benlehrburger/college-text-corpus · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 2.12k
Recall can be governed by expectations, not by reality
Hypothesis for memory errors
Memory in the brain is modality-specific – we keep sensory information separate from one another (one representation for what we saw stored in brain areas devoted to visual processing and one for what we heard stored in brain areas specialized for auditory processing) – which comprise a network of interconnected nodes
But in the network, there are no boundaries keeping the elements of one episode separate from elements of other episodes
Episodes are held together through the extent of their connections; connections serve as retrieval paths
As you add more connections between the features of one episode and another, they begin to knit together and you can lose track of which information was contained within which event
Transplant errors: information encountered in one context is transplanted into another context
Understanding helps and hurts memory
Memory connections help recollections because they serve as retrieval paths and allow you to locate information in memory
Memory connections hurt memory because they sometimes make it difficult to see where the remembered episode stops and other, related knowledge begins
Intrusion errors: errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event
We can reduce intrusion errors by providing meaningful context, which helps understanding and promotes recall
The DRM procedure – when recalling word lists, people are just as likely to recall thematic words as they are the actual words in the list
Schematic knowledge
Schemata: the broad pattern of what’s normal in a situation
Help fill in gaps in memory when we can’t remember
Schemata also focus our attention and what we remember based on what we expect/what is typical
You’ll supplement what you remember with a plausible reconstruction based on your schematic knowledge
Schemata, however, can hurt memory because they “regularize” the past
The cost of memory errors
Eyewitness errors
Planting false memories
Just a change of wording – or other misleading suggestions – can have a significant effect on the likelihood of memory error
It’s easier to plant plausible memories rather than implausible memories
Errors are more likely if the post-event information supplements what the person remembers rather than contradicting it (easier to add a memory than replace one)
False memories are more easily planted if people don’t just hear about the false event but are urged to imagine the event
False memories are more easily planted when accompanied by evidence
Misinformation effect: errors that result from misinformation received after an event was experienced
Avoiding memory errors
Memory confidence
People trust memories that are expressed with confidence and are more cautious about memories that are hesitant
A person’s degree of certainty is an unreliable indicator of whether a memory is trustworthy
A person’s confidence in a memory is often influenced by factors that have no impact on memory accuracy – ie. feedback or frequency of recall
There are no indicators that can reliably guide us in deciding which memories to trust and which ones not to trust
Forgetting
Causes of forgetting
Failure in acquisition
Passage of time
Retention interval: the amount of time that elapses between the initial learning and subsequent retrieval; as this interval grows, you’re likely to forget more and more of the event
Hypotheses (all are correct in some part)
Decay theory of forgetting: memories fade with the passage of time
Relevant brain cells die off or the connections among memories need to get refreshed or else they weaken
Interference theory: the passage of time creates the opportunity for new learning, and new learning disrupts older memories
Forgetting dependent on the number of intervening events
Newly arriving information gets interwoven with older information, producing confusion about which bits are old and which are new
New information sometimes replaces old information
Retrieval failure: the forgotten memory is still in long-term storage but the person trying to retrieve the memory can’t locate it
Retrieval is more likely if your perspective at the time of retrieval matches the perspective in place at the time of learning
The greater the retention interval, the greater the likelihood that your perspective has changed, and therefore the greater the likelihood of retrieval failure
Tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon: when you’re trying to think of a word but can’t come up with it
An instance of partial retrieval failure
Undoing forgetting
Hypnosis
Under hypnosis, a person can return to an earlier event and remember everything about the event; in reality, hypnotized patients are just willing to say more to comply with the hypnotist's instructions, and their memories are a mix of recollection, guesses, and inferences
Cognitive interview
Context reinstatement: steps that put witnesses back into the mindset they were in at the time of the crime
Offers a diverse set of retrieval cues in hopes that one triggers the target memory
Avoiding forgetting
Revisit a memory periodically
The testing effect
Memory: overall assessment
Memory errors are the result of mechanisms that otherwise help you locate memories, be efficient in your contact with the world, and form general knowledge
Autobiographical memory: memory that each person has for the episodes and events of our lives
This memory shapes how we think about ourselves and how we behave
Influenced by three factors
Involvement in the remembered event
Emotion
Long delay
Memory and self
Self-reference effect: information relevant to the self is better remembered than information that’s not self-relevant
Self-schema: the set of interwoven beliefs and memories that constitute people’s knowledge about themselves
Memory errors still exist here because our memory of our own life is a mix of genuine recall and schema-based reconstruction
People will reconstruct their history in a biased way, one that maximized the apparent stability of their lives and makes the past look more like the present than it really was
We also attempt to make our pasts more positive than it really was
Memory and emotion
Memory consolidation: the process through which memories are biologically cemented in place
Memory begins as fragile as just a pattern of activation, but is stabilized over the next few hours
Emotion enhances consolidation – emotional events trigger a response in the amygdala, and the amygdala increases activity in the hippocampus, which is crucial for establishing memories
An emotional event is likely important to you and thus you’ll pay close attention as it unfolds, helping promote memory; you will also rehearse that event after it unfolds, further promoting memory
Emotion can also influence what you remember – produces a narrowing of attention, so all that attention is focused on a few aspects of the scene
Different emotions lead you to set different goals
Flashbulb memories: memories of extraordinary clarity for highly emotional events
Memory of these influenced by how, how often, and with whom someone discusses the flashbulb event
Influenced by social aspects of remembering
People may polish up their memories based on who they’re talking to for better conversation or pick up on new information
Traumatic memories
Traumatic events are often remembered with cruel enhancement of memory
Traumatic memories are consolidated because of the extreme emotional arousal
Why do some people remember everything about a traumatic event and some remember very little?
Traumatic events induce stress, which can undermine aspects of memory for peripheral information about an event
Stress experienced during memory retrieval interferes with memory
Repression and recovered memories
Memory repression: people defend themselves from painful memories by pushing them out of awareness; those painful memories won’t be consciously available but will still exist in a person’s long-term storage and can be recovered with proper cues
This idea is not well-supported
Painful events are often well remembered
“Recovered” memories were often never lost, people just refused to discuss them
When memories are lost, it’s generally just a result of retrieval failure – memories are lost until the proper retrieval cue is in place
Recovered memories can be false memories
Long-term remembering
How much the retention interval matters depends on how well established the memories are in the first place

