Memory What do you think computers have in common with our memory?

1. Memory What do you think computers have in common with our memory? Jot down any links that you can think of- 2mins The Computer Analogy

2. What do you already know about memory? • What is encoding? • What are the 2 stores of memory? • What is reconstructive memory? • What is the capacity of short term memory? • How long does your short term memory last? • What are schemas? • What is eye whitnesss testimony?

3. The Memory Process Encoding Storage Retrieval STM LTM

4. Short Term Memory Capacity Chunking

5. On completion of these short tests you will know and understand a little about: • Immediate Memory Span - i.e. thecapacity of STM • Chunking in STM All this by participating in some simple and enjoyable experiments.

6. Things to think about: • How many items can you hold in your immediate memory at one time? • E.g. remembering a telephone number for a few seconds

7. Experiment 1 • You will be presented with a sequence of numbers • Try to memorise the numbers in sequence as they are presented. • When you see the word NOW, write the numbers down in the same order as they were presented, (serial recall)

8. 4 3 6 8 9 2 1 5 7 NOW

9. How did you do? - see below • 5 7 4 8 3 1 9 6 2 • Miller, (1956) talks of ‘the magical number seven, plus or minus two’, meaning that: • on average, the capacity of STM is between 5 and 9 items of information. • You will now be presented with a list of letters • When you see the word NOW appear write down as many as you can remember in the sequence they appeared in.

10. Q S A E R B H K T NOW

11. Difficult, isn’t it? - Answers below • Q A H E R S B K T • You probably found that you remembered between 5 and 9 items, digits or letters, on each trial, in line with Miller’s (1954) findings. • Miller’s Magic number 7 + or – 2.

12. Experiment 2 • You will be presented with a line of letters across the centre of the screen which will appear for approximately 10 seconds. • Your task is to remember as many of the letters as you can, in the order in which they were presented. • When you see the word NOW write down as many of the letters as you can remember, in the same order as they were presented.

13. G C E B T E C G C S E G N V Q A S NOW

14. Difficult, wasn’t it? • Now try it again, using a fresh sheet of paper, obviously!

15. GCE BTEC GCSE GNVQ AS NOW

16. You probably did better this time - Answers below. GCE BTEC GCSE GNVQ ASWhy might this be? – (apart from having seen the stimulus material twice, an example of the practice effect). • Miller (56) found that the capacity of STM could be considerably increased by combining, or organising, separate ‘bits’ of information, e.g. letters or digits, into larger chunks. • The process of chunking involves the imposition of meaning, through organising in line with existing knowledge - in this case, of qualifications. This illustrates the important role played by the LTM in STM processes.

17. Armed with your new-found knowledge,

18. 1 9 0 0 1 9 1 4 1 9 1 8 1 9 3 9 1 9 4 5 2 0 0 0 NOW

19. How did you do this time?Answers below • 1 9 0 0 1 9 1 4 1 9 1 8 1 9 3 9 1 9 4 5 2 0 0 0 • Based on existing knowledge of the two World Wars of the 20th century, you might have been able to reorganise these 24 bits of information into 2CHUNKS, i.e.: • The dates of the two World Wars, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945; • the beginning and end of the 20th century, 1900 and 2000.

20. Schema and reconstructive memory • When Mary arrived, the woman at the door greeted her and checked for her name. A few minutes later, Mary was escorted to her chair and was shown the day’s menu. The attendant was helpful but brusque, almost to the point of being rude. However, her meal was excellent, especially the main course. Later she paid the woman at the door and left

21. Schema and reconstructive memory • The procedure is really quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step, otherwise you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well…After the procedure is complete, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will have to be repeated.

22. Read the list and then write down as many words as you can remember

23. Write down as many as you can remember Now try with another set of words

25. Write down as many as you can remember Now check how many you remembered correctly- do you notice anything?

26. Schema and eye witness testimony • Many people falsely remember the words sweet being on the first list and angry as being on the second list. • What explanation can we give for this? • What implication could this research have on eye witness testimony? • Write a definition of a schema

27. Reconstructive memory and Eye Witness Testimony • Factors effecting EWT: • Schemas • Encoding of information at time of event • Leading questions • Post event information