6.04-
· E-text
o As of now, we have discussed the ways we store memories. It is also important, however, to discuss how we retrieve the memories. In the textbook reading for 6.04, the process of memory retrieval was discussed. The first process, known as recall, is when one must “pull” the information out from their memory. The second process, known as recognition, allows one to associate a piece of information/stimulus to an already known fact.
o Another key term we have learned about again is hindsight bias. Hindsight bias plays an important part in memory because it can create false pretenses. Hindsight bias is when one believes they were right all along. For example, if one believes that the Bucs are going to win a game, the Bucs then win the game, and that person says he knew all along, that would be an example of hindsight bias.
· Interactive
o The first interactive dealt with the serial position curve. In this interactive, we learned what the serial position curve. The serial position curve shows that when given a list, people will tend to remember the first few items and the last few items rather than items in the middle of the list. For example, if the list is “Milk, eggs, bread, ice cream, chicken, broccoli, carrots, and orange juice,” people will tend to remember milk and eggs as well as carrots and orange juice. Being able to remember the items of the beginning of the list is known as the primacy effect, while being able to remember the items towards the end of the list is known as the recency effect.
o The second interactive discussed how we create false memories. The interactive provided us with a list of words that relate to sleep, and then asked us if the list actually included the word “sleep.” It in fact had not had that word in the list but one would be tempted to say that word was in the list because they are related.
· Videos
o The Bloody Teeth Boost Memory video was extremely interesting for me. The video showed someone brushing their teeth and someone getting a tooth implant to a group of students. Before each video, the students were shown a word. After multiple words, the students were asked to write down as many words as they could remember. They found that the students remembered more words shown before the tooth implant video because that video was more captivating and created a more emotional response.
o The second video also talked about the serial position effect. It made us write down the name of the U.S. presidents in order and showed how we probably remembered the first few presidents and the most recent presidents.
· Lesson
o The first thing the lesson talked about that the text did not mention was the tip of the tongue effect. This is an example of temporary memory retrieval failure. This happens to people all the time when one has a memory that they “know” but can’t remember.
o The lesson also mentioned Elizabeth Loftus and the misinformation effect. Elizabeth Loftus is a psychologist who believed that other’s eyewitness accounts could influence another witness’s account. This became known as the misinformation effect. Since people tend to have much confidence in their own memory, the misinformation effect can be a real problem for investigations.
· Reflection on Lesson
o The lesson section of 6.04 was the most helpful for me. The lesson section always creates an organized way to take my notes. The e-text was helpful for definitions, but is not as organized as the lesson. The various interactive were helpful because they provided multiple examples and simulations. One thing I did not like, however, was that the serial position effect was part of the interactive too many times. The videos, as always, were engaging and not at all boring. This lesson provided plenty of information on memory retrieval, but I wish it had gone in more depth about flashbulb memories and false positive. Overall, it was a very informative lesson and quite interesting as well.