Odisha State Board CHSE Odisha Class 11 Psychology Solutions Unit 3 Learning Long Answer Questions Part 1.
CHSE Odisha 11th Class Psychology Unit 3 Learning Long Answer Questions Part-1
Long Type Questions With Answers
Question 1.
What is memory? Discuss the stages of memory?
Answer:
Memory is otherwise known as the retention of materials with the passage of time. When some materials are learned they are retained in a particular area of the brain for some time. While STM is forgotten quickly LTM is remembered for a long time. The term ‘memory ’ is derived from the Latin word ‘memoria’ which means long retention or historical account.
Ebbinghaus to short made simple experiments to explain practically what the term memory is But currently with the advancement of information technology Ebbehghansion’s old concept of money has changed. Present psychologists emphasize the information-processing concept of memory which is based on computers.
Stages Of System Of Memory / Model Of Memory:
Encoding, storage, and retrieval take place in each of the three basic memory systems. The three systems of memory are also called some stages of remembering or models of memory. They are conceptual models of processing incoming information, retaining the same, and then recalling or retrieving it as necessary.
Human memory has been compared to a computer having different storage systems. Some psychologists have presented most of the theories of memory in the form of information-processing models. As to which of the information will be stored in a particular system of memory and which axe to be eliminated is controlled at the level of information processing. Similarly, the stored information may not always be retrieved or recalled.
Sensory Memory:
It is a non-conscious memory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin which is also called a sensory register. Sensory memory is an impression formed from the input of any of the senses. lnpìit means the stimulus received from the environment. Sensory stimulus when reaches the receptor is stored in the sensory memory for a very brief period i.e. 0.25 seconds to 02 seconds in case of visual sensation and about 04 to 05 seconds in case of auditory sensation.
The storage of visual memory is about 11-16 items before it is lost. If attention is paid to this information, ¡t is sent to short-term memory or short-term storage. it is lost. Since the STM has a very limited capacity it cannot hold all information received from the environment and that too for a long period. The visual and auditory information is stored in the sensory memory in the form of an image.
Working Memory or Short-Term Memory:
The information which and attended is passed from the sensory memory to short-term memory. Working memory occurs between the sensory memory (which comes in a flash) and tire more permanent storage of Long Term Memory. Working memory has a very limited capacity and therefore, very little information is stored here. It has a short retention duration. What is stored here is lost after 15-20 seconds unless it is consciously processed.
Those materials which get conscious attention stay far beyond the 20 seconds limit. Both sensory and long-term memory are non-conscious memory. When materials from sensory memory are transferred to working or short-term memory they are processed here, thought about, and organized. Someone told you his mobile phone number, but there is no pen nearby to record it. So you try to recite it, rehearse it, repeat it till you get the pen to note it down.
Encoding and storage are done here Chunking and Rehearsal (discussed elsewhere under the Memory chapter) are two important methods used to increase the limited capacity of short-term storage so that more information from the short-term memory can be transferred to long-term memory (Also see Short Term Memory elsewhere in Memory chapter).
Long-Term Memory:
Long Term Memory (LTM) is the storehouse of all experiences, events, occurrences, and information transferred from sensory and short-term memory to long-term memory. Long-term memory constitutes each person’s knowledge of the word and knowledge of himself. Materials in long-term memory help one to solve new problems, manipulate abstract symbols, and reason.
This further helps in creativity like creating and coining new words and ideas and thinking about new Situations that one has experienced earlier. In a second exact information about something can be given such as “who is the father of modem experimental psychology? Or who established the first psychological laboratory and when etc.
The knowledge in long-term memory is stored in an orderly and organized manner and different cues help him to recall exactly what he wants to recall. Every item in the long-term memory is connected by its meaning.
Long-term memory is of two types:
- Procedural Memory (see under kinds of Memory)
- Declarative Memory
It is the method or technique to recall explicit information which involves some degree of consciousness. Remembering how to drive a car is procedural memory as driving a car requires a process, which is done as per the procedure. Similarly, recalling directions for driving to specific place requires declarative memory. Declarative memory is of two types:
- Episodic memory
- Semantic Memory (see under kind of memory)
Long-term organizations help in storing the memory in the L.T.M. for a long period, even till one dies. That is why we remember meaningful associative materials better because of their associative value. Chunking and elaborate rehearsal and other methods of improving memory help long-term memory as they organize materials for storage and make it more meaningful, (also see Long Term Memory elsewhere).
