Bard Summer Research Institute Presents

Efficient Learning:
What are the Limits of Human Memory?

Our memory systems leverage the statistical structure of the world around us (context) to organize and store incoming information and retrieve previously stored information.  This enables us to recognize the situations we are in and to adapt our behaviors accordingly.  For example, your might choose to behave differently on a road trip with close friends versus commuting into work with your boss, even though many aspects of your perceptual experience are preserved across those two scenarios.  You might also remember different aspects of conversations from those trips when asked about them later.

In my talk, I will explore the extent to which (and the circumstances under which) these sorts of processes may be manipulated to influence memory.  I’ll begin by exploring these processes using a simple word list learning paradigm.  I’ll show how we can influence memory performance (specifically, how many words people remember and the order people remember the words in).  Then I’ll talk about how these same ideas can be applied to “naturalistic” memories, such as memories for scenes in a movie or concepts learned in the classroom.

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For more information, call 845-758-7223, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 3:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Reem-Kayden Center Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Auditorium

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