Memory What is Memory Ability to store retrieve information over time 3 Key functions o Encoding o Storage o Retrieval Memory consists of 3 major components Pg 228 o Sensory Memory Memory for sensory info that is stored in its sensory form for a few seconds or less Visual sensory memory Iconic memory 1s or less Auditory sensory memory Echoic memory 5s or less o Short term Memory Memory for information that stays I awareness for more than a few seconds but less than a minute Memory Span Amount of information that can be stored in STM 7 2 items Rehearsing vs Chunking Rehearsing repeating info to yourself to remember it Chunking grouping information together o Generally more effective than rehearsal o Long term memory Memory for information that can be retrieved sometimes even decades later Pg 238 Recency effect remember things from the end most recent Primary effect remembering things from the beginning Problems with Longterm memory Amnesia Severe memory impairment Retrograde Amnesia The inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date Anterograde amnesia the inability to transfer new information from the short term to the long term store Clive Wearing video Massive deficit in episodic memory Also unusually bad retrograde amnesia can t remember children s names o o o o His improvement over time indicates that he can form new implicit memories Hippocampus as index Memories are not stored In any one location in the brain o Lashley and the search for the engram The sights sounds emotional contents of memories are distributed throughout the cortex The hippocampus links them all together to form a single coherent memory Eventually memories are consolidated they become stable Then the hippocampus is not as necessary like a recipe Patient H M Severe anterograde but not retrograde amnesia Hippocampus critical when forming a new memory less important as the memory ages Retrieval cues External information that helps us access info from LTM Encoding specificity principle Retrieval cues that recreate the way we initially encoded the info help us remember it SCUBA study When you study underwater you remember better underwater etc State dependent retrieval Our memory is better when we re in the same mental state during encoding retrieval Ex Mood sobriety A subtype of the encoding specificity principle Study matching study patterns to test conditions Self reference effect People remember info that is self relevant better than info that is not The reason seems to be that people process self relevant information more deeply Ex horoscopes Priming The enhanced ability to think of a stimulus such as a word or object as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus Exposure to avocado climate octopus assassin Fill in the Schemas Cognitive structures that help us organize information Web outline We remember schema consistent info and forget schemainconsistent info Psychology and Law October 2 2012 Eyewitness Memory 1996 Department of Justice Examination of DNA Exoneration cases o 28 cases 9 months 12 years in prison o Some involved alibis from friends family o All involved an eyewitness Compelling Responsible for most wrongful convictions than any other reason Wells 1998 Loftus 1982 of 347 cases in which eyewitness was only substantial evidence o 74 256 cases led to conviction 49 125 cases one eyewitness Why are eyewitnesses often wrong Errors possible at all 3 stages of memory processing encoding storage retrieval A Suggestibility a Incorporating misleading or false information from external sources into personal recollections b Memory is reconstructive i We feel like our memories are accurate but they re not c Plane crash in Amsterdam did you see the television film of the moment the plane hit the apartment building B Memory Misattribution a Assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source b David Thomson memory researcher accused of rape i The victim was watching him on TV at the time that the assault occurred ii Her memory confused his face with her attacker s C False Recognition a Typical suspect lineup i Eyewitnesses are encouraged to rely on familiarity ii People tend to use relative judgments who looks the most like the suspect iii Most common cause of wrongful convictions b Line up Choice study i N 100 College Students 1 Viewed staged vandalism ii IV1 biased or unbiased instructions iii IV2 Suspect actually present or not present iv DV of identification errors confidence 1 Results a Errors were low when the suspect was present regardless of how biased the instructions were b When suspect was absent false identifications were very high only in the biased condition c Unbiased instructions led to fewer false identifications with no decrease in correct ID s d Confidence was significantly correlated with choosing r 86 i But not with accuracy v How should the police actually conduct lineups 1 All should be similar to real suspect 2 Include blank lineups with no real suspect 3 Instructions Offender not necessarily in lineup 4 Sequential instead of simultaneous lineup 5 Photographs Voice Samples 6 Double blind lineups 7 No composite creations 8 Don t rely on witnesses to know if they are biased vi Are these suggested changes being incorportated 1 Yes but slowly 2 Standard eyewitness procedures including questioning techniques lineup procedures are still the most commonly used Repressed False Memories o The repressed memory controversy Can false memories exist for profound life events o Mousetrap study Asked children once a week for 10 weeks think real hard about going to the hospital with a mousetrap on your finger 58 of kids falsely remembered the event and created a detailed story of the event W o Well meaning but misguided therapists can instill false memories Encouraging clients to imagine incidents that may or may not have occurred Using Hypnosis o When people are no longer exposed to suggestive techniques they start to recognize the memories as inaccurate False Confessions o Extremely common and it can happen to anyone Broken key study Participants were falsely accused of damaging a computer by pressing the wrong key They initially denied the charge then a confederate said he she saw the participant do it Many participants signed a confession 69 and if the experiment was fast paced 65 internalized guilt and 35 made up details that were consistent with the crime o Why does this matter Police detectives and lay people cant tell the difference between a true