Memory

• Misremembering the past- Pearson (second of the three memory chapters)

• Forms of representation- Pearson
• Alzheimer’s- Sternberg (pg 221)
• Mnemonics- Sternberg (pg 239)

Capacity
• Capacity of LTM (Landauer, 1986)
- 1013 neurons
- 1020 neural impulses
- 1 billion bits of information
• Miller (1956)- STM capacity of 7+ 2 chunks

Models of Memory
• Knowledge refers to information about the world that is stored in memory
Tasks for Measuring Memory
• Explicit memory tasks- consciously recall particular information
• Declarative-knowledge tasks- recall facts
• Recall tasks- produce a fact/word/other item for memory, eg: fill-in-the-blank
• Serial-recall task- repeat items in a list in the exact order you heard/read them
• Free-recall task- repeat items in any order
• Cued-recall- memorize a list of paired items, then when given one item you have to recall the
other
• Recognition task- select/identify an item as being one that you learned previously
• Implicit memory tasks- draw on information in memory without consciously realising you are
doing so (eg: fill in a word with some letters given, without being previously exposed to the
word)
• Procedural memory tasks- remember learned skills and automatic behaviors rather than facts

William James
• Primary memory- initial repository in which info can be stored and made available to
conscious inspection
• Secondary memory- long-term storage; needs active cognitive process to retrieve

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model (1968)

• 3 types of memory
• Sequential- pass through each stage one by one
• Differences in duration, capacity, preferred encoding formation, and preferred forgetting
mechanism
• Sensory memory
- Stores limited amount of info for brief amounts of time
- 0-2 seconds; small/large (controversial); copy of the entire stimulus; decay
 - Iconic store- visual + echoic store- sound
- Iconic memory can be erased: In the experiment conducted by Averbach and Coriell in
1961, they discovered a significant aspect of iconic memory - it can be erased. This
erasable nature is crucial for managing the overwhelming amount of visual information
we encounter. The study revealed a phenomenon called backward visual masking, where
presenting a stimulus in the same position as a target letter shortly after its presentation
caused the erasure of the original stimulus. This interference occurred within a specific
time frame, and at longer intervals, the mask no longer affected the original stimulus,
suggesting the transfer of information to more durable memory storage.
• STM- 30 seconds; 7 +- 2; phonological; interference
- Limited capacity, longer period
• LTM- more than 30 seconds; infinitely large; semantic; interference
- Huge capacity, long periods

Baddeley-Hitch Model
• Working memory
• Short-term memory enables complex cognitive activities that require integration, coordination,
and manipulation of multiple bits of mentally represented information
• Holds representation of information + enables operations to be performed on it
• Central executive- governs deposition and removal of information from STM
- Determines what is deposited in storage buffers
- Determines which buffer is used (phonological or visuospatial)
- Coordinates information between buffers
- Allows for manipulation information in the two buffers
• Phonological loop- sound-based
- Articulatory rehearsal
- Verbal material maintained in memory
- Phonologically similar words lead to worse serial recall- confirms that phonological loop
exists (Conrad & Hull, 1964)
• Visuospatial sketchpad
- Spatial rehearsal- of stored locations
• A third storage buffer, the episodic buffer, has been proposed that can integrate diverse forms
of information, and which holds complex information about extended events or episodes
Level of Processing Model (Craik and Lockhart, 1972)
• Memory does not have multiple stores, but varies along a continuous dimension called depth
of encoding
• Infinite number of levels of processing exist for encoding through elaboration
• Physical (surface characteristics) -> Phonological (sound combinations) -> Semantic
(meaning)
• Explains individual differences in memory
• Processes used at time of learning affect forgetting and memory
• Self-reference effect- participants show very high levels of recall when a word is personally
meaningful (Rogers et al., 1977)- reason is an elaborate self-schema
• Elaboration can be: (a) within-item; (b) between-item

Connectionist Perspective
• Parallel distributed processing
• Prime- node that activates a connected node
• Priming effect- activation of node
• Working memory composes of activated portion of LTM and operates through some amount of
parallel processing
• Spreading activation- simultaneous activation of multiple links amongst nodes within the
network