Question 2.
Define the process of memory?
Answer:
According to some modem psychologists memory process consists of:
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding:
According to Baron “Encoding is a process through which information is converted to a form that can be entered into memory”. Code means form. Encoding means putting material into a form that the memory system can accept, retain handle. Zimbardo holds that “encoding is the translation of incoming stimulus energy into a unique neural code that your brain can process”.
For example to retain SIH one man to keep trying in the form of South Indian Hotel or mentee Hotels”. Encoding is made possible through meaningful association which the memory system can easily handle and store. In a generalized manner, encoding refers to the signals or codes which can be transmitted through a communication channel.
The encoding requires to first selecting a stimulus from among so much information available in the environment. You have gone to the crockery exhibition. There you selected a crystal fruit bowl. You identified the distinct and intricate designs engraved on it and stored the visual image in your memory. Then you tried to connect this bowl to the one you saw in a shopping mall in the USA and wanted to buy it, but could not.
When one tries to associate a newly encoded stimulus with one already there in the memory because of its associative value. The encoding process is usually automatic and mechanical. It is so rapidly done that it occurs without the awareness of the person doing it. its encoding process relates the new experience with an old one, like relating the crystal fruit bowl you purchased in India with the one you saw in the USA last year, remembering becomes better. This process is called Elaboration.
Storage:
Storage refers to a process by which the encoded information is retained in the memory. Storage retains the encoded information for some time. Those memories which associated with some other memory are more often used and better stored or retained than isolated memory having no link with any other memory. When the encoded information fails to link with the already stored information or if they are not practiced at intervals they are lost and hence forgotten.
But when the stored materials are repeated periodically, the possibility of retaining them is greater. The storage, therefore, can be short-term or long-term depending upon the degree of learning, the need of the person, repetition, and association. In fact, immediate and short-term memory supply the code that the person uses to store materials for a longer period and later on to recall or retrieve them as and when necessary.
Rehearsal or repetition is one of the means through which the encoded materials are stored in the memory. Rehearsal may be Maintenance rehearsal or Elaborate rehearsal and these two types serve two different purposes. Maintenance rehearsal or mere mechanical repetition of information over and over again (rote memory).
it keeps information in short-term memory at least till it has served its purpose. For instance, retaining a phone number till one is able to make the call and after the call is made we may possibly forget it or we get by heart some points in the night before the examination and once the examination is over, these materials are forgotten.
Elaborate rehearsal on the other hand deals with the newly learned materials according to their meaning and association we understand the information and try to remember it for a longer period by associating it with some other material or situation. While maintenance rehearsal is processed at a superficial level elaborate rehearsal is processed at a deeper level.
Various experiences in memory of day-to-day life and also results of a study conducted by Fergus, Craik, and Endel Tulving (1975) indicate that words processed at a deeper level through elaborate rehearsal were better retained than words processed at a superficial level (rote memory). When tilings are learned elaborately and their meaning and application are properly understood, it becomes fit for effective retention storage.
Retrieval:
Retrieval is a process through which information stored in memory is located and recalled. The process of retrieval, use to recall periodically only those that are required at a particular occasion. Recall and recognition are two very popular methods through which retrieval takes place. Brown and Me Neill (1968) studied the phenomenon of retrieval in a group of students.
Question 3.
Define the kinds of memory?
Answer:
Some psychologists have tried to clarify memory into:
- Episodic memory
- Semantic memory
- Procedural memory
Episodic memory:
It stores autobiographical information and immediate memories of personal experiences such as the first day of marriage, the day you get your Ph.D., or your appointment in a long-cherished job.
Semantic memory:
It refers to abstract knowledge. It is organized knowledge about the world including the verbal world of words and how they are used. The information associated with a particular time or place is contained in semantic memory. Once you get an electric shock while attending a marriage ceremony. The marriage ceremony.
However, episodic and semantic memory cannot be separated by water-tight compartments as memories of personal experiences cannot totally segregated from organized knowledge apart from the world and the environment. As we are aware, personal experience occurs in the same environment where organized knowledge about the world is also experienced.
Hence both episodic and semantic memory in spite of their differences is very much related. According to Kimbel et al, unless we have innate knowledge about the world, all memories must start as episodic, nevertheless, the distinction does provide a useful way of dealing certain important phenomena in the study of memory. The successful recall of the factual information learned in General Psychology involves episodic memory as the information has been stored according to contexts, events, or personal symbolism.
