PSC ch.7

what happens if you remove brain regions vital to memory?

• the nervous system's capacity to acquire and retain skills and knowledge
• (library but not a video recorder)

memory is a reconstructive process (jigsaw puzzle)

memory takes sensory information and turns it into meaningful patterns you can store for later use

• encoding
• information is received and processed into neural code

(imagine info is entered w/ a keyboard)

storage

info is stored in the brain

info is retrieved when it is needed

memory is distributed throughout the brain, rather than confined to one specific area

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968)

a temporary memory system closely tied to the sensory systems

•   -lasts only a fraction of a second
•   -info changed into neural impulses
•   -ex. sparklers

its job to determine which input it important

unattended information is lost

• parallel processing
• serial processing

processing multiple types of info at once

processing occurs one system at a time

• visual search task
• conjunction task

look for "target" that differs on only one dimension (parallel processing)

need to search for two features (parallel & serial processing)

we do not consciously process unattended to visual stimuli

in-attentional blindness: invisible gorilla

change blindness occurs

failure to notice large changes in one's environment

allows us to selectively attend to important info

• -cocktail party effect
• -selective listening studies

storage system that briefly holds info in awareness

info kept in STM for 20-30 secs

active processing that keeps info available for current use

STM can only hold a limited amount of info

5-9 pieces of info in our short term memory

organizing info into meaningful units to make it easier to remember

central executive - controls other stuff

episodic buffer-the part that makes it meaningful and give you the bigger picture

the "permanent" storage of info

• the "hard drive"
• limitless capacity
• cannot be erased for healthy ppl

from short term to long term

• formed using medial temporal lobes
•  -forms links between info (synaptic)
•  -gradually strengthens connections (systems)

storage takes place in neocortex

• once connections are strong MTL is no longer vital for that memory
•   -HM is proof!

he proved that once connections are strong, medial temporal lobes are no longer vital for that memory

he removed his medial temporal lobes

neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for later retrieval

yes depends on circumstance, new information

shallow processing and deep processing

very easy to process here

• maintenance rehearsal -repeating over & over
• (repeat until you remember it permanently)

• elaborative rehearsal- encoding in a more meaningful way
• using that new info and relate it to old info to make it a bigger meaning

cognitive structures that help us perceive, organize and use information

• guide our attention
• fill in holes
• interpret meaning
• overlook inconsistent information

b/c schema allow us to overlook inconsistent info, it means your memory is personally bias such as something w/ a strong emotional component

unit of information; not physical realities

very similar to a neuron network

item's characteristics are linked to nodes

the closer the nodes, the stronger the association will be

activating one node increases the chances that closely associate nodes will also be activated

by saying red, other pieces of memory would be recalled

• retrieval = practice makes perfect
• benefits of tests
•    students who study by test taking remember info better than traditional studying

anything that helps a person retrieve info stored in LTM

recall vs. recognition

any stimulus that is encoded along w/ an experience that later triggers memory for the experience

• ->context dependent memory
• -> state dependent memory

your physiological state affect how you recall the information

learning aids, strategies, and devices that improve recall through the use of retrieval cues

ex. ROYG. BIV

condense big pieces of info to simple term

• the relatively permanent storage of information
•  
•   -composed of several systems
•   -its more of a network of component that works together

old view states that memories differed in strength and accessibility, but all memories were generally the same

current view established that memory is not one entity; it is a process involving interacting systems that share a common function of retaining and using information

explicit (declarative)

implicit

prospective

• the systems  underlying conscious memory
•  
•   retrieving info "we know"

   2 types

episodic- memory for one's personal past experience 

ex. your 16th bday

semantic memory- for facts separate from one's personal experience

ex. george washington was the first president

the system underlying conscious memory

•   -cannot put these memories into words
•   -procedural memory-a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits
•     -> very resistant to decay
• -> part of muscle memory

  ex. riding a bike, tying your shoes

remembering to do something at some future time

•   involves both automatic and controlled processes
•   
•  takes up cognitive resources leaving less space in working memory

the inability to retrieve memory from long term storage

   -not being able to forget is maladaptive (not assisting adaption)

• transience
• absentmindness
• blocking
• persistence (opposite of forgetting)
• amnesia

forgetting over time

old view- transience occurs due to decay (does occur occasionally)

current view- transience occurs due to interference from other info

• proactive interference- old info inhibits the ability to remember new info
•   ex. learning a and b info; the earlier study of a, essentially blocks the study b material

• retroactive interference- new info inhibits the ability to remember old info
•   ex.info b affect info a which makes you do bad on the test

(influences differently w/ certain ppl.)

temporary inability to remember something that is known

-aka "blanking" or "tip of your tongue"

-may caused by interference of words that are similar in some way

-tends to occur more frequently w/ age

just can't recall it even though you know it

the inattentive or shallow encoding of info or events

•  -major cause is failing to pay attention
•  -can occur when mind goes on "autopilot"

• when we are not focus on something

the continual reoccurrence of unwanted memories

• -the opposite of forgetting; you cannot forget
• -ex. PTSD

a deficit in LTM resulting from disease, brain injury, or psychological trauma in which the individual loses the ability to retrieve vast quantities of info from LTM

  retrograde - lose past memories

•  anterograde- lose ability to make new memories
•  ex. H.M.

memory bias

flashbulb memories

source misattribution

changing of memories over time so they are consistent w/ current knowledge, beliefs or attitudes

• ppl often recreate memories to be:
• -consistent w/ their current beliefs
• -place themselves in prominent roles
• -put themselves in the best light

vivid episodic memories for the circumstances in which ppl first learned of a surprising, consequential or emotionally arousing event

• ex. Neisser & Harsch: challenger explosion
•  personal salience is associated with accuracy; New Yorkers remember 9/11 with greater accuracy

occurs when people misremember the time, place, person or circumstances involved w/ a memory

aka source monitoring errors

ex. false fame effect; cryptomnesia

associating what you know before but you actually don't know it

using an old idea and you don't know that its a old idea, but you give it a new source/meaning

• the leading cause of wrongful convictions in U.S.
• -75% of conviction have been overturned due to DNA evidence

• estimator variables - factors related to the witness, perpetrator or event itself
•  ex. age, race, weapons focus

system variables- factors that are in the control of the criminal justice system

the justice's view of child witnesses has changed

"daycare cases" of 1980's revealed the need for research on child's ability to give reliable testimony

question type (open ended question is more accurate)

timing of interview (longer time span from occurrence can alter the pieces of info)

exposure to misinformation

emotional valence of interviewer (threatening interviewer)

even under ideal circumstances, children tend to report less info than adults

the phenomenon of witnesses remembering own race faces w/ greater accuracy than faces from others

-identification of own race faces is associated w/ more correct identification and less false positives

• attitudes: less racist = less prone to ORE
• (not supported by empirical research)

• physiognomic homogeneity: some races have fewer distinctions in features 
• (not supported by empirical research)

• interracial contact: you recognize the races that you are more familiar with
• (supported by empirical research)
• children in interracial communities vs. segregated neighborhood - the more you interact, the more correction of stereotype being placed upon that race

a witness's attention being focused on the weapon rather than the culprit

(witness will remember less about the culprit when a weapon is present thus less accurate report involving the culprit)

• arousal:
• cue-utilization hypothesis- as emotional arousal increases attentional capacity decreases
• ->limites empirical support

• unusalness:
• we focus on what is not typical in our environment (weapon) and fail to encode other pieces of info around us

line up procedures: psychological research has changed the way police departments nationwide conduct line-ups

justice system measurer