Computer and Human Memory

1. Capacity of human memory is dependent on experience
2. Efficiency of human memory is low
3. Human memory is time-oriented; computer memory is list-oriented

Memory Distortion
• Interference theory- view that forgetting occurs because recall of certain words interferes
with recall of other words
- Retroactive interference- newly acquired knowledge impedes recall of older material
- Proactive interference- materials learned in the past impede learning of new material
- Primacy effect- superior recall of words at near the beginning of list
- Recency effect- superior recall of words at or near the end of list
• Decay theory- information is forgotten due to gradual disappearance

Constructive Nature of Memory

• Prior experiences affect how we recall things and what we can actually recall from memory
Autobiographical Memory
• Memory of events of which the rememberer was a part of
• Middle-aged remember youthful and early adult periods better than events from the recent past
• Memory we hold regarding our relations to the world around us
• Depends on episodic and semantic memory systems
• Functions (Williams, Conray, Cohen):
 1. Directive function- guide actions in the present and future
2. Development of social bond by sharing personal memories
3. Self-representative function
4. Adaptive function- can help cope with adversity
• Diary- 2 events per day- who was involved, where it occurred, what was the event, when it
occurred (multiple cues for recall)
- Structured information
- Eg: Linton (1982)- wrote 2 experiences per fay on index cards, then chose two cards at
random and tried to remember events and their date- found linear rate of forgetting
- Limitations: maintaining a diary is a burden; events selected from all that occur in a day
will be only meaningful ones; promotes rehearsal for the selected events
• Alternative to diary: memory pro method- derived from cue recall method
- Participants given a word and then asked to recall autobiographical memories associated
with that word
- Limitation: recency effect (most recent memory associated with that word)
- Can go back to any age range; except for infantile amnesia (till the age of 5)
• Lifespan retrieval curve- little recall till age of 5 years; 15-30 years strong recall (reminiscence
bump- most significant events happen during this time)
• Positive self-esteem- remember positive events; negative self-esteem- remember negative
events (Christensen et al., 2003)
• Unpleasant memories are recalled more easily (adaptive function)
• Not organized like semantic, since errors like recency effect and infantile amnesia occur
• Flashbulb memory- memory of an event so powerful that the person remembers the event as
vividly as if it was preserved on film (Brown & Kulik, 1977)
- 9/11 memories
- 3 circumstances: (a) memory trace is important; (b) surprising; (c) emotional effect
- Constructive: In one study, more than 70% of people who were questioned about the
World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, reported seeing the first plane hit the
first tower. However, this footage was not available until the next day (Pezdek, 2003,
2006)

Memory Distortions
• 7 sins of memory (Schacter, 2001):
1. Transience- memory fades quickly
2. Absent-mindedness
3. Blocking- know there is something you should remember but you don’t
4. Misattribution- think you see something you didn’t
5. Suggestibility
6. Bias- depression
7. Persistence- remember things as consequential that is actually not

Repressed Memory
• Memories alleged to be pushed down into unconscious because of the distress they cause
• Memories may have been planted + Showing that implanted memories are false is hard to do
• Roediger-McDermott (1995) paradigm- 15 words strongly associated with a non-presented
words- find that recognition rate for nonpresented word was comparable to that for presented
word
• Source monitoring error- know they have heard/seen information but not sure where

Organization of LTM
• Formula of memory impairment
• Memory of semantic events- highly organized
• Organization is a necessary condition for memory
• Network model/hierarchy model

Organization of LTM
• 4 main theories of organization:
1. Hierarchies- LTM is organized through a hierarchical arrangement of concepts
- Concepts can be physical objects, events, attributes, or abstractions
- Arranged from general to more specific classes
- Can be simple or complex
- Pieces of information are associated with each other through meaningful links
- Sub-classifications get more specific as they go on

