Essay On Memory Retrieval

Memory is a critical part of our lives. It helps us to get better grades in school and reflect on special moments we experienced. There is a vast amount of research in psychology on what promotes and inhibits memory encoding and retrieval. Our current study assessed the difference in memory retention when expecting a memory test vs. a surprise memory test. We selected 253 participants from Dalhousie University and split them into two groups. One group was expecting a memory test and the other group was lead to believe they would have to do recognition test but instead given a surprise recall test. Both groups viewed a word list for two and half minutes. After that they were given three minutes to recall as many of the words as they could. Our results found no significant difference in the mean recall of words between each condition. Before the experiment participants were lectured on memory, which could have primed them for an upcoming test. Previous literature found evidence that expecting an upcoming test could improve participant’s recall. In closing, our study …show more content…
PET studies were done on the encoding/retrieval process of semantic/episodic memory and a unique double asymmetrical pattern was observed in the prefrontal regions (Nyberg et al., 1996). A hemispheric encoding/retrieval asymmetry (HERA) model was proposed to explain this unique pattern. This model states that the left pre-frontal cortex (PFC) is more involved in the retrieval of semantic memories and for encoding new aspects of the retrieved information into episodic memory than the right PFC. In contrast, the right PFC is more involved in the retrieval of episodic memories more so than the left. Furthermore, this pattern was observed for different kinds of information (e.g., words, numbers, faces) and for different conditions of encoding/retrieval (Nyberg et al.,