ie. colour of strangers shirt) but
more likely because we never encoded these features
What Are The Basic Stages of Memory - 286
• memory allows us to take information from our experiences and store it for retrieval
later
• however all experiences are not equally likely to be remembered
• psychologists view memory as information processing model that consists of 3
distinct phases:
• encoding: the processing of information so that it can be stored
• storage: the retention of encoded representations over time that corresponds
to some change in the nervous system that registers the event
• can last from a fraction of a second up to a lifetime
• retrieval: the act of recalling or remembering stored information to use it
• psychological scientists describe memory in the modal memory model
• modal memory model: the 3 stage memory system that involves sensory
memory, short term memory, and long-term memory (Atkinson-Shiffrin)
• Sensory Memory is Brief - 287
• sensory memory: a memory for sensory information that is stored briefly close to
its original sensory form
• lasts only a fraction of a second
• under most circumstances, we are not aware that it is operating
• allows us to experience the world in a continuous stream rather than in discrete
sensations (like a movie rather than still frames)
• in everyday vision, keeps information long enough for you to connect one image
with the next in a smooth way that corresponds to the way objects move in the real
world
• Working Memory is Active - 288
• information attended to is passed from sensory memory to short term memory
• short term memory (STM): a limited-capacity memory system that holds
information in awareness for a brief period
• most psychologists call this short-term system working memory
• working memory (WM): an active processing system that keeps different
types of information available for current use (also called immediate memory)
• consists of our fleeting thoughts, ever-shifting feelings, and temporary
impressions of things in the world
• the material in short term memory is constantly replaced by new information if
not saved
• information remains in working memory for 20-30 seconds then disappears
unless you actively prevent that from happening by thinking about or rehearsing
the information
• Memory Span and Chunking
• WM can hold a limited amount of information
• George Miller has noted that the limit is generally 5-9 item - memory span
• memory span also varies among individuals
• it may be difficult to remember UTPHDNYUMAUCLABAMIT
• but if we organize the info into smaller, meaningful units it is easier
• acronym for universities and degrees makes it much easier to remember
• UT PHD NYU MA UCLA BA MIT
• the memory span is limited to seven items, but the items can be letters or
groups of letters, numbers or groups of numbers etc.
• meaningful units are easier to remember than nonsense units
• chunking: the process of organizing information into meaningful units to make
it easier to remember
• the more efficiently you chunk information, the more you can remember
• Working Memory’s 4 Parts
• WM is not a single storage system but rather an active processing unit that
deals with multiple types of information such as sound, images, and ideas
• the 3 components of working memory are
• central executive
• presides over the interactions of the rest
• it is the boss
• it encodes info from the sensory system > filters info that is sufficiently
important to be stored in long term memory
• also retrieves info from long term memory as needed
• relies on the other 3 subcomponents which temporarily hold auditory or
visuospatial information or personally relevant information
phonological
loop
•
• encodes auditory information and is active whenever a person tries to
remember words by reading them, speaking them, or repeating them
• people tend to make errors with consonants that sound alike rather than
those that look alike
• misremembering D as a T rather than as a Q which is visually more
similar to D but does not sound like it
• word are processed in the WM by how they sound rather than how they
look or what they mean
• visuospatial sketchpad
• episodic buffer
• Long-Term Memory is Relatively Permanent - 291
• Distinguishing Long Term Memory from Working Memory
• long term memory (LTM): relatively permanent storage of information
• LTM is distinct from working memory in 2 ways: duration and capacity
• serial position effect: the ability to recall items from a list depends on order of
presentation, with items presented early or late in the list remembered better
than those in the middle
• involves 2 separate effects:
• primacy effect: refers to the better memory people have for items
presented at the beginning of the list
• recency effect: refers to people’s better memory for the most recent
items (the items at the end of the list)
one
explanation for the serial position effect relies on a distinction between
•
WM and LTM
• participant rehearse the earliest items the most so that information is
transferred into LTM
• the last few items are by contrast in the WM when the participants have
to recall the words immediately after reading them
• primacy effects are due to LTM whereas recency effects are due to WM
• LTM can be dissociated (separated) from WM
• however the 2 memory systems are highly interdependent
• to chunk information in WM people need to form meaningful connections
based on information stored in LTM
• What Gets Into Long Term Memory
• considering that we are bombarded with so much information and engage in so
many activities, it seems obvious that some type of filtering system or series of
rules must constrain what goes into our LTM
• possible explanations:
• information enters permanent storage through rehearsal
• have also shown that overlearning (you keep rehearsal material you