1. Semantic networks- memory is organized in a network of interconnected concepts and

certain triggers activate associated memories
- These networks are loosely connected conceptual hierarchies linked together by
associations to other concepts
- Semantic networks compose of nodes- these are linked according to their relationships
- Semantic networks are more random and less structured than true hierarchies
- Concepts are linked based on meaning and relationships that we have learned through
experiences
- New memories are formed by adding nodes to the network, connected to previous
information
2. Schemas- Organized mental representations about the world, events, people, and things
- Schema is a data structure for representing generic concepts stored in memory
- Schema reflects a pattern of relationships among data stored in memory
- Set of nodes and links
- Schema frameworks affect our expectations of what should occur
- New memories are formed by adding schema or modifying old ones
3. Connectionist networks- Parallel distributed processing
- LTM is composed of connectionist networks- information stored in small units throughout
the brain with connections between units/nodes of neurons
- Each node is a neuron or group of neurons- each layer is made of 3 layers:
- Input layer- receives information and distributes signal throughout network
- Hidden layer- serves as a connection with other units
- Output layer- passes information to other parts of the brain which can generate
appropriate responses
- Each node represents a concept- activation also leads to activation of associated networks
• Other forms of classification: (Squire et al., 1993)
1. Declarative memory- explicit memory- can be consciously retrieved and expressed verbally
- Dependent on hippocampus and related to medial temporal lobe
- Fast, but not always reliable
- Saunders and Weiskrantz (1989)- study on monkeys with hippocampus regions- could
recognize associations that lead to reward (AB+ and CD+), and carried this relation to
another task; however, those with hippocampal damage were not able to carry over this
information
A. Episodic memory- autobiographical memory for events that occupy a particular temporal and
spatial context
- Substantial losses on occurrence of amnesia
B. Semantic memory- general knowledge about the world
- Relationship with amnesia unclear- some semantic learning can occur after repeated trials
2. Non-Declarative memory- heterogeneous collection of separate abilities that can be
additionally dissociated from each other
- Slow, reliable, inflexible- information is not readily expressed by response systems not
involved in the original learning
A. Skills and habits- procedures for operating in the world (skills) and predispositions specific
to a set of stimuli that guide behavior (habits)
- Amnesiacs can still improve on tasks without knowing that they practiced them (Milner,
1962)
B. Conditioning- learning of simple conditioned responses is related to the automatic nervous
system
C. Priming- improved facility for detecting or identifying perceptual stimuli based on recent
experience with them

• Procedural memory- knowing how to do things- related ot motor skills, habits, and actions
• Autobiographical memory- memories related to our life story, personal experiences, and
identity
- While episodic memory involves remembering by re-experiencing the event,
autobiographical memory refers to information that directly involves the rememberer but
may not entail the same subjective awareness (Gilboa, 2004); entails the help of self-
schemas
 Aging and Memory

Aging and Memory

• Starts right from infancy
• Experiences start from infancy and change as we grow
• School v/s PG teaching; driving; retiring
• Cognitive system changes, and so does memory
• Episodic memory declines with age
• Working memory first improves, and then declines in older adults
• Adults use compensatory strategies (like post-its) to accommodate for changes in memory

Causes of Memory Loss

1. Aging- changes in the neuroendocrine system
2. Neurological disorders- interfere with brain activity, and thus decline in memory
- Alzheimer’s- loss of neurons + appearance of abnormal structures in the brain (plaques-
extracellular deposit of beta-amiloid//grey matter and tangles), particularly in areas of the
brain associated with memory
- Brain tumor
- Parkinson’s Disease
3. Cerebrovascular disease- injury to the brain through trauma, ruptured artery
4. Cardiovascular disease- hypertension ( -> stroke), diabetes, high cholesterol
- High bp -> white matter lesions -> affect cog function -> detected through fMRI
- Diabetes- high blood sugar- depresses function of the hippocampus (reduces volume) +
high insulin (increases biochemical markers for inflammation)
- High cholesterol leads to mild cognitive impairment- high LDL proteins or insufficient
HDL
5. Vitamin deficiency, hormonal imbalances, medication (beta-blockers)

