Is there a difference in memory decay for different kinds of information?
Graduation Thesis
Presented to
The Faculty of the Department of
English Language and Literature
Notre Dame Seishin University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts
by
Maki Fujiwara
2013
Contents
Abstract1
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Introduction2
1.2 What is memory?4
1.2.1 Introduction4
1.2.2 Models of memory4
1.2.3 Kinds of memory5
1.2.4 Sensory memory5
1.2.5 Working memory7
1.2.6 Long-term memory7
1.3 Forgetting11
1.3.1 Introduction11
1.3.2 Forgetting curve11
1.4 Knowledge types13
1.4.1 Introduction13
1.4.2 Kinds of knowledge14
1.5 Focus f thesis15
1.6 Summary15
Chapter Two: The experiment
2.1 Introduction16
2.2 The experiment16
2.2.1 Introduction to the experiment16
2.2.2 Method16
1) Subjects16
2) Test design17
3) Procedure19
2.3 Results20
2.4 Summary35
Chapter Three: Discussion
3.1 Introduction38
3.2 Summary of the results38
3.3 Discussion of the results38
3.3.1 Discussion of tests38
3.3.2 Discussion of the tests by groups40
3.3.3 Discussion of the tests by sections41
3.3.4 Discussion for Questionnaire42
3.4 Answering the Research Questions42
3.4.1 Research Question 1: How long can the subjects remember information? 42
3.4.2 Research Question 2: Is there a difference in memory by kind of information? 42
3.4.3 Research Question 3: What information can students memorize easily or difficultly? 43
.3.5 Implications from the data43
3.6 Limitation of the Experiment43
3.7 Further research44
3.8 Conclusion44
References45
Appendices47
1
Abstract
People memorize and forget something everyday. Some memories are not held for long time, others are held forever. We use some memory in daily life and store it for the future through experiences. This thesis discusses which information the subjects can memory easily, and investigates how long they can memorize the information.
In Chapter One, we looked at what it is generally said about memory, forgetting and knowledge; kinds of memory, relationship between memory and forgetting, or knowledge.
In Chapter Two, we looked at the process and the results of the tests and questionnaires. Notre Dame Seishin University students were asked to take some tests. They memorize information and then they answered the questionnaire by using their memory. Then we compared the scores of the tests. Also, we asked the students whether they are good at memorizing or not.
In Chapter Three, we discussed the results of the tests and the questionnaire in detail. We found out the scores of some groups were higher than that of first test. It means their memories strengthen by studying again, and it is difficult to forget their memory. On the other hand, some groups scores were lower than the score of first test. It means if the word or information is not recalled, it will be forgotten as time goes by. Also, the research questions were discussed.
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
When people learn unknown information; words, numbers, faces, forms and so on, they write, say or watch the information. However, they cannot remember all the information, and they forget it. Ebbinghaus (1885) researched memory and created the forgetting curve which shows how does human’s memory changes over time. Also, James and Galton (1883) were concerned with conscious attention.
Here, we look at differences of the terms related to memory. These words have a relationship with memory, so we need to know about them before reading this thesis.
First, memory is a noun and is defined by the Oxford dictionary as follows;
1. the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information
example; I’ve a great memory for names of flowers.
2. something remembered from the past
example; one of my earliest memories is of sitting on his knee.
3. the part of a computer in which data or program instructions can be stored for retrieval
example; the module provides 16Mb of memory.
Next is memorize. This word is a verb.
1. Commit to memory; learn by heart
example; he memorized thousands of verbs.
Next is remember, this word is also verb.
1. [with object] have in or be able to bring to one’s mind an awareness of
example; I remember the screech of the horn as the car came towards me.
2. [with infinitive] do something that one has undertaken to do or that is necessary or advisable
example; I did you remember to post the letters?
Next is recall. This word is a verb and noun. The word is used with an object.
1. bring back into one’s mind (verb)
example; I can still vaguely recall being taken to the hospital.
2. officially order to return to a place (verb)
example; her action recalled him to the present
1. the action or faculty of remembering something learned or experienced
example; people’s understanding and subsequent recall of stories or events
2. an act or instance of officially recalling someone or something
example; a recall of Parliament
3. Computing the proportion of the number of relevant documents retrieved from a database in response to an enquiry
example; expert systems can produce solutions with the speed, recall, accuracy and consistency that only a computer can provide
And retrieval. This word also has meaning of verb and noun. In the case of verb, it is used with object.
1. get or bring something back from somewhere
example; I was sent to retrieve the balls from his garden
2. find or extract information stored in a computer
example; the police hope to encourage him to retrieve forgetten memories
3. put right or improve
example; he made one last desperate attempt to retrieve the situation
These words refer to human memory. People use these words unconsciously in daily life, but in memory, we need to know the meanings of them.