already know pretty well) leads to improved memory - especially over
long periods of time
• distributed practice (material studied in multiple sessions over time)
is remembered better than massed practice (material studied in a
brief period / cramming)
• although rehearsal is a way to get information to the LTM, simply repeating
something many times is not a good method for making information memorable
• only information that helps us adapt to the environment is typically transformed
into a long-term memory
• remembering that a penny is money is more useful than remembering all of
it’s features
• memory allows us to use information in ways that assist in reproduction and
survival
• recognizing a predator and remembering an escape route will helps an animal
avoid being eaten
What Are The Different Long-Term Memory Systems - 295
• long term memory is composed of several systems
• Endel Tulving, Daniel Schacter, Larry Squire argue that memory is not just one
entity but rather a process that involves several interacting systems
• although the systems share a common function (retain and use information) they
encode store different types of information and in different ways
• the most basic distinction between memory systems is the division of the
memories we are consciously aware of from memories we acquire without
conscious effort or intention and do not know we know
• Explicit Memory Involves Conscious Effort - 295
• explicit memory: the process involved when people remember specific
information
• what you had for dinner last night)
• declarative memory: the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory;
knowledge that can be declared (consciously brought to mind)
• explicit memory can be divided into:
• episodic memory: memory for one’s personal past experience and includes
information about the time and place the experience occurred
• 14th birthday
semantic
memory: memory for knowledge about the world
•
• people know what jello is,the capitals of countries they have never visited
• Implicit Memory Occurs Without Deliberate Effort - 297
• implicit memory: the system underlying unconscious memory
• consists of memories without awareness of them, so you are not able to put
memories into words
• if you catch a ball you can not explain how so
• classical conditioning employs implicit memory
• if you always fear someone with a white lab coat you might have past
associations between the white lab coat and pain
implicit
memory does not require conscious attention, but happens automatically
•
without deliberate effort
• influence our lives in subtle ways
• constant exposure to a brand name make us more likely to think of them when
we buy products
• we are unaware of influences on how we think or feel
• implicit memory is also involved in repetition priming: the improvement in
identifying or processing a stimulus that has been experience previously
• participants might be asked to count the letters in the word apple, chestnut,
patent. then they would be asked to complete the stems in app__, che__, pat__
with the first word that comes to mind > typically participants will likely complete
the fragments with the words they previously encountered which were primed
(activated in memory) and therefore more easily accessible
• another example of implicit memory is procedural memory (motor memory): the
innate muscle memory for knowing how to ride a bike (procedural / motor) is an
example of implicit memory. once people learn how to ride a bike, they can
remember how to do it again unconsciously at any age
• procedural memories are unconscious and automatic
• Prospective Memory is Remembering to Do Something - 298
• prospective memory: remembering to do something at some time in the future
• paying attention has a “cost”: the cognitive effort involved in attending to certain
information makes us unable to attend closely to other information
• prospective memory involves both automatic and controlled processes
• sometimes the retrieval cues occur in particular environments
• seeing a market and remembering to buy milk
prospective
memory for events without retrieval cues are the reason why sticky
•
notes are so popular
How is Information Organized in Long-Term Memory - 299
• events important enough to be remembered need to be storied in a way that allows
for later retrieval
• the following section examines the temporal (time-based) and organizational
principles of long-term memory
• Long-Term Memory Storage is Based on Meaning - 299
• the concept of “dog” is a mental representation for a category of animals that
share certain features
• you do not have a tiny picture of a dog in your head, rather you have a mental
representation
• the mental representation for a dog differs from a cat
• you also have mental representations for complex and abstract ideas, including
beliefs and feelings
• all of the information is stored in networks of neurons in the brain > memories then
are stored representations which represent different kinds of information such as
visual images, facts, ideas, tastes etc
• retrieval often involves an explicit effort to access the contents of memory storage
(5th birthday)
• but you often retrieve without any effort (name of an acquaintance)
• thus retrieval is involved in explicit and implicit memory systems
• memories are stored by meaning
• Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart developed an influential theory of memory
based on depth of elaboration
• levels of processing model: the more deeply and item is encoded, the more
meaning it has and better it is remembered
• different types of rehearsal lead to differential encoding
• maintenance rehearsal is simply repeating the item over and over
• elaborative rehearsal encodes the information in more meaningful ways - we
