Day Memory 2
Storage & Retrieval
Storage: Long-Term Memory
Implicit and Explicit Procedural and Declarative
Explicit and Implicit Memory
Explicit Memory: Conscious of the memory, can explicitly recall it Implicit Memory: Unconscious of the memory, influences behavior (as in the two previous examples)
Even if not asked to memorize, just read words (Schachter, 1992) Even if you have no memory of being exposed to the word (Graf & Mandler, 1984)
Procedural and Declarative Memory
Procedural memory: reflected in skills and actions Declarative memory: facts
Episodic memory: Personal experiences: when, where, and what Semantic memory: General factual knowledge
Retrieval
Retrieval pathways Encoding specificity Distinctiveness
Retrieval Pathways
Memory strategies provide retrieval pathways
Method of loci, pegging
More elaborations, more cues
Students associate words, remember more if they made more associations (Mntyl, 1986)
Encoding specificity
Memory is enhanced when conditions present during retrieval match those that were present during encoding
Context-dependent memory
SCUBA study (Godden and Baddeley, 1975) Example: Classroom as context MENTAL recreations also effective (Smith & Vela, 2001) Mood congruent recall (Fiedler et al., 2001)
Distinctiveness
More likely to remember behaviors, words, experiences that are atypical In episodic memory, experiences associated with negative emotions more vivid over time Flashbulb memories: Recollections that seem so vivid, so clear, they seem like photographs
Forgetting
failure Encoding (already discussed) Decay Interference Retrieval failure Forgetting to do things (prospective memory) Extreme forgetting: amnesia
Decay
It is harder to remember things for longer periods of time (Ebbinghaus, 1885)
More about Decay
Function of time?
Group A: Memorize words, eight hours awake, recall Group B: Memorize words, eight hours of sleep, recall Group B remembers the words better (Jenkins & Dallenback, 1924)
Difference due to interference?
Interference
Proactive Interference
Memory of old information interferes with memorizing new information Example: Parking your car, using the wrong name
Retroactive Interference
Memorizing new information interferes with memory of old information Example: Learning new names
More similar, more interference
More on Interference
Retrieval Failure
Gone but not forgotten Retrieval cue has to be appropriate (Retrieval pathways/encoding specificity) Tip-of-the-Tongue
Research with college students indicates weekly occurrences (Schwartz, 2002) Illusory Tip-of-the-Tongue experiences
Prospective Memory
Remembering (forgetting) to do things
Intent (remember to do it) Content (what to do) Remember that you did it
Worse with age (Vogels et al., 2002) If motivated, can maintain the ability (Rendell & Thompson, 1999)
Amnesia
Retrograde amnesia
Forgetting information from the past Events immediately before a head injury Sometimes extends to several years prior to accident
Anterograde amnesia
Cannot form new memories Video of Clive
Amnesia in the movies