1.2 What is memory?
1.2.1 Introduction
This chapter will summarize the previous research on memory and forgetting. In daily life, people have things to memorize, but they sometimes cannot memorize. So, how long they can memorize things? What kinds of things they memorize easily or difficultly? But first let us find out what researchers say memory is.
“The use of a single term might seem to suggest that memory is a unitary system, albeit a complicated one such as the heart or the liver. It is not one system but many. The systems range in storage duration from fractions of a second up to a lifetime and in storage capacity from tiny buffer stores to the long-term memory system that appears to far exceed in capacity and flexibility the largest available computer.” (Baddeley, 1990 p.4).
People can remember many things but they also forget them. They can also remember something for a long time but forget something quickly too. For example, people will not forget their family name, greetings and so on. They are called “long term memories” On the other hand, it is difficult to remember unknown items, friends’ phone number and so on. It is generally called “short-term memory” or “working memory”. Basically, Squire (1980) divided memory into three types; sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory as we shall see in the next section.
1.2.2 Models of memory
Memory consists of encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding means that we take our experience as memory; it means that changing information of stimuli from the outside to take in ourselves as memory. For example, when someone tells us their name, and a few seconds later you have no idea what their name is. This is an example offailure of encoding. Storage means that it is keeping encoding. It means we experience previous words and pictures, we confirm that we did the experience before, and we reenact with elements of the experiment. It is process of forming a memory code in order to get information into memory. For example,we may emphasize the shape of a dog's nose to identify the breed (e.g., a German Sheppard has a longer, more pointed nose than a bull dog) and subsequently make a code for "German Sheppard" according to the dog's nose. Retrieval refers to the subsequent accessing again of events or information from the past, which have been encoded and stored in the brain before. When you are taking an exam, you need to retrieve learned information from your memory in order to answer the test questions.
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) produced a dual storage model. They explained the storehouse of memory, a theory model related to short-term memory and storehouse of long-term memory. They concluded that short-term store was a place to keep information from sensory organs, and some parts of information by rehearsal and encoding send to long-term store.
1.2.3 Kinds of memory
Memory was divided into three groups by Squire (1980) - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. These memories basically are determined by the length of time. Furthermore, he proposed the two notions of declarative memory and episodic memory as we can see in Figure 1. Let us look at these in detail.
Figure 1; A taxonomy of the different types of short and long-term
memories and associated brain structure
1.2.4 Sensory memory
Sensory memory maintains information received by our eyes, ears and so on – the sensory organs. It is remembered for some seconds in working memory which is the first level of memory. So if we did not pay attention to information especially, we forget it in our daily life. For example, the sound of the wind, and the smell of evergreen trees. We do not usually pay attention these feelings, so they leave working memory within a few seconds. In short, much information comes in and out of sensory memory, but only some meaningful information is sent to working memory.
There are two kinds of sensory memory; iconic memory and echoic memory. Iconic memory means sensory memory of visual stimuli, and is kept about in five hundred milliseconds according to Sperling’s experiment (1959). Echoic memory means sensory memory with an auditory stimuli, and it is kept about in five seconds according to Glucksberg and Cowan’s experiment (1970).
1.2.4 Working memory
Information in working memory is kept for about twenty seconds. It is a short-term memory is temporary storehouse to send information to long-term memory. Working memory carries out cognitive activities and storage. We call working memory as we forget the memory of after we did action. For example, mental arithmetic. Miller (1920) showed that quantity of information that we can keep in working memory is only 7±2 (5 to 9) items.
Baddeley and Hitch (1974) proposed a model of working memory. It consists of three systems; the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the central executive. The phonological loop falls under short-term store in the dual storage model, because this is a system to keep language information temporarily using Broca’s area. The Visuo-spatial sketchpad is a system which works with the phonological loop; in short, it is function to rehearsal visual and spatial information. And, the central executive is the nucleus of the working memory. This controls the previous two systems and does high-level cognitive activities. These roles were confirmed by Baddeley’s experiment of dual-task method. He made sure of the experiment by doing two things at the same time. For example, examinees memorize some numbers, and he shows an inference; “A is not before B, then are A and B correct?” He did the two things at the same time, and if they remember the numbers, it shows working memory is a function.
1.2.5 Long-term memory
This memory has infinite capacity and it is saved until people die as permanent memory. In Freudian psychology, long-term memory would be call the preconscious and unconscious. This memory was identified by two scholars. First, Tulving (1972) divided long-term memory into three types; episodic memory, semantic memory, and procedural memory. Second, Squire (1980) divided it into two types largely; declarative memory (explicit memory), and non-declarative memory (implicit memory). He thought explicit memory involves episodic memory and semantic memory, and implicit memory involved priming, procedural memory, and non-unified memory.
