Fergus I. M. Craik

Last updated

Fergus Craik
Born
Fergus Ian Muirden Craik

(1935-04-17) 17 April 1935 (age 88)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Nationality Scottish/Canadian
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
University of Liverpool
Known for Levels-of-processing effect
Scientific career
Institutions University of Toronto (1971–2000), Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute (presently)
Thesis Age differences in confidence and decision processes  (1965)
Doctoral students Nicole Anderson

Fergus Ian Muirden Craik FRS (born 17 April 1935, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a cognitive psychologist known for his research on levels of processing in memory. This work was done in collaboration with Robert Lockhart at the University of Toronto in 1972 and continued with another collaborative effort with Endel Tulving in 1975. Craik has received numerous awards and is considered a leader in the area of memory, attention and cognitive aging. Moreover, his work over the years can be seen in developmental psychology, aging and memory, and the neuropsychology of memory. [1]

Contents

He studied at the University of Edinburgh and gained his bachelor of science in psychology in 1960. In 1965, he received his PhD from the University of Liverpool. He began his academic career at Birkbeck College, and then moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to pursue an academic career at the University of Toronto in 1971. Currently, he is a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto. In recent times, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008. [2]

Early life

Craik was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, as the eldest of three siblings. A year and a half into his life, his family relocated to the small market-town of Lockerbie, Scotland. His initial career aspiration was to be a minister or a carpenter. [3] He attended Lockerbie Academy throughout his childhood and his parents enrolled him in George Watson's Boys’ College, in Edinburgh, at age 12.

His parents’ decision to send him to a high-ranking high school enabled Craik to discover his strengths. He excelled in physics, english, and biological sciences which helped change his career aspirations upon graduating high school. [4]

During his time at the University of Edinburgh, Craik met his wife, Anne, through a study for his undergraduate thesis. Together, they raised two children: Lindsay (born 1963) and Neil (born 1965).

Education and academic career

Craik's introduction to psychology stemmed from his dissatisfaction in medical school. While he found neurology, physiology, and psychiatry interesting, anatomical catalogues were challenging and tiresome and the company of sick patients were not of interest. While completing his final undergraduate year in psychology, Craik was introduced to experimental psychology. He completed his undergraduate thesis on the effect of rate of information processing on time perception, a topic that was heavily influenced by George Miller and his workings. His time at the University of Edinburgh also facilitated his exposure to theoretical psychology. Some of the courses he took allowed Craik to read the works of Donald Hebb, Dalbir Bindra, James J. Gibson, and some ethologists while another course introduced him to memory and learning. By the time Craik was ready to graduate with his bachelor of science, he began to realize his interests were in attention and perception. [4] He graduated in 1960.

In 1960, Craik was offered a position at the Medical Research Council in London, England, to study how aging occurs. This job allowed Craik to make connections with the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool in which he was accepted for graduate studies. During his time working for the MRC, Craik investigated age-related changes in confidence and decision-making abilities. While working here, Craik was also able to gain exposure to on-going research in other MRC-based branches. [4] One of the researchers he found most profound was Donald Broadbent, thus, Craik was able to approach psychologists of interest to him and develop his interests in psychology. The work that he completed throughout this tenure here formed the basis of his Ph.D. dissertation, however, Craik's interests became more cognitive-based. Following his graduation in 1965, the appeal of emerging cognitive psychological views became a newfound interest.

Later in 1965, Craik accepted his first faculty position at Birkbeck College over the following six years. During this time, his research focus shifted entirely to memory processes. Peter Venables, a research professor at the same institution, was simultaneously conducting research on the neurophysiology of schizophrenia and influenced Craik's interests via processing deficits in the human mind. It is here that neuropsychology begins to reform Craik's research.

Following a NATO-sponsored meeting on memory in 1967, Craik was offered the opportunity to act as a visiting professor at the University of Toronto by fellow attendee and prominent psychologist, Endel Tulving. [4] He completed this opportunity during 1968–1969. As an abundance of memory-based research was being conducted by Endel Tulving and his colleagues at the University of Toronto, Craik and his family permanently relocated to Toronto in 1971.

