Week 5: Memory II: Long-Term and

Autobiographical Memory

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7.1 STM vs. LTM
Long-Term Memory (LTM): The last stage in the Modal Model of Memory.
Only a minority of processed information reaches LTM.
o Retains abstracted semantic information.
o The info that does may be kept indefinitely.
o Information needs to be retrievable.

Short-Term Memory (LTM):

Retains specific sensory details
of a physical stimulus.
o Info only kept for ~15-30 sec.

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7.1.1 Amnesia
Behavioral differences between STM and LTM suggest that they may be
distinct memory systems.
Amnesia:
Severely impaired long-term memory due to brain trauma.

Retrograde Amnesia:
Difficulty remembering events that occurred leading up to the event.

Anterograde Amnesia:
Difficulty remembering any new information they encounter.

Event
Retrograde Amnesia Anterograde Amnesia
t+
Memory loss of before event… Memory loss after event… 3
7.1.1 Patient HM

Fell off his bicycle, causing head trauma.

Started having seizures at 10 years old.
Doctors removed the left hippocampus
HM (and other nearby brain regions).

After surgery…
o Stopped having seizures.
o Maintained cognitive and intellectual functioning.
o Knew who he was and had general knowledge.
However…
He could not form new long-term memories.
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7.2.1 Serial Position Effect
Serial Position Effect:
When given a long string of numbers to repeat, recall performance is U-shaped.

Primacy Effect:
The tendency to remember
information presented earlier
in a sequence.

Recency Effect:
The tendency to remember
information presented at the
end of a sequence.

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7.2.1 Glantzer & Kunitz (1966)
What causes these effects?
Recency:
With a delay of 30 seconds
after the presentation of
the last words, recency
effect goes away,
indicating it's STM.

Primacy:
Words at the beginning
have the chance to be
rehearsed, moving the info
to LTM.
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7.2.2 Levels of Processing
Levels of Processing Theory (Craik & Tulving, 1972):
The more deeply people processed a word, the
better they remembered it.
In one experiment…
Presented participants with a list of words.
Asked a single yes/no question.
o Was the word upper/lower case?
o Rhyming
o Sentence completion
Best performance in the sentence completion
condition.
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7.2.3 Transfer-Appropriate Processing
Morris (1977):
Retrieval can be the critical factor in what is remembered, perhaps more
important than depth of initial encoding.
Participants presented with the rhyme and sentence
processing experimental paradigm (Craik & Tulving, 1972).

Free-Recall Task: Cued-Recall Task:

Recall all of the “What word rhymed
words you can. with BAT?”

Transfer-Appropriate Processing
How well information is remembered depends on:
1 How well it was encoded.
2 How well a later memory cue matches the
way it was encoded. 8
 7.2.3 Tulving & Pearlstone (1966)
Tulving & Pearlstone (1966):
Participants learned lists of words separated into categories (e.g., birds, furniture…).
Completed free- and cued-recall tasks.

Participants performed
much better on the recall
task when asked to retrieve
words in cued lists
compared to free recall.

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7.2.4 Encoding Specificity
Encoding Specificity:
Any cue associated with encoding can help facilitate later retrieval.
Godden & Baddeley (1975): CONTEXT-DEPENDENT
People studied and recalled a list of words in 2 conditions: MEMORY!

Under water in scuba gear. Standing on land.

OR

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7.2.4 The Associative Nature of Memory
Context-Dependent Memory: State-Dependent Memory:
Memory is improved when we Memory is improved when we
have consistent environments at have consistent internal states
the time of encoding and retrieval. and moods at the time of
encoding and retrieval.

But why?
The brain encodes associations between experiences and the world.

Experiences The world

Allows us to make predictions about our environment.

Even if associations are incidental (like learning words under water).
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7.3.1 Types of Explicit Memory
Memories that we can verbally describe or declare.

Episodic Memory
Memories of events that have happened directly to us in our lives.
o Can recall sensory information in sequence.
o Likened to mental time travel.

