Encoding  Storage  Retrieval Encoding: Putting information into memory

1. Encoding  Storage  Retrieval • Encoding: Putting information into memory • previous lectures: elaborative encoding, levels of processing, mnemonics… • Storage: Keeping information in memory • consolidation • Retrieval: Recovering information from memory • Forgetting: failure to retrieve vs. nothing to retrieve • Topics for today: forgetting, flashbulb memories, retrieval cues, encoding specificity principle…

2. encoding new information prior knowledge current context encoding strategies memory “trace” bi-directional retrieval cues current context retrieval strategies remembering retrieval

3. Exceptional Retrieval: “FLASHBULB” MEMORIES • (Christiansen, 1989) • Swedish students interviewed within 24 hours of the assassination of Olof Palme, the Prime Minister of Sweden (1969-1986). Then questioned again after . . . 6 weeks one year • how were you informed? 1.00 .72 • what time of day was it? .92 .25 • what were you doing? .92 .50 • who were you with? .94 .83 • what was your first thought? .83 .44 • most vivid event from prior Saturday (control) .89 .11

4. THE FORGETTING FUNCTION • Memory is not permanent: we do forget! Bahrick & Phelphs (1987): forgetting of Spanish learned in college Ebbinghaus (1885): forgetting of list of nonsense syllables Forgetting: Is information lost forever???

5. weeks . . RECOVERY FROM “CONCUSSION AMNESIA” time of accident yrs mo day ??????? ??? hours later days . . ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ?? ? Anterograde Amnesia - mild to moderate - worse for events just after trauma - “blank periods” may remain Retrograde Amnesia - can be severe - worse for recent events - almost complete recovery

6. Retrieval from LTM: Retrieval Cues • Retrieval cues in everyday life • Experiment by Tulving & Pearlstone (1966) Study Phase: • words from specific categories • categories: e.g., birds, furniture, professions • words presented: e.g., pigeon (category: bird), etc. Test Phase • free recall: 40% • cued recall (names of categories provided at test): 75% • Provided word: bird • Correct response: pigeon

7. Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) The results for each group are on the right.

8. The Effects of Context:Encoding Specificity Principle • How an event is encoded determines the effectiveness of various retrieval cues (Tulving, 1972). Memory will be best if cues/context at study and test are the same Similar terms: • Context-dependent memory • Transfer-appropriate processing

9. What do we mean by context??? Physical: • Location • (e.g., study for an exam in the room where exam is taken). Physiological/ Psychological: • Effects of alcohol and marijuana • Mood • Stress • Way of encoding (pair-associate or list)

10. Godden & Baddeley (1975)Encoding Specificity Principle • Study Phase: • deep-sea divers learn 40 unrelated words either on land , or 20 feet under the sea. • Test Phase: • Tested their recall either on land or underwater

11. Godden and Baddeley (1975) “diving” experiment. Each test condition are indicated by the bar directly underneath that condition. * (asterisks): study and test conditions matched.

12. Godden & Baddeley (1975) • Results: • Better recall when contexts matched

13. Grant et al.’s (1998) “studying” experiment

14. Eich and Metcalfe’s (1989) “mood” experiment.

15. (Smith, Glenberg & Bjork, 1978) • Task: free recall of word lists Study in.. Test in.. % recalled office office lab lab 27% office lab lab office 20%

16. How Emotions and Mood Influence Memory • Mood congruence • Recall is better if material being learned “matches” the learner’s present mood • These effects are very consistent • Mood-state dependence • Recall is better when mood at retrieval “matches” mood during encoding • Example of encoding specificity