Episodic memory

psychology

intermediate

PS_W02

PS_W03

PS_K03

Knowledge of English at the B2 level is required. It is recommended to have knowledge from the basic course of Cognitive Psychology. As well as a basic understanding of psychological research methodology (especially experimental research).

The aim of this course is to teach students about the classical and recent concepts and theories of episodic memory and about the main research paradigms used in this field.

The ability to think back and relieve happenings from the past is a remarkable achievement of human memory studied under the topic of episodic memory. The concept of episodic memory was formulated in the early 1970s by Endel Tulving and was initially defined as a memory system that receives and stores information about episodes or events and their spatial and temporal contexts. Episodic memory also is defined by the nature of conscious awareness that accompanies retrieval (i.e., autonoetic awareness) – the mental reexperience of a previous moment in the past.

During lectures we will focus on experimental research on episodic memory and new theoretical approaches to memory processes of encoding and retrieval.

Topics of lectures will include such issues as:

Historical background - the origins of the experimental study of memory (Ebbinghaus, Mueller).

Main approaches in understanding the nature of memory. Concepts of engram and memory trace.

Basic laws of memory - factors determining the effectiveness of learning.

Classification of memory systems by Tulving. Episodic memory vs. mental time travel.

Brain correlates of episodic memory.

Pattern separation and pattern completion in encoding and object recognition.

Consolidation and reconsolidation of the memory trace and persistence in memory.

Learning (encoding) and retrieval. Levels of processing versus memory efficiency.

Memory trace strength theory and dual process models. Fuzzy trace theory.

Attribute models and associative models.

Mechanisms of forgetting - retroactive interference and proactive interference.

False memory.

Source memory.

Craik F. I. (2021). Remembering: An Activity of Mind and Brain. Oxford University Press.

Dere, E., Easton, A., Nadel, L., & Huston, J. P. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of episodic memory. Elsevier.

Gallo, D. A. (2006). Associative illusions of memory: False memory research in DRM and related tasks. Psychology Press.

Kahana, M. J. (2012). Foundations of human memory. Oxford University Press

Schacter, D. L. (2001). The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers. New York, Houghton Mifflin.

Student knows and understands what the specificity of experimental approach to event memory is.

Student knows and understands what the analysis of episodic memory processes is and how it should proceed.

The student is ready to complement by herself the knowledge and skills using latest reports from the research on human memory. She/he understands and uses specialized terminology in English in the field of memory psychology.

ECTS: 6 p.

30 hr - lecture attendance (1p)

50 hr - readings (2p)

80 hr - preparation to exam (3p)

Lectures end with a written examination in the form of a test (students will be given a set of supporting questions in advance). There will be four answer options with one correct answer in each test question.

Assessment criteria:

The final grade will depend on:

- participation in lectures,

- the result of the final test.

A necessary condition to receive a positive mark is: obtaining minimum 50% of points from the final test and not more than 5 absences.

Obtaining such a result means that the student has achieved the learning outcomes at a sufficient level.