PSY 368 Human Memory

1. PSY 368 Human Memory Memory Experts and Ways to improve your memory

2. Brief outline for today • Cases of superior memory • Flashbulb memories • Eidetic imagery • Memory Experts • Ways to improve you memory • Distributed practice • Testing effects • Mnemonic techniques

3. Superior Memory • Flashbulb memories • Very vivid memories • Surprising and consequential events – emotionally charged • Difficult to study • Neisser and Harsch (1992) study • Challenger explosion in 1986 - asked people day later about where they were, etc. • After 3 years they were asked to recall details • Reported vivid memories, and were very confident • However, they were inaccurate at remembering these things • No evidence they are different from normal memories • Subject to reconstructive processes (including distortions)

4. Superior Memory • Eidetic imagery = “Photographic memory” • Strict criteria for classification • Example test procedure (e.g., Haber & Haber 1964) • Present an image for 30 sec • Remove the image • Ask a variety of questions about details of the image • Answers typically in the present tense (as if the picture is present) • Eyes move to locations where the details had been in picture • Frequency of occurrence • Mostly in preadolescent children (estimated 8% of kids) • Rare in adults - not well-studied

5. Superior Memory • Eidetic imagery = “Photographic memory” • Not like a photograph, rather it is a strong, vivid image • Eidetic images have more detail than normal images and last longer than iconic memory. • But they do fade away (between a few seconds and a few minutes), they are not long lasting (so don’t seem to be encoded with high detail in LTM) • Requires time to encode (not like the split second camera snapshot) • Affected by the subjective state of the individual and may include distortions, additions, and/or omissions

6. Memory Experts • Luria (1968), The Mind of a Mnemonist • ‘S’ (Solomon Shereshevsky, Russian journalist & mnemonist) • Average IQ • Memory feats • Could recall speeches verbatim • Memorize complex mathematical equations and matrices • Memorize text and poems, even in foreign language • Digits (100+) • Nonsense syllables • Foreign-language poetry • Complex figures • Diagnosed as having severe Synesthesia

7. Memory Experts • Luria (1968), The Mind of a Mnemonist • Synesthesia is a condition where sensations usually experienced in a single modality are experienced in two modalities. • Some examples of synesthesia are receiving an auditory signal or sensation in a visual modality. • Synesthesia is rule governed, not random. • For example, there is a positive relationship between increasing the pitch of a sound and increased brightness. • For S, musical tones were colors, touch were tastes • Thinking about numbers: • “take the number 1. This is a proud, well-built man; 2 is a high-spirited woman; 3 a gloomy person; 6 a man with a swollen foot; 7 a man with a moustache; 8 a very stout woman—a sack within a sack. As for the number 87, what I see is a fat woman and a man twirling his moustache”

8. Memory Experts • Ericsson and Chase (1982) • They had a university student (SF) practice the digit span task for 1 hour per day for 2 years • Over this time, his span increased from about 7 items to 80 items • Encoding and retrieval principles in action: • He increased his span to 18 items by relating numbers to known running times (e.g. 3594 = “Bannister’s time for the mile”) • He further increased his span by organizing those chunks into a hierarchical structure • Speed-up principle in action: • He became much faster at chunking and organizing the numbers with extensive practice • However, his newfound ability did NOT generalize to other memory tasks • He maintained average letter and word spans

9. Memory Experts • Thompson et al. (1991) • Rajan Mahadevan: Previously held the world record for memorizing the most digits of pi (30,000) (note: new record Akira Haraguchi 83,431 digits) • Found that he had an unusual digit span: • 59 visually presented digits • 63 for heard digits • He chunked digits into strings of 10–15 digits, not the typical 3–4 • This initially suggested a natural enhancement of his basic memory capacity • However, arguing against a natural superiority, he has an average: • Symbol span • Ability to remember the position and orientation of various objects • Memory for word lists and stories • It turns out that he uses various associations and patterns to group digits.

