PSYC 112 PSYCHOLOGY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

1. PSYC 112PSYCHOLOGY FOR EVERYDAY LIVING Lecturer: Dr. Paul NarhDoku, Dept of Psychology, UG Contact Information: pndoku@ug.edu.gh Session 3 – Memory Part I

2. Session Overview • From the previous session (session 3) it was understood that memory is the term given to thestructuresandprocessesinvolved in the storage and subsequent retrieval of information. This session will introduce you to how information is processed in the memory system, how information is retrieved from the memory system, reasons why forgetting occurs and how to enhance the human memory.

3. Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: • Topic 1 – Encoding Information into Memory • Topic 2 – Effortful Processing Strategies • Topic 3 – Retrieving Information from Memory • Topic 4 - Forgetting • Topic 5 – Improving the human memory

4. Reading List • Refer to students to relevant text/chapter or reading materials you will make available on Sakai Dr. Richard Boateng, UGBS

5. Topic 1:Encoding Information into Memory

6. What Do We Encode? • Semantic Encoding • encoding of meaning • including meaning of words • Acoustic Encoding • encoding of sound • especially sound of words • Visual Encoding • encoding of picture images

7. Types of Processing • Automatic processing: memory processing that occurs subconsciously and does not require attention. Example: How many of you can sing the theme song for Gilligan’s Island? How many learned it on purpose? • Effortful processing: memory processing that occurs consciously and requires attention Example: How many of you can name all of the divisions of the nervous system? How many learned it on purpose?

8. Encoding Effortful Automatic Encoding: Getting Information In

9. Levels-of-Processing Theory • Levels-of-processing theory: a theory of information processing in memory that assumes that semantic processing leads to better long-term memory • Physical memory processing: encoding the word “birthday” by the way it is spelt, b – i – r – t – h – d – a – y • Acoustic memory processing: encoding the word “birthday” by the way it sounds • Semantic memory processing: encoding the word “birthday” by its meaning, “a day of joy and celebration commemorating the anniversary of one’s birth.”

10. Factors Affecting Encoding • Encoding specificity principle: the principle that the environmental cues present at the time information is encoded into long-term memory serve as the best retrieval cues for the information. • State-dependent memory: long-term memory retrieval is best when a person’s physiological state at the time of encoding and retrieval is the same. • Mood-dependent memory: long-term memory retrieval is best when a person’s mood state at the time of encoding and retrieval is the same. Also called Mood-congruence effect – long term memory retrieval is best for experiences and information that are congruent with a person’s current mood.

11. Example: Mood & Memory

12. Topic 2 -Effortful Processing/Encoding Strategies If we have short-term recall of only 7 letters, but can remember 5 words, doesn’t that mean we could remember more than 7 letters if we could group them into words? • This is an example of an effortful processing strategy, a way to encode information into memory to keep it from decaying and make it easier to retrieve. • Effortful processing is also known as studying. Processing Strategies: • Chunking (grouping) • Mnemonics: images, maps, and peg-words • Hierarchies/categories • Rehearsal, especially distributed practice • Deep processing • Semantic processing • Making information personally meaningful  Can you remember this list?

13. Effortful Processing Strategies1. Chunking • Why are credit card numbers broken into groups of four digits? Four “chunks” are easier to encode (memorize) and recall than 16 individual digits. This is chunking!  Memorize: ACPCVSSUVROFLNBAQ XIDKKFCFBIANA • Chunking is organizing data into manageable units • Chunking - Grouping information to make it easier to remember • Chunking works even better if we can assemble information into meaningful groups

14. Effortful Processing Strategies 2. Mnemonics A mnemonic is a memory “trick” that connects information to existing memory strengths such as imagery or structure. • Read: plane, cigar, due, shall, candy, vague, pizza, seem, fire, pencil • Which words might be easier to remember? • Write down the words you can recall. • Lesson: we encode better with the help of images. A peg word system refers to the technique of visually associating new words with an existing list that is already memorized along with numbers. For example, “due” can be pictured written on a door, and door = 4.

