PSY260H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Forgetting Curve, Contiguity, Experimental Psychology
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Relative to our earlier ancestors, we are specialized in language, planning, learning and memory: Interesting new theory- max energy input for keeping yourself alive and growing a fetus instead of size of head at 40 weeks. Studied memory in a distinctly modern and scientific way. Experimental: manipulated an independent variable and measured the dependant. Studied a list of nonsense words to test his memory. What he remembered after a delay was the dependant variable: savings. 1-(time to learn list second time/time to learn first time: higher savings= better memory. Exponential forgetting curve: rapid initial forgetting, but progressively less forgetting with time. Showed effects of time, practice, and spacing that seem general to memory across the animal kingdom. Classical conditioning to experimentally study the laws of association: Frequency: repeated bell-food pairings increase the strength of association, with a characteristic learning curve. Contiguity: the association between the bell and food is extinguished when the bell is alone, ending contiguity.
