Tag: Nash Unsworth

Accessing Long-Term Memory—What Pupil Dilation Can Tell Us About Learning and Memory

Presenter: Marina Gross

Mentor: Nash Unsworth

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology 

Our study investigated the role of pupil dilation in long-term memory through a delayed free recall task. Studying attention levels during learning and retrieval of memories might shed light on cognitive deficits typical in ADHD and other attention disorders. Previous studies have shown the validity of pupil dilation as a proxy for attention and effort. For the first time, this study used pupillometry to investigate encoding and retrieval processes as well as the primacy effect—a phenomenon that describes superior recall of the first item on a list. Participants learned 7 lists of 10 words each for later recall. Using eye tracking, we analyzed pupil size during both learning as well as retrieval. Results revealed a close relationship between pupil dilation and recall behavior. When pupil was large, participants recalled words rapidly and to a higher degree. Furthermore, attention during encoding, indicated by pupil size, peaked at the first item only to decrease over the course of each trial. These findings are consistent with primacy-gradient models. Additionally, we provide new evidence on the primacy effect. Pupil dilation during the first item on each list was much larger and followed a different pattern than any other item during encoding. Our data suggest that besides rehearsal, increased attention to the first item on the list might play a role in its superior recall.

The Effect of Sleep on False Memories

Presenter(s): Madison Morocco − Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Nash Unsworth, Melynda Casement

Poster 102

Research Area: Social Science, Cognitive/Clinical Psychology

A false memory is recalling incorrect information, or recalling an event that did not happen. Everyone is susceptible to false memories. There is no known cure or defense, and relatively little is known about how they occur. Though there is relatively little known, much research shows sleep, consolidation specifically, is crucial to solidifying memories (Payne, Chambers, and Kensinger, 2012). Consolidation is a process where new, labile memories are integrated into the vast network of pre- existing long-term memories. A key component of this process is the active re-processing of these memories, because this is the version of the memory that will be recalled (Diekelmann and Born, 2010). Memory is malleable, so it is important to understand how it is affected. This study seeks to find a connection between the number of hours of sleep a subject gets and how many times they experience a false memory. Using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm, subjects were asked to memorize four lists of 10 words all related to a single theme word. Then, subjects were asked to recall words from each list. A false memory was counted each time a subject mistakenly reported the theme word. We hypothesized that subjects sleeping a “normal” eight hours per night would experience fewer false memories compared to subjects who slept greater than 10 or less than five hours per night. As data collection is still ongoing, we seek to answer the question: is someone more or less susceptible to false memories based on the number of hours they sleep?

Individual differences in memory self-efficacy and learning ability

Individual differences in memory self-efficacy and learning ability

Amy Chen—Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Ashley Miller, Nash Unsworth

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Memory self-efficacy (MSE) is one’s evaluation of their memory abilities, which can be broken down into concurrent and global estimates . Concurrent MSE refers to perceived, current memory ability for a specific task, whereas global MSE refers to one’s perceived memory ability more generally, across various memory domains . The present study sought to extend prior work by examining how variation in MSE relates to learning ability on a delayed free recall (DFR) task . In three experiments, participants completed a DFR task, measures of working memory capacity (WMC), long-term memory (LTM) ability, and motivation . Experiment 1 measured global MSE (Lineweaver & Hertzog, 2010) upon completion of the DFR task . Experiment 2 measured concurrent MSE by asking participants to predict how many words they could remember for each list on the DFR task . Experiment 3 used a similar method as Experiment 2 but also administered a more standard concurrent MSE questionnaire (Berry, 1999) . Encoding strategy use on the DFR task was also measured . Results revealed global MSE was unrelated to learning ability . Concurrent MSE, however, was consistently associated with learning ability . Those who believed they were capable of remembering more items displayed better DFR accuracy . These individuals also had higher WMC, higher LTM ability, increased motivation, and used more effective encoding strategies . Critically, concurrent MSE continued to explain unique variance in DFR accuracy even when accounting for WMC, LTM, motivation, and effective strategy use . Collectively, these results suggest that one’s evaluation of their specific memory abilities is a critical component of successful learning .