Understanding Memory: Learning and Retaining Information in the Past

1. Memory can be seen as learning, the process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past.

2. THE PAST • Present or immediate past = STM • More distant past – from 2 minutes to 100 years - LTM

4. The story so far… Sensory Memory • S.T.M. • L.T.M By Sensory modality. Acoustically(sometimes visual) Semantically ENCODING SPERLING BADDELEY BADDELEY Evidence? ½ - 2 secs 18 – 30 sec Life time? DURATION Evidence? SPERLING PETERSON & PETERSON Very limited 7 + or - 2 Infinite? CAPACITY Evidence? SPERLING MILLER Encoding / Storage / Retrieval

5. Types of Long Term Memory Our “how to” memory, e.g: riding a bicycle we may not be able to explain it in words or even know that we have this memory. Little research has been done on this. Procedural Our “know that”memory, e.g: capital of France because it is processed by meaning it is organised in the way it was originally learnt. Most memory research has looked at this. Semantic Episodic Our “episodes of life” or autobiographical memory, e.g: last holiday, 18th birthday. Includes Flashbulb Memories which are vivid, emotive memories – ( eg 9/11 ).

6. Cognitive Approach • Memory: the storage and retrieval of information • Computer analogy – human memory is like a computer; it allows us to process and store information for later use • Encoding (transform the info so it can be stored – visual, acoustic, semantic) • Storage (holding onto the information) • Retrieval (bringing the memory out of storage) • One of the most widely accepted theories of memory is the Stage Model of Information Processing • the model proposes that information is processed and stored in 3 stages • information is stored in multiple locations throughout the brain in the form of networks of connections

7. Stage theory of Memory (cognitive approach) • Multi-Store Model • Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) !

8. Remembering . . . • For us to remember a piece of info well, we need to: • Pay attention to it • This gets it from the SM to the STM • Rehearse it • Maintenance rehearsalkeeps it in our STM • Elaborative rehearsalcan get it to our LTM

9. Multi-store Model Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) Iconic Store Echoic Store

10. Evidence? • As a group discuss the evidence to support this model • Find at least one piece of evidence for each store – all the answers are in your memory booklet, page 4 • Use other texts to expand your knowledge of these studies

11. SM : • set of limited capacity, modality-specific stores (eg vision, sound) • Duration: BRIEF period (1-2 s). • Info is unprocessed. • Info is passively registered – i.e. we cant really control what enters Multi-store Model Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) Echoic Store Iconic Store • STM : • Capacity: limited (about 7) • Duration: Very limited (18secs) • Encoding: acoustic (sound) • LTM • Capacity: unlimited • Duration: unlimited (lifetime) • Encoding: semantic (meaning)

12. Further research that supports the MSM • Experiment by Sperling (1960): • Presented a grid of letters (3 rows ) for 50ms • People recalled average: 4 letters but were aware there were more. • That was called whole report technique • Sperlingthen used “partial report” technique… • Showed chart for 50 ms then AFTER played 1 of 3 tones • High tone = they had to recall top row • Medium tone = they had to recall middle row • Low tone= had to recall bottom row. • They could recall average of 3 letters from the correct row. • …showed that iconic memory held up to 9-10 items! • Duration: • Info decays within about 2 secs (or less)

13. Further evidence for distinction between STM & LTM Primacy Serial Position Effect: Test Funny Careless Hospital Beef Mug Aspect Business Check Models Percentage Life Television Job Elbow Water Recency

14. Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) • Condition 2: • found the distracter task had disrupted the recency effect – so the last few words were displaced from the STM & not well recalled. • The first few words were NOT affected as they had been rehearsed & so had passed into the LTM. Condition 1: found the expected serial position curve. • EVIDENCE that the STM & LTM are separate stores.. • EVIDENCE that rehearsal pushes info from STM to LTM

15. Individual Activity – no notes please • On a piece of A4 paper, draw the model • Add the names of research that provide evidence of each stage • Below, bullet point 2 strengths & 2 limitations of the model Evaluation of the Model

16. Multi-Store Model (stage model)

18. Working Memory Model (cognitive approach) • Another model that illustrates the cognitive approach is Working Memory Model by Baddelely & Hitch 1974 • The model looks at the functional components of cognition that allow humans to comprehend their immediate environment • It also proposes how humans retain information about their past experience, which can then support the learning of new knowledge, problem solving and achieving goals • Agreed with MSM (stage model) that A & S proposed but felt that a single STM store wasn’t sufficient • One STM store couldn’t account for everything that memory could do • B & H thought that STM must have more than one component

19. Working Memory ModelHow did they test it? • Baddeley & Hitch asked ‘what is STM for?’ • Dual task performance - Experiment time!!! • Let’s try it – pairs please – each pair needs a set of 36 cards, practice sheet and a list of sentence verification

20. How did they test it? • They devised the ‘dual task technique’. • Participants were asked to perform a reasoning task and at the same time recite aloud a list of six digits or repeatedly say ‘the the the’. • Performance was then compared to when the reasoning task was done on its own.

