PSY 101 1st Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I Still Under Encoding from last lecture II Encoding continued from last lecture A Sensory Memory covered in last lecture B Capacity of Short term and working memory covered in last lecture C Effortful Processing Strategies 1 Chunking 2 Mnemonics 3 Hierarchies Categories 4 Rehearsal and Distribution Practice D Levels of Processing E Making Information Personally Meaningful III Memory Storage Capacity and Location A Retaining Information in the Brain 5 Explicit Memory Processing 6 Implicit Memory Processing B Emotions and Memory C Synaptic Changes Outline of Current Lecture These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute I Retrieval Cues 1 Priming 2 Context Dependent Memory 3 State Dependent Memory 4 The Serial Position Effect II Forgetting A The brain and the 2 track mind Case of HM Henry Molaison B Encoding Failure C Storage Decay D Retrieval Failure 1 Interference 2 Motivated Forgetting III Why is our memory full of errors A Misinformation Effect B Source Amnesia C Constructed Memories Current Lecture I Retrieval Cues Retrieval challenge memory is not stored as a file that can be retrieved by searching alphabetically Instead it is stored as a web of associations conceptual contextual and emotional 1 Priming retrieval is affected by activating our associations Priming triggers a thread of associations that brings us to a concept Our minds work by having one idea trigger another this maintains a flow of thought 2 Context Dependent Memory Part of the web of associations of a memory is the context What else was going on at the time we formed the memory II We retrieve a memory more easily when in the same context as when we formed the memory 3 State Dependent Memory Our memories aren t just linked to external context in which we learned them Memories can also be tied to the emotional state we were in when we formed the memory Mood Congruent Memory refers to the tendency to selectively recall details that are consistent with one s current mood 4 The Serial Position Effect Priming and context cues aren t the only factors which make memory retrieval selective The serial position effect refers to the tendency when learning information in a long list to more likely recall the first items and the last items Forgetting A The Brain and the 2 Track Mind Case of HM Henry Molaison In 1953 the removal of HM s hippocampus at the age of 27 ended his seizures but also ended his ability to form new explicit memories HM could learn new skills procedures locations of objects and games but he had no memory of the lesson or instructions HM also retained memories from before the surgery He exhibited anterograde amnesia an inability to form new long term explicit memories There is also retrograde amnesia which refers to an inability to retrieve memory of the past B Encoding Failure Some things are never encoded into long term memory It could be we ne never paid attention to the details and didn t select them from sensory memory to hold in working memory i e can you say what s on the back of a ten dollar bill Probably not because all you need to know to recognize a ten dollar bill is the big 1 and 0 so you never paid attention to what was on the back of the bill C Storage Decay Material encoded into long term memory will decay if the memory is never used recalled and re stored Decay is LTP in reverse Unused connections and networks wither while well used memory traces are retained D Retrieval Failure Sometimes the memory itself doesn t decay Instead what decays are the associations and the links that help us find our way to the stored memory As a result some stored memories seem just below the surface i e I know the name It starts with an M I think III To prevent retrieval failure when storing and rehearsing memories you can build multiple association linking images rhymes categories lists and cues 1 Interference Another downside of not forgetting is the old and new memories can interfere with eachother making it difficult to store new memories and retrieve old ones 2 Motivated Forgetting Motivated forgetting is choosing to forget or change our memories Freud believed we sometimes make an unconscious decision to bury our anxiety provoking memories and hide them from conscious awareness he called this repression Motivated forgetting is not common More often recall is full of errors and people try not to think about painful memories If they fail to rehears e those memories the memories can fade Why is our Memory full of errors Memory not only gets forgotten but it gets constructed imagined selected changed and rebuilt A Misinformation Effect Memories are not exact memories we use new and stored memories After exposing people to misinformation many people will misremember information B Source Amnesia Have you ever discussed a childhood memory with a family member only to find that the memory was from a book you read a dream you had a movie you saw etc If so your memory for the event may have been accurate but you experienced soruce amnesia forgetting where the story came from and attributing the source to your own experience D j vu refers to the feeling that you re in a situation that you ve been in or have seen before We can feel very certain that we ve seen a situation before even when we haven t due to similarities in a past situation to the current one Why does this happen Sometimes our sense of familiarity and recognition kicks in too soon and our brain explains this as being caused by prior experience C Constructed Memories With less time for their memories to become distorted kids can be trusted to report accurately right Actually no because kids have underdeveloped frontal lobes they are even more prone to implanted memories When interviewing kids don t lead be neutral and nonsuggestive in your questions D Recovered Memories of Past Abuse Can people recover memories that are so thoroughly repressed as to be forgotten Abuse memories are more likely o be burned into memory then forgotten and forgotten memories of minor events do reappear spontaneously through cues accidental reminders False memories implanted by leading questions may not be lies People reporting events that didn t happen usually believe they are telling the truth