elaborate on basic information by linking it to knowledge from long-term memory
• words processed on the deepest level, based on semantic meaning, were
remembered best
• at the biological (brain systems) level of analysis, brain imaging studies have
shown that semantic encoding activates more brain regions than shallow encoding
= better memory
• Schemas Provide an Organizational Framework - 301
• if people store memories by meaning, how is that meaning determined? - chunking
• decisions about how to chunk information depends on schemas: a hypothetical
cognitive structure that helps us perceive, organize, process and use information
• help guide our attention to an environment’s relevant features
• thanks to schemas, we construct new memories by filling in holes within existing
memories, overlooking inconsistent information, and interpreting meaning based
on past experiences
• Information is Stored in Association Networks - 302
• one highly influential set of theroies about memory organization is based on
networks of association: the idea that our knowledge of the world is organized so
that things related in meaning are linked in storage
• an item’s distinctive features are linked so as to identify the item
• each unit of information in the network is a node > each node is connected to
many other nodes
• an important feature of network models is that activating one node increases the
likelihood that closely associated nodes will also be activated
• shown in figure 7.17 - the closer the nodes, the stronger the association between
them and therefore the more likely that activating one will activate the other
• spreading activation models of memory is the ida that activating one node
increases the likelihood of associated nodes becoming active
• according to these views, stimuli in working memory activate specific nodes in
long-term memory and this activation increases the ease of access to that material,
thereby facilitating retrieval
• associative networks overall organization is based on hierarchically structured
categories, which provide a clear and explicit blueprint for where to look for needed
information
• Retrieval Cues Provide Access to Long-Term Storage - 302
• retrieval cue: anything that helps a person recall information from memory
• explains why it is easier to recognize that recall information
• recognize: is the capital of australia canberra, london, or Kuala Lumpur
• multiple choice exams
• recall: what is australia’s capital
• Encoding Specificity
• almost anything can be a retrieval cue
• Endel Tulvig’s encoding specificity principle: any stimulus that is encoded along
with an experience can later trigger memory for the experience
• this kind of memory enhancement, when the recall situation is similar to the
encoding situation, is known as context dependent memory - can be based on
things such as physical location, odors, background music etc
• internal cures such as mood state or inebriation can facilitate the recovery of
information from long-term memory
• state dependent memory: enhancement of memory when internal states match
during encoding and recall
What Brain Processes Are Involved in Memory - 305
• There Has Been Intensive Effort to Identify Memory’s Physical Location - 305
• where in the brain are memories stored?
• Karl Lashley tried to localize memory
• his term engram: the physical site of memory storage
• he concluded that memory is distributed throughout the brain rather than
confined to any specific location 0 an idea known as equipotentiality
• he was only partially right
• Donald Hebb
• memories are storied in multiple regions of the brain and linked through
memory circuits
• suggested that neurons that “fire together wire together”
• different brain regions are responsible for storing different aspects of information
• the temporal lobes are important for declarative memory
• Medial Temporal Lobes Are Important for Consolidation of Declarative Memories - 306
• the brain area repeatedly identified as important for declarative memory is the
middle section (called the medial section) of the temporal lobes - consist of
numerous structures relevant to memory, including the amygdala and
hippocampus
• consolidation: a hypothetical process involving the transfer of contents from
immediate memory into long-term memory
• all learning leaves a biological trail in the brain
• the current thinking is that the medial temporal lobes are responsible for
coordinating and strengthening the connections among neurons when
something is learned but the actual storage most likely occurs in the particular
brain regions engaged during the perception, processing and analysis of the
material being learned
• the medial temporal lobes form links / pointers between different storage sites
and direct the gradual strengthening of the connections between these links
• reconsolidation: neural processes involved when memories are recalled and
then stored again for later retrieval
• when memories for past events are retrieved, those memories can be
affected by new circumstances that newly reconsolidated memories may
differ from their original versions
• this explanation suggests that our memories change when we use them and
are not accurate reproductions of what was experienced
• Spatial Memory
• another important memory function of the hippocampus is spatial memory:
memory for the physical environment; includes things such as location of
objects, direction, and cognitive maps
• the role of the hippocampus in spatial memory is supported by place cells neurons that, in lab tests with rats, fire only when a rat returns to a specific
location, such as a part of a maze
• when a rat is placed in a new environment, none of the hippocampal place cells
fire
• but as the rat becomes familiar with the environment its place cells acquire links
