PSYC 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Neurology, Spreading Activation, Implicit Memory
I. What Does It Mean To Learn Something Well?
A. If you learn something very well, will it be easy to remember in all situations?
B. Is all learning based on conscious trying?
C. Are we all aware of what makes us feel like we remember something well?
II. How Do We Make Good Memories?
A. How much should we trust our own memories and those of others? Are
eyewitnesses really the best evidence?
B. What is the best way to study so I remember information later?
C. How do emotional events affect my memory? Can I really remember important
life events better?
III. Learning As Preparation For Retrieval
A. The best way to think about learning is as preparation for retrieval. Your mind is
trying to predict when you’ll need information again
B. This memory is context-based
1. You can only remember things if you are in a similar environment as
when you learned it
IV. Memory Is Context-Dependent
A. When the people were in the same context, they were better at memorizing the
words
1. So if they memorized on land, they recalled the words better on land than
water
V. Memory Is State-Dependent
A. When you learn things when you’re happy and recall them when you’re happy,
you can remember well and vice versa
1. When in a certain state of mind, your brain recalls other memories that
happened when you were in that state of mind
B. Study while smoking a normal or marijuana cigarette. Test words under same or
different physical condition
1. Smoking the same cigarette while studying and while taking a test helps
the person recall the most
2. Smoking one while studying and another while taking a test makes them
do worse
C. We encode the text with the target material
1. Physical match (diving, smell, etc…)
2. Emotional match (happy, depressed…)
3. Understanding match (childhood amnesia, under the influence of drugs
match…)
D. Adaptive function of memory: most relevant memories are most accessible
1. Things that are relevant in one context tend to be relevant again in that
same context
VI. Context-Dependent Memory
A. This means you don’t just “know” something or “not know” it. Many memories are
in your mind somewhere but hard to access in the wrong circumstances
VII. What Process Best Explains This?
A. Spreading activation travels from one concept to another, via associative links
B. Helps explain context effects, and also why partial information helps in retrieval
VIII. Spreading Activation
A. You saw this earlier in the case of feature detectors
B. Spreading activation between concepts suggest an explanation for why hints
help
us remember
Document Summary
Learning as preparation for retrieval: the best way to think about learning is as preparation for retrieval. Your mind is trying to predict when you"ll need information again: this memory is context-based, you can only remember things if you are in a similar environment as. Vi: this means you don"t just know something or not know it. Many memories are in your mind somewhere but hard to access in the wrong circumstances. What process best explains this: spreading activation travels from one concept to another, via associative links, helps explain context effects, and also why partial information helps in retrieval. Spreading activation: you saw this earlier in the case of feature detectors, spreading activation between concepts suggest an explanation for why hints help us remember, also helps explain encoding-specificity (e. g. , state-dependent learning and context reinstatement) The man ______ the piano. : your job: remember piano . Spreading activation: this kind of activation spreading seems to happen automatically.