Reasons for Memory Change with Age

1. Biological Changes in the Brain:
1. Hippocampal Changes: The hippocampus, a brain region crucial for memory formation,
tends to show age-related structural and functional changes. Reduced hippocampal
volume and alterations in synaptic plasticity may contribute to memory decline (Raz et
al., 2005).
2. Neurotransmitter Changes: Changes in neurotransmitter systems, particularly those
involving acetylcholine and dopamine, can impact memory function. Alterations in these
systems may affect signal transmission in the brain, contributing to memory decline.
3. Brain Network Connectivity: Age-related changes in the connectivity of brain networks,
including the default mode network, can impact memory processes. Disruptions in
communication between different brain regions may affect the integration of information
necessary for memory formation and retrieval.
2. Cellular and Molecular Factors:
 1. Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: Aging is associated with increased oxidative stress
and inflammation, which can have detrimental effects on cellular function, including
neurons. Chronic inflammation and oxidative damage may contribute to synaptic
dysfunction and neuronal death.
2. Amyloid Plaques and Tau Tangles: The accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles,
characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, can also be present in the brains of older
individuals. While these pathological features are more strongly linked to dementia, their
presence may contribute to cognitive decline in aging.
3. Vascular Changes: Age-related vascular changes, including reduced blood flow to the brain,
can impact cognitive function. Conditions such as hypertension and atherosclerosis may
contribute to vascular dementia or exacerbate age-related cognitive decline.
4. Hormonal Changes: Changes in hormonal levels, such as a decline in estrogen in
postmenopausal women, can influence cognitive function. Hormones play a role in
neuroprotection, synaptic plasticity, and other processes relevant to memory.
5. Psychosocial and Environmental Factors:
1. Lifestyle Factors: Factors such as sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, and lack of physical
exercise can contribute to cognitive decline. Engaging in regular physical activity and
maintaining a healthy diet have been associated with better cognitive outcomes in older
age.
2. Cognitive Engagement: Lack of cognitive engagement and stimulation may contribute to
memory decline. Individuals who actively engage in intellectually stimulating activities
may be more likely to maintain cognitive function.
3. Sleep Quality: Age-related changes in sleep patterns and sleep quality can impact
memory consolidation. Adequate and quality sleep is crucial for optimal cognitive
function, including memory processes.
 Eyewitness Testimony

• A central issue that plagues forensic and criminal psychology is that human memory is fallible.
Eg: Ost, Granhag, Udell, and Roos ag Hjelmsäter (2008) asked British and Swedish samples
about the events in Tavistock Square, London, when, on 7 July 2005 terrorists blew up a bus and
tube trains
- Asked if they remembered seeing a video of the bus being blown up
- 28% claimed to have seen it, even though no such video existed
• Robert Hinsen departmental store robbery case
• Chatman- 27 years in prison
• Albert Von Schrenck-Notzing, as early as 1896, spoke of retroactive memory falsification,
successfully arguing that witnesses confuse real-life events with what they read in the press
during a triple murder trial
• Munstenberg later argued that there may be no link between the accuracy of their testimony
• Wells described two types of variables that influence eyewitness reports- system variables
(type of questioning, nature of lineup, etc.) that lead to preventable errors and estimatory
variables (not controlled by criminal justice system; environmental and factors within the
person)
• The Innocence Project (2017) estimated that eyewitness misidentification played a role in 70%
of DNA exonerated (new genetic evidence leads to new conviction) cases now known.
- Work in this area started nearly 20 years ago
- Example: Ronald Cotton spent 10 years in prison for a rape after being identified in a line-
up. He was later exonerated when DNA evidence from seven left by the real rapist led to his
release
• The largest study happened in Netherlands (Van Koppen & Lochun, 1997)
- 400 case studies; 1300 witnesses and 2300 offenders
- Compared actual characteristics (police description) and witness description
- Correspondence rates were:
- sex (100 percent); - race (60 per cent);
- eye shape (100 percent); - height (52 percent);
- hair colour (73 percent); - ears protruding (50 per cent).
- face shape (69 percent);
• 1972- US Supreme Court ruled that confidence was an indicator of witness accuracy, and thus
needs to be taken into account when assessing the risk of misidentification, but this is not true
• Issues in studies:
- Emotions during crime not elicited in lab setting
- Only some physical features are seen (eg: upper body)

