MEMORY: What can I do to improve it?

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MEMORY What can I do to improve it?

• Elizabeth Avila-Mora

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OUTLINE OF LECTURE

• Brief Overview of Three-Box-Model
• Processing Components
• Best Strategies for Remembering
• Attention
• Effective Encoding
• Effortful Encoding
• Rehearsal
• Mnemonics
• Active Studying
• Retrieval Practice

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Three-Box-Model (Atkinson Shiffrin, 1968)
Encode
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Information Processing Model (Three-Box-Model)Pr
ocessing Components

• Attention
• Focusing or tuning on relevant sensations and
  perceptions
• Rehearsal
• Process of repeating information to preserve or
  improve memory.
• Encoding
• Processing information into the memory system
• Retrieval
• Recovering stored information

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• What methods or techniques do you use to remember
  information or study?

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Best Strategies for Remembering

• Attend to Information

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Attention Encoding FailureCan You Identify the
Actual Penny?
Nickerson Adams (1979)
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Attention Encoding Failure

• Correct Answer A

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Attention Avoiding Distractions

• The car ride was getting bumpy now that George
  had left the main road to use the dirt road. He
  was out of school, not having to study during the
  summer break. He was glad to get out of the
  stuffy offices of the archeology department and
  get out into..

Connelly, Hasher, Zacks (1991)
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Attention Avoiding Distractions

• The car ride river was getting bumpy jeep now
  that religious George had religious left the main
  digging tools road to use the religious dirt
  road. He digging tools river was out of jeep
  school, not having digging tools to study digging
  tools river during the summer jeep religious
  break. He was jeep river glad to digging tools
  get out of jeep the stuffy religious offices
  river of the archeology religious department
  river jeep and get out into..

Connelly, Hasher, Zacks (1991)
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Attention Avoiding Distractions

• Eliminate both external and internal
  distractions.
• STUDY IN A QUIET ENVIRONMENT
• ClOSE YOUR EYES during encoding and retrieval
• Einstein, Earles, Collins (2002)

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Attention Avoiding Distractions

• Be in Synchrony with your optimal time of day.
• May, Hasher, Stoltzfus (1993)
• Investigated the effects of learning during
  optimal time of day.
• People performed better on a recognition test
  when learning took place during their optimal
  time of day.

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Best Strategies for Remembering

• Rehearsal
• Elaborative Rehearsal VS. Maintenance Rehearsal

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Best Strategies for Remembering

• Effective Effortful Encoding

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Improving Memory Encoding

• Levels-of-Processing Theory
• Processing during encoding affects how the
  memory is formed.
• Deeper (sophisticated) processing leads to
  better long term memories.

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Improving Memory Encoding

• Deep Elaborate Processing
• Ask WHY?
• Helps generate interest
• Information is more likely to becomes knowledge
  based

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Improving Memory Encoding Retrieval

• Organization - Group material in a meaningful way
• --The LTM equivalent of chunking
• -- Meaningful connections between items in memory
  help create durable memory

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Improving Memory Mnemonics

• Mnemonic
• Strategy for remembering information
• Involves both encoding recall

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Improving Memory Mnemonics

• Imagery connect words with images
• Acronym letter stands for a word (IAAM for this
  list)
• Acrostic form a sentence
• Please excuse my dear aunt sally. (parentheses,
  exponents, multiplication, division, addition,
  subtraction)
• Every good boy does fine (E G B D F)
• My very educated mother just served us nine
  pizzas. (planets)
• 5. Method of Loci constructing an interactive
  image that relates an idea to a landmark.

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Try the Method of Loci

• Hot Dogs
• Cat Food
• Tomatoes
• Bananas
• Chicken
• Juice
• Broccoli
• Lunch meat
• Pasta
• Bread
• Cherries

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Improving Memory Encoding

• Timing of encoding into LTM.
• Spacing Effect repeated spaced out presentations
  lead to better memory.

• Implications for studying
• Cramming is massed practice, which is NOT a deep
  encoding process (no chance to elaborate or form
  connections)
• Cramming leads to shallow memories

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Best Strategies for Remembering

• Retrieval

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Improving Memory Retrieval

• Retrieval practice effect (aka testing effect)
• Test taking involves recall (retrieval) from LTM
• Test taking can improve memory (Roediger
  Karpicke, 2006)

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Improving Memory 3Rs Read Recite Review
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Encoding Specificity

• Context (environment) influences memory.
• Recall is better when it occurs in context in
  which material was learned.
• A) physical context (room)
• B) emotional context

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Encoding Specificity
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Encoding Specificity

• What does this have to do with you?
• For durable memories, study under many different
  contexts
• You dont want to remember something only in one
  place!
• Study in different places across a number of days
• Goal To create DURABLE memories!

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Practical Application

• Remembering someones name when you are
  introduced to them.

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Improve Your Memory

• Use Elaborative/Deep Rehearsal
• Retrieval Practice
• Space out Studying
• Organization
• Test Yourself
• Use Mnemonics
• Read Recite Review

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• Questions?