10. Memory Experts • “National Memory Championship” – “Memoriad” • http://usamemorychampionship.com/ • http://www.worldmemorychampionships.com/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsYCSmBcM0&feature=related • Sampling of events (from US & international) • Names and faces (164, 15 mins) • Speed numbers (500, 5 mins) • Speed cards (1 deck, 21.2 sec) • Poetry • Random words (300, 15 mins) • Max deck cards (28 decks, 1hr) • Random digits (2080, 1 hr) • Historical dates (132, 5 mins) (Records) • Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer (2012) • Journalist covering the memory championships one year (2005), the next competing in the competition (2006)

11. Can you be a Memory Expert? • Okay, recall the shopping list from yesterday. Run through the route from here to the bookstore in Bone. • List • Milk • Cereal • Hot dogs • Pickles • Mustard • Orange juice • Sponges • Toilet paper • Light bulbs • Cookies

12. Can you be a Memory Expert? • What can you do to improve your memory? • Distributed practice • Testing effects • Effective studying tips • Mnemonics • Lot’s of books out there.

13. Can you be a Memory Expert? • What can you do to improve your memory? • Distributed practice • Testing effects • Effective studying tips • Mnemonics • The “granddaddy” of them all: • Written between 86 and 82 B.C. • Describes the memory techniques attributed to Simonides of Ceos (5th century B.C. poet) • the basic techniques that underlie almost all modern mnemonic techniques Rhetorica ad Herennium

14. Memory Myths • “Memory is like a muscle, exercise it and it gets generally better/stronger” • You can practice mnemonic techniques, but they still require effortful use and are specific to what you apply them to • “Only 10% of our brain power is used.” • No agreed upon operational definition of “brain power” • No evidence that there are parts of the brain “just sitting around unused, waiting to be tapped” • “Becoming more balanced in using right and left side of brain will tap into unused potential.” • Left-language/Right-spatial (for most people) • “Can improve memory with presentation during sleep.” • Sleep studies - placebo effect - subjects thought they had an effect of what they were told they were studying, but no objective effect existed

15. Distributed Practice • Distributed practice is better than massed practice • Lorge (1930) • Mirror tracing task • 20 trials of learning • Massed • 1 min between trials • 1 day between trials • Spacing between the learning sessions led to better performance

16. Distributed Practice • Distributed practice is better than massed practice • It is better to space out learning trials sparsely (thinly) across a period of time than to mass them together into a single learning block. • This leads to faster improvement rates and more lasting retention. • As distributed practice takes longer in absolute terms (i.e. less actual training, but more days), it is not always practical or convenient. • Individuals using distributed practice often paradoxically feel as though they’re being less efficient. • The benefit is not related to fatigue with denser learning.

17. Distributed Practice • Distributed practice is better than massed practice • Landauer & Bjork (1978) • Is it better to repeatedly study and test items on a list (e.g. word pairs) in close succession or spread apart? There are competing factors Spacing Effect Generation Effect • Spaced presentation(i.e. study)enhances memory for a variety of materials • Based on this alone, study and test should be separated as much as possible, but … • Successfully testingyourself strengthens memories more than passively studying items • The sooner an item is tested after initial presentation, the more likely it will be recalled and strengthened Proposed Solution: The Expanding Retrieval Method

18. Distributed Practice • Distributed practice is better than massed practice • Landauer & Bjork (1978) The Expanding Retrieval Method • A flexible strategy, in which: • A new item is initially tested after a short delay to ensure that it is recallable. • As the item becomes better learned, the practice–test interval is gradually extended. • Each item should be tested at the longest interval at which it can be reliably recalled. • Recall failure indicates that it should be presented after a shorter delay. Successful recall indicates that the delay should be increased. • Optimum is about 10-20% of study time before testing. For testing after 10 days, spacing between presentations should be 1-2 days. In general, longer inter-trial delays are better than short ones.

