EXPERIMENT-1

INTRODUCTION:
Memory is an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information
into a usable form and organizes it as it stores it away and then retrieve the information from
storage. Memory is thus, not only a process but it also has a ‘place’ in the brain too. Memory
adds richness to our lives and along with this, allows us to learn from our experiences and
build our knowledge. It is the ability to recall previous sensations, ideas, experiences or
information that has been learned. It is an organism’s unwritten record of the past events.

Recall:
When a specific piece of information is retrieved without benefit of extra cues, like that used
in exams, fill in the blanks, short answers that are used to measure a person’s memory for
information. Whenever people are struggling for answers, recall has failed. This memory
problem gets more common as one gets older.

Recognition:
It is the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact. When
an individual has to identify learned information, for example, in MCQ tasks, memory task of
recognition is being performed. It involves looking at or hearing information and matching it
to what is already in memory.

Relearning:
It is the process by which something previously learned is later learned again. In this process,
an individual usually learns faster than he did the first time. Empirical studies have
demonstrated that the amount of retention over the longest period of time is likely to be
greatest when the method of relearning is used.

IP Model:
Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed information-processing theory in 1968. This model of
memory assumes that processing of information for memory storage is similar to way a
computer processes memory in a series of three stages. Data are encoded in a way that
computer can understand and use. This theory is based on the idea that humans are like
computers that take in information; processes them in steps and then produce an output. This
model depicts memory as having three major components. These components include:
Sensory Memory: This is the first system in the process of memory. It is the stage where raw
information from the senses is held for a brief period of time. It is the point at which
information enters the nervous system through sensory systems like eyes, ears etc.
Information is encoded into sensory memory as neural messages in the Nervous System.
Short-Term Memory: if an incoming sensory message enters consciousness, that message
will move to the next process of memory called short-term memory. It is a memory store that
temporarily holds a limited amount of information. Unlike sensory memory, short-term
memories may be held for up to 30 seconds or possibly longer through maintenance
rehearsal.
Long-Term Memory: The system of memory into which all the information is placed to be
kept more or less permanently is called Long-Term Memory. Many of the memories people
have stored away for a long time, may still be there. It is our vast library of durable stored
memories.
By 1960s, computer advances and cognitive revolution in psychology led to a new metaphor
to guide memory research. Memory involves three processes: getting the information into
memory system, storing it there and getting it back out. This is known as the CPU Model of
Memory. The three processes are:
Encoding: it refers to getting information into the system by translating it into neural codes
that our brain processes. It is a set of mental operations that people perform on sensory
information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage
system. It is like when one types on a computer keyboard and it is converted into electrical
codes that the computer can process and understand.
Storage: it involves retaining information overtime. The period of time will be different
depending on the system of memory being used. This happens in a computer when
information is temporarily saved on RAM and more permanently stored on hard drive.
Retrieval: It refers to processes that access stored information. On a computer this happens
when one gives a software command that transfers information from hard drive to RAM on
the screen when one views it.
Levels of Processing Model:
This was given by Craik and Lockhart in 1972. This model of memory assumes that
information that is more deeply processed or processed according to its meaning, will be
remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time. While the information-
processing model assumes that length of time a memory will be remembered for depends
upon stage of memory it is stored, other researchers believe that memory’s duration depends
on the depth to which information is encoded.
Incoming memory can be worked on at different levels of analysis; the deeper the analysis
goes, the better it is. The first level is just perception, analyzing stimuli into sensory features
like lines, angles etc. later stages use the results of initial analysis to match the stimuli against
stored representation and extract meaning from the message. Basic idea behind this model is
that processing involves hierarchy of stages whereby stimuli is processed at different levels
depending upon the nature of stimuli and available time for processing.
Parallel-Distributive processing:
Rumelhart established this model in 1986. A model of memory in which memory processes
are proposed to take place at the same time over a large network of neural connections. Many
see memory as a simultaneous process, where creation and storage of memories takes place
across a series of mental network stretched across the brain. This simultaneous processing
allows people to retrieve many different aspects of memory all at once. Various nodes
distributed across the entire neural network, parallel at each instant and simultaneously
spread their activation to other nodes. In this manner, certain nodes prime other nodes and
information is retrieved. This model has been derived from the works in the development of
artificial intelligence.