The context in which an item was stored in memory as well as the item itself are important for episodic memory. Findings show that the item can be recalled only in the context in which it was coded. You were introduced to someone at a marriage party. Subsequently, if you want to recall her name or retrieve your introduction to her you have to remember the context i.e.
the marriage party In semantic memory, the basic meanings of words and concepts without reference to their time and place are stored. While semantic memory is an encyclopedia, episodic memory is autobiographical. Facts about grammar, music, composition, scientific principles, the things one knows and the lesson he learns are stored in semantic memory. Kimbel views that semantic memory can have considerable control over how one’s episodic experiences are perceived; interpreted and stored.
A study conducted by Loftus Palmer (1974) on students indicates that semantic memory has a strong influence on episodic memory. Various studies that test memory immediately as well as afterward show how information is represented there. They also show that with passage of time the representation becomes less sensory and literal and more semantic and meaningful.
This also suggests the difference between episodic memory and semantic memory. As indicated earlier, episodic memory stores, the events of personal experience and experiences of other persons while semantic memory stores knowledge. In short, remembering a list calls upon episodic memory while the organizing structure is provided by knowledge in semantic memory.
While semantic memory lasts longer in memory, episodic memory lasts for a short period. It is more susceptible to forgetting. Older people have less episodic memory but have very good semantic memory information or incident which has more episodic than semantic value would be stored in Episodic Memory but the knowledge part of it will be stored in Semantic Memory.
Procedural Memory:
Otherwise known as implicit memory procedural memory is the knowledge of how to perform work It is the way of remembering how things are done. Procedural memory is used to acquire, retain and employ perceptual, cognitive and motor skills (Anderson, 1982, Tulving 1985) like bicycle riding, typing, or wearing a dress, without thinking consciously these are done mechanically.
It is easier to perform the task than describe how to do it. In simple terms, it is a memory of the procedure, say how a task is performed or how a grant is utilized. So procedural memory deals with the how of work or how of a procedure. Sometimes, we get at the correct solution of a mathematical.
Question 4.
Define memory failure?
Answer:
Memory Failure or forgetting takes place due to encoding failure, storage failure, and retrieval failure. Failure to remember, memory failure, or failure to develop new memory leads to tremendous inconvenience. As per estimation, the average human mind can store 100 trillion bits of information. we experience many forgetting in our day-to-day life. Sometimes, we recognize an old face but cannot recall his name.
Encoding Failure:
Encoding failure is an important cause of forgetting. As discussed earlier, the process by which information is put in the store of memory or accepted by it refers to encoding. But when there is a failure in the encoding procedure one may not be able to store information hence most forget. When one gets meaningless information that does not have associative value the Nonsense Syllables or consonant combinations or one fails to associate and organize them encoding failure takes place. That is why in rote learning forgetting takes place very quickly.
Storage Failure:
It is another major cause of forgetting. After encoding, information that is attended is stored in the Short Term Store (STS) for a brief period. Others are ignored or lost and so do not go for storage. The short-term store has, however, a limited capacity, and if information’s transmitted to .it for storage purposes some of this information which is not kept but pushed out from the short-term store is forgotten.
Similarly, the information kept in short-term stores which are not rehearsed or repeated they are also lost or decayed and so does not go to the long-term store. If the information is lost due to encoding failure or storage failure, it will not reach the long-term store. This type of forgetting is said to be due to storage failure.
Retrieval Failure:
To inadequate memory. One may, however, succeed to retrieve information from long-term stoic only if appropriate retrieval cues are present and if the information is distinguished from other information. Experience shows that when there is recall failure if some cue or clue is given immediate recall becomes possible. Suppose you are not able to recall the name of a bank you visited only once some days back. When you are told about the location-or color of the building where the bank is located, you immediately remember the name.
As a year old boy was admitted to a new school in Prep Class, on the first day he was taken to his class by the attendant. On the second day, he went alone and entered another class. Then immediately he came out of the class realizing that it is not his class since he did not find there the pictures hanging on the walls of Prep Class. He then proceeded further and entered the class.
Question 5.
Define the forgetting curve and its characteristics?
