LONGTERM

MEMORY:
ENCODING &
RETRIEVAL
Group 4
 S A N D E E P D U D YA L
Encoding Retrieval
Process of acquiring Process of transferring
information from LTM to information from LTM to
working memory working memory

Attention Encoding Storage Retrieval

Encoding: getting information into long-term memory
Maintenance Rehearsal & Elaborative Rehearsal

Maintenance rehearsal
Helps maintain information in
STM, but is not effective way of
transferring information into LTM
Elaborative rehearsal
Involves thinking about the
meaning of the term to be
remembered
Level of processing theory: Fergus Cralk
Memory depends on how information is encoded with deeper
processing resulting in better encoding and retrieval than
shallow processing
Shallow processing Deep processing
Involves little attention to Involves close attention,
meaning. Focus on physical focusing on an item’s
features – no. of vowels / meaning and relating it to
how long it is? something else
Varying Depth Of Processing Experiment (Craik &
Tulving)
Words were presented followed by shallow or deep asking
questions about the words:
• Shallow – Is the word printed in capital
letter?
• Deep – Does the word rhyme with
train?
• Deepest – Does the word fit into this
sentence?
Result: Deeper the processing the better the memory
The difficulty of defining depth of processing
No way of knowing what type of meaningful encoding is better

Circular reasoning – Puts reason of a theory in a circle so it

doesn’t work
Conclusion: Although no conclusion
on what is more meaningful, the
levels of processing theory lead
researchers to study how better
encoding leads to better retrieval
Research showing that encoding influences retrieval
Methods to prove this theory
Placing words in a complex sentence
Memory for words is much better when placed in a complex
sentence
Forming visual image
Paired associate learning: words like Boat-Tree were
given and they told participants to either think about
the words or image the words interacting (visually)

Result: People that used imagery to remember were

able to remember twice as many words
Linking words to yourself Generating information
Self-Reference: Memory is Generation effect:
enhanced if you link the word to Learning yourself rather
yourself than passively receiving it
Reasoning: Word links to enhances learning and
something they know well retention
Organizing Information:
Retrieval cue: A word or other stimulus that helps a person
remember information stored in memory
3 ways to organize: Recall by groups, present in organized
manner, make item meaningful
Testing: (Jeffery Karpicke)
Methodology: Told 2 groups to read a passage then made one
do math problems during a 30 second brake and told other to
write down what they remembered
Result:
• After 5 min. the results were the same
• After 2 days the testing was better
• After 1 week the testing was much
better

Testing effect: Enhance performance due to

testing
Retrieval: Getting information out of memory
Retrieval Cues: Stimuli that help us remember information stored
in memory; location can serve as a retrieval cue
Methodology: Cued Recall
Participant is presented with retrieval cues to aid in recall of the
previously experienced stimuli
Experiment (Tulving Mantyla) – 3 groups
1. Given 600 words and told to make 3 retrieval cues with each of
those words
Ex – Banana – yellow, bunches, edible
Result: Able to remember 90% of the words
2. Given 600 words and given 3. Given only the retrieval
retrieval cues with each of those cues: Ex. Yellow, bunches,
words. Result: Able to edible. Result: Able to
remember 55% of words determine 17% of the words
Conclusion:
Retrieval cues are an extremely
effective way for retrieving memories
More effective when created by the
person whose memory is tested
Matching conditions of encoding and
retrieval:
Retrieval can be increased by matching conditions at retrieval to
conditions that existed at encoding
Encoding specificity: Encode information along with its context
Experiment: (D.R Godden & Alan
Baddeley)
People study with diving equipment under
water and people study on land. Groups
then were divided and tested.
Result: The best recall- when encoding
and retrieval occurred in same location
Experiment: (Harry Grant)
Tested people in either a noisy condition or no noise condition and
then split up the groups and tested
Result: The people in the noise & noise and quiet & quiet did
better than the half of the group that was put into the new condition

State dependent learning: Learning is associated with a specific

internal state – such as mood or state of awareness
Experiment (Eric Eich): Got participant in bad mood or good mood
based on music, presented list of words
Result: Returned a week later, split up groups
Groups stayed on same mood did better at remembering than the
group that switched moods
Transfer – Appropriate Processing: Memory performance is
enhanced if the type of task at retrieval

Experiment: (Donald Morris) – 2 Group

1. Given a sentence and had to match a word if rhymed or not
2. Given a sentence and asked to fill in blank based on meaning

Results: People in the rhyming group

performed better with remembering the
words compared to the group that had to
remember with meaning

How To Study Effectively?
Elaboration
Think about what you read
and give it meaning or relate
it to other things known –
Elaborative interrogation
Organize
Organizing makes the material more meaningful and
strengthenes encoding
T H AVA S I M A R I S E LVA M
NAGARAJ
Generate & test
Process of creating a
situation in which it is
necessary to take an active
role in creating material
Take break Match learning and testing
condition
Spacing effect - memory is better
for multiple short study session. Encoding and retrieve
Consolidation enhanced if slept condition must be same to
after studying improve performance
Avoid “Illusion of learning”
Techniques may appear more effective than they actually are
Familiarity effect - Re-reading causes material to become familiar
Peterson - No difference in comprehension between those who
highlighted to those who didn’t
Memory and the Brain
Experiences causes change in synapse
Donald Hebb - Memories are formed at
the synapses
Neurotransmitter – Strengthened the
synapse : structural damage, greater
transmitter release and increased firing
Changes the structure of the synapse
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) - Enhance
firing of neuron
Where memory occur in brain?
Doesn’t occur in one specific place
Medial temporal lobe - Hippocampus
form new LTM
Lila Davachi - Had people remember
words under a fMRI and then those
people retrieve those words again under
an fMRI
Result - Activity in the perirhinal cortex for remembered words
compared to forgotten words
Where memory occur in brain

gyrus
Parahippocampal
Conclusion - Confirms
physiologically what we have
seen behaviourally
What happens during encoding
affects the chances that memory
will occur during retrieval

Parahippocampal area - remember spatial information

Forming memories in the brain
Process of consolidation
New memories are fragile but stabilized by consolidation
Ex- In football, when someone gets hit
hard and cannot remember what happened

Remote memories - Memories for events

that occurred long ago
Graded amnesia - Memory for recent
events are more fragile
Consolidation - Transform new memories from fragile state to
permanent state
Synaptic consolidation
Enables synapses to retain their
strength for much longer time
System Consolidation
Memories are transferred from
the hippocampus to areas of the
cortex as part of long-term
retention
 
Standard model of consolidation
Memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation,
but once complete, retrieval doesn’t depend on hippocampus

Memory is associated with large portion of the brain including

the hippocampus  but is not yet connected within the cortex
Reactivation - Hippocampus replays neural activity associated
with memory
Hippocampus becomes less important as time passes
Multiple trace hypothesis - Hippocampus is involved in
retrieval of remote memories especially episodic memories
Are memories permanent?
Once a memory is consolidated, it cannot be broken- may be
untrue
Karim Nadar - Reconsolidation occurs after a memory is
consolidated and it secures memory even more - experiment on
rats
THANK
YOU!
Group members:

ELNA SAJU, GISHENSHIO STRLIN

RAJEEBA RAJU, RASHMITHA
SUBRAMANI, SANDEEP
DUDYALA, THAVASIMARISELVAM
NAGARAJ