to aspects of the surroundings
• the sizes of London taxi drivers hippocampi were positively correlated with
the number of years they had driven taxis
• The Frontal Lobes Are Involved in Many Aspects of Memory - 308
• the frontal loves are important to many aspects of memory, including episodic
memory, working memory, spatial memory, time sequences, and various aspects
of encoding and retrieval
• extensive neural networks connect the prefrontal cortex with other brain regions
involved in memory > therefore the frontal lobes work together and with other brain
regions to coordinate the encoding, storage, and retrieval of memory
• Neurochemistry Underlies Memory - 309
• memory involves alteration in connections across synapses
• as memories are consolidated, neurons link into distributed networks, and
those networks become linked
• research has shown that various of neurotransmitters can weaken or enhance
memory
• collectively, these neurotransmitters are known as memory modulators
because they modulate or modify memory storage
• Neurochemistry Indicates the Meaningfulness of Stimuli
• we store meaningful information > important events, lead to neurochemical
changes that produce emotional reactions, which in turn make those events
especially likely to be stored in memory
• what neurochemical signals indicate that an experience is meaningful?
• when injected with epinephrine (the hormone secreted when a person is
excited or scared) - help us remember
• epinephrine is secreted not in the brain, but in the bloodstream from the adrenal
glands > thus it does not affect memory directly
• researchers originally believed that epinephrine affected memory because it
causes a release of glucose which then enters the brain and influences
memory storage
• The Amygdala and the Neurochemistry of Emotion
• any arousing event causes greater activity of norepinephrine which strengthens
the memory of that event
• the amygdala has norephinephrine receptors and is involved in the memory of
fearful event
• women have better memory than men for emotional events
• when people experience severe stress or emotional trauma they often have
negative reactions long after the danger has passed
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTST): a mental disorder that involves
frequent nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks related to an earlier
trauma
• PTSD involves an unusual problem in memory - the inability to forget
When Do People Forget - 311
• forgetting: the inability to retrieve memory from long-term storage
• we forget far more than we remember
• not being able to forget is as maladaptive as not being able to remember
• normal forgetting helps us remember and use important information
• Ebbinghaus used method of savings
• relearning something would take less time and effort than the first time you
learned it
• the difference between the original learning and relearning is “saving” - time
and effort saved because of what you remember
• *Daniel Schacter identified the 7 Sins of Memory:
• transience - forgetting > forgetting over time (due to interference)
• forgetting plot of a movie
absentmindedness
- forgetting > reduced memory due to failing to pay
•
attention
• inattentive/shallow encoding
• losing your keys
• blocking - forgetting > inability to remember needed information
• temporarily unable to remember info
• forgetting the name of a person you meet on the street
• tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
• misattribution - distortion > assigning a memory to the wrong source
• falsely thinking richard shiffrin is famous because his name is well known
• suggestibility - distortion > altering a memory because of misleading
information
• developing false memories of events that did not happen
• bias - distortion > influence of current knowledge on our memory for past
events
• remember past attitudes as similar to current attitudes even when they have
changed
persistence
- undesirable > the resurgence of unwanted or disturbing
•
memories that we would like to forget
• remembering an embarrassing faux pas
• Transience is Caused by Interference - 314
• transience
• some evidence indicates that unused memories are forgotten however research
shows that most forgetting occurs because interference from other information
• additional information can lead to forgetting through proactive or retroactive
interference
• proactive interference: when prior information inhibits the ability to remember
new information
• if you are given a new locker combination every year, you may have difficulty
remembering the current one
• retroactive interference when new information inhibits the ability to remember old
information
• once you learn your new combination it is hard to recall the old one
• Blocking is Temporary - 314
• tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
• blocking often occurs because of interference from words that are similar in some
way (such as sound or meaning) and that keep recurring as when you keep calling
an Margaret when her name is Melanie
• Amnesia Is A Deficit in Long-Term Memory - 315
• amnesia: deficit in long term memory that results from disease, brain injury, or
psychological trauma
• the 2 basic types of amnesia are
• retrograde amnesia: the condition in which people lose past memories such
as memories for events, facts, people, or even personal information
• anterograde amnesia: inability to form new memories
How Are Memories Distorted - 317
• human memory is biased, flawed, distorted
• human memory systems provide a less than accurate portrayal of past events
• many of the seemingly flawed aspects of memory may be by-products of beneficial
mechanisms
• Flashbulb Memories Can Be Wrong - 317
• Do You Remember where You Were When You Heard..?