At the University of Toronto, Craik worked as an association professor of psychology at the Erindale Campus in 1971 and eventually the St. George campus. At this time, Anne Treisman’s research from the 1960s influenced Craik as the concept of levels of perception formed the basis of her theory of attention. Craik felt that memory must incorporate a series of analyses as well that range from shallow to deep, with the varying depths of encoding representing different levels of memory processing. Together, with Robert Lockhart, Craik co-wrote an article on the levels-of-processing that rivaled the previously accepted Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model at the time. This article changed what was previously thought on how memory is processed and stored in the human mind and gained support as the new paradigm for memory processing. A follow-up article was done by Craik and Tulving in 1975 which provided more evidence for this new model through a series of experiments. [5]

As Craik’s research endeavors explored memory processing, he began to incorporate aging into his research during the 1980s. [4] Craik also involved himself in editorial boards for journals and visited other psychology departments and institutions in North America.

With the invention of functional neuroimaging and the University of Toronto’s acquisition of a PET scanner, Craik and many of his colleagues looked at the brain correlates involved in encoding and retrieving processes in memory. A large portion of this research was possible because of the conception of the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in northern Toronto – an institution that Craik helped conceive. [4]

In June 2000, he retired from the University of Toronto and gained emeritus status. He is currently continuing to pursue his research interests as a senior scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, investigating various linkages between memory, attention, and cognitive aging. [6]

Research

Levels-of-Processing Paradigm

The most well-known and notable of Craiks’ research analyzed how memory is encoded and various levels of depths of processing. Craik and Lockhart postulated that during the first stage of memory where information is acquired, the encoding stage, there is a series of processing hierarchies. During the initial phase of encoding, an individual experiences "shallow" processing and may reach into the deepest level. Memory traces form as a result of these processes, containing coding characteristics and persistence in memory. A deeper depth of processing implies that a greater amount of semantic or cognitive analysis must be conducted. Therefore, a stimulus that has undergone a deep level of processing will have a longer, more durable storage and retention. [7]

The controversy this paradigm caused at the time, when compared to the Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model, was that it proposed that memory is not a uniform process that consists of storing information between short-term memory and long-term memory. To break away from the linearity the models possessed at the time, the levels-of-processing adopted a non-structured approach that also infused the different types of memory and associated complexities (i.e. episodic, procedural, and semantic memory). Moreover, Craik and Lockhart's final criticism proposed that there is no separate, capacity-limited, short-term memory store. They think that short-term memory is a temporary activation of the regions of the brain that are involved in long-term memory.

Brain Correlates and Memory

With the use of functional imaging, in recent times, Craik is looking at how encoding and processing tasks in memory is activated in the brain.

Multiple studies have now shown that deep semantic processing, the most beneficial type of processing, is associated with neural activity in the ventral regions within the left prefrontal cortex. [8] The role of the prefrontal cortex shows that deeper-level encoding is self-generated and strategic process that would not be able to progress without this highly developed region. In the case of retrieval, bilateral prefrontal activation is used instead of just one side. Craik's research also highlighted posterior cortical regions as the area responsible for lower level processing.

The ways in which memory changes over the adult lifespan is also a source for Craik's latest research. In this case, age is looked at as a factor that alters and degrades memory efficiency and abilities over time. Age-related memory problems become more persistent in the elderly years, and one's ability to recall previously encoded stimuli without cues or context is no longer optimal. However, verbal or visual stimuli can be recognized at the same level of efficiency over the course of a lifetime. Craik and his colleagues found physiological evidence for this cognitive degradation through their research into the brains of elderly participants. Specifically, they discovered that there is a reduction in frontal activity. [9] Still, there is an increased level of activity in the left prefrontal cortex when older adults undergo some nonverbal tasks of retrieval when compared to younger individuals. Moreover, the presence of increased left prefrontal cortex activity is only found in tasks revolving retrieval but there is still a reduction when performing encoding tasks.