Ans:
Retention Curve / Forgetting Curve:
The course of retention which is represented by a curve is called the retention curve. It is a graphic representation of the process of retention or forgetting. The measures of retention or forgetting is plotted in the vertical axis ‘O’ ‘Y’ and the amount of time (in days or hours) is shown on the horizontal axis. If the amount Of retention is plotted, the curve will be a descending one.
If the amount of forgetting is plotted, the curve will be an ascending one. Most curves of retention for nonsense syllables measured by relearning and saving methods commonly agree in showing a negatively accelerated form. Different experimental conditions also indicate that not only the form of the curve, but the percentage of saving also varies with variation in material.
In fact, the retention curve for meaningful material may run at a different height from those of nonsense syllables. But, by and large, different retention curves have more or less similar characteristics. Though time has a direct effect on retention, the rate of forgetting is not directly proportional to the time elapsed. For instance, if half the material learned is forgotten during the first 24 hours, it does necessarily mean that during another period of 24 hours the entire learned material would be forgotten.
Ebbinghaus (1885) conducted an experiment to determine the rate of forgetting with the passage of time. The S learned a list of nonsense syllables. Retention was measured after the 1 st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th day by the relearning method. The results were plotted in a curve. This curve showed that at first forgetting is rapid and as time lapses the rate of forgetting becomes slower and slower.
Within the first 24 hours, about 65 percent of the material was forgotten. Gradually the rate of forgetting became slow. As time passed, a very small amount of the material was forgotten. At the end of the 6th day, the loss was only about 75 percent. This curve by Ebbinghaus was also accepted by later psychologists. It is a typical curve of retention or forgetting. Looking at this curve we can find out the general characteristics of the curve of forgetting.
Characteristics Of the Curve Of Forgetting:
There is a stiff fall at the beginning of reproduction. At first, forgetting is rapid but as time lapses, the rate of forgetting becomes slower and slower. There is a gradual flattening of the curve, i.e. the rate of forgetting becomes slow. It is not as speedy as it was in the initial stage. There is almost no loss in the amount of material after a good deal of interval.
This quantitative study of memory presented in the curve of retention or forgetting is the most important contribution of Ebbinghaus and later psychologists could not disregard it. Retention curves, by and large, suggest that forgetting is never complete. The curve always levels up at some low value above zero. Observation of cases over a number of decades shows that forgetting anything cannot be cent percent.
The following is a curve showing retention from different types of materials over a period of months. This curve shows that forgetting is most rapid for nonsense syllables and next for prose and minimum for poetry. But the basic law that the rate of forgetting is rapid in the beginning and then slows down with the passage of time holds good for all types of materials.
Williams from the records of adults who studied 30 nonsense syllables for 5 minutes recalled them immediately and after an interval, he plotted it into a curve and found it running at a relatively high level of retention. The curve obtained from memory for substance plotted by Dietze and Jones (1931) and the study by Briggs, Red, Stroud, etc. both concludes that a negatively accelerated retention curve is most commonly used.
(Curve showing retention for different types of materials). Various studies show that the rate of forgetting is slower with meaningful materials. Perceptual motor skills appear to be retained quite well in comparison to verbal skills.
Question 6.
Define the measurement of memory?
Answer:
Measurement of Memory Recall Method
Recall was made famous through Ebbinghaus’s experiments on memory and he used the recall method for studying, remembering, and forgetting. The ‘ S ’ is required to make the response that he has learned previously. In recall, the previously learned materials are brought to the present consciousness in their absence. This is called the free recall method. For instance, when a student is answering a question in the examination hall, he is exactly using this procedure.
In laboratory experiments, a list of items, say 15 to 20 is presented to the ‘ S ’ through the memory drum, one after another. After exposure, he is asked to recall the list. The list is produced again and again until one perfect reproduction which suggests 100 percent learning. Now after an interval of 30 minutes, the S is asked to reproduce the already learned items. The amount reproduced is his amount of retention by the recall method. This is also known as the method of reproduction. The items which the ‘ S ’ fails to recall, suggest forgetting materials.
The recall is of two types:
- Immediate recall,
- Delayed Recall
When the recall is made immediately after learning, it is called immediate recall. When the recall is made after an interval, it is called delayed recall. Four objections were raised against Ebbinghaus’s recall method.