Semantic Memory
Memories with information without sensory details.
o The meaning of words, your address, phone number, etc.

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7.3.1 Neuropsychological Evidence
There is evidence that semantic and episodic memory are distinct.
Suffered hippocampal damage from a motorcycle accident.
Had no episodic memory, but some of his semantic memory was intact.
o Could learn new information about his life.
Patient K. C.

A contrasting case shows a different kind of dissociation:

Suffered encephalitis due to an infection.
Had intact episodic memory…could recall old and create new memories.
Showed deficits in semantic memory.
Patient o Forgot the meaning of words and the identities of famous people.

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7.3.1 Evidence from Cognitive Neuroscience
What are the neurological differences in semantic and episodic memory?
Levine et al., (2004):

Participants recorded themselves describing They then recorded fMRI data as they
basic facts about the world and events from listened back to the recordings.
their own lives.

Listening to basic facts (semantic memory): Listening to personal accounts (episodic memory):
Activation in the frontal and parietal lobes. Activation in the occipital and temporal lobes.
o Executive function areas o Sensory encoding areas

Episodic memory depends on the reactivation of the same brain regions that were engaged
during the first encoding, while semantic memory depends on abstracted representations.
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7.3.2 Implicit Memory
Implicit Memory:
Information that is encoded and stored, then retrieved outside of consciousness.

Procedural Memory:
Learned abilities to perform an automatic behavior/action.

Walking Swimming Bicycling

The brain has encoded patterns of movements.

Is particularly immune to forgetting compared to other types of memory.
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7.3. Jacoby et al. (1993): Design
Can we dissociate implicit and explicit semantic memory?
Conditions: Inclusion/Exclusion Instruction x Full/Divided Attention
Hypothesis: Explicit/Automatic <==> Recall sensitive/not sensitive to attention

MOT_ Instruction type:

• Inclusion: Complete word stem w/ word from
the list
List Foil(s) • Exclusion: Complete word stem w/ word NOT
MOTEL MOTOR from the list
SCALP SCALE
SPOOF SPOON I = R + (1-R)A
… … E = (1-R)A
72 Wds
R=I–E
A = E / (1 - R)

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7.3. Jacoby et al. (1993): Results
Explicit memory performance impaired under divided attention, implicit memory performance intact!

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7.3.2 Implicit Memory and Prejudice
Prejudice:
Automatic negative judgements of an individual or group, even if judgements/
attitudes are outside of conscious awareness.
IAT Implicit Association Test: Greenwald et al., (1998):
A computerized test that aims to detect unconscious bias attitudes using reaction times.
Classify words into categories as quickly as possible.

Man Woman Man Woman

Scientist Librarian

Faster response = Stronger Association

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7.3.2 Implicit Memory Effects

Familiarity Effect:
People tend to rate sometime (e.g., music, photographs, etc.) more
favorably if they have encountered it before (Perfect & Askew, 1994).
Even if they don’t remember seeing them!

Propaganda Effect:
Individuals presented with statements they had heard before were
more likely to rate them as true compared to never-before-heard
statements regardless of accuracy (Begg et al., 1992).

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7.3.2 Conditioning as an Implicit Memory
Conditioning produces stable, long-term associations.

Voluntary Response
(Operant Conditioning)
Stimulus
Involuntary Response
(Classical Conditioning)

Negative associations: Positive associations:

Phobias & fears: Comfort, nourishment, connection:

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8.1 Autobiographical Memory
Autobiographical Memory
Episodic memories about events we’ve experienced and semantic
memories of basic facts about ourselves.

Studying autobiographical memory:

o Cannot study autobiographical memory like other types of memory.
o Challenges to studying autobiographical memory in natural setting:

Lack of Control Order of Encoding Undetermined Accuracy

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8.1.1 The Function of Autobiographical Memory
Different Functions of Autobiographical Memory:

Directive: Social: Self-Representational:

Allows for retrospection Allow people to share Allow people to look
on past experiences to experiences and create into the past to inform
inform and guide current social bonds. behavior to act
actions. consistently with a self-
image and maintain a
stable identity.

