Cognitive Science 301

Applied Cognitive Science and Education
Fall 2006

Memory is usually defined as having 2 or 3 different component systems which are highly interactive.  Unlike Levine & Reed, I categorize short-term memory and working memory together as one continuous process and they are not clearly delineated as functioning in separate areas of the brain.

• Short-term memory (According to Levine & Reed)
  • temporary storage of information over tens of seconds (newly arriving information)
  • preliminary interpretation (saliency) occurs before information is either transferred to working memory or forgotten
  • adequate depth of processing must occur for the information to be useful later
  • hypothesized functions are diagrammed in Figure 3-2
  • Factors important in normal function of short-term memory (See Figure 3-3)
    • rate of processing of incoming information
    • access to prior knowledge
    • how much can one handle (the chunk), and how dense is the information content
    • strength of attention processing controls
    • rehearsal strategies
      • subvocalization, imaging, self-testing
    • freedom from anxiety
    • special attributes: temporal-sequential information, visual/spatial information, verbal information
• Working memory (Active working memory) - according to Levine & Reed
  • represents the "workspace of thinking", all the information needed to perform the immediate task
  • this takes place in the prefrontal cortex
  • a central executive area/process sends information regarding visual-spatial information to a hypothetical area called the "visual scratchpad"  or verbal information to another hypothetical area called the "phonological loop"
  • attention and working memory are intimately related and cannot be easily separated
  • Some different forms/categories of active working memory
    • proximal and distal planning: keep immediate and long-term plans/goals in mind at the same time
    • task component suspension: be able to remember and use all the steps in a multi-step task
    • progressive ideational development: put all ideas together, as they become available.  Remember the beginning, middle, and end and integrate them as they occur.
    • bridging of short-term and long-term memory: access prior knowledge to determine what needs to be done with the information
  • Facilitators of active working memory
    • Good attentional strength
    • Understanding and knowledge of the information (ties in with background, prior knowledge)
    • Some aspects of the task are automatic (they require little cognitive energy)
    • Ability to resist and inhibit extraneous thoughts to remember the last part of the incoming information as well as the first part
    • Freedom from anxiety
  • Symptoms of active working memory dysfunction
    • poor attention
    • poor understanding
    • difficulty with tasks like writing which require using many skills simultaneously
    • difficulty remembering information from the beginning of the page while reading the final paragraph
    • problems with multistep math problems
    • Specific dysfunctions may involve: (Added Sept 12)
      • chunk-size problems
      • rate of incoming information needs to be slow
      • visual-spatial weakness
      • verbal (phonological) weakness
      • problems when sequencing information
      • problems with adequate rehearsal of information (so that it can be consolidated)
      • See bottom of p 71 for other "Attribute-Specific Dysfunctions"
• Long-term memory
  • 'permanent' storage of information
  • Long-term memory is stored everywhere and nowhere (Each experience is broken into bits and stored in many different places throughout the cerebral cortex.  To remember that experience all those same bits must be put together in precisely the same way.)
    • Long-term memories degrade over time.  Each time the memory is recalled it is strengthened, even if recall is inaccurate.
  • Long-term memories are formed in the hippocampus (right and left temporal cortex)
  • Storage: "initial consolidation of information, skill, and direct experience" (p 76)
  • Access:  "subsequent attempts to recover that which has been stored" (p 76)
  • Formatting knowledge for long-term memory
    • Paired Association
      • Both items of the pair need to be adequately consolidated so that recall of one will be linked to the other and vice versa. (multisensory approach)
        • One  area often affected by dysfunction is the phoneme/grapheme association needed for reading.
    • Procedural Knowledge
      • Motor procedures: use of specific muscles groups and their coordination to do a task
        • graphomotor procedures: writing letters
        • fine motor procedures:  building models, using Lego
        • gross motor procedures:  running, hitting a baseball, punching your sibling
        • basal ganglia and cerebellum
      • Nonmotor procedures: sequences of steps needed for different tasks
        • use of software when using computers
        • sequences of steps in math problems (long division, etc.)
    • Rules and Regularity
      • "rules help us respond with proper solutions or actions and they help us make good predictions" (p 79)
      • children and adults develop skemata to respond to specific situations and experiences.
      • awareness of the situation and one's own skemata help prepare for the "upcoming challenges".
      • e.g., rules of grammar, spelling, math, behavior in social situations
    • Categories
      • arrangement of knowledge in categories facilitates adding new information as one develops and has new experiences (subcategories can be formed, etc.)
      • "Consolidation probably works best when information is categorized with both mental imagery and naming." (p 80)
      • information stored in multiple categories becomes more accessible and can be applied to many different experiences
    • Experiences and Episodes
      • Episodic memory: unconscious storage of details of an individual's experiences
  • Facilitators of consolidating information into long-term memory
    • information is consolidated in multiple categories, modalities
    • incoming information is taken in and then processed through adequate verbal elaboration
    • information consolidates well during sleep
    • having a good knowledge of metamemory (an awareness of memory and how it works for that individual)
    • planning and usage of different memory strategies

Strategies for access to long-term memory

• Access through association:  is related to efficient consolidation of information and building the appropriate partners in the pair associations.
• Access through pattern recognition: 
  • the key here is to build a learned pattern AND then to recognize similar patterns (capability to generalize)
  • patterns in geometry proofs
  • patterns in structure of a composition
  • patterns in word form
  • part - whole relationships must be recognized and remembered (not just the details)
  • the most important part of this access is recognition of the current pattern and the ability to link that to already learned, similar patterns
    • How does one recognize the pattern? (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic)  What if one or more of these senses has problems with pattern recognition?
  • "When there is insufficient pattern recognition, the subject matter of education may become fragmented, incoherent, and difficult to assimilate." (p 85)
• Access through recall
  • no associations are needed, but the facts need to be found quickly and automatically
  • "Automatization frees up cognitive counter space for such higher attainments as sophisticated language use, complex problem solving, and creativity." (p 85)
  • Problems with accessing information through recall may really be a function of inadequate consolidation or other aspects of working memory and long-term memory formation.  That is, it doesn't get remembered or processed correctly, initially.

Important ideas regarding memory

1. Working memory is closely related to all of the controls involved in attention.
2. Working memory function is located in the prefrontal cortex.
3. If working memory does not adequately process the information, then it not get consolidated into long term memory adequately, or at all.
4. Working memory function depends on the viability of the mode of acquisition of the information (kinesthetic, visual, auditory, haptic/touch).
5. Long-term memory consolidation can be enhanced by linking the new experience to background knowledge.
6. Long-term memory consolidation can be enhanced by the mechanisms of pair association, procedural knowledge, knowledge of rules and regularity, ability to file information into categories, relating the information to personal experience.
7. Long-term memory access is dependent on adequate active working memory and long-term memory consolidation.

Questions

1. Explain the relationship between working memory and access to long-term memory.
2. Which of the assessments you did in class depended on active working memory?  Which of the assessments depended on access to long-term memory?  What factors might have influenced your performance?
3. Which of the Memory strategies and Interventions at breakdown points (pp 98-101) do you use?
4. What is the relationship between consolidation and access through different mechanisms?