Retrograde Amnesia:
Critics argued that lack of recall need not necessarily mean forgetting. Due to emotional disturbances like fear, anxiety, and sudden shock sometimes one fails to recall the material learned. This has been experimentally demonstrated in the laboratory and observed in practical life. Soldiers on the battlefield after some shock forget the incidents experienced just before the shock. Similarly, a person reproduces everything but forgets when he faces the interview board. It is to some extent a case of forgetting due to emotional blocking.
Lack of recall may also be due to associative interference, friability to recall in many cases is due to repression which need not necessarily suggest forgetting. If there is no will to recall, recall, also may not be possible. The concept of reminiscence is also said to be a defect of the recall method. In spite of these criticisms, the recall method is very much in use for the measurement of memory. It is nevertheless a difficult method to measure retention in comparison to other methods.
Recognition Method:
Recognition according to Guilford (1917) literally means ‘knowing again. When one recognizes an object or stimulus he behaves as if he has experienced it before. Recognition simply means to identify. Recognition is the easiest method of measuring retention. It is easier recognize a name or face than to recall it. Similarly, you may not be able to recall the lines of a well-known song, but you can recognize it instantly.
According to Guilford (1917), “the essential difference between recall and recognition is that in the first case the stimulus is not there for one’s identification while it is there in the second case.” It has been found that maximum retention is possible with this method. Recognition scores are usually quantitatively more than recall scores keeping all other factors constant.
This has been substantiated by field and laboratory investigations. In a study on the recognition method, Bahrick and his associates found that people who graduated almost 50 years back/were able to recognize 75 % of the names and photographs of their classmates accurately. During the same period recall of names declined to under 20 percent.
The present author met recently one of her school-mates studying with her, in the year 1948. She could readily recognize her face but could not recall her name. Recognition is easier than recall because in recognition the object is present and mixed with some other new materials. The ‘S’ has only to select the learned materials while in the recall method the materials are absent and they have to be reproduced from memory. Thus, the sensitivity is greater in the case of the recognition method to measure memory.
Experimental studies indicate that the number of words that one can recognize in reading is much greater than the number. One could sit down and write out, even if given plenty of time. In the recognition method, the ‘S’ is presented with a list of 20 nonsense syllables or Trigrams (nonsense combinations of consonants like QSZ, even) to learn up to a perfect reproduction.
After an interval of one hour, this list is mixed randomly with a new list of another 40 nonsense syllables or trigrams. The ‘ S ’ has to identify the earlier learned materials from the new list. Say, he could identify 15 correctly and 4 wrongly, out of the 20 items. His actual retention score would not be 15 but Jess than that as would be penalized for the wrong identifications.
Clearing or Saving Method:
The relearning or the saving method was originally introduced by Ebbinghaus as a method of measuring retention. In the relearning method, the ‘S’ is given a list of materials to learn up to one perfect reproduction (cent percent learning). After 30 minutes retention interval, he is asked to recall the list. If he recalls the entire list correctly, there is no need for relearning trials and the percentage of relearning hence is zero.
On the other hand, if he is unable to recall some items, the list is again exposed to him until he recalls all the items correctly. The trials required for perfect learning at this stage are called relearning trials. The amount of savings refers to the difference between the original learning trial and relearning trials. The percentage of savings is found by the following formula:
\(\frac{\mathrm{OL}-\mathrm{RL}}{\mathrm{OL}}\)x100
When OL means original learning trials and RL means Relearning trials. For instance, when tire ‘ S ’ has taken six trials for original learning and two trials for releasing, his saving score would be \(\frac{6-2}{6}\) x 100 = 66.67%. The 66.67 percentage saving, in this case, itself the evidence that S remembers a certain percentage of the items learned even after the time gap or retention interval.
Question 7.
Define error in recognition and discuss the cause of forgetting?
Answer:
Errors in Recognition:
Only the other day while the author was attending a dinner party, one lady observed her for a few seconds and said hesitantly. “You are Jayanthi, are not you? When I said, “No I am not, “she immediately felt embarrassed and said, “Oh, sony”. “But you very much look like her.” On another occasion, one of this author’s old students failed to recognize her when they met in a film show.
When she gave her identity, the student was very embarrassed and said, “Oh, you have grown so thin that I was unable to recognize you.” Such mistaken identities are experienced daily. Usually, two kinds of errors of recognition are noticed Failing to recognize the familiar, and False recognition of the new and unfamiliar. The above two incidents represented examples of these two types of errors in recognition. We fail to recognize familiar objects or stimuli when it undergoes changes seen under changed circumstances.