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8.1.2 Organization of Autobiographical Memory
Self-Memory System (SMS; Conway and Pleydell-Pearce, 2000)

Autobiographical Knowledge Base Working Self

Store of information and facts A set of current personal goals that
about past life events. determine how the base is accessed.

Comparable to long term and working memory systems.

Knowledge base known as “cold storage” while working self is

the active workspace for “pulling up” memories.

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8.1.2 The Self Memory System
Goal of SMS:
Coherence: Supporting our existing 3 Tiers of Autobiographical Memory
beliefs about ourselves and the world.

Lifetime Periods
Major distinguishable periods in our
lives that have a specific beginning
and end in time:
Grade School First Job
Living in a city

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8.2 Autobiographical Memory Across the Lifespan
What determines which personal memories we remember and
which we forget?
There are several factors that predict memory retention:

For example…
Emotion Importance Life Stage

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8.2.1 Infantile Amnesia
Most adults remember very few, or no, episodic
memories before the age of~2-4 years.
Also occurs (less severely) for memories
under 10 years old.
Does not affect implicit memory as much as
explicit.

Bauer & Larkina (2015):

Longitudinally tracked changes
in memory across childhood at
ages and gaps.

4-year olds showed the

quickest rates of forgetting.
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8.2.2 Reminiscence Bump

Pattern of recall across the

lifespan at age 50.

Reminiscence Bump:
Boost of memory recall in
late adolescence to early
adulthood.
Richer memories during
times of change.

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8.3.1 Flashbulb Memories

Memories of a high-emotion event that many people experienced at the same

time.

9/11/2001 Challenger Disaster MLK Assassination JKF Assassination

People tend to believe that their memories of these events

o maintain vivid details of events;
o are “branded” into memory permanently; and
o do not decay over time.
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8.3.1 Neisser & Harsch (2002)

Interviewed people the day after a large-scale tragedy occurred

asking them to recount their experiences of that day.
Repeated interview two to three years later.

- If flashbulb memories do not decay, their reports should be the same. -

o However, people remembered different, often conflicting information.
o Interestingly, people were highly confident in their
memories, even though they had changed.

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8.3.1 Talarico & Rubin (2003)
Investigating Flashbulb Memories of September 11, 2001:
Comparing memories of 9/11/01 and other events:

Found a similarities among flashbulb and

everyday memories.
o Declined in accuracy over time.
o More pronounced decline for every-
day events.
o Confidence remained unchanged for
flashbulb memories.
o Everyday event memory confidence
declined more rapidly.

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8.4 The Constructive Nature of Memory
Memory is not a recording of events, but an unconscious construction of
experiences based on our beliefs of what occurred.
Memories are interpretations of events and the world.
Can be flawed and false, much like perceptual processes.

Deese-Roediger-McDermott (RDM) Paradigm: Category = Sleep

Participants are exposed to a set of words belonging to a category. Bed
Category theme 🡪 Critical Lure Rest
o Individuals are never shown the critical lure (sleep), but Pillow
40% of them report it in a recall task. Slumber
o Supports the theory that ABM is semantically organized. Awake

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8.4.1 Misinformation Effect
Across many studies, Loftus found that memories could be altered.
Misinformation Effect: New incorrect information is introduced to & remembered
by the memory holder.

Loftus & Palmer (1974):

o Participants watched seven car-crash videos.
o Asked to rate the speed of the cars in the video s.

Different conditions received questions

using different descriptive words:

Smash Collide Hit Contacted

Most Severe Least Severe 34

8.4.1 Misinformation Effect (cont.)
Loftus & Palmer, A Follow-Up Study:
Presented the same paradigm as Loftus & Palmer (1974) using verbs smash and hit.