It is currently hypothesized that these higher outputs of activity may be necessary for older people to perform sufficiently. [10]

Age-related memory changes are also observed under the influence of physical activity and long-last mental activities such as Sudoku or lifelong bilingualism. These associations are currently being documented to better understand these effects in a systematic manner and delve into the brain and neural correlates associated with these variations. [8]

Awards and distinctions

Related Research Articles

Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: free recall, cued recall and serial recall. Psychologists test these forms of recall as a way to study the memory processes of humans and animals. Two main theories of the process of recall are the two-stage theory and the theory of encoding specificity.

Episodic memory is the memory of everyday events that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at particular times and places; for example, the party on one's 7th birthday. Along with semantic memory, it comprises the category of explicit memory, one of the two major divisions of long-term memory.

Endel Tulving was an Estonian-born Canadian experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist. In his research on human memory he proposed the distinction between semantic and episodic memory. Tulving was a professor at the University of Toronto. He joined the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences in 1992 as the first Anne and Max Tanenbaum Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and remained there until his retirement in 2010. In 2006, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC), Canada's highest civilian honour.

Explicit memory is one of the two main types of long-term human memory, the other of which is implicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts. This type of memory is dependent upon three processes: acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval.

The Levels of Processing model, created by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. More analysis produce more elaborate and stronger memory than lower levels of processing. Depth of processing falls on a shallow to deep continuum. Shallow processing leads to a fragile memory trace that is susceptible to rapid decay. Conversely, deep processing results in a more durable memory trace. There are three levels of processing in this model. Structural processing, or visual, is when we remember only the physical quality of the word E.g how the word is spelled and how letters look. Phonemic processing includes remembering the word by the way it sounds. E.G the word tall rhymes with fall. Lastly, we have semantic processing in which we encode the meaning of the word with another word that is similar or has similar meaning. Once the word is perceived, the brain allows for a deeper processing.

State-dependent memory or state-dependent learning is the phenomenon where people remember more information if their physical or mental state is the same at time of encoding and time of recall. State-dependent memory is heavily researched in regards to its employment both in regards to synthetic states of consciousness as well as organic states of consciousness such as mood. While state-dependent memory may seem rather similar to context-dependent memory, context-dependent memory involves an individual's external environment and conditions while state-dependent memory applies to the individual's internal conditions.

Ellen Bialystok, OC, FRSC is a Canadian psychologist and professor. She carries the rank of Distinguished Research Professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario where she is director of the Lifespan Cognition and Development Lab. She is also an associate scientist at the Rotman Research Institute of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

Self-referential encoding is a method of organizing information in one's memory in which one interprets incoming information in relation to oneself, using one's self-concept as a background. Examples include being able to attribute personality traits to oneself or to identify recollected episodes as being personal memories of the past. The implications of self-referential processing are evident in many psychological phenomena. For example, the "cocktail party effect" notes that people attend to the sound of their names even during other conversation or more prominent, distracting noise. Also, people tend to evaluate things related to themselves more positively. For example, people tend to prefer their own initials over other letters. The self-reference effect (SRE) has received the most attention through investigations into memory. The concepts of self-referential encoding and the SRE rely on the notion that relating information to the self during the process of encoding it in memory facilitates recall, hence the effect of self-reference on memory. In essence, researchers have investigated the potential mnemonic properties of self-reference.

Memory has the ability to encode, store and recall information. Memories give an organism the capability to learn and adapt from previous experiences as well as build relationships. Encoding allows a perceived item of use or interest to be converted into a construct that can be stored within the brain and recalled later from long-term memory. Working memory stores information for immediate use or manipulation, which is aided through hooking onto previously archived items already present in the long-term memory of an individual.

Transfer-appropriate processing (TAP) is a type of state-dependent memory specifically showing that memory performance is not only determined by the depth of processing, but by the relationship between how information is initially encoded and how it is later retrieved.