Long-Term Memory:
Long-Term Memory is the system in which all the information is placed more or less
permanently. Many memories of people are stored away for a long time. This doesn’t mean
that people can always retrieve those memories, the memory is available but not accessible.
Information rehearsed long enough may find a way into Long-Term Memory. LTM is a
mental storehouse of meanings of words, concepts and all the events people want to keep in
mind.
Types of Long-Term Memory are:
Declarative memory involves factual knowledge. It has two sub-kinds:
Episodic memory: it is a store of knowledge consisting of personal experiences. When, where
and what happened in the episodes of our lives. For example, recollection of childhood
memories, favorite movies etc.
 Long-term Memory

Procedural
Declarative [Non-
Declarative]

Episodic Semantic Explicit Implicit

Memory Memory Memory Memory

Semantic Memory: This memory represents general factual knowledge about the world and
language including memory for words and concepts. It is called declarative as it demonstrates
our knowledge, we tell others about what we know.
Procedural [ non-declarative] memory: This memory is reflected in skills and actions. One
component of this consists of skills that are expressed in a particular situation like riding a
bicycle.
It has two sub-kinds:
Explicit memory: it involves conscious memory retrieval. Recognition requires to make a
decision as to whether a stimulus is familiar or not.
Implicit Memory: it occurs when memory influences our behaviour without conscious
awareness. Each of us demonstrate memory without conscious awareness. For example,
riding a bicycle, driving etc.
Forgetting
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus pioneered the study of forgetting. He created
more than 2000 nonsense syllables, meaningless letter combinations to study memory. He
memorized it, waited for a specific amount of time and then tried to retrieve the list ,
graphing the results each time. This gave the curve of forgetting, a graph that shows a distinct
pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then
tapers off gradually.
Decay Theory:;
This involves the concept of memory trace. A memory trace is a physical change in the brain
which occurs when a memory is formed. It proposes that with time and disuse the Long-
Term physical memory trace in nervous system fades away. Decay theory prediction of the
longer time interval of disuse between learning and recall, the less recalled, is a bit
problematic. For example, when research participants learn a list of words and are retested at
two different times, they may recall the material in second time which they weren’t able to
recall in the first test. This is called reminiscence, which contradicts the memory decay
theory. It also fell into disfavor because scientist couldn’t locate physical memory traces. In
recent decades, scientists have begun to study neural circuits which have sparked new interest
in this theory.
Interference:
According to this theory, we forget information because other items in the long-term memory
impair our ability to retrieve information. This theory assumes that learning and memorizing
involves forming associations and once formed, these associations remain intact in our
memory. People keep acquiring such associations and each of this rests independently.
Interference comes at a point when these various sets compete with each other.
It has two major types:
Proactive Interference: It occurs when material formed in the past interferes with recall of
newer material.
For example, when one gets a new cell phone number one may recall some old digits instead
of new one, thus, memory of old phone number interferes with the ability to retrieve the new
one.
Retroactive: it occurs when newly acquired information interferes with the ability to recall
information learned at an earlier time.
For example, if one recalls the new cell pho9ne number when someone asks for our old
phone number, the new number interferes with the ability to recall the old number.
In general, more similar the two sets of information are, more likely the interference will
occur.
Encoding Failure:
Many memory failures result from failure to encode memory to the long-term memory.it is
the failure to process information into the long-term memory. Much of what we sense is not
processed properly and deeply enough to be present in the memory. Even when we notice
information, we may fail to encode it deeply because we turn our attention to something else.
Rehearsal:
Mere exposure to a situation without focusing o0n it represents shallow processing.
Rehearsals are more than just exposure. when we rehearse, we think about the information.
There are two types of rehearsals:
Maintenance rehearsal: it involves simple rote repetition. Some students use this to learn their
course material. It keeps information active in working memory. With this type of rehearsal ,
information will stay in short-term memory until the rehearsal stops. When rehearsal stops,
memory rapidly decays and is forgotten. If anything interferes with maintenance rehearsal;
memories are likely to be lost.
Elaborative rehearsal: this involves focusing on the meaning of information or expanding it in
some way. It is a way of increasing the number of retrieval cues for information by
connecting new information with something that is already known. It seems as a way of
transferring information from short0term memory to long-term memory. As per the levels
processing, of elaborative rehearsal is a deeper kind of processing than maintenance rehearsal
and leads to a better long-term storage. Experiments show that it is more effective in
transferring information to long-term memory.