Questioning Witnesses
• Police generally have little in the name of training for interviewing witnesses
• Loftus and Palmer (1974)- studies on car accident- the type of questioning (“smash” vs
“contacted”) affected estimates of speed
• Police generally use the following pattern of questioning: introduction -> ask witness to
describe event -> ask brief, direct questions -> broad request for information
• Errors include interrupting, asking very direct questions, and using inappropriate order of
questions
1. Police are unaware of the dynamics of the situation. For instance, the witness often seeks
confirmation (demand characteristics), and tries to answer questions despite not knowing
the answer to appear competent to authority
2. Leading questions are common
3. Police are unaware of their own errors. For instance, many recognize that interrupting is bad,
but they still do it
4. Asking the same question several times in the same interview is also a bad idea, since
demand characteristics will make it likely that the witness will respond in some way (even if
it is false)
5. Use of MCQs also leads to guesswork
• Accuracy of information can be improved:
1. Slow down rate of questioning
2. Recreate original context in the mind, as in cognitive interviews
3. Make the interview witness-centered by asking open-ended questions and tell the witness to
say all that they want to say
4. Be sensitive to distinction between correct and incorrect responses. For example, taking
longer to respond may be a sign of incorrectness
5. Do not form premature conclusions and bias the interview

Line-Up
• Individual differences
- Older are less accurate, but more confident
- Own race bias
- Own age bias- we more accurately identify culprits when they are of a similar age to us
• Issues:
- Cross-Racial identification- it is harder for people to recognize the faces of people outside
their group than it is for people to recognize the faces of people within their group
- Stress and weapon focus- Watching a crime in progress certainly triggers stress. But the
effect of this arousal on the encoding of information is generally negative, partly because
the arousal frequently includes fear for one’s own physical safety (Deffenbacher et a;.,
2004).
- Unconscious transference- perp may look similar to the person identified
• Improving:
- Blank Lineup- include only people who are innocent in first line-up to check whether or not
one is chosen (tests accuracy)
- Sequential procedures- better than conventional lineups; involve showing one person at a
time- cannot simply go through a process of elimination and thus more accurate
- Recommendations (Wells et al., 1998)-
- Police officer should be blind
 - Witness should know officer is blind
- Foils and suspect should not be too different
- Witness should be asked of confidence at time of lineup
- Suspect-Filler Similarity
- Luis and Wells (1991)- inverted U-curve between similarity and line-up diagnosticity
(picking out the suspect)
- Should be similar, but not too similar

Using DNA
• DNA is better but
- Police needs to have collected and stored DNA evidence at the time of the crime
- DNA needs to be handled adequately at the time of the crime
- False positives
 Memory Strategies

• Memory strategy- mental activities that can help you improve your encoding and retrieval
(Bransford et al., 2000)
1. Divided attention- reduces memory- extraverts remember the same amount with music,
intraverts do not (Furnham & Bradley, 1997)
2. Levels of processing- try to associate with past
3. Encoding specificity- context at time of learning matches context at time of retrieval, this
leads to better retrieval
4. Overconfidence

Strategies
• Total-time hypothesis- amount of learning depends on total time you devote to learning
(Baddeley, 1997)
• Distributed-practice effect- spaced learning is better than massed learning- adds desirable
difficulties
• Testing effect- take a test

Mnemonics
• Chunking
• Hierarchy technique
• First-letter technique
• Narrative technique
• Method of loci
• Keyword method- link an unfamiliar word with a familiar one
 Study of Everyday Memory

• Lab-setting experiments do not always tell us about real-life utility of memory

• Everyday memory is context-bound and not context-free
- Eg: going in a car and remembering you need to get petrol
• Experiences are embedded in a rich context of ongoing events and scenes
• Everyday memory research emphasizes the fact that remembering usually occurs in a social
context
- Memory serves as interpersonal communication- maintain relationships
• Everyday memory is not confined to processing externally derived stimuli
- Memory allows for reflections. Eg: day-dreaming, planning
• Spatial Memory- Helps us navigate environments
• Reflection allows us to improve based on our past experiences

• Neisser (1980s) dismissed the work of the last 100 years as largely worthless
- Claimed that experimental findings are trivial, pointless, and cannot be generalized
- Proposed that research should have ecological validity
- Suggests an ethological approach; study memory in the same way as ethologists study
animal behavior (in the field)
• Last 35 years- controversy over lab based and everyday memory
- Initially seen as polar opposites
• Everyday memory emerged as a rapidly growing, richly varied, and extremely interesting body
of research