When we do not expect to meet somebody at a particular party or place we may not recognize him, particularly from a distance. Secondly, we accept a new stimulus as the old stimulus when there is a lot of similarity between the two. The greater the amount of resemblance, the larger the chance for the error to be committed. Lunel conducted an experiment where he took three lists of materials.
The words of list ‘B’ are the same as list ‘A’ with one letter changed. In list ‘C’ two letters of list Aare changed and hence are debarred from appearing in the examination. other problems pose-great botheration for us. Failure to recall the learned items in the examination or in an interview leads to failure or loss of a job respectively.
The question, therefore, is what one should forget and what one should not Those skills, knowledge, and memory traces that are essential for existence, for adjustment with life, and for achieving different goals, should be remembered while the unnecessary, unpleasant, painful and miserable experiences should be forgotten. Forgetting refers to the negative aspect or opposite of remembering.
According to Underwood (1968) “retention and forgetting are thus reciprocal terms for the quantitative aspect of memory, with retention indication the amount remembered under specified conditions and forgetting the amount not remembered under same conditions.
Causes Of Forgetting:
The basic question that everybody asks is “why do we forget?” There are several factors responsible for forgetting which are discussed below: Factors operating at the time of leasing Some of the factors have been discussed in detail under conditions of efficient memorizing. Precisely, the strength of original learning, nature of the material, method of learning, speed of learning, etc. are the factors operating at the time of learning.
Strength of Original Learning:
It has been found experimentally that when the original learning is weaker, the neural traces formed in the brain are fainter and hence are properly retained. But the amount of retention cannot increase indefinitely as a function of the degree of overlearning. A point diminishing return is to be reached. However, over-learning is ways preferable to under-learning.
Nature of Material:
From various studies discussed earlier in this text, it is found that meaningful and rhythmic material, decreases rate of forgetting. Ebbinghaus found that any material with an associative value decreases forgetting. Even when one is learning meaningless material like tri grams or nonsense syllables, he may try to relate some meaning or association to these, for quick remembering.
For example, the trigram JNF may stand for John F Kenedy or Sih may stand for South Indian Hotel. If this is done remembering becomes economical. when one is studying meaningful material, like a poem passage he may try to find out the relationship between different parts of the material.
This type of learning is emphasized by the Gestalts Materials which belong to each other and are easily learned. When one is memorizing 3 passages a poem and 3 passages of different poems, the former is quickly remembered because the different passages are parts of a general whole and they belong to each other. Many laboratory findings and day-to-day life.
Question 8.
Discuss the improvement of memory?
Answer:
Improvement of Memory:
Memory can be improved by efficient learning. Only memorizing the material does not mean improvement of memory. In one study one group tried to improve their memory repeating a material over and over again, while another group tried to improve by following the principles of efficient learning. The second group showed improvement in memory compared to the first group.
Ebert and Neumann (1905) following better techniques and principles to learn and remember a material found improvement in memory. For example, farfetched associations were avoided, and groupings of the material were made on a rhythm basis. Worry, strain, and useless muscular tensions were eliminated. The conditions of the lab were made familiar for the better adoption of the subjects.
The effect of transfer was used as far as possible and its effect on the improvement of memory was also demonstrated. Reed (1917) conducted the same, experiment taking two groups but found a very small improvement in memory due to the effect of transfer. But it was difficult to get a matched control group. Sleight conducted the same experiment with certain modifications like keeping a controlled group that was perfectly matched but found very little effect of transfer.
Any effect of transfer found was due to rhythm. On the contrary, in another experiment of the same kind, taking adult subjects Sleight found significant transfer, but negative in nature. While learning different kinds of materials, different techniques are better memorization Of course, some techniques may be used in general because of the effect of transfer. Woodrow (1927) did an experiment taking 3 groups of subjects to demonstrate this fact.
Controlled Group:
Did only the forests and after tests.
Unistructcd Practice Group:
For a total of 3 hours without any intervening practice did specific memorization of poems and nonsense syllables, and no specific technique was instructed for the use of nonsense syllables.
Instructed Group:
This group used proper techniques of memorization being specifically instructed. So in the first group, there is no intervening practice which is found in the second and third tests.