Retrieval:
Storing information is meaningless without the ability to retrieve it. A retrieval cue is a
stimulus, whether external or internal, that activates information stored in the long-term
memory. It involves encoding specificity which is the tendency memory of information to be
improved if related information that is available when the memory was first formed is also
available when the memory is being retrieved. These cues can be internal or external.
Context-dependent learning refers to the physical surroundings are person is in when they are
learning specific information. In state- dependent learning, memory formed during a
particular physiological or psychological state will be easier to remember when in similar
state. We tend to recall information or events that are congruent with our current mood, this is
known as mood-congruent recall.
Mnemonics refers to the art of improving memory and mnemonic device is a memory aid.
They organize information into meaningful units and provide extra cues to retrieve
information from long-term memory.
Some mnemonic devices include:
Hierarchy helps to understand how individual items are related; as one proceeds from top to
bottom, each category serves as a cue that triggers the memory for the items below.
Chunking refers to combining individual items into larger units of meaning.
Visual coding theory involves encoding information using both verbal and visual codes
enhances memory because the odds improve at least one of the nodes will be available later
to support recall.
Method of Loci is a memory aid that associates information with mental images of physical
location.
Acronyms combine one or more letters for each piece of information one wants to remember.
Subjective Organization:
Subjective organization is a creation of set of associations or groupings of items to be learned
in order to facilitate memory. It is a characteristic of verbal free recall in which items are
recalled in grouping known as ‘chunks’ or ‘clusters’. Each chunk consists of several bits of
information. Memory capacity can be increased by recording more and more bits with each
chunk. The amount recalled increased over several recall trials through subjective
organization of stimuli into larger cluster or subjective units. clustering refers to tendency for
items to be consistently grouped together in the course of recall. This typically occurs for
related items.
HYPOTHESES-
H1- The subject will take more number of trials for list A (Unorganized) as compared to list
B (Organized).
H2- The phenomenon of organization will be present in the recall of organized as well as
unorganized list.
H3- The percentage of correct recall of words will be more for organized list relative to the
unorganized list.

 Psychological review serial order in perception memory and action:

G.D. Logan (2021):
The question of whether serial order phenomenon in perception, memory and action
are manifestations of a single underlying serial order process is addressed empirically
in two experiments that compare performance in whole report tasks that tap memory
and copy typing task that tap action using the same material and participants.
Together the theoretical and empirical results show a positive answer; serial order on
perception, memory, action may be governed by same underlying mechanism.

 Bonsfield in 1953 presented his subjects a list of 60 words containing 15 names of

animals, 15 names of boys, 15 professions and 15 vegetables in a jumbled order. He
found that when the recalls were taken, they were substantially higher when recall
involved collection of items of the same category. The experiment studies the effect
of organization on learning.

 Bower in 1970 gathered additional evidence for the power of organization. He

presented 12 digits string such as 8-2-8-2-7-11-8-2-8-9-0 which was read aloud to the
subject. The string could also be read as 82, 827, 1182, 890. Recalling and
 performance of the number string improves over trials when the sequence stays the
same but the organization of the number strings strongly influences memory
performance. In the given study, words of similar category were often recalled
together.

 Journal of experimental psycological learning, memory, and cognition implicit and

explicit memory in young and older adults.
Light L.L. and Singh A (1987)
In 3 experimental, young, and older adults were compared on both implicit and
explicit in performance were obtained in free recall, cued recall and recognition. The
results suggest that older adults impaired on tasks which require conscious
recollection but that memory which depends upon automatic activation process is
relatively unaffected by age.The experiment took participant from a specific age
group as memory recall may differ with age.

 Journal of experiment psychology learning, memory and cognition chunking and

reintegration verbal ST memory D.Norris K.J. Kalm and Hall(2020)
Journal of experiment psychology learning, memory and cognition chunking and
reintegration verbal ST memory.
In 6 experiment using 2-alternative forced choice recognition. It was found that when
chunks are small (2 words), they display pattern suggestive of redintegration whereas
larger chunks show pattern consistent with data compression. Memory from verbal
material thus, improves when words form familiar chunks. The experiment studies
free recall of words and words that are familiar form a chunk and are often recalled
together.

 The power of testing memory: basic research and implications for educational
practices
Blenry L. Roldiger III Jeffery D. karpiche published September 2006.
In this study they selectively review lab studies that reveal the power of testing in
improving retention. They also consider the dynamics of testing assessments as other
means to improve learning. It was concluded that there is a direct effect of testing,
from the use of dynamic testing and formative assessment which have the potential to
improve learning in schools. Participants was able to improve their learning with free
recall which can be considered to be a form of test.

 Bulletin of Psychonomic Society: Interference effects short-term memory as a

function of input modality and linguistic relation between learned test.
Andrew L. Weiman and William Bevan (1980)
128 graduates were exposed to 2 lists of words in one of the following manner: visual
stimuli only, auditory stimuli only, visual-auditory stimuli and auditory-visual stimuli.
Two sets of words were used for interference control. Spoken lists of words produced
more interference than visually presented words. The experiment studies effects of
organization on memory which may get disturbed due to the interference in the
environment.

 Kintsch (1977) and McCormack (1972) conducted an experiment in which 80

students were obtained and assigned to one of the following experimental conditions:
1. Presentation of an organized word list
2. Unrelated word list either conceptual or unrelated distractors in the recognition test.
The conclusions have supported that recall and recognition measures are differentially
influenced by list organization. More specifically the presentation of an unorganized list of
words when compared with the unorganized list results in superior recall but the performance
remains same for both the lists. The following study is consistent with the first hypothesis
which states that the subject will take a greater number of trials for list A (Unorganized) as
compared to list B (Organized).
Memory
Output

sensory
sensory Attend to and
AA’A”
register BB’B”
input Recognized STM CC’C”
material