Memory is not a tape recorder (or a camera): Constructive processes in memory

1. Memory is not a tape recorder (or a camera): Constructive processes in memory Mental representations in memory are constructions based on inferences

2. There is an interesting story about the telescope. In Holland, a man named Lippershey was an eye-glass maker. One day his children were playing with some lenses. They discovered that things seemed very close if two lenses were held about a foot apart. Lippershey began experimenting and his “spyglass” attrcated much attention. He sent a letter about it to Galileo, the great Italian scientist. Galileo at once realized the importance of the discovery and set abpout to build an instrument of his own. He used an old organ pipe with one lense curved out and the other curved in…

3. Recognition: 4 alternatives a. He sent Galileo, the great Italian scientist, a letter about it.B. Galileo, the great Italian scientist, sent him a letter about it.c. A letter about it was sent to Galileo, the great Italian scientist.d. He sent a letter about it to Galileo, the great Italian scientist.

4. Immediate recognition: Participants recognized surface and meaning changes and rejected After brief delay: Participants rejected only meaning change. No preference among verbatim and surface changes

5. Suggests: -verbatim account decays from memory rapidly; -we store gist or meaning and reconstruct from that

6. Good recognition of changes in meaning, but are we aware of changes from inferences? • Meaning is not in words; it is not fixed; meaning is in people's heads. • Comprehension is not a simple process of retrieval of word meaning together with the relations specified by the grammatical structure of the sentence. • Comprehension is a process of active construction.

7. Meaning is constructed:-from the linguistic knowledge associated with the input (automatic semantic priming)- from the linguistic context (inferences, schema)- from the nonlinguistic context (e.g., who is making the statement, where it is being said, and when it is being said.

8. Automatic semantic priming • Activation of words not presented • memory illusions (Roedigger & McDermott; differences among individuals) • Inferences (e.g., implied instruments): John was pounding the nail to fix the birdhouse Remembered as John was using a hammer to fix the birdhouse

9. Brewer (1977): influence of linguistic context11 out of 13 subjects, when presented with the sentenceThe hungry python caught the mouserecalled it as The hungry python ate the mouse. Meaning of words depends on linguistic context and previous knowledge (when hungry pythons catch their prey, they eat it). This knowledge automatically included in memory representation.

10. Important distinction between Logical and Pragmatic implication:John forced Bill to rob the bank.Bill robbed the bankThe absent-minded professor did not have his car keys.The absent-minded professor forgot his car keys.

11. Harris (1977) • Zap Pills may help relieve pain • Glow gives you a brighter smile • Get through the winter without colds; take Eradicold Pills • In a recent survey over 50 doctors recommended IQ-enhancer

12. “As you read these commercials, be careful that you do not interpret implied information as fact. Sometimes people, including advertisers trying to sell products, will not state a claim directly as an asserted fact, but rather will only strongly imply that a particular claim is true. You may infer that the advertiser has said something about his product which in fact he has only suggested. But he has suggested it in such a way that it is very easy for you to naturally, obviously, and normally expect the claim to be true. For example, consider the commercial, ‘Moomoo milk tastes great. Keep your family healthy. Buy Moomoo milk.’ This commercial does not directly state that Moomoo milk keeps your family healthy; it only suggests that. Sometimes, however, a commercial does directly state a fact without uncertainty. Consider this example: ‘Moomoo milk tastes great and it keeps your family healthy. Buy Moomoo milk.’ In this case, it directly states that Moomoo milk keeps your family healthy; it is more than merely implied. Keep this distinction in mind as you read the commercials.”

13. CONDITION ASSERTION IMPLICATION Concurrent Regular instructions 9.67 8.17 Extra Instructions 9.10 5.40 Immediate Regular Instructions 8.80 7.80 Extra Instructions 7.27 5.33 Delayed Regular Instructions 8.13 8.07 Extra Instructions 8.10 7.43 Harris' (1977) Average Number of True Responses to Assertions and Implications.

14. Significance for eyewitness testimony (Loftus) • View 5-30 sec film of traffic accident • About how fast were the cars going when they ______ each other • Smashed 40.8 mph • Collided 39.3 mph • Bumped 38.1 mph • Hit 34.0 mph • Contacted 31.8 mph

15. Week later, participants returned to lab and were asked if they saw any broken glass • YES out of 50 • Smashed 16 • Hit 7 • Control 6 (there was no broken glass)

16. Constructive processes explains unreliability of eyewitness accounts: Suggestibility and misinformation effect • Remember as fact information implied but not stated, e.g., leading questions • Memory affected by stored knowledge (Allport) • Memory illusions, e.g., innocent people in mug shots selected in line up. Poor memory for context • Inability to distinguish imagined and real events