cognition, 8e by margaret w. matlinchapter 5 cognition, 8e chapter 5 long-term memory

Cognition, 8e by Margaret W. Matlin Chapter 5

Cognition, 8e

Chapter 5

Long-Term Memory


Chapter Introduction

working memorylong-term memoryepisodic memorysemantic memoryprocedural memoryencodingretrievalautobiographical memory


Encoding in Long-Term Memory

Levels of processingCraik & Lockhart (1972)• Levels-of-processing approach/depth-of-

processing approach—argues that deep, meaningful processing of information leads to more accurate recall than shallow, sensory kinds of processing.

• In general, people achieve a deeper level of processing when they extract more meaning from a stimulus.



Levels of processingLevels of Processing and Memory for General Material

• Deeper levels of processing should produce better recall.

• meaning vs. physical appearance• distinctiveness• elaboration• Deep processing also enhances memory

for faces.



Levels of processingLevels of Processing and the Self-Reference Effect

self-reference effect1. Representative research

Rogers and coauthors (1977)• visual characteristics• acoustic characteristics• semantic characteristics• self-reference instructionsmeta-analysis




2. Participants' failure to follow instructionsFoley and coauthors (1999)• Participants sometimes use self-

reference even when instructed to use shallow processing.

• The extent of the self-reference effect may be underestimated.




3. Factors responsible for the self-reference effect• The "self" provides a rich set of cues.• Self-reference instructions encourage

people to consider how their personal traits are connected with one another (elaboration).

• Material associated with the self is rehearsed more frequently.



The Effects of Context: The Encoding-Specificity Principle

encoding-specificity principle• Recall is better if the context during

retrieval is similar to the context during encoding.

• When the two contexts do not match, you are more likely to forget the items.




Research on Encoding SpecificityMarian and Fausey (2006)• bilingual English/Spanish speakers

• stories and questions (in either English or Spanish)

• match or mismatch of story and question languages




Research on Encoding SpecificityMarian and Fausey (2006) (continued)• People were relatively accurate if they had

heard the story and answered the questions in the same language.

• People were less accurate if they heard the story in one language and answered the questions in a different language.




Research on Encoding Specificity 1. Different kinds of memory tasks

• recall task vs. recognition task• real-life vs. laboratory • short delay vs. long delay• Encoding specificity is typically strong in

recall, real-life, long-delay situations.

2. Physical versus mental context




Levels of Processing and Encoding Specificity

Encoding specificity can override level of processing.Bransford and coauthors (1979)• various levels-of-processing tasks during

encoding• test with rhyming task





Bransford and coauthors (1979) (continued)• People perform better on rhyming test if

they had originally performed the shallow-encoding task, rather than the deep-encoding task.





Bransford and coauthors (1979) (continued)• Semantic processing is effective only if the

retrieval conditions also emphasize deeper, more meaningful features.





To determine how to store information, we need to figure out the characteristics of the retrieval task.



In Depth: Emotions, Mood, and Memory

emotionmood1. We typically remember pleasant stimuli

more accurately than other stimuli.2. We typically recall material more

accurately if our mood matches the emotional nature of the material, an effect called mood congruence.




Memory for Items Differing in EmotionPollyanna Principle—Pleasant items are usually processed more efficiently and more accurately than less pleasant items.1. More accurate recall for pleasant items.

list of words: pleasant, neutral, unpleasant

pleasant > unpleasant > neutral

Balch (2006) and Demonstration 5.2




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion1. More accurate recall for pleasant items.

(continued)

Waring and Kensinger (2011)• photos of stimuli judged to be positive,

negative, or neutral• photo backgrounds• recognition test




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion1. More accurate recall for pleasant items.

(continued)

Waring and Kensinger (2011)• recognition of neutral stimuli

substantially lower than positive or negative

• stimulus/background tradeoffsmemory for real-life events




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion2. More accurate recall for neutral stimuli

associated with pleasant stimuli.Do people remember commercials less accurately when they are associated with violent media?




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion2. More accurate recall for neutral stimuli

associated with pleasant stimuli.Bushman (1998)• significantly better recall for commercials

that had appeared in the nonviolent film• Anger and violence in a program

typically reduce memory accuracy for information in a commercial.




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion3. Over time, unpleasant memories fade more

than pleasant memories.Walker and coauthors (1997)• personal events; pleasantness and

intensity ratings• changes in pleasantness ratings over

time




Memory for Items Differing in Emotion3. Over time, unpleasant memories fade more

than pleasant memories.Walker and coauthors (1997) (continued)

• positivity effect• What about people with a tendency

toward depression?




Mood Congruencemood congruence—People tend to recall material more accurately if it is congruent with their current mood.




