FORGETTING

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FORGETTING MEMORY CONSTRUCTION
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Why do we forget?

• Forgetting can occur at any memory stage

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Forgetting as retrieval failure

• Retrievalprocess of accessing stored information
• Sometimes info IS encoded into LTM, but we cant
  retrieve it

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Tip of the tongue phenomenon

• TOTinvolves the sensation of knowing that
  specific information is stored in long-term
  memory but being unable to retrieve it
• Cant retrieve info that you absolutely know is
  stored in your LTM

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Measures of Retrieval

• Recalltest of LTM that involves retrieving
  memories without cues, also termed free recall
• Cued recalltest of LTM that involves remembering
  an item of information in response to a retrieval
  cue
• Retrieval Cue a clue, prompt, or hint that can
  trigger the recall of a stored memory
• Recognitiontest of LTM that involves identifying
  correct information from a series of possible
  choices.
• Serial position effecttendency to remember items
  at the beginning and end of a list better than
  items in the middle.

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Recall vs. Recognition tests

• Importance of retrieval cues evident in recall
  vs. recognition tests
• Recall tests - must retrieve info learned
  earlier.
• Two step process 1) generate a mental list, 2)
  recognize the answer from the list.
• Examples Fill-in-the-blank test essay exams
• Recognition tests - only need to identify the
  correct answer.
• 1 step process 1) recognize answer from the
  list. List was already generated for you.
• Example Multiple choice tests

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What is the capital of Vermont?

• Raise your hand if you know the answer

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What is the capital of Vermont?

• A. Brattleboro
• B. Montpelier
• C. Rutland
• D. Cabot
• Raise your hand if you know the answer
• Which was easier recall or recognition?
• For your psychology exam, would you rather have a
  fill-in-the-blank or a multiple choice test?

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What is the capital of Vermont?

• A. Brattleboro
• B. Montpelier
• C. Rutland
• D. Cabot
• Raise your hand if you know the answer
• Which was easier recall or recognition?
• For your psychology exam, would you rather have a
  fill-in-the-blank or a multiple choice test?

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Without Good Retrieval Cues This Could Happen to
You

• Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez cant seem to
  recall meetings he had about firing Federal
  District Attorneys. Click to see video.

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Serial position effect

• People given a list of items and later asked to
  recall the items had little trouble remembering
  the first few items (the primacy effect) and the
  last few items (the recency effect). The hardest
  items to recall are those in the middle. (From
  Craik Watkins, 1973.)

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Retrieval cue theories

• Retrieval cue - a clue, prompt or hint that can
  help memory retrieval
• Forgetting the result of using improper retrieval
  cues
• Retrieval cue failure inability to recall LT
  memories because of inadequate or missing cues.
• Memories only appear to be forgotten. You are
  only lacking the right retrieval cue.

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Which retrieval cues work best? Encoding
Specificity

• When conditions of retrieval are similar to
  conditions of encoding, retrieval is more likely
  to be successful
• You are more likely to remember things if the
  conditions under which you recall them are
  similar to the conditions under which you
  originally learned them

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Encoding Specificity

• Context effectsenvironmental cues to recall
• State dependent retrievalphysical, internal
  factors
• Mood Congruencefactors related to mood or
  emotions

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Which retrieval cueswork best?

• Context-dependent memory - improved ability to
  remember if tested in the same environment as the
  original learning environment
• Better recall if tested in classroom where you
  initially learned info than if moved to a new
  classroom
• If learning room smells of chocolate or
  mothballs, people will recall more info if tested
  in room with the same smell
• compared to different smell or no smell at all

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Context dependent effects

• Time of day is also important

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Context-dependent effects

• Words heard underwater are best recalled
  underwater
• Words heard on land are best recalled on land

Percentage of words recalled
Water/ land
Land/ water
Water/ water
Land/ land
Different contexts for hearing and recall
Same contexts for hearing and recall
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State-dependent effects

• Recall improved if internal physiological or
  emotional state is the same during testing and
  initial encoding
• If you are in an altered state of consciousness
  you will be more likely to remember things you
  learned or did when in that state again.

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State dependent effects
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Mood Congruence

• Mood Congruence Mood tends to evoke memories of
  when you were in that same mood.
• Positive mood will likely cause you to remember
  other times you were positive.
• An explanation of how moods can affect our
  memories. (200)

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Mood Congruence effects

• Mood or emotions also a factor
• Bipolar depressives
• Info learned in manic state, recall more if
  testing done during manic state
• Info learned in depressed state, recall more if
  testing done during depressed state

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Flashbulb Memory

• A type of Episodic Memory
• Memory of an event so surprising or significant
  to us that it is as if we photographed it in our
  mind.
• Why do these happen?
• We pay more attention to special events
• We think about them more often (repetition)
• We connect them to other events in our lives
• Accuracy declines over time even though it feels
  extremely accurate

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Where were you on September 11, 2001?
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Memory and the Brain

• Play Remembering What Matters (830) Segment
  16 from Scientific American Frontiers Video
  Collection for Introductory Psychology (2nd
  edition).
• How does adrenaline affect our ability to
  remember something?
• Which part of the brain seems to be active when
  you form flashbulb memories.

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Memory Construction
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Reconstructing Memories Sources of Potential
Errors Why the details change over time

• Two general areas that errors occur in memory
  reconstruction
• Info stored before the memory occurred may
  interfere
• Info stored after the memory occurred may
  interfere

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Schemas

• Schemas organized clusters of knowledge and
  info about particular topics.
• Whats your schema for a dog?
• Contribute to memory distortions when the info
  learned is inconsistent with previously learned
  schemas.