15. Effortful Processing Strategies 3. Rehearsal and Distributed Practice Massed Practice refers to cramming information all at once. It is not time-effective. • The spacing effect was first noted by Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 1800s. You will develop better retention and recall, especially in the long run, if you use the same amount of study time spread out over many shorter sessions. • This doesn’t mean you have to study every day. Memory researcher Harry Bahrick noted that the longer the time between study sessions, the better the long-term retention, and the fewer sessions you need! The best way to practice? Consider the testing effect.Henry Roediger (b. 1947) found that if your distributed practice includes testing (having to answer questions about the material), you will learn more and retain more than if you merely reread.

16. Effortful Processing Strategies 4. Deep/Semantic Processing When encoding information, we are more likely to retain it if we deeply process even a simple word list by focusing on the semantics (meaning) of the words. “Shallow,” unsuccessful processing refers to memorizing the appearance or sound of words.

17. Effortful Processing Strategies: 5. Making Information Personally Meaningful • We can memorize a set of instructions more easily if we figure out what they mean rather than seeing them as set of words. • Memorizing meaningful material takes one tenth the effort of memorizing nonsense syllables. • Actors memorize lines (and students memorize poems) more easily by deciding on the feelings and meanings behind the words, so one line flows naturally to the next. • The self-reference effect, relating material to ourselves, aids encoding and retention. • Now try again, but this time, consider how each word relates to you.

18. Memory Storage:Capacity and Location • The brain is NOT like a hard drive. Memories are NOT in isolated files, but are in overlapping neural networks. • The brain’s long-term memory storage does not get full; it gets more elaborately rewired and interconnected. • Parts of each memory can be distributed throughout the brain.  Memory of a particular ‘kitchen table’ may be a linkage among networks for ‘kitchen,’ ‘meal,’ ‘wooden,’ ‘home,’ ‘legs,’ and ‘sit.’ Karl Lashley (1890-1958) showed that rats who had learned a maze retained parts of that memory, even when various small parts of their brain were removed.

19. Topic 3:Retrieving Information from Memory

20. Measuring Retrieval • There are three means of measuring memory retrieval: • Recall: a measure of long-term memory retrieval that requires the reproduction of the information with essentially no retrieval cues. • Recognition: a measure of long-term memory retrieval that only requires the identification of the information in the presence of retrieval cues. • Relearning: the savings method of measuring long-term memory retrieval, in which the measure is the amount of time saved when learning information for the second time.

21. Measuring Retrieval Lessons from each of these demonstrations: our storage and recall capacity is virtually unlimited our capacity for recognition is greater than our capacity for recall relearning can highlight that memories are there even if we can’t recall forming them • Recall: some people, through practice, visual strategies, or biological differences, have the ability to store and recall thousands of words or digits, reproducing them years later (“fill-in-the-blank”) • Recognition: the average person can view 2500 new faces and places, and later can notice with 90 percent accuracy which ones they’ve seen before (“multiple choice”) • Relearning: the savings method of measuring long-term memory retrieval, in which the measure is the amount of time saved when learning information for the second time.

22. Topic 4- Forgetting • Forgetting can occur at any memory stage • As we process information, we filter, alter, or lose much of it

23. Figure 7.2 Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps. Incoming information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory. If new information is not rapidly encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is transferred to long-term memory, it becomes relatively permanent, although retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful model of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain

24. Reasons Why Forgetting Occurs • Encoding failure theory • Motivated forgetfulness • Decay in Storage (Theory of Disuse) • Interference • Loss of Cues

25. Attention External events Sensory memory Short- term memory Long- term memory Encoding Encoding Encoding failure leads to forgetting 1. Forgetting due to encoding failure • Encoding failure theory: a theory that proposes that forgetting is due to the failure to encode the information into long-term memory. It holds that the memory was never formed in the first place. Information never enters the long-term memory

26. 2. Motivated Forgetting • Memory is fallible and changeable, but can we practice motivated forgetting, that is, choosing to forget or to change our memories? • Sigmund Freud believed that we sometimes make an unconscious decision to bury our anxiety-provoking memories and hide them from conscious awareness. He called this repression. • New techniques of psychotherapy and medication interventions may allow us to “erase” (prevent reconsolidation of) recalled memories. Motivated forgetting is not common. More often: • recall is full of errors. • people try not to think about painful memories. If they fail to rehearse those memories, the memories can fade. Suppression is Consciously putting something painful or threatening out of mind or trying to keep it from entering awareness

27. 3. Forgetting due to Decay in Storage • Storage decay theory: a theory that proposes that forgetting is due to the decay of physical traces of the information in the brain; periodically using the information helps to maintain it in the brain. The “Use it or lose it” theory! • Material encoded into long term memory will decay if the memory is never used, recalled, and re-stored. • Decay tends to level off. Memory for both nonsense syllables and second language lessons decays rapidly. • However, what hasn’t decayed quickly tends to stay intact long-term.

28. 4. Forgetting due to Interference • Retroactive Interference: new information blocks out old information. • Proactive Interference: old information blocks out new information. Getting a new bus number and forgetting old bus number. Calling your new girlfriend by old girlfriends name.

29. Forgetting Due to Interference? Interference theory: a theory that proposes that forgetting is due to other information in memory interfering Proactive interference: old information interferes with the retrieval of newly-stored information Retroactive Interference: newly-stored information interferes with the retrieval of previously-stored information

30. Forgetting as Interference

31. Retroactive vs. Proactive Interference

32. Attention Encoding External events Sensory memory Short-term memory Long-term memory Encoding Retrieval Retrieval failure leads to forgetting 5. Forgetting Due to Loss of Cues? Also called Cue-dependent or Retrieval theory proposes that forgetting is due to the unavailability of the retrieval cues necessary to locate the information in long-term memory. Sometimes, the memory itself does not decay. Instead, what decays are the associations and links that help us find our way to the stored memory. Forgetting can result from failure to retrieve information from long-term memory As a result, some stored memories seem just below the surface: “I know the name...it starts with a B maybe…”

33. Topic 5:Improving Memory

34. Applying what we’ve learned about memoryImproving Memory to Improve Grades Ways to save overall studying time, and build more reliable memory. • Think of examples and connections (meaningful depth). • Create mnemonics: songs, images, and lists. Minimize interference with related material or fun activities; study right before sleep or other mindless activity. Have multiple study sessions, spaced further and further apart after first learning the material. Spend your study sessions activating your retrieval cues including context (recalling where you were when learning the material). Learn the material in more than one way, not just by rote, but by creating many retrieval cues.

35. Improve Your Memory • Study repeatedly to boost recall • Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material • Make material personally meaningful • Use mnemonic devices • associate with peg words--something already stored • make up story • chunk--acronyms Test yourself in study sessions: 1) to practice doing retrieval as if taking a test, and 2) to overcome the overconfidence error: the material seems familiar, but can you explain it in your own words?

36. Improve Your Memory • Activate retrieval cues--mentally recreate situation and mood • Recall events while they are fresh-- before you encounter misinformation • Minimize interference • Test your own knowledge • rehearse • determine what you do not yet know

37. More Tips for Improving Memory • Pay attention, minimizing distractions • Do not cram for exams • Distributed is better than massed practice • Use elaborative rehearsal • Use overlearning • Use mnemonic devices • Acronyms (APA), acrostics(rhyme or saying) • Remember the major functions of memory: Ellen stopped remembering (encoding, storage, retrieval)

38. References • Coon, D. and Mitterer, O. J (2013). Introduction to Psychology (13th ed). Wadsworth Cengage learning. Pp. 241-268 • Feldman, S. R, Collins, J. E. and Green, M. J (2005). Essentials of understanding psychology (2nd ed). McGraw-Hill Ryerson. pp. 187-212 • Kosslyn, M. S, and Rosenberg, R. (2006). Psychology in context. pearson. Pp. 278-315 • Weiten, W. (2009). Psychology: Themes and variations (8th ed). cengage learning. Pp. 277-305 Dr. Richard Boateng, UGBS