Mood CongruenceMurray and colleagues (1999)• students with tendencies toward

depression vs. students without depressive tendencies

• positive- and negative-trait words; recall task




Mood CongruenceMurray and colleagues (1999) (continued)

• The nondepressed individuals recalled a greater overall percentage of the words than did the depression-prone individuals.

• The nondepressed students recalled a significantly greater percentage of positive words than negative words.




Mood CongruenceMurray and colleagues (1999) (continued)

• The depression-prone students recalled a slightly greater percentage of negative words than positive words.

• In general, nondepressed people typically recall more positive than negative material. In contrast, depression-prone people tend to recall more negative material.


Retrieval in Long-Term Memory

Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksDefinitions and Examples

Explicit Memory Tasks• recall

• recognition



Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksDefinitions and Examples

Implicit Memory Tasks• assesses memory indirectly

• memory revealed without conscious effort to remember

• word completion

• repetition priming task



Explicit Versus Implicit Memory TasksRepresentative Research

Even if people cannot remember stimuli when they are tested using an explicit memory task, they may remember the stimuli when tested using an implicit memory task.

dissociation effects




Example• On an explicit memory task, people

typically recall more words if they have used deep levels of processing to encode them.

• However, on an implicit memory test, semantic and perceptual encoding may produce similar memory scores, or people may even score lower if they had used semantic encoding.




Example (continued)• Therefore, depth of processing has a large

positive effect on memory scores on Test A (an explicit memory task), but depth of processing has no effect or even a negative effect on memory scores on Test B (an implicit memory task).




The research on implicit memory illustrates that people often know more than they can reveal in actual recall.



Individuals with Amnesiaamnesia

retrograde amnesia—loss of memory for events that occurred prior to brain damage

anterograde amnesia—loss of the ability to form memories for events that have occurred after brain damage



Individuals with AmnesiahippocampusH.M.Warrington and Weiskrantz (1970)

• presented a list of words to individuals with anterograde amnesia

• explicit memory tasks• implicit memory tasks



ExpertiseThe Context-Specific Nature of Expertise

• In general, researchers have found a strong positive correlation between knowledge about an area and memory performance in that area.

• People who are expert in one area may not display outstanding general memory skills.

• Memory experts typically do not receive exceptional scores on tests of intelligence.



ExpertiseOwn-Ethnicity Bias

• You are generally more accurate in identifying members of your own ethnic group than members of another ethnic group.




• The own-ethnicity bias is related to expertise, because people typically have more opportunities to interact with individuals from their own ethnic group, rather than other ethnic groups. Expertise can develop with frequent experiences and interactions.

• Faces representing your own ethnic group acquire distinctiveness.




• research with different ethnic groups• research in the United States, Europe, and

Great Britain

Walker and Hewstone (2006)• White or South Asian British high school

students• altered photographs on a continuum from

"South Asian" to "White"• same/different task




Walker and Hewstone (2006) (continued)• The British White students made more

accurate judgments for White faces than for South Asian faces. In contrast, the British South Asian students were equally accurate for both kinds of faces.

role of contactovercoming own-ethnicity bias?own-age bias


Autobiographical Memory

autobiographical memory—memory for events and issues related to yourself

ecological validity



Characteristics of Autobiographical Memory1. Although we sometimes make errors, our

memory is often accurate for a variety of information (Theme 2).

2. When people do make mistakes, these mistakes generally concern peripheral details and specific information about commonplace events, rather than central information about important events.



Characteristics of Autobiographical Memory3. Our memories often blend together

information from a variety of sources; we actively construct a unified memory at the time of retrieval.



Schemas and Autobiographical Memory

schema—general knowledge or expectation based on past experiences

consistency bias—tendency to exaggerate the consistency between our past feelings and beliefs and our current viewpoint



Source Monitoring and Reality Monitoring

source monitoring—trying to identify the origin of a particular memory

Marsh and colleagues (1997)• open-ended discussion• later identify idea as one's own or

someone else's• accurate self-monitoring

"wishful thinking bias"source monitoring failures



Source Monitoring and Reality Monitoring

reality monitoring—trying to identify whether an event really occurred or was imagined



Flashbulb Memoriesflashbulb memory—memory for the circumstances in which you first learned about a very surprising and emotionally arousing event

Many people believe that they can accurately recall all the minor details about what they were doing at the time of this event.



Flashbulb MemoriesIn reality, people make numerous errors in recalling details of national events, even though they claimed that their memories for these events were very vivid.



Flashbulb MemoriesTalarico and Rubin (2003)

• September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks vs. ordinary event

• recall testing after 1, 6, or 32 weeks• consistent vs. inconsistent details• confidence



Flashbulb MemoriesStudents at a college in New York City recalled significantly more factual details about the tragedy compared to students at colleges in California and Hawaii (Pezdek, 2003).

Memory accuracy not related to other demographic variables.