19. Testing Effects Karpicke and Roediger (2006) • Testing Effect: • The finding that long-term retention is best when the information is repeatedly tested during learning • Task: • Students were asked to memorize a prose passage through either • Repeated Study (SSSS): • Passage was read four times without a test • Single Test (SSST): • Passage was read three times, followed be a recall test • Repeated Test (STTT): • Passage was read once, followed by three recall tests • Results: • Repeated study is most effective at the short retention interval • At learning, this group expected the best long-term memory • Considered the least effortful/demanding condition • Repeated testing is most effective at the long retention interval • i.e. the testing effect

20. Testing Effects Bjork and Bjork (1992) • Storage Strength: • Relative permanence of a memory trace • Retrieval Strength: • The accessibility of a given memory trace • Easy retrieval does not increase storage strength • Difficult retrieval increases storage strength and leads to long-term memory performance • Working hard to give yourself recall tests during studying is highly beneficial to long-term retention

21. Testing Effects Pashler et al. (2005) • Task: • Learn Luganda–English translations • Some participants got corrective feedback on incorrect test trials during study • Others did not receive feedback • Tested 1 week later on the vocabulary • Results: • Recall for the words they had gotten wrong a week before was about five times better if they had received immediate feedback. • Conclusion: • Testing yourself with feedback is best for long-term retention • Tip: Use flashcards; don’t just re-read your notes!

22. Effective Studying • Finding optimal spacing • Pashler et al., (2007) • The optimal spacing depends on the length of the delay between learning and testing • The optimum interval between learning episodes should be 10–20% of the test delay Chap 2, Review Chap 1 Chap 3, Review Chap 1-2 Chap 4 Review Chap 2-3 Chap 5, Review Chap 2-4 Chap 6, Review Ch 1, 3-5 Chap 7, Review Ch 2, 4-6 Chap 8, Review all chapters Chap 1 Midterm First day of class Four months (28 days), Optimum spacing is 10-20%, so .1 x 28 = 2.8 and .2 x 28 = 5.6 so optimal study time of each piece of information is every 2.8 to 5.6 days. This includes review of previous material not just new presentations. • In general, longer inter-trial delays are preferable to shorter ones • Receiving corrective feedback after test trials is important, though it can occur after a short delay without consequence

23. Effective Studying • Biggs’ (1987) Study Process Questionnaire • The questionnaire assesses students’ dominant approach to learning

24. 24 Effective Studying • Morris’s (1979) SQ3R Approach: Effective reading for studying

25. 25 Effective Studying • Morris’s (1979) SQ3R Approach: Effective reading for studying • Benefits of the SQ3R approach: • Avoids the student’s illusion • The false confidence students get as they skim through a chapter, finding that the material seems familiar (i.e. they’d be able to recognize it) • However, the actual test is likely to be: • More anxiety-provoking • Asking them to recall (rather than recognize) the information

26. Mnemonic Devices • Methods for improving memory • Here are a few of the different methods of mnemonic devices: • Acronyms and acrostics • Rhymes • Imagery • Method of Loci • Number-letter system • Peg-word system

27. Mnemonic Devices • Acronyms (Word to retrieve information.) • HOMESfor the Great Lakes • Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior • NASA • National Aeronautics and Space Administration • Roy G. Biv • Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet(colors of visible spectrum)

28. Mnemonic Devices • Acrostics (Sentence to retrieve letters.) • Every good boy deserves fudge. • Musical notes on treble clef staff (E, G, B, D, and F) • My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles • The colors of the rainbow, in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

29. Mnemonic Devices • A rhyme is a saying that has similar distinctive sounds at the end of each line. • Makes things easier to remember because it can be stored with acoustic encoding. • Example: • The ABCs song • In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue. • 30 Days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except February. • "i" before "e," except after "c," or in sounding like "ay" as in "neighbor" or "weigh."

30. Mnemonic Devices • Many Mnemonics incorporate Imagery • Last lecture we discussed many examples of situations memory effects involving mental imagery • Interacting Images • Wollen et al. (1972) • Presented P’s with pictures of paired objects & words (control group w/o picts) • Then presented with a word, asked to recall paired word • Results: • Visualization is most effective when images of objects are paired. It was not necessary for the pairing to be bizarre to show the advantage.