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Sources of Potential Errors

• Source Confusion true source of the memory
  (how, when, where it was acquired) is
  forgotten. (See box 6.2 on pg. 257 for examples)
• False Memory distorted and inaccurate memory
  that feels completely real and is often
  accompanied by all the emotional impact of a real
  memory.
• Cryptomnesia a seemingly new or original memory
  is actually based on an unrecalled previous
  memory. pg. 257

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Memory Jigsaw Analogy

• Memories, rather than being like a video tape,
  are formed as bits and pieces.
• People may retrieve only some of the pieces of
  the memory

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Elizabeth Loftus (1944- )

• Does research in memory construction
• Has found that subjects memories vary based on
  the wording of questions
• Demonstrated the misinformation effect

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Misinformation Effect

• Incorporating misleading information into ones
  memory of an event
• Affects eyewitness testimony

• Elizabeth Loftis explains her experiments on
  Misinformation/attribution effect. (3 min)

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Memory Distortion

• Memory can be distorted as people try to fit new
  info into existing schemas
• Giving misleading information after an event
  causes subjects to unknowingly distort their
  memories to incorporate the new misleading
  information
• Do politicians do this? How?

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Loftus Experiment

• Subjects shown video of an accident between two
  cars
• Some subjects asked How fast were the cars going
  when they smashed into each other?
• Others asked How fast were the cars going when
  they hit each other?

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Loftus Results
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Eyewitness Testimony

• Scriptstype of schema
• Mental organization of events in time
• Example of a classroom script Come into class,
  sit down, talk to friends, bell rings, instructor
  begins to speak, take notes, bell rings again,
  leave class, etc.

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Eyewitness Testimony

• Recall not an exact replica of original events
• What you recall is a construction built and
  rebuilt from various sources
• Often fit memories into existing beliefs or
  schemas
• Schemamental representation of an object, scene
  or event
• Example schema of a countryside may include
  green grass, hills, farms, a barn, cows, etc.

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Factors that Influence Memory
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(No Transcript)
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Memory ConstructionChildrens Recall
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Childrens Testimony on Abuse

• Research has shown childrens testimony to be
  unreliable
• Children are very open to suggestions
• As children mature their memories improve

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Accurate Interviewing Methods

• To promote accuracy with childrens testimony the
  interviewer should
• Phrase questions in a way the child can
  understand
• Have no prior contact with the child
• Use neutral language and do not lead or suggest
  answers

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Forgetting as Storage Failure
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Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

• German philosopher who did early memory studies
  with nonsense syllables
• Developed the forgetting curve, also called the
  retention curve or Ebbinghaus curve

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Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

• Ebbinghaus found that the more times he practiced
  a list of nonsense syllables on day 1, the fewer
  repetitions he required to relearn it on day 2.
• Said simply, the more time we spend learning new
  information, the more we retain.

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The Forgetting Curve
Hermann Ebbinghaus first began to study
forgetting using nonsense syllables Nonsense
syllables are three letter combinations that look
like words but are meaningless (ROH, KUF)
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How to combat the Forgetting Curve Overlearning

• Continuing to rehearse after the point the
  information has been learned
• Rehearsing past the point of mastery
• Helps ensure information will be available even
  under stress

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Forgetting Theories

• Encoding failure
• Interference theories
• Motivated forgetting
• Decay

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Forgetting as Encoding Failure
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Encoding Failures

• People fail to encode information because
• It is unimportant to them
• It is not necessary to know the information
• A decrease in the brains ability to encode

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Forgetting as encoding failure

• Info never encoded into LTM

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Which is the real penny?
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Answer
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Encoding Failures

• Even though youve seen thousands of pennies,
  youve probably never looked at one closely to
  encode specific features

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Forgetting as Retrieval FailureInterference
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Interference Theories

• Memories interfering with memories
• Forgetting NOT caused by mere passage of time
• Caused by one memory competing with or replacing
  another memory
• Two types of interference

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Two Types of Interference
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Retroactive Interference

• When a NEW memory interferes with remembering OLD
  information
• Example When new phone number interferes with
  ability to remember old phone number

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Retroactive Interference

• Example Learning a new language interferes with
  ability to remember old language

F-
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Proactive Interference

• Opposite of retroactive interference
• When an OLD memory interferes with remembering
  NEW information
• Example Memories of where you parked your car on
  campus the past week interferes with ability find
  car today

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Proactive Interference

• Example Previously learned language interferes
  with ability to remember newly learned language

F-
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Review of Interference Theory

• Retroactive Interference
• First Learn A, Then Learn B Recall A, B
  interferes
• Proactive Interference
• First Learn A, Then Learn B Recall B, A
  interferes
• Retro Pro refer to what you want to remember.
• Interference reflects competition between
  responses.
• How does interference affect us as we age? NBC
  Report (2 min)

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Motivated Forgetting

• Undesired memory is held back from awareness
• Suppressionconscious forgetting
• Repressionunconscious forgetting (Freudian)

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Repression

• Part of Freuds psychoanalysis
• Process of moving anxiety-producing memories to
  the unconscious
• Supposed means of protecting oneself from painful
  memories
• Not well-supported by research stressful
  incidents are actually more likely to be encoded

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Decay Theories

• Memories fade away or decay gradually if unused
• Time plays critical role
• Ability to retrieve info declines with time after
  original encoding

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Decay Theory

• Biology-based theory
• When new memory formed, it creates a memory trace
• a change in brain structure or chemistry
• If unused, normal brain metabolic processes erode
  memory trace
• Theory not widely favored today
• Ability of people to retrieve memories from long
  ago with retrieval cues would show this is not
  true.