Measures of Memory

1. Measures of Memory In recognition, the person must identify an item amongst other choices. (A multiple-choice test requires recognition.) • Name the capital of France. • Brussels • Rome • London • Paris

2. Measures of Memory In recall,the person must retrieve information using effort. (A fill-in-the blank test requires recall.) • The capital of France is ______. Relearning – measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

3. Relearning Time as a Measure of Retention • In the late 1800s, Hermann Ebbinghaus studied another measure of memory functioning: how much time does it take to relearn and regain mastery of material? • He studied the memorization of nonsense syllables (THB YOX KVU EHM) so that depth of processing or prelearning would not be a factor. • The more times he rehearsed out loud on day 1, the less time he needed to relearn/memorize the same letters on day 2.

4. Recall vs. Recognition With celebrity yearbook photos!

5. Instructions • I will show you an old school photo of a celebrity and ask you to identify who it is with no hints. • This is testing your recall – I am asking you to recall all of the celebrities you’ve ever seen that could possibly fit your impression of the picture. You’ll find that this is probably pretty tough. • Next, I will offer you a list of possible celebrities to choose from that might belong to that photo (like a multiple choice test). • This is testing your recognition – by asking you to choose the answer from a list of possibilities, you will probably find that when you have the opportunity to recognize the individual in question, it is easier to come up with a match. • Ready? 

6. Recall • Who is this handsome fellow?

7. Recognition • A. Brad Pitt • B. Gordon Ramsay • C. Ryan Seacrest • D. Mike “The Situation” Sorentino

8. Recall • Who is this sweet-looking girl?

9. Recognition • A. Madonna • B. Katy Perry • C. Zoey Deschanel • D. Jennifer Aniston

10. Recall • Who is this young man?

11. Recognition • A. Eminem • B. David Schwimmer • C. Johnny Knoxville • D. Taylor Lautner

12. Recall • Who is this gorgeous gal?

13. Recognition • A. Jennifer Lopez • B. Eva Longoria • C. Fergie • D. Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi

14. Recall • Who is this lovely lady?

15. Recognition • A. Lisa Rinna • B. Julia Roberts • C. Kim Kardashian • D. Megan Fox

16. So which do you think is easier? Recall or Recognition? Why?

17. Priming:Retrieval is Affected by Activating our Associations • Priming triggers a thread of associations that bring us to a concept, just as a spider feels movement in a web and follows it to find the bug. • Our minds work by having one idea trigger another; this maintains a flow of thought. Priming Example: Define the word “bark.” Now what is the definition of “bark”?

18. The Power of Priming Study: People primed with money-related words were less likely to then help another person. • Priming has been called “invisible memory” because it affects us unconsciously. • In the case of tree “bark” vs. dog “bark,” the path we follow in our thoughts can be channeled by priming. • We may have biases and associations stored in memory that also influence our choices. Study: Priming with an image of Santa Claus led kids to share more candy. Study: people primed with a missing child poster then misinterpreted ambiguous adult-child interactions as kidnapping.

19. Context-Dependent Memory • Part of the web of associations of a memory is the context. What else was going on at the time we formed the memory? • We retrieve a memory more easily when in the same context as when we formed the memory.  Did you forget a psychology concept? Just sitting down and opening your book might bring the memory back. Words learned underwater are better retrieved underwater.

20. State-Dependent Memory • Our memories are not just linked to the external context in which we learned them. • Memories can also be tied to the emotional state we were in when we formed the memory. • Mood-congruent memory refers to the tendency to selectively recall details that are consistent with one’s current mood. Memories can even be linked to physiological states: “I wonder if you’d mind giving me directions. I’ve never been sober in this part of town before.”

21. List the U.S. Presidents Take out a piece of paper and….

22. The Presidents

23. The Serial Position Effect Priming and context cues are not the only factors which make memory retrieval selective. The serial position effect refers to the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect). In what situation is the recency effect strongest? Which words of your national anthem are easiest to recall?

24. How can you use retrieval cues to help you study on a test?

25. Two types of forgetting • Retrograde Amnesia: The inability to remember information previously stored in memory. • Anterograde Amnesia: The inability to form memories from new material.

26. Anterograde Amnesia

27. Which is the real STOP sign? STOP!Many people look at stop signs multiple times a day. Which of these stop signs is closest to an actual stop sign?

28. Encoding Failure • Ineffective attention given to material • Cannot remember what we do not encode because the info never enters long-term memory • Much of what we sense we never notice and fail to encode, meaning that we can not remember that information

29. Storage Decay • Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay • Memory is lost with passage of time • Ebbinghaus showed this with his forgetting curve • Forgetting occurs rapidly and then levels off with time Permastore Memory: Long term memory that are resistant to forgetting and are likely to last a lifetime

30. Retrieval Failure Although the information is retained in the memory store it cannot be accessed Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon.

31. A Pill to Forget Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind