Information Processing Theory

• The origins of information processing theory can be traced back to George Miller, a cognitive psychologist and computer scientist.

• Information processing theory is a framework that explains how our mind takes in information, and then what it does with that information. 

Memory

• Memory is an information processing system that we often compare to a computer. 

• Memory is the set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time.

4 stages of Information Processing

• Encoding: This is the process of taking in information from the environment and assigning meaning to it. 

  • It involves perceiving or attending to stimuli before they can be stored in short-term memory.

• Storage: This is when information is held temporarily in short-term memory while it is processed or transferred into long-term memory for more permanent storage.

• Retrieval: This stage focuses on accessing previously stored information from either short-term or long-term memory in order to utilize it for a current task.

• Transformation: The final stage involves transforming information into a more useful form, such as organizing it in different ways of using reasoning and problem-solving skills to come up with a solution.

Types of Forgetting

Displacement

• Displacement occurs when information stored in short-term memory is forgotten and lost. 

  • This occurs due to the capacity limits of short-term memory. 

  • We can only store 5-9 chunks of information in the short-term memory store, any information beyond it will be either displaced (forgotten) or transferred to long-term memory if elaborately rehearsed.

Decay

• The theory of trace decay proposes that memories that are not strengthened decay over time. 

  • Memories are imprinted in neural pathways, which can be called memory engrams. 

  • Over time the pathways that have not been active in a while become weaker. 

  • As the pathway fades, it can become more difficult to access the memory, or it may disappear completely. 

  • In contrast, pathways that are strengthened by repetition become stronger, and the memory is easier to access.

Interference

• Interference occurs when we cannot remember the target memory because of other similar information that interferes with accessing it.

  •  Interference occurs because the cues associated with the target memory (the one you want to access) have also become associated with other similar memories.

Retrieval failure

• Retrieval is the process of remembering. Retrieval failure occurs when we are unable to access stored information because of a lack of cues. 

  • This theory proposes that the forgotten information is still in our memory, but we need some additional help to be able to remember it. 

  • Recall can be facilitated by appropriate external or internal cues that help us access the target memory.

The structure and function of the brain

• The brain consists of millions of relay neurons that are tightly packed together.

• The cerebrum is the top layer of the brain. 

• The brain consists of two cerebral hemispheres, one on each side of the head and with each hemisphere divided into four areas known as lobes. 

• Following are the division

  • Frontal lobe: The frontal lobe is a region of the brain located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere.

    • It plays a crucial role in various cognitive functions, including decision-making, problem-solving, planning, and personality expression.

  • Parietal lobe: The parietal lobe is a region in the brain that is responsible for processing sensory information, such as touch, temperature, and pain.

    • It also plays a role in spatial awareness, perception, and language processing.

  • Occipital lobe: The occipital lobe is a region in the brain responsible for processing visual information. It is located at the back of the cerebral cortex.

  • Cerebellum: The cerebellum is a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in motor control, coordination, and balance.

    • It is located at the back of the brain, beneath the cerebral cortex.

    • The cerebellum receives information from various sensory systems and integrates it to fine-tune motor movements.

Localization of function in the brain

• Some brain functions are associated with particular areas on the folded outer layers of the cerebrum known as the cerebral cortex. These localized functions include movement, vision, hearing, language, and touch.

• The area that controls movement using motor neurons to send signals to our muscles is known as the motor area. 

  • Our fingers and thumbs have a larger share of the motor cortex than less active parts like the torso.

• The area that is responsible for touch is known as the somatosensory area. 

  • The more sensitive a part of the body is, the larger the amount of the somatosensory cortex it will involve.

• The two cerebral hemispheres of the brain control opposite sides of the body. For example, the right hemisphere’s sensory and motor strips deal with the left side of the body, while those on the left hemisphere deal with the right side of the body.

• The visual cortex receives information from both eyes through the optic nerves, while another area on the temporal lobe, the auditory cortex, serves the same job for hearing. The auditory cortex receives information from the ears so damage to this area of the brain can lead to hearing loss.

• The angular gyrus is located at the back of the parietal lobe and receives information about written language from the visual cortex, and interprets it as being similar to speech. 

• When people experience injury to this area, they develop a condition known as acquired dyslexia where they experience difficulties in reading.

The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Memory Model

• Proposed a theoretical model for the flow of information through the human information processor.

• emphasizes the passive storage areas in which memories are stored, but it also alludes to some control processes that govern the transfer of information from one store to another.

• Sensory Store: is the initial repository of much information that eventually enters the short- and long-term stores. 

  • Strong (although not undisputed; see Haber, 1983) evidence argues in favor of the existence of an iconic store. The iconic store is a discrete visual sensory register that holds information for very short periods.

• Short-Term Store: access to our short-term memory stores. 

  • It holds memories for a few seconds and occasionally up to a couple of minutes. 

• Long-Term Store: We constantly use short-term memory throughout our daily activities. 

  • When most of us talk about memory, however, we usually are talking about long-term memory. 

  • Here we keep memories that stay with us over long periods, perhaps indefinitely. 

  • All of us rely heavily on our long-term memory. 

  • We hold in it information we need to get us by in our day-to-day lives—people’s names, where we keep things, how we schedule ourselves on different days, and so on. 

• Permastore: refers to the very long-term storage of information, such as knowledge of a foreign language. 

The theory of Reconstructive Memory

• Reconstructive memory is a theory of memory that states that memories consist not only of what we encode and store but is affected by prior knowledge in the form of schemas.

• A schema is a pre-existing mental representation or expectation of something based on prior knowledge.

• Bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory, proposed in 1932, suggests that memories are not stored like exact recordings but are instead reconstructed based on schemas and expectations. 

  • When recalling events, we may alter or distort memories to fit our existing schemas, leading to inaccuracies. 

  • The process of reconstructing memories involves fitting them into our preconceived notions, and this can result in forgetting certain details or introducing distortions, particularly when the task is challenging.

  • Reconstructive memory refers to the process of assembling information from stored knowledge when there is no clear memory of an event.

• Details in our memories can even be changed or removed. 

  • Sometimes we assimilate new information, i.e., we change our schemas to fit what we have learned. 

  • Other times, we accommodate new information, i.e., we change our memories to fit our existing schemas. Bartlett explains that accommodation occurs in two ways:

    • Levelling: downplaying or removing details from memory.

    • Sharpening: adding to or exaggerating details in our memory.

• One criticism of reconstructive memory theory is that it does not explain how we reconstruct memories, unlike other cognitive theories that explain the processes involved. 

  • Other approaches mention specific processes and brain parts where they occur (using lesion and brain scan studies). 

  • We do not know how schemas are formed, how they alter memories, where they are located, etc.

War of the Ghosts (Bartlett, 1932)

• Bartlett conducted an experiment where twenty British males were told a Native American ghost story with culturally unfamiliar elements. Participants then recalled the story on multiple occasions, ranging from hours to years later, in a process called repeated reproduction. Additionally, they had to reproduce the story for other participants in a serial reproduction task. This experiment aimed to demonstrate how memory is influenced by cultural schemas and how memories can be altered or distorted over time through repeated recall and sharing.

• Bartlett found that participants changed the story as they tried to remember it (a process called distortion). Three patterns of distortion occurred:

  • Assimilation: they changed the story to better match the participants’ cultural expectations (schemas), e.g., canoes and paddles became boats and oars. 

    • Thus, details of the story were unconsciously changed to fit British cultural norms. 

    • A memory was filled in by adding new information to make sense to the storyteller.

  • Levelling: the story also became shorter when participants retold it, omitting information they considered unimportant. 

    • The word count dropped from 330 to 180 (the shortest count was a retelling after the longest time, which was two years).

  • Sharpening: participants changed the order of events in the story to make more sense to them. 

    • They also used more familiar terms to them from their own culture. They also added details or emotions that were not initially present.

Process of Confabulation

• Confabulation is a type of memory error in which gaps in a person's memory are unconsciously filled with fabricated, misinterpreted, or distorted information.

• Confabulated memories can occasionally be mistaken for deliberate falsehoods or malingering. 

  • Malingering entails intentionally deceiving others for personal gain. 

  • Although confabulation does involve inaccuracies, it is distinct from lying. 

  • Those experiencing confabulation are typically unaware that their memory is incorrect, and they are not intentionally misleading or manipulating others.

• Types of Confabulation

  • Provoked confabulation occurs when someone creates an untrue story in response to a specific question. 

    • This type of confabulation is the most common and frequently occurs in people with dementia or amnesia.

  • Spontaneous confabulation is less common. 

    • It occurs when someone tells a fabricated story without any obvious motivation or provocation.

Tasks Used for Measuring Memory: Recall versus Recognition Tasks

• Recognition: you select or otherwise identify an item as being one that you have been exposed to previously. 

• Recall: you produce a fact, a word, or other item from memory. Fill-in-the-blank and most essay tests require that you recall items from memory.

Three main types of recall tasks are used in experiments

1. serial recall: recall items in the exact order in which they were presented. Ex. morning routine

2. free recall: in which you recall items in any order you choose. 

   Ex. Grocery lists

3. Cued recall: in which you are first shown items in pairs, but during recall, you are cued with only one member of each pair and are asked to recall each mate.  Ex. Memory triggered.

Wechsler Memory Scale

• The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) is a neuropsychological test designed to measure different memory functions in a person. 

• Anyone ages 16 to 90 is eligible to take this test. The current version is the fourth edition (WMS-IV) which was published in 2009 and was designed to be used with the WAIS-IV

Neuropsychological Tests

• Neuropsychology looks at how the health of your brain affects your thinking skills and behavior.

• These tests are usually done with a pencil and paper in a doctor’s office. They may also be done on a computer. Or, a neuropsychologist may just ask you a series of questions that you answer orally.

• These tests help your doctors look at your attention span and how well you concentrate on things. Other areas covered by neuropsychological testing include:

  • Your ability to think, understand, learn, and remember (cognition)

  • Memory

  • Motor function (walking, coordination, etc.)

  • Perception (how well you take in what you see or read)

  • Problem-solving and decision-making

  • Verbal ability

• Types of Test:

  • Memory test: Repeat a list of words, sentences, or numbers.

  • Cognition test: Explain what two items are like. For instance, if you see a picture of a dog and a cat, you might answer that they’re both animals or that they are both pets.

  • Verbal communication test: Name some items as the person giving the test points at them. You might also be given a letter of the alphabet and told to list words that start with that letter.

  • Motor tests: These might include tasks such as inserting pegs into a pegboard using one hand and then the other.

  • You might also be given tests to see how your hearing and vision affect your thinking and memory.

Memory Improvement Strategies:

• Memory improvement strategies are techniques and exercises that can help individuals enhance their memory function and recall ability. 

• Some common memory improvement strategies include repetition, visualization, association, and elaboration. 

• Repetition involves repeating information over and over to help encode it into long-term memory. 

• Visualization involves creating mental images to help remember information. For example, visualizing a person's name as an object or image can help to remember it. 

• Association involves linking new information to existing memories or knowledge. For example, associate a new person's name with the name of someone you already know. 

• Elaboration involves adding meaning or context to new information to help remember it. 

  • For example, linking a new piece of information to a personal experience or story can help to remember it. 

• Other memory improvement strategies include using mnemonic devices, such as acronyms or rhymes, to help remember information, and practicing active recall by testing oneself on the information to be remembered. 

• Lifestyle factors such as getting enough sleep, engaging in regular physical activity, and managing stress can also help to improve memory function. 

• In some cases, memory improvement strategies may be used in conjunction with medication or therapy to treat memory disorders or other conditions affecting memory function. 

• Individuals who are interested in memory improvement strategies should talk to their healthcare provider or a cognitive behavioral therapist for guidance on the most effective techniques for their specific needs.