31. Mnemonic Devices • Many Mnemonics incorporate Imagery • Last lecture we discussed many examples of situations memory effects involving mental imagery • Interacting Images • Imagery is used to memorize pairs of words. An image is formed as a result of each word given, and then two images are joined through mental visualization. • Examples: • Piggy bank = + = • Piggin means bucket

32. Mnemonic Devices • The Method of Loci • Imagine a journey through a familiar landscape or location, such as your house (“memory palace”). • In each room or special location in the room place a piece of information. • Practice walking around the location and you should recall the different pieces of information. • Locations serve as a cue • Helpful for serial learning • Locations should be distinct • Need strong association between location and item

33. Mnemonic Devices • De Beni et al. (1997) • The Method of Loci • Memory performance for a 2000-word text • Two retention intervals • Written and oral presentation • Rehearsal vs method of loci • Results • Large benefit for oral presentation • No benefit for written presentation • Visual presentation may interfere with imagery Short delay 1-week delay

34. Mnemonic Devices • After introduction, repeat their name • Use their name in conversation • Visualize • Imagery Technique: • Come up with an imageable substitute for the name • e.g. Eysenck = “ice sink” • Come up with a prominent facial feature of the person • e.g. a nose • Link the two • e.g. The nose could be the sink’s faucet • Unfortunately, this may be too time-consuming for day-to-day usage • Fun activity: Make one for your own name • Use their name as you say good-bye • Remembering names and faces

35. Mnemonic Devices • The three R’s • Reconstruct: Develop keyword-something familiar, acoustically similar and easily pictured. • Relate: Link keyword with definition in interactive picture. • Retrieve: Process to get answer. • Example: • Use to learn foreign language vocabulary • Spanish example: Pato = Duck • First step: • Concrete keyword that sounds like foreign word = Pot • Second step: • Form visual image connecting keyword with meaning • Picture: Duck wearing a pot on its head • Keyword strategy

36. Mnemonic Devices • Peg-word strategy: used for remembering large sets of numbers • First: use memorized concrete nouns • Rhyming words with numbers helps to remember words • Semantics can be used too (spider for 8) • Second: create visual image of target word with peg-word • Similar to Loci: objects instead of locations 1 – bun 2 – shoe 3 – tree 4 – door 5 – hive 6 – sticks 7 – heaven 8 – gate 9 – wine 10 -- hen • Limitations of the technique: • Requires extensive training • Easier to use with concrete materials • It may not be very useful in everyday life 28 = shoe + gate

37. Mnemonic Devices • Major system strategy: used for remembering large sets of numbers (Johann Winkelmann, 1648) 0 – S 1 – T or D 2 – N 3 – M 4 – R 5 – L 6 – Sh or Ch 7 – K or G 8 – F or V 9 – P or B 28 = N + F Add vowels as needed “Knife”

38. Mnemonic Devices • Person-action-object: used for remembering large sets of numbers • Every two digit number between 00 and 99 has a three part image 79 = superman flying with a cape 34 = Frank Sinatra crooning into microphone 13 = David Beckham kicking a soccer ball • Now a six digit number like 341379 is: • Person from first, action from second, object from the third

39. Effective Memory Ericsson (1988) Best way to improve memory for specific information: practice retrieving it

40. Why do mnemonics work? • Think about our shopping list demo • Attention • Ensure encoding • Repetition • Retrieval cues • Dual-coding cues • Verbal and visual representations • Organization • “chunks” • Notice relationships and differences • Use existing knowledge • Elaboration • Think about meaning and make distinctive • Generation • Your ideas makes it personal

41. Mnemonics: Limitations • Time • How to deal with abstract material? • Learning vs. retention • Creative ability • Interference • Doesn’t help memory in general • Does not help understanding of material • Need to practice mnemonics!