Recall can be governed by expectations, not by reality

Hypothesis for memory errors

Memory in the brain is modality-specific – we keep sensory information separate from one another (one representation for what we saw stored in brain areas devoted to visual processing and one for what we heard stored in brain areas specialized for auditory processing) – which comprise a network of interconnected nodes

But in the network, there are no boundaries keeping the elements of one episode separate from elements of other episodes

Episodes are held together through the extent of their connections; connections serve as retrieval paths

As you add more connections between the features of one episode and another, they begin to knit together and you can lose track of which information was contained within which event

Transplant errors: information encountered in one context is transplanted into another context

Understanding helps and hurts memory

Memory connections help recollections because they serve as retrieval paths and allow you to locate information in memory

Memory connections hurt memory because they sometimes make it difficult to see where the remembered episode stops and other, related knowledge begins

Intrusion errors: errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event

We can reduce intrusion errors by providing meaningful context, which helps understanding and promotes recall

The DRM procedure – when recalling word lists, people are just as likely to recall thematic words as they are the actual words in the list

Schematic knowledge

Schemata: the broad pattern of what’s normal in a situation

Help fill in gaps in memory when we can’t remember

Schemata also focus our attention and what we remember based on what we expect/what is typical

You’ll supplement what you remember with a plausible reconstruction based on your schematic knowledge

Schemata, however, can hurt memory because they “regularize” the past

The cost of memory errors

Eyewitness errors

Planting false memories

Just a change of wording – or other misleading suggestions – can have a significant effect on the likelihood of memory error

It’s easier to plant plausible memories rather than implausible memories

Errors are more likely if the post-event information supplements what the person remembers rather than contradicting it (easier to add a memory than replace one)

False memories are more easily planted if people don’t just hear about the false event but are urged to imagine the event

False memories are more easily planted when accompanied by evidence

Misinformation effect: errors that result from misinformation received after an event was experienced

Avoiding memory errors

Memory confidence

People trust memories that are expressed with confidence and are more cautious about memories that are hesitant

A person’s degree of certainty is an unreliable indicator of whether a memory is trustworthy