Key Interest:
Response Smashed Hit Control
Do people remember broken glass
Saw broken glass 16 7 6
in the scene of the car accident?
o Presence of glass at the scene would Didn’t see broken 34 43 44
suggest a more forceful collision than glass
two cars that merely ‘hit’ each other.

o Control group: How fast were the cars Participants were more likely to
going? remember seeing glass in the “smash”
condition compared to the “hit”
condition.
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8.4.2 Generating Entirely New False Memories
Loftus & Pickrell (1995):
Provided participants with four stories from their childhood.
One was false (about being lost in public).
Task: Generate and report as much
detail about the events as possible.
25%
Accepted it and
The suggestion of an event can lead to provided detail.
the creation of false memories.
75%
Rejected the
false memory.
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8.4.4 Source Monitoring and False Memories
Ross et al., (1994):
Presented 2 groups of subjects with a video of a teacher in a classroom.

Female teacher instructing a Female teacher instructing

class with a male observer. only.

All participants then viewed a clip

of the teacher getting robbed.

Task: Identify the robber from a lineup of male suspects.

Result: Those who saw the man in the video tended to ID him as the robber.
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7.4 Memory Consolidation
Consolidation:
The process of making memories durable (sometimes permanent).

Synaptic Consolidation:
o Occurs at the synapses
(space between neurons
where neurotransmitters
pass from one to the other.
o Long-Term Potentiation
(LTP): Receiving neurons
become more likely to fire
over time.

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7.4 Consolidation (cont.)
System Consolidation
Depends on the brain laying down new connections between neurons in the cortex.
This process relies on the hippocampus working together with the cortex:
Although the exact role of the hippocampus is unknown, some
researchers posit:

Hippocampus initially Moves them to the cortex

stores memories. for permanent memory.

Others think:
The hippocampus merely coordinates storage of LTM in the cortex.

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7.4 Hippocampal Replay

A sequence of brain activity is repeated (or replayed) after initial encoding

of an event.
o Replay is typically faster than first encoding.
o Maintains temporal order.

May be essential for systems consolidation!

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8.5 Autobiographical Memory in the Brain
There is likely not just one part of the brain that supports AM.
Svoboda et al., (2006):
Identified a primary network involved in AM:
Prefrontal Cortex (left lobe in particular)
o Reconstructs multi-sensory information.
Medial Temporal Lobe (hippocampus)
o Difficult to measure because it is deep in
the temporal lobe.
o Some evidence demonstrates it is related
to memory retrieval.
Amygdala
o Also involved in memory encoding and
retrieval.
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8.4.5 Reconsolidation
Reconsolidation:
When information that is already stored is accessed and then stored again.
Memory is particularly vulnerable during this process.
Chan et al., (2009):
Participants viewed an episode of a popular television program.

½ of participants had to describe The other ½ did not participate in

parts of the show from memory. the recall task.

They then asked questions to subtly introduce false information.

Do people remember the misinformation?

Those who performed the recall task were more

likely to remember misinformation. 42
8.4.5 Reconsolidation and PTSD
Reviewing information can make memories more vulnerable to misinformation.

This process can also help people forget things they don’t want to remember.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

o Individuals with PTSD suffering from an extreme event often

have ruminative and obsessive thoughts.
o Reconsolidation of memories in a therapeutic setting may be
able to help those with PTSD find relief from these patterns.

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8.4.5 Schiller et al. (2010): Design
Schiller et al. (2010):

Participants were shown a blue circle… …followed by an electric shock.

Measured fear using skin conduction responses.

After a few repetitions, people developed a fear to the blue circle.

Underwent stimulus extinction… the blue circle was shown repeatedly without shock.
Some participants were given a “reminder” of the shock association.
o 10 minutes before extinction.
o 6 hours before.
o Others no reminder was given. 44
8.4.5 Schiller et al. (2010): Results
Lastly, participants were shown the circle again to test for the spontaneous
recovery from the fear response.
No reminder… 10-minute reminder…

Those who had not received the Those who had had received the
reminder 10 minutes before reminder 10 minutes before
testing showed a fear response. testing showed no fear response.

Those with a reminder were hypothesized to have reconsolidated the fear response.
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