21. What did they find? • The speed of answering the true/false to the verbal reasoning task was slower when having to do another task (e.g. say ‘the thethe’ repeatedly) than when just focusing on the task alone.

22. Conclusion: The STM must have more than one component and must be involved in processes other than simple storage e.g. reasoning, understanding and learning, perception • Clearly a cognitive approach underpins this model!

23. What is working memory? • Focuses on STM and sees STM as much more active than SM and LTM. • It is what we are using all the time when we are thinking about things and trying to learn new information • The information may come in two sources e.g. new sensory info and existing info stored in LTM • For example, if you were drilling a hole using a power drill, you would use new sensory information to place the drill over the area you wished to drill the hole and existing information about how to use the drill You can illustrate working memory by asking how many windows in your house?

24. 3 main components to STM: • Central Executive (the supervisor) • The phonological loop (the inner voice) • Visuo-spatial sketchpad (the inner eye) Working Memory Model Baddeley & Hitch 1974

25. The CENTRAL EXECUTIVE controls working memory by focusing attention on one or more of sub-systems and determines flow into LTM. Central Executive • Limited capacity • Can process information from any sense (visual, auditory, smell, taste etc) • It works like a control mechanism and has responsibility for: • Switch attention • Divide attention • Link to LTM • It is supported by two slave systems, which can be used as storage systems to free up some of its own capacity to deal with more demanding tasks. • The slave systems have separate responsibilities and work independently of one another. Like a conductor instructing an orchestra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aseitqCZKQo

26. Dual Task Results m

27. Articulatory Phonological Loop The ARTICULATORY PROCESS encodes acoustically and uses REHEARSAL to process information. and the PHONOLOGICAL STOREwhich also has a limited capacity. • Limited capacity • The ‘inner voice’ • Temporary storage system which stores material in a verbal form and allows you to rehearse verbally ‘articulatory loop’ • Words get maintained by repeating it in your head • The loop allows for the rehearsal to happen. • Offers the explanation of how capacity of STM is 7+/- 2 items (Miller 1956) and the duration of STM is approx. 18 seconds unless rehearsal takes place (Peterson & Peterson, 1959)

28. The visuo-spatial sketchpad The VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD encodes and stores visually, limited in capacity and duration. • Limited capacity • The ‘inner eye’ • Temporary memory system for holding visual and/or spatial information (e.g. people’s faces).

29. Evidence for the WMM • Word Length Effect – Baddelely (1975) • Try it! • The phonological loop holds the amount of info that you can say in 2 seconds • This makes it hard remember a list of long words e.g. association • The phonological loop can rehearse the shorter words quicker • therefore, more of list one can be stored and recalled and than list two

30. Evidence for the WMM • Dual Task technique experiment (1976) (that we did earlier… ‘the, the, the’) • Explains why it’s easier to do two different tasks at the same time than two similar ones • watching TV and listening to someone • is easier than • talking to someone while listening to information (e.g. through an ear piece) Uses different slave systems: Phonological loop & Visuo-spatial sketchpad Uses same slave systems: Phonological loop & Phonological loop

31. The Introduction of the Episodic Buffer • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_cF46UiEU • In 2000 Baddeley added the episodic buffer • The episodic buffer acts as a 'backup' store which communicates with both long term memory and the components of working memory. This can be thought of as a computer trying to download something …streaming data

32. Evaluating Working Memory Model Find 2 strengths & 2 limitations • + The working memory applies to real life tasks: • - reading (phonological loop) • - problem solving (central executive) • - navigation (visual and spatial processing) • + Evidence from Baddeley & Hitch (1976) shows that we can process more than one task using STM. • + Evidence for phonological loop: word length effect • + Helps to explain multi-tasking & learning difficulties • Does not explain how central executive works • The capacity of the central executive has never been measured • WMM is primarily a model of STM so not a comprehensive model

33. Next week • Biological Approach to Memory