Result:
In the after-test, the practice was nearly equal to the control group, but the instructed group (the third group) did definitely better compared to the first two groups. Thus, Woodrow concluded, “In short, the experiment shows that in a case where one kind of training, undirected drill produces an amount of transference which are sometimes positive and sometimes negative; but always small,-another kind of training with the same drill material may result in a transference the effect of which are uniformly large and positive.
The following specific methods of memorizing were given to the third group:
- Learning by wholes.
- Use of active self-testing.
- Use of grouping and rhythm.
- Attention to meaning and use of images.
- Mental alertness and concentration.
- Confidence in one’s ability to memorize.
- In certain cases as in learning nonsense syllables, the use of a second association was made.
The following are some of the techniques of efficient learning which are improvement in memory. The intention or motivation to learn sometimes our memory is poor because we have no intention or desire to learn and remember the topic. Intentional or incidental learning improves memory. Giving close attention to the material to be learned improves memory of that material.
Understanding leads to little forgetting and more storage, more long-term memory. Images should be used as much as possible visual and auditory images to more remembering. a theoretical background along with visual, and auditory images improve remembering. Visual educations, cinemas and excursions, and study tours are therefore more helpful than mere lecturing only.
To improve memory one should always make attempts to associate things with another so that when one thinks of one the other easily comes to your memory. Just for this reason, meaningful words are better remembered these meaningless words. In addition to the above methods of improving memory, some further methods have been developed by psychologists engaged in tire research of memory improvement.
Organization of materials is extremely important to improve memory. The term “Mnemonics” is derived from the Greek word which means to “Remember”. Mnemonics are short, verbal devices that encode long series of facts by associating them with familiar and previously encoded information recent past. If materials lack natural organization, artificial organizations are necessary to be used by the learner for better memory. The old organization already present in the memory system is utilized for organizing unfamiliar and new sets of materials. The following Mnemonic devices are also used to improve memory.
Question 9.
Discuss in detail Mnemonic devices used to improve memory?
Answer:
Methods of LOCI:
At a banquet hall, the seating arrangements provided a spatial structure wherein he could remember the guests sitting around the long banquet table. The spatial position or place of a situation can be used to remember the name of the guests and other items. In the instant case, Simonides could be able to perfectly recall all the guests present at the banquet by remembering the seating position of the guests.
By putting images of items to be remembered at various places can be an effective method of improving memory and remembering things. By the method of LOCI by having mental images of the spatial position of the stimuli one can remember information perfectly. In our day-to-day life if we try to remember things, objects, and stimuli linking them to their spatial positions or locations.
our memory for this information can be easily strengthened. Thus, according to Kimbel. “The method of LOCI requires (the person to place each item to be remembered at some definite location on one’s mental tour and to form a vivid, image of the item in its spot.” Bower (1972) has recommended developing bizarre or unusual associations like keeping some eggs on the bed instead of the kitchen or keeping an attached in the kitchen instead of the box or bedroom.
Several experimental results indicate the effectiveness Of the method of LOCI particularly for visual memory. In .a study by Ross and Lawrence (1968), a group of students was presented with a list of 40 items to be associated with 40 locations present on their campus like a letter box, a Banyan tree, a bank near the NCC office, and each subject was given 13 seconds to form each association.
An immediate recall test showed that the average person remembered 38 to 40 items. However, after a day the recall score came down to 34 on average. This suggests that for many subjects recall was 100 percent. Kimbel holds that such excellent recall depends on the previously mastered or familiar organizations, (b) taking fairly a long time to deal with each item, and making effective use of imagery. By choosing a familiar organization the SS are free from the burden of making a new organizational structure which takes a lot of time and energy.
Numerical Pegs:
Otherwise called Number and Letter Peg. Numerical pegs serve as a good memory aid. By teaching children to remember numbers through pictures that resemble the shapes of the numbers (like a stick for one), memory is improved. In numerical pegs, each number of a series is presented with its pictures in order to make it easy for the association. The following example will explain the concept of numbers and letter pegs.
| One is a fan | Four is a door |
| Two is a shoe | Five is a knife |
| Three is a tree | Six is a disc |
| Seven is a pen | Eight is a light |
| Nine is fine | Ten is men and soon. |
If through such associations one tries to remember information, it becomes easy to retain. Like the method of LOCI here also as each item is presented to remember, the closer forms an image that is in association with the corresponding stimulus in the service. It has been observed that when learning is imparted with the method of numerical pegs or number and letter pegs human beings normally remember one item with one presentation only.