Episodic memory
Episodic memory is personal memory which they can know when and where they did something; “ I studied English for two hours in my room” In short, it is memory of experiments in their life and it is memorized naturally. “I studied English for two hours yesterday.” This is episodic memory as defined by Tulving (1972).
Semantic memory
Semantic memory is related to general knowledge and information. For example, “one plus one equal two.”, “ringo is apple in English”, “doctor: a person who has been trained in medical science, whose job is to treat people who are ill/ sick or injured”. This is semantic memory supposed by Kilian (1966).
Procedural memory
Procedural memory is a type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills. Essentially, it is the memory of how to do certain things. For example, riding a bicycle, cooking omelets, and so on. This memory is the memory that the body remembers rather than the mind. It’s not a specific memory you can recall, but rather the memorizing and automatizing of the a process such as swinging a baseball bat.. Finally, non-unified memory happens by getting used to repetition stimuli. In a class suddenly, a teacher beats a desk loudly, students are surprised. But it continues twice or third time, they get used to sound, so they do not react. This is an example of non-unified memory.
Table 1: The features and examples of episodic memory,
semantic memory and procedural memory
Episodic memory / Semantic memory / Procedural memoryFeature, definition /
- concerned with facts and information.
- personal memories
- concerned with ideas, meanings and concepts which are not related to personal experiences
- reflects a memory system that involves knowledge that may not be expressed in words
examples / your first day of school / knowledge of historical events and figures / play the piano
your brother’s graduation / jokes / using a pen
you had a salad for a last night / meaning of “apple” / driving a car
We can distinguish between declarative memory or non-declarative memory. Declarative memory is memory of facts and events, and refers to those memories that can be consciously recalled. This memory is sometimes called explicit memory. On the other hand non-declarative memory is memory of their skills, and repetition in their life, and in this memory, we are difficult to tell with using words.
Table 2: The features of declarative and non-declarative memory
Declarative memory / Non-declarative memoryFeature, definition /
- conscious memory
- knowledge of facts and events
- known as explicit memory
- involve the conscious recollection of memories
- cannot be accessed consciously
- include motor learning, habits and conditioning.
examples / our knowledge of the world’s capital cities / skills and habits
types of food / simple classical conditioning
lexical knowledge / non-associative learning
Explicit memory
Explicit memory involves recalling information and experiences consciously, and it is used every day when we remember things we have to do later on that day or else we recall past experiences. The example of explicit memory is a content of a lecture. For example, remembering a specific driving lesson.
Implicit memory
Implicit memory is also known as non-declarative memory involves recollection of skills, things you know how to do, preferences and so on.. This memory does not need to recall consciously. For example, remembering how to ride a bike effortlessly for most people, even after going years without riding one.
Priming
Priming means a primary thing has an effect to following things. For example, if people hear “doctor”, they recall “nurse”, or if an sees watches a card written “ocean”, after a time he takes fill holes test “oc n”. He writes “ocean” This is priming.
1.3 Forgetting
1.3.1 Introduction
Memory has a relationship with forgetting. Forgetting can be reduced by repetition or more elaborate cognitive processing of information. Reviewing information in ways that involve active retrieval seems to slow the rate of forgetting. The functions of forgetting (amount remembered as a function of time since an event was first experienced) have been extensively analyzed. The most recent evidence suggests that a power function provides the closest mathematical fit to the forgetting function. Ebbinghaus (1885) researched forgetting, and as a result of his experiment, he produced the forgetting curve, and he concluded that a human’s brain is made to forget. In this section, let us explain about forgetting having deep relationship with memory.
1.3.2 Forgetting curve
Ebbinghaus (1885) was the first person to plot out systematically what subsequently became known as the ‘forgetting curve’. He measured how long he can remember information which was placed meaningless alphabet, or how they forget as time go out. The result was that after twenty minutes, he forgot 42 percent of the information. After one hour, he forgot 56 percent, after nine hours, he forgot 64 percent, and after six days, they forgot 76 percent. He made the graph based on the number and called it the forgetting curve. The below figure is a forgetting curve by Ebbinghaus.
Figure 2: The forgetting curve
Most of the time, the forgetting curve is predictable. However, Bahrick and Wittlinger (1975) tested the memory of subjects for the names and photograph of high-school classmates. The results are shown in Figure 2. It is clear that most forgetting curves were linear until about thirty-four years passed but for only name and picture recognition. So, he concluded that it is impossible to tell what is happening from the available information.
Figure 3: Memory for high school classmates as a function of
retention interval and method of testing.
From Figure 3, we found that it is difficult to recall memory as time goes. However, human memory is influenced to event, relationship between people and so on.