• an obvious problem affects research into the accuracy of flashbulb memories namely that researchers have to wait for a “flash” to go off and then
immediately conduct their research
• better memory for the flashbulb experience occurs among those who found the
news surprising and felt the even was important
• Stress and Memory Revisited
• it is possible that flashbulb experiences are recalled more accurately than
inconsequential or unsurprising events
• any event that produces a strong emotional response will likely produce a vivid,
though not necessarily accurate memory
• von Restorff effect: a distinctive event might simple be recalled more easily
than trivial events, however inaccurate in the results
• People Make Source Misattributions - 318
• source misattribution: memory distortion that occurs when people misremember
the time, place, person, or circumstances involved with a memory
• false fame effect: people mistakenly believe that someone is famous simply
because they have encountered the person’s name before
• sleeper effect: arguments initially not very persuasive because they come from
a questionable source become more persuasive over time - over time you may
remember the argument but fail to remember the source
• Cryptomnesia: a type of misattribution that occurs when a person thinks he or she
has come up with a new idea, yet has only retrieved a stored idea and failed to
attribute the idea to its proper source
• People Are Bad Eyewitnesses - 318
• eyewitness testimony’s power is troubling because witnesses are so often in
error
• 40 cases in which DNA proved that a person was wrongly convicted of a crime
- 36 cases had been misidentified by one or more eyewitness
• Cross-Ethnic Identification
• at the social level, people are particularly bad at accurately identifying
individuals of other ethnicities
• Eyewitness Confidence
• how good are observers and jurors at judging witness’s accuracy?
• the problem is that eyewitnesses who are wrong are just as confident (often
more confident) than eyewitnesses who are right
• after all, eyewitnesses to real crimes tend to be focused on the weapons or on
the action - they don’t pay attention to minor details
• People Have False Memories - 321
• most people cannot remember specific memories from before age 3
• the absence of early memories (childhood amnesia) may be due to the early
lack of linguistic capacity as well as to immature frontal lobes
• memories or events when we were young may seem real but they are more
likely constructed from information learned later in life
Creating
False Recognition
•
• people can be mislead into recalling or recognizing events that did not happen
Confabulation:
the false recollection of episodic memory
•
• “honest lying” because the person does not intend to deceive and is unaware
that his/her story is false
• some patients simply recall mistaken facts when questioned, and try to make
sense of their recollections by adding facts that make the story more coherent
• capgras syndrome: patients delusional believe their family members have
been replaced by impostors
• Repressed Memories Are Controversial - 322
• some psychologists say that
• patients claim that long repressed memories for traumatic events can resurface
during therapy OR
• little evidence indicates that recovered memories are genuine or at least
sufficiently accurate to be believable
• Schacter alludes to the frightening possibility that false memories for traumatic
evens have been implanted by well-meaning but misguided therapists
• children can be induced to remember events that did not happen
• People Reconstruct Events to be Consistent - 323
• memory bias: the changing memories over time in ways consistent with prior
beliefs
• people tend to recall their past attitudes and beliefs as being consistent with their
current ones, often revising their memories when they change attitudes and beliefs
• Neuroscience May Make It Possible to Distinguish Between “True” and False”
Memories - 323
• different situations: when a person tells a lie and when a person experiences false
or faulty memory but honestly believes it is true
How Can We Improve Learning And Memory - 325
• how people learn?
• through research psychologists have developed specific strategies for improving
memory > mnemonics
• by using mnemonic strategies, people can study and remember information on
long lists
• Mnemonics Are Useful Strategies for Learning - 325
•
•
•
•
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Practice
Elaborate the Material
Overlearning
Get Adequate Sleep
Use Verbal Mneumonics
Use Visual Imagery