Those who find difficulty in retaining information can use the method as a memory aid. I taught my two-and-a-half-year-old grandson to leam the names of seven days in a week in a serial order like Sunday, Monday, etc. He failed to retain serially. But when I bought seven toothbrushes for him in seven colors and gave him one colored brush on a particular day, as I gave him a Red one on Sunday, a Blue one on Monday, a Yellow one on Tuesday, and so on, he could retain very quickly the names of seven days in a serial order associating the days with respective colors of the brushes.
Chunking:
When by using artificial grouping technique one learns to retain information where grouping is not provided, it’s called chunking. Particularly to remember long materials or long digits use of chunking is essential. The span of immediate memory is normally seven items, etc. between 5-9 items. But as experience shows we also remember longer items than the above in our life without much difficulty.
This is possible because of groupings. A five-year child remembers the mobile numbers of his mama, pappa, aunt and grandfather, and uncle, etc. along with their area code. This is an extraordinary case since the age of the child is only 5 years. But adults normally can remember mobile numbers along with their area code. This is possible by the chunking method.
The numbers are divided into small groups and remembered for example 0671-2615 308 can be remembered easily if it is divided into 3 groups – 0671 – 2615 – 308. Where grouping is not provided, one has to make the grouping himself to remember the long materials easily. Kimbel et al. have reported the case of a person who by means of some additional techniques could improve his memory span by up to 17 numbers in just 05 trials.
When initially tested his memory span was 09 digits. He was then asked to increase his memory span. He increased it up to 17 digits by the following techniques devised by him Strict attention was paid to the number of digits to be expected in each trial. Grouped the digits in sets of 3 and five depending on their number. Decided on his strategy by grouping before each trial.
Made verbal association to each group of numbers, weights, dates, or anything that came to Iris’s mind. Even made associations between groupings when he could. A group of college students increased their span of immediate memory from (9 to 12) digits in 11 trials of practice by following the above strategies.
Narrative Stories:
It is another Mnemonic method of improving memory of information received from the environment. If the items that are to be retained are presented to the person in story form it is retained for a longer period. Natural observation in day-to-day life and experimental findings prove this point. We generally teach children various values, ideologies, morals even different educational materials through stories.
Children, it is found, retain these materials for a long time when taught through the narration of stories. In an experiment two groups of subjects were taken, one control group and the second experimental group. While the SS of the experimental group was given to leam and remember 12 different lists of simple words in a story.
the SS of the control group were asked to study each word for the same amount of time that the SS of the experimental group took to make up stories. Immediate recall tests of both groups indicated that there was no difference between the two groups in the recall of each list.
Question 10.
What is Reminiscence? Discuss the factors influencing reminiscence?
Answer:
According to Stevens, “As against the curve of Ebbinghaus, sometimes retention curves show a period of increased retention immediately after the practice is stopped. This phenomenon of initial rise is leveled as Reminiscence’ Ruch (1940) defines reminiscence as “ a continuous increase in skill after practice ceases.” In the usual pattern of the forgetting curve initially, there is a stiff decline. There should thus be a progressive decrement in the curve of forgetting.
| Learning by List | Recall | Recall Score | Percentage |
| after 5 mints | 8/10 | 50 | |
| 10 mints and | 7/10 | 70 | |
| 15 mints | 9/10 | 90 |
In the third recalled words would have been less than 7 according to the usual characteristics of the forgetting curve.
Factor influence Reminiscence:
The degree of reminiscence depends upon so many factors. Some of the important factors are discussed below.
Rehearsal:
In the retention interval which is the interval between test-retest situations, if there is scope for rehearsal of the original learning, there may be reminiscence.
Meaningfulness of the Material:
Martin (1940) has found greater reminiscence within meaningful material than with nonsense material. Nonsense syllables, trigrams,s, and erection are difficult to remember and hence show less reminiscence.
Degree of Learning:
Particularly mean of motor learning reminiscence is observed when practicing increases of course up to a certain point.
Positive Transfer:
English, well-born and et al have found that the students of psychology curve given materials of psychology to learn.
Reproductive Interference:
According to Leavitt and Schlosberg (1977) absence of interference during the interval between test-retest situations.
Set:
the difference in instruction and practice may affect recall tests.