Memory 11/12/98

 

Assoc. models and the problem of meaning

Information Processing approaches

Stage Models

Sensory Memory

Short-term Memory

Long-term Memory

Memory structures

Episodic vs. Semantic vs. Procedural memory

Organizational Processes in Memory

The Schema

 

The Stages of Memory

The Environment

 

Sensory Memory

 

Short-Term Memory

 

Long-Term Memory

 

Characteristics of Short-Term Memory

Very limited capacity (7 +/-2)

 

Fed by either sensory memory or long-term memory

 

Info. stays in short-term memory as long as it is active

 

Short Term Memory Capacity and "Chunking"

 

 

Long-Term Memory

 

 

The Serial Position Effect: A demonstration

 

The Serial Position Effect

How well an item is recalled depends upon its position in the list of items to be recalled--remember first and last.

 

Why? Rehearsal (first items) and STM (last items). Middle items cannot be rehearsed and cannot remain active in STM.

 

Reasons for failing to remember

Information may not have made it from Short-term memory to Long-term memory

 

Information was stored in Long-term memory, but it can't be retrieved (e.g., Tip of the Tongue is a failure of retrieval)

 

Long-term Memory Stores

Episodic Memory--personal, factual, and autobiographical. Contains info. about past events and experience. (E.g., Challenger; what I did this a.m.)

 

Semantic Memory--Abstract information about the world and about language. (E.g., "Squares have four sides")

 

Procedural-- "How to" information about the skills we possess. (E.g., Riding a bicycle).

 

Organizational Processes in Memory

 

The Schema

A schema can be defined as a highly organized cognitive framework containing information about a person, group, or topic. (e.g., you have a U of M schema).

 

 

We have:

Person Schemata -- about particular people we know -- friends, Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich

 

Group Schemata -- about groups of people -- like Men and Women.

 

Event Schemata -- about particular events -- like baseball games or going out to a restaurant

 

SO...

Schemas help memory by facilitating both encoding and retrieval.

 

But....

There is a downside--schematic processing can lead to distortion.

 

Schematic Processing and Encoding: Duncan's Ambiguous Shove

 

 

Schematic Processing and Encoding: Duncan's Ambiguous Shove

 

 

Another example of distortion....

sometimes we "remember" something because it is consistent with a schema, not because it really happened.

--paying the bill in a restaurant

--"Sure I turned off the stove"

 

Distortions at Retrieval: A demonstration

 

To Summarize: Schematic processing leads to two kinds of distortion:

Encoding biases--we see, and therefore remember, things differently.

 

Recall biases--we remember things that didn't happen.

 

Some final thoughts on accuracy: Another demonstration