• Diary- 2 events per day- who was involved, where it occurred, what was the event, when it
occurred (multiple cues for recall)
- Structured information
- Eg: Linton (1982)- wrote 2 experiences per fay on index cards, then chose two cards at
random and tried to remember events and their date- found linear rate of forgetting
- Limitations: maintaining a diary is a burden; events selected from all that occur in a day
will be only meaningful ones; promotes rehearsal for the selected events
• Alternative to diary: memory pro method- derived from cue recall method
- Participants given a word and then asked to recall autobiographical memories associated
with that word
- Limitation: recency effect (most recent memory associated with that word)
- Can go back to any age range; except for infantile amnesia (till the age of 5)

Pros and Cons of Everyday Memory Research

• 1990s- Banaji and Crowder- counterattack on everyday memory (The Bankruptcy of Everyday
Memory)- argued that ecological validity is in inverse relation to generalizability
• Limitations come from weakness in methodology
• Abandoning control over encoding and storage stage, so cannot exactly make conclusions
about the retrieval
• Combination of lack of control and absence of a strong theoretical framework means that
everyday memory research is in danger
• Factor affecting memory of faces in everyday life:
- Importance and quality of encounters
- Seeing the same people over and over
- Number of faces encountered on a day
• Defense:
- Remembered information has often been learned incidentally rather than intentionally
- Everyday memory research is essentially about the norms and habits of memory
functioning
- Takes into account individual differences
- In everyday life, naturally occurring memory tasks rarely test capacity to its limits
• Phenomena of the real world are also tested in lab settings

Studies of Everyday Memory

• In the context of everyday memory, the concept of prospective memory is also significant.
Prospective memory involves remembering to perform planned actions in the future. For
instance, remembering to attend a meeting, take medication, or complete a task at a specific
time. Researchers like Einstein and McDaniel (1990) have contributed to our understanding of
prospective memory, investigating factors that affect the successful execution of planned
actions.
- Prospective memory is the cognitive ability to remember to perform intended actions or
tasks at a future point in time. Unlike retrospective memory, which involves remembering
past events, prospective memory involves remembering to do something in the future. This
aspect of memory is crucial for daily functioning and encompasses various types of tasks,
from simple everyday actions to more complex and goal-oriented activities.
- Prospective memory can be categorized into two main types:
- Time-Based Prospective Memory: In time-based prospective memory, individuals
need to remember to perform a task at a specific time or after a certain period has
elapsed. For example, remembering to take medication at noon or attend a meeting at 3
p.m.
- Event-Based Prospective Memory: Event-based prospective memory involves
remembering to perform a task in response to a particular event or cue. This could
include remembering to buy groceries when passing by a store or sending an email
after receiving a specific message.
• Additionally, studies on autobiographical memory, pioneered by researchers like Conway and
Pleydell-Pearce (2000), explore how individuals remember and reconstruct personal life
events. This area delves into the influence of emotions, cultural factors, and individual
differences on the recall of autobiographical memories.
- Autobiographical memory is characterized by temporal gradients, meaning that events
from recent times are often recalled with more detail and accuracy compared to events
from the distant past (Conway & Pleydell-Pearce, 2000). This phenomenon is known as
 the "reminiscence bump," where memories from adolescence and early adulthood are
often remembered more vividly
- Has a function of the self- grants us a sense of identity
- Directs our decision-making
- Reconstructive- information is not remembered 1:1
- Use of diary studies- Wagenaar (1986)- 6 year diary study with retrieval cues- details of
event more significant than timing
- Reminiscence bump (Rubin et al., 1986), recency effect and infantile amnesia (0-3)
- Flashbulb memory- clear and long-lasting autobiographical memories of surprising
events
• Eyewitness testimony is also a part of everyday memory
• Flashbulb memory- memory of an event so powerful that the person remembers the event as
vividly as if it was preserved on film (Brown & Kulik, 1977)
- 9/11 memories
- 3 circumstances: (a) memory trace is important; (b) surprising; (c) emotional effect
- Constructive: In one study, more than 70% of people who were questioned about the
World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, reported seeing the first plane hit the
first tower. However, this footage was not available until the next day (Pezdek, 2003,
2006)

