The Phenomena of MemorySome Traditional Metaphors of MemoryA Bad Model for Human Memory: Computer MemoryThe Importance of Getting the Phenomenon RightMemory vs. Photography - 1Memory vs. Photography - 2Memory ExerciseField vs. Observer MemoriesMemory vs. Photography - 3Memory vs. Photography - 4Memory vs. Photography - 5Retrieval: Reinstantiation or Reconstruction?Memory ExerciseLong-term, short-term, and echoic memoryLong-term Memory SystemsTypes of Long-Term MemoryEpisodic Memory and Personal IdentityMemory ExerciseRemembering vs. KnowingMemory and LearningEncoding, Storage, and RetrievalEbbinghaus—first encoding studyMemory ExerciseMemory ExerciseCharacteristics of EncodingEncoding TechniquesRecall stimuli for chess experimentNeural evidence for elaborative encodingEncoding StrategiesRetrieval ProcessesTulving’s encoding specificity principleAre encoding and retrieval separate neural processes?Additional Activations in RetrievalWhat subtraction concealsBeginnings of a mechanistic decomposition?The Phenomena of MemoryMnemosyneSome Traditional Metaphors of MemoryAviarySeal on a Wax TabletLibraryPhotograph or movieA Bad Model for Human Memory: Computer MemoryWhy is storage of information in a computer called “memory”?We think of memory as storage, putting something away but are able to recall itSome of the problems in setting up computer memory seem to resemble those we faceWhen we put information into a memory system we need some way of getting it back outComputers, like libraries, rely on indexes But there are major differences between human and computer memoryMuch of our memory is “content addressable”Much of our memory has emotional overtonesMuch of our memory is reconstructiveThe Importance of Getting the Phenomenon RightMost accounts of science emphasize the importance of explanation (and perhaps prediction) as scientific activities. But explanations are only valuable if they explain real phenomena.The phenomena are not always obvious, and we may need to seek data or evidence to determine just what the phenomena are.Memory vs. Photography - 1Compare Franco Magnani's paintings and Susan Schwartzenberg's photographs of Magnani’s childhood hometown, Pontito, in ItalyMemory vs. Photography - 2Magnani’schildhood homeHe and his mother appear in the paintingMemory ExerciseRecall your high school graduation ceremony; describing your recollection in as much detail as possibleIf you were to draw it, would you be in the picture?Recall a birthday party from your childhoodIf you were to draw it, would you be in the picture?Recall your last serious argument with someoneIf you were to draw it, would you be in the picture?Field vs. Observer MemoriesIf we are recalling the event as it happened, we would of course recall it from our own point of viewBut often we “see” ourselves in our recollections—we take the position of an observerOlder memories are more often from an observer’s point of viewField memories, memories from our own point of view, often are far more emotionalMemory vs. Photography - 3Magnani could see the campanile (bell tower) from his bedroom window. It was a major part of his lifeCompare the perspectiveCompare the height of the towerMemory vs. Photography - 4The painting and photograph are from Magnani’sbedroom windowThe painting shows more than can be seen from any one point of viewMemory vs. Photography - 5A walk Magnanifrequently took• Note the overall accuracy of the rooflines, etc.• Note the differences in the windowsRetrieval: Reinstantiation or Reconstruction?Common view: successful recall reinstantiates an event as it happened—recall, when it happens, is veridicalAlternative view: recall is a reconstruction of the previous event utilizing whatever information is available that can be combinedinto a coherent accountCreates the possibility that memory is not always veridicalMemory ExerciseSome rows of letters will appear. After they are gone, an arrow will direct you to remember a particular row. Right down as many letters from that row as you can, then any others that you rememberGLRBUKQOCMI WNXDJSFYHLong-term, short-term, and echoic memory stimulusSensoryRegisterControl ProcessesResponseResponseGeneratorShort-termStoreLong-termStoreAtkinson and ShiffrinLong-term Memory SystemsOne response to identifying the variety of phenomena that constitute remembering is to • Distinguish type of memory• Propose different systems responsible for each type of memory“Most important, we have now come to believe that memory is not a single or unitary faculty of the mind, as was long assumed. Instead, it is composed of a variety of distinct and dissociableprocesses and systems. Each system depends on a particular constellation of networks in the brain that involve different neural structures, each of which plays a highly specialized rolewithin the system” (Schacter, 1996, p. 5).Types of Long-Term Memory• Semantic memory: conceptual and factual knowledge: dogs are mammals, birds fly, San Diego is in California• Episodic or autobiographical memory: explicitly recalling previous experiences—belief that the memory is a true replica of the previous event and part of one’s own past—mental time travel• Procedural memory: skill memory, classical and operant conditioning, primingEpisodic Memory and Personal Identity Hume: what we are is a bundle of memories—where memories are episodic memories of life episodes.What memories seem critical to self identity?• If we lost these memories, would we be the same person?• If someone replaced many of these memories with others, would we still be the same person?Patients who lose memory of their past lives (like GR) report a loss of identityIs this kind of memory unique to humans?Memory ExerciseRemember a present you received on your last birthdayDo you remember actually receiving the present, or only that you received it?Recall seeing this picture in our last class:Do you remember actually seeing it, or only remember thatyou saw it—you know that itwas in the presentation?Remembering vs. KnowingWe are familiar with recalling an event with a feeling of having experienced it• Perhaps complemented with imagery of the event• Sometimes having many associations to the eventBut sometimes we know the event occurred without feeling like we are recalling it.• GR (and other retrograde amnesics) can learn about their past without any sense of having experienced what they learned happenedMeans