A person’s confidence in a memory is often influenced by factors that have no impact on memory accuracy – ie. feedback or frequency of recall

There are no indicators that can reliably guide us in deciding which memories to trust and which ones not to trust

Forgetting

Causes of forgetting

Failure in acquisition

Passage of time

Retention interval: the amount of time that elapses between the initial learning and subsequent retrieval; as this interval grows, you’re likely to forget more and more of the event

Hypotheses (all are correct in some part)

Decay theory of forgetting: memories fade with the passage of time

Relevant brain cells die off or the connections among memories need to get refreshed or else they weaken

Interference theory: the passage of time creates the opportunity for new learning, and new learning disrupts older memories

Forgetting dependent on the number of intervening events

Newly arriving information gets interwoven with older information, producing confusion about which bits are old and which are new

New information sometimes replaces old information

Retrieval failure: the forgotten memory is still in long-term storage but the person trying to retrieve the memory can’t locate it

Retrieval is more likely if your perspective at the time of retrieval matches the perspective in place at the time of learning

The greater the retention interval, the greater the likelihood that your perspective has changed, and therefore the greater the likelihood of retrieval failure

Tip of the tongue (TOT) phenomenon: when you’re trying to think of a word but can’t come up with it

An instance of partial retrieval failure

Undoing forgetting

Hypnosis

Under hypnosis, a person can return to an earlier event and remember everything about the event; in reality, hypnotized patients are just willing to say more to comply with the hypnotist's instructions, and their memories are a mix of recollection, guesses, and inferences

Cognitive interview

Context reinstatement: steps that put witnesses back into the mindset they were in at the time of the crime

Offers a diverse set of retrieval cues in hopes that one triggers the target memory

Avoiding forgetting

Revisit a memory periodically

The testing effect

Memory: overall assessment

Memory errors are the result of mechanisms that otherwise help you locate memories, be efficient in your contact with the world, and form general knowledge

Autobiographical memory: memory that each person has for the episodes and events of our lives

This memory shapes how we think about ourselves and how we behave

Influenced by three factors

Involvement in the remembered event

Emotion

Long delay

Memory and self

Self-reference effect: information relevant to the self is better remembered than information that’s not self-relevant

Self-schema: the set of interwoven beliefs and memories that constitute people’s knowledge about themselves

Memory errors still exist here because our memory of our own life is a mix of genuine recall and schema-based reconstruction

People will reconstruct their history in a biased way, one that maximized the apparent stability of their lives and makes the past look more like the present than it really was

We also attempt to make our pasts more positive than it really was

Memory and emotion

Memory consolidation: the process through which memories are biologically cemented in place

Memory begins as fragile as just a pattern of activation, but is stabilized over the next few hours

Emotion enhances consolidation – emotional events trigger a response in the amygdala, and the amygdala increases activity in the hippocampus, which is crucial for establishing memories

An emotional event is likely important to you and thus you’ll pay close attention as it unfolds, helping promote memory; you will also rehearse that event after it unfolds, further promoting memory

Emotion can also influence what you remember – produces a narrowing of attention, so all that attention is focused on a few aspects of the scene

Different emotions lead you to set different goals

Flashbulb memories: memories of extraordinary clarity for highly emotional events

Memory of these influenced by how, how often, and with whom someone discusses the flashbulb event

Influenced by social aspects of remembering

People may polish up their memories based on who they’re talking to for better conversation or pick up on new information

Traumatic memories

Traumatic events are often remembered with cruel enhancement of memory

Traumatic memories are consolidated because of the extreme emotional arousal

Why do some people remember everything about a traumatic event and some remember very little?

Traumatic events induce stress, which can undermine aspects of memory for peripheral information about an event

Stress experienced during memory retrieval interferes with memory

Repression and recovered memories

Memory repression: people defend themselves from painful memories by pushing them out of awareness; those painful memories won’t be consciously available but will still exist in a person’s long-term storage and can be recovered with proper cues

This idea is not well-supported

Painful events are often well remembered

“Recovered” memories were often never lost, people just refused to discuss them

When memories are lost, it’s generally just a result of retrieval failure – memories are lost until the proper retrieval cue is in place

Recovered memories can be false memories

Long-term remembering

How much the retention interval matters depends on how well established the memories are in the first place