Repressed Memory
• Memories alleged to be pushed down into unconscious because of the distress they cause
• Memories may have been planted + Showing that implanted memories are false is hard to do
• Roediger-McDermott (1995) paradigm- 15 words strongly associated with a non-presented
words- find that recognition rate for nonpresented word was comparable to that for presented
word
• Source monitoring error- know they have heard/seen information but not sure where

Seven Sins of Memory (Schachter, 2001)

1. Transience:
- Description: This sin involves the fading or weakening of memories over time. It reflects
the tendency for details to be lost or for the vividness of a memory to diminish as time
passes.
- Example: Forgetting the specifics of a vacation as the years go by.
2. Absent-mindedness:
- Description: Absent-mindedness occurs when attention is not fully focused on a task,
leading to lapses in memory. This can result in forgetfulness or the inability to recall
information due to inattention during encoding.
- Example: Forgetting where you placed your keys because you were preoccupied with other
thoughts.
3. Blocking:
- Description: Blocking involves the temporary inability to retrieve information that is stored
in memory. The information is present but cannot be accessed at a particular moment.
 - Example: Being unable to recall a friend's name even though you know it well.
4. Misattribution:
- Description: Misattribution occurs when individuals attribute a memory to the wrong
source. It involves assigning a memory to an incorrect time, place, or person.
- Example: Believing an event from a movie was a personal experience.
5. Suggestibility:
- Description: Suggestibility refers to the vulnerability of memory to external influences,
such as leading questions or suggestions. External information can distort or influence the
recall of an event.
- Example: Incorporating misinformation from others into one's memory of an event.
6. Bias:
- Description: Bias involves the influence of current knowledge, beliefs, or feelings on the
recall of past events. It can lead to the distortion of memories in line with one's current
perspectives.
- Example: Remembering past events in a way that aligns with one's current attitudes.
7. Persistence:
- Description: Persistence refers to the involuntary recall of unwanted or distressing
memories that individuals may wish to forget. These memories can persist and intrude into
consciousness.
- Example: Repeatedly thinking about a traumatic event despite efforts to suppress the
memory.
 Problem-Solving

• Sternberg
• Mental set- jar problem
• Suggestions for problem-solving- diff techniques
• Features of problem solving:
1. Need to remain flexible; rigidity in problem-solving limits this ability
2. Must bring in experience from past experiences when solving a problem

Improving Problem-Solving
• Mayer- problem-solver should be encouraged to verbalise the problem and the problem-
solving process aloud
• Block-busting: reach an impasse
• Need to be willing to take a risk; don’t be afraid of failures
• Letting go of problem for a while may help (incubation period)
• Levine- problem solver should go beyond the problem space- ideal strategy- identifying,
defining and representing the problem, exploring possible strategies, acting on strategies, look
back and reflect on problem-solving abilities
• Expand the problem-space
• Alternative representation (like graphs or matrices)
• Strategy of elimination rather than strategy of selection

Problem-Solving Cycle
Problem identification -> Defining the problem -> Construction of strategy for problem-solving
-> Organization of information about a problem -> Evaluation/allocation of resources ->
Monitoring problem-solving -> Evaluation
[explain with example- practical]
- Definition of problem may be incorrect

Programs simulate and surpass human intelligence for efficient problem-solving.

Key question: Can computers genuinely possess intelligence?
Nature of Computer Intelligence:
Computers can't think independently; they must be programmed to simulate cognitive processes.
Software provides insights into human information processing.

The Turing Test:

Proposed by Alan Turing (1963) to assess computer intelligence.
Involves an interrogator distinguishing between computer and human performance.
Focus on patterns of reaction time rather than speed alone.

Maximizing AI vs. Human Simulation:

Some programs aim to exceed human performance, prioritizing efficiency.
Chess and checkers programs use "brute force" methods, evaluating numerous moves.
Example: IBM's "Deep Blue" beating Gary Kasparov in chess.

Expert Systems:
Replicate expert performance in specific domains using rules and decision trees.
Applications in medical diagnoses and banking (e.g., mortgage processing).
Caution advised due to potential for incorrect conclusions.

Application of Expertise and Creativity:

Expertise converges on a correct solution; creativity introduces novel options.
Creativity complements expertise in problem-solving.