Retrieval
Memory Principles
- some things are easier to remember than others
- length
- content
- familiarity
- similarity
- personal experience
- self-referent
- within-list associations
- adjacent associations
- memories can be stored in different in different media
- words can be stored as sight, sound or meaning
- sounds can be stored as words or music
- aren’t just visual processors or auditory learners
- use a wide range of sensory media
- switching to another media when you need more cues
- two separate phases of memory
- available
- accessible
- tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
- memory is generative
- don’t store exact copies
- we are great at meaning extraction
- MIDI file
- blueprint
- recipe
- Spare encoding
- memories are stable but changeable
- misinformation effect
- we make up memories
- photographs
- cognitive distortions
- vividness of a memory isn’t a good indicator of its truth
- eye witness testimony
- collaborating evidence must also be present
- memory cooks who store the recipe
- Elizabeth Loftus
- small changes in questions can produce different results
- smashed or bumped
- Did you see the stop sign? or Did you see a stop sign?
- How tall a basketball player or how short
- What shade of blue was the wallet
- exact process of how false memories are generated isn’t clear
- brain pulls bits for unrelated experiences
- combines them into a new “authentic” memory
- source monitoring
- focus is on meaning extraction, not making a mental bibliography
Retrieval Tips
GENERAL
- Attention
- Bits (chunk)
- Chain the parts together
- “Don’t Forget” strategy
- Distributed practice
- Encoding Specificity Principle
- Switch tasks
- Higher criterion
- Overlearn
- Warm up
FACTS
Good Items
- Positive
- Distinctive
- Meaningful
- Related to you & your experience
Organizing
- Most important first
- Most important last
- Put it in context
- Blocking
- Categorize
Encoding
- Reduction mnemonics
- Elaboration mnemonics
- Rehearse
- Visualize
- Associate items places & things
- Teach yourself
- Teach others
Retrieval
- Retrieve often
- Retrieve in the same order every time
- Cluster
- Even if items aren’t clustered
- Try to remember them by clusters
When don’t remember
- Recall from different perspectives
- realtor
- burglar
- buyer
- “Starts with the letter”
- Lexical retrieval = search for a desired word
- Can’t find it by meaning
- Try it alphabetically
- Or…by sound
- Tip of Tongue Phenomenon
- “Nothing will come”
- “Empty gap”
- Often retrieve partial info
- About once a week
- “Sounds like”
- Tip of the Ear?
- What did you say?
- Remember before the answer comes
- I know I’ve heard that somewhere
- Follow a script
- Cognitive maps
- Cultural rules
- Ask for clues
- Rest
- Rest: Incubation = allowing a problem to “perk”
- Why it might work:
- Changes focus more details to more abstract representations
- Memories consolidate over time
- New stimuli may come along
- Get more sleep
- Practice effects
- Problem solving as skill
Types of Retrieval
- Free recall: first and last items
- get distracted, recency goes away
- Cued recall
- Recognition