Morris Moscovitch is Max and Gianna Glassman Chair in Neuropsychology and Aging and Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. He is also a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Moscovitch is a leading neuropsychologist, with over 150 research articles focusing mainly on the neural substrates of high-level cognitive processes such as memory, attention, and recognition of faces and objects. According to Google Scholar, he has an h-index of 121 and over 52000 citations (2020). He has formulated a neuropsychological model of memory with three components: the posterior neocortex, which mediates performance on tests of memory without awareness; the medial temporal lobes, which automatically store information that is consciously apprehended at encoding and obligatorily recovers information on tests of conscious recollection that are cue-driven; and the frontal lobes, which work with memories delivered to and by the medial temporal lobes and posteri or neocortex, and recovered from them by supporting strategic processes that are needed at encoding and retrieval. Moscovitch received a B.A. in psychology from McGill University in 1966, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967 and 1972, respectively. He was born in Bucharest, Romania, where he lived for the first few years of his life before moving to Israel at the age of 4 and subsequently moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada at the age of 7. Moscovitch became interested in memory research while attending McGill for his undergraduate degree, where Brenda Milner's case study of HM inspired him to seek a life in neuropsychology. He also took a seminar taught by Donald O. Hebb, then the leading biological psychology theorist. In December, 2020 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to clinical neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience, particularly his ground-breaking memory research..

In cognitive psychology, a recall test is a test of memory of mind in which participants are presented with stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to remember as many of the stimuli as possible. Memory performance can be indicated by measuring the percentage of stimuli the participant was able to recall. An example of this would be studying a list of 10 words and later recalling 5 of them. This is a 50 percent recall. Participants' responses also may be analyzed to determine if there is a pattern in the way items are being recalled from memory. For example, if participants are given a list consisting of types of vegetables and types of fruit, their recall can be assessed to determine whether they grouped vegetables together and fruits together. Recall is also involved when a person is asked to recollect life events, such as graduating high school, or to recall facts they have learned, such as the capital of Florida.

Arthur Paul Shimamura was a professor of psychology and faculty member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focused on the neural basis of human memory and cognition. He received his BA in experimental psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1977 and his PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Washington in 1982. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Larry Squire, where he studied amnesic patients. In 1989, Shimamura began his professorship at UC Berkeley. He has published over 100 scientific articles and chapters, was a founding member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and has been science advisor for the San Francisco Exploratorium science museum.

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References

  1. ↑ Association for Psychological Science: William James Fellow Award - Fergus I.M. Craik. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 March 2015, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/awards/james/citations/craik.cfm Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ U of T professor emeritus Fergus Craik elected to the Royal Society. (2008, 16 May). Retrieved 28 March 2015, from http://news.utoronto.ca/u-t-professor-emeritus-fergus-craik-elected-royal-society
  3. ↑ Dr. Fergus Craik - Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 March 2015, from http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/GCPWS/Craik/Biography/Craik_bio1.html
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Naveh-Benjamin, M., Moscovitch, M. and Roediger, H. L. III. (2001). Perspectives of human memory and cognitive aging, New York: Psychology Press.
  5. ↑ Craik, F. I. M. & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 104(3), 268-294.
  6. ↑ In Honor Of... Fergus Craik. (n.d.). Retrieved 29 March 2015, from http://www.fabbs.org/fabbs-foundation/honoring-our-scientists/in-honor-of-fergus-craik/
  7. ↑ Craik, F. I. M. & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671-684.
  8. 1 2 Craik, F. I. M. (n.d.). Research | Baycrest. Retrieved March 29, 2015, from http://research.baycrest.org/fcraik
  9. ↑ Grady, C. L., McIntosh, A. R., Rajah, M.N., Craik, F.I.M. (2008). Neural correlates of the episodic encoding of pictures and words. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95, 2703–2708.
  10. ↑ Grady, C. L. & Craik, F. I. M. (2000). Changes in memory processing with age. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 10, 224-231.
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