14-15: Memory Development

Question 1

What is memory

Answer 1

the ability to recall and recognize information learned/experienced in the past

Question 2

recall

Answer 2

• more difficult
• Retrieving information out of storage into your conscious awareness

-pulling something from nothing

Question 3

recognition

Answer 3

identifying items you previously learned

-pulling information out without a cue

Question 4

what is memory a mixture of

Answer 4

• direct experience of the item/event
• what we know (from previous experience, prior knowledge)
• what we infer (from direct and previous experience)

Question 5

how is memory related to concepts

Answer 5

a person’s prior experience with what is typically in a concept, and their inferences about what should be in an concept (based on their concepts of situations) influenced their memories

-memory is a an inextricable aspect of cognition

Question 6

what are the phases of memory and what do they consist of

Answer 6

• encoding : gist (general sense), verbatim (literal details)
• storage: storing information
• retrieval: recalling information, reconstructing, building memories

Question 7

how do we measure memory in infants 3 ways

Answer 7

• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning
• deferred imitation

Question 8

classical conditioning

Answer 8

For conditioning to work, the participant must remember the association between the conditioned stimulus (tone) and the unconditioned stimulus (food), in order to evoke the conditioned response (salivating).

Question 9

T or F: memory is not just straight recall

Answer 9

true

Question 10

retrieval consists of what 3 things

Answer 10

• inference
• prior knowledge
• direct experience

Question 11

how is classical conditioning a test of memory

Answer 11

by examining how long the conditioned stimulus will elicit the conditioned response

Question 12

what is an example of using classical conditioning to study memory

Answer 12

• little Albert study
• 11 month Albert
• loud gong every time touched white rat , = produce fear response
• 1 week later: showed fear of rat
• 3 weeks later: refreshed conditioning
• 2 months: shows strong fear

Question 13

what do results of classical condition studies reveal about infant memory development

Answer 13

Infants can retain memories (e.g., for associations) over a relatively long period of time (months).

Question 14

little Albert study US, UR, CS, CR

Answer 14

-US: loud noise
-UR: fear to noise
-CS: white rat
CR: fear to rat

Question 15

operant conditioning

Answer 15

For operant conditioning to work, the participant must remember the association between the behavior (lever press) and the outcome (food dispensed)

Question 16

how is operant conditioning a test of memory

Answer 16

by examining how long the participant will remember the contingency (association) between the behavior and outcome

-how long from the initial conditioning date will the participant perform the behavior when placed in the initial conditioning context?

Question 17

what is an example of using operant conditioning to study memory

Answer 17

-Mobile kicking studies

• baseline: initial rate of kicking -learning phase: baby learns association
• delay: distract baby
• test phase: see increased rate of kicking when returned to crib

Question 18

what do results of operant condition studies reveal about infant memory development

Answer 18

• -2 months: retain memory for 2 days
• 6 months: 2 weeks
• 9 months: 6 weeks

-More evidence that infants within the first year of life can retain memories for a long time!

Question 19

deferred imitation

Answer 19

-baby reproduces demonstrated action after a delay

Question 20

what is an example of using deferred imitation to study memory

Answer 20

• Bauer
• show infants and toddlers series of actions (e.g. put a rattle together, hang up a bell, hit it)
• make child leave
• ask child to perform demonstrated action after delay

Question 21

what do results of deferred imitation studies reveal about infant memory development

Answer 21

• 20-month-old children can recall these action sequences a year later
• Younger children can recall them too, but only with shorter delays

Question 22

infant amnesia

Answer 22

• An inability to remember childhood events and experiences (autobiographical/episodic memories), especially before age 3
• Very few early memories that are not rich in content.

Question 23

how do we know infant amnesia exists

Answer 23

-people who had a sibling born before the age of 3 couldn’t recall events about the birth of a sibling

Question 24

5 hypothesis that explain why infant amnesia exists

Answer 24

1. Memory formation before age 3 is limited
2. brain development
3. infants have no sense of self
4. social conversation and telling stories
5. encoding specificity

Question 25

Memory formation is limited supporting evidence

Answer 25

-Actually there is evidence against this hypothesis (3 methods used to measure memory in infants) But! We do know from these studies that: Infants capacity to retain memories over long delays improves with age -So perhaps the memories that infants form just can’t be retained long enough to recall later in in life

Question 26

brain development supporting evidence

Answer 26

- Infant memory is mostly implicit - Implicit memory is supported by structures that mature earlier (striatum, cerebellum) - Explicit memory is supported by prefrontal cortex, which is slow to develop - Autobiographical memories (the kind we forget due to Infant Amnesia) are explicit. Thus, these memories may be poorly encoded due to immature prefrontal cortex in infancy - The hippocampus may have a limited capacity to store early memories - There's a lots of new neurons and connections being built in the hippocampus over infancy and early childhood - the later ones may 'overwrite' or 'rewire' the old ones, 'disrupting' earlier memories

Question 27

How does the New York Post Article relate to this hypothesis

Answer 27

- brains have to forget to develop - New brain cells might crowd the territory of other neurons or even replace them altogether, which could in turn break or reconfigure the small circuits that likely store individual memories.” - introducing neurogenesis in the hippocampus for adult mice, caused them to not be afford of the cage

Question 28

infants have no sense of self supporting evidence

Answer 28

- Strong sense of self is not present until roughly 2 years old, and then continues to develop thereafter - The sense of self is the critical thread linking autobiographical memories, which are the things we forget with infant amnesia

Question 29

social conversation and telling stories supporting evidence

Answer 29

Children of parents who are “highly elaborative” in their conversations about events with their children have better autobiographical memories compared to children of parents who are “low elaborative”

Question 30

encoding specificity supporting evidence

Answer 30

- memory is best retrieved in thee same form it was encoded | - Autobiographical memories tend to be verbal in nature, but many memories formed before age 3 are nonverbal.

Question 31

how does the Simcock and Hayne article relate to this hypothesis

Answer 31

- Nonverbal retrieval is not dependent on vocabulary at encoding. - Verbal retrieval IS dependent on vocabulary at encoding. - Retrieval has to be specific to the type of encoding it was in - Preverbal memories cannot be retrieved verbally!

Question 32

how are children's memories fallible (weak, flawed)

Answer 32

- Children’s memory skills continue to develop beyond infancy - Children’s memories remain fragile in many ways - Issues at all phases of memory: encoding, storage, retrieval

Question 33

encoding issues...young's children encoding ...

Answer 33

1. places greater emphasis on verbatim information, compared to gist. (Gist is easier to remember.) 2. less complete due to lesser knowledge 3. easily influenced by stereotypes.

Question 34

how does knowledge help encoding

Answer 34

- Encoding is easier with prior knowledge - helps identify what is important to encode □ *lesser knowledge also affects retrieval given children then have difficulty ruling out implausible events

Question 35

storage issues ...young children...

Answer 35

1. more “suggestible”: more easily influenced by experiences that happen b/w encoding and recall (e.g., during storage)   -Easily influenced by “leading questions - Have trouble distinguishing true stored events from events that were ‘imagined’ after encoding. - time more easily degrades young children's stored memories

Question 36

retrieval issues

Answer 36

1. Children remember more when asked specific questions vs. open-ended questions 2. Children remember more when asked to recognize vs. recall 3. Children remember more when encouraged to think deeply, and use multiple domains of communication (e.g., verbal, drawing pictures) 4. Expectations of the questioner influence children’s reporting on remembered events. 5. Children change their report of their memories when asked multiple times