Eyewitness TestimonyExample of Inappropriate Eyewitness Testimony

The case of Gary Graham



Eyewitness TestimonyThe Post-Event Misinformation Effect

Post-Event Misinformation Effect• First, people view an event.• Then, they are given misleading

information about the event.• Later on, they mistakenly recall the

misleading information, rather than the event they actually saw.



Eyewitness Testimonyproactive interference (discussed in Chapter 4):

People have trouble recalling new material because previously learned, old material keeps interfering with new memories.

retroactive interference (misinformation effect):People have trouble recalling old material because some recently learned, new material keeps interfering with old memories.



Eyewitness TestimonyLoftus and coauthors (1978)• slides of a car/pedestrian accident

• stop or yield sign

• consistent, inconsistent, or neutral information presented 20 minutes to one week after slides

• recognition task for slides



Eyewitness TestimonyLoftus and coauthors (1978) (continued)• People in the inconsistent information

condition were much less accurate than people in the other two conditions. They often selected a sign on the basis of the information in the questionnaire, rather than selecting the original slide.

faulty source monitoringconstructivist approach



Eyewitness TestimonyFactors Affecting the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony

General Factors1. People may create memories that are

consistent with their schemas.

2. People may make errors in source monitoring.

3. Post-event misinformation may distort people’s recall.




Other Important Variables1. Eyewitnesses make more errors if they

saw a crime committed during a stressful circumstance, for instance, when someone was carrying a weapon.

2. Eyewitnesses make more errors when there is a long delay between the original event and the time of the testimony..




Other Important Variables3. Eyewitnesses make more errors if the

misinformation is plausible. People are also likely to say that an event occurred in their own life (when it really did not) when the event seems consistent with other similar experiences.




Other Important Variables4. Eyewitnesses make more errors if there is

social pressure. In contrast, the testimony is more accurate when people are allowed to report an event in their own words, when they are given sufficient time, and when they are allowed to respond, "I don’t know".




Other Important Variables5. Eyewitnesses make more errors if

someone has provided positive feedback.



Eyewitness TestimonyThe Relationship Between Memory Confidence and Memory Accuracy

• In many situations, participants are almost as confident about their misinformation-based memories as they are about their genuinely correct memories.

• Memory confidence is not strongly correlated with memory accuracy.



Eyewitness TestimonyThe Relationship Between Memory Confidence and Memory Accuracy

• The majority of law enforcement officers and jurors are not aware that a confident eyewitness is not necessarily an accurate eyewitness.



The Recovered-Memory/False-Memory Controversy

The Two Contrasting Positions in the Controversy

recovered-memory perspective:Memory for traumatic events (such as childhood sexual abuse) may be forgotten for many years and then come flooding back into consciousness.




The Two Contrasting Positions in the Controversy

false-memory perspective:Most recovered memories are actually incorrect memories, constructed stores about events that never occurred.




The Potential for Memory Errors• Memory is less than perfect.• Social pressure enhances the likelihood of

memory errors.• The accuracy of childhood memories is not

easy to determine.




Arguments for False MemoryRoediger and McDermott (1995) & Demo 5.5• lists of associated words• false-recall rate of 55% (intrusion errors)• Intrusions are common on this task,

because each word that does appear on a list is commonly associated with a missing word.




Arguments for False Memory (continued)

Research has demonstrated that participants can construct false memories for events during childhood that never actually happened.

Most participants do not claim to "remember" the event that did not occur, yet a significant percentage do.




Arguments for Recovered Memory• Laboratory studies lack ecological validity.

• Research shows that people cannot be convinced to create false memories for more embarrassing events, such as having had an enema as a child.




Arguments for Recovered Memory (continued)

• Researchers have studied individuals whose sexual abuse had been documented by medical professionals or the legal system. Still, some of these individuals fail to recall the episode when interviewed as adults.




Arguments for Recovered Memory (continued)

betrayal trauma (Freyd and colleagues)• describes how a child may respond

adaptively when a trusted parent or caretaker betrays him or her by sexual abuse

• The child depends on this adult and must actively inhibit memories of abuse in order to maintain an attachment to this person.




Both Perspectives Are at Least Partially Correct• Indeed, some people have truly

experienced childhood sexual abuse, and they may forget about the abuse for many decades until a critical event triggers their recall.




Both Perspectives Are at Least Partially Correct• In contrast, other people have never

experienced childhood sexual abuse. However, a suggestion about abuse may create a false memory of childhood experiences that never really occurred.




Both Perspectives Are at Least Partially Correct• In still other cases, people can provide

quite accurate testimony—even years afterwards—about how they have been abused.

cognition, 8e by margaret w. matlinchapter 5 cognition, 8e chapter 5 long-term memory

Documents

longterm memory slide

shallow processing

processing approachargues

processing approachdepth

encoding specificity

deeper level of processing

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sensory kinds of processing