Kathleen McDermott (psychologist)

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Kathleen McDermott
Alma mater University of Notre Dame
Rice University
OccupationProfessor
Employer Washington University in St. Louis

Kathleen McDermott is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. She is known for her research on how human memory is encoded and retrieved, with a specific interest in how false memories develop. In collaboration with Henry L. (Roddy) Roediger III, she developed the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm used to study the phenomenon of memory illusions. [1] McDermott received the 2004-2005 F.J. McGuigan Young Investigator Prize for research on memory from the American Psychological Foundation and the American Psychological Association's Science Directorate. [2] She was recognized by the Association for Psychological Science as a Rising Star in 2007. [3] McDermott is a Fellow of the Psychonomic Society and was honored with a 2019 Psychonomic Society Mid-Career Award. [4]

Contents

Biography

McDermott received her Bachelors of Art degree in psychology at the University of Notre Dame. She then went to graduate school at Rice University where she completed her M.A and Ph.D. under the advisement of Roediger. Upon graduating from Rice University in 1996, she completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine where she applied functional neuroimaging techniques to the study of human cognitive processes. McDermott subsequently joined the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis where she holds the title Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences. [5] [2]

Research

McDermott is best known for her work with Roediger in which they developed and refined a free recall task for the purpose of eliciting false memories (the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm). [1] Roediger and McDermott replicated a 1959 study by James Deese; [6] participants were given a list of semantically related words (e.g., bed, snore, alarm, pillow, night, dream, wake, snooze, blanket, relax) and later asked to recall the words. They observed that participants were likely to recall semantic associates of the words on the list on an immediate free recall task: For example, participants often falsely recalled the word sleep when shown a list of words related to sleep, and they displayed a high level of confidence that the word sleep had been on the list. Roediger and McDermott suggested that participants confuse their memory of producing the word during the free recall test with having previously seen the word in the list.

McDermott applied fMRI to examine neural activity associated with false memory generation in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm. She and her colleagues observed similar patterns of activity in the parietal memory network when participants recall words that were on the list (true items) and those that were falsely recalled items (semantic lures). [7] Such findings fit with predictions of the fuzzy-trace theory, suggesting that individuals utilize memory representations that record the gist of experiences rather than on memory representations of verbatim content.

In other work, McDermott and her colleagues used fMRI to create a map of human neural activity associated with word, object, and face encoding. They observed differential patterns of activation in the frontal cortex and medial temporal lobe what varied as a function of the stimuli to be encoded (verbal or non-verbal), with greater left-lateralization of the dorsal frontal cortex for word encoding, bilateral activation for object encoding, and greater right-lateralization activation for face encoding. [8]

In work with Karl Szpunar and Jason Watson, McDermott mapped patterns of neural activity associated with the act of envisioning personally significant events, such as one's birthday. [9] They observed that a set of regions within the left lateral premotor cortex, left precuneus, and right posterior cerebellum activate more strongly when the participant envisions future events compared to recollecting past events. They also noticed that when participants envisioned a future event, a set of regions including the bilateral posterior cingulate, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, and left occipital cortex, which are associated with remembering previously encountered visual-spatial contexts is also activated. Such findings suggests that participants tend to envision future scenarios in well known visual-spatial contexts, with similar patterns of neural activation coinciding with remembering the past and imagining the future. [10]

Representative publications

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.

Source amnesia is the inability to remember where, when or how previously learned information has been acquired, while retaining the factual knowledge. This branch of amnesia is associated with the malfunctioning of one's explicit memory. It is likely that the disconnect between having the knowledge and remembering the context in which the knowledge was acquired is due to a dissociation between semantic and episodic memory – an individual retains the semantic knowledge, but lacks the episodic knowledge to indicate the context in which the knowledge was gained.

Semantic memory refers to general world knowledge that humans have accumulated throughout their lives. This general knowledge is intertwined in experience and dependent on culture. We can learn about new concepts by applying our knowledge learned from things in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subvocalization</span> Internal process while reading

Subvocalization, or silent speech, is the internal speech typically made when reading; it provides the sound of the word as it is read. This is a natural process when reading and it helps the mind to access meanings to comprehend and remember what is read, potentially reducing cognitive load.

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. Deeper levels of analysis produce more elaborate, longer-lasting, and stronger memory traces than shallow levels of analysis. 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 of has similar meaning. Once the word is perceived, the brain allows for a deeper processing.

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.

Tip of the tongue is the phenomenon of failing to retrieve a word or term from memory, combined with partial recall and the feeling that retrieval is imminent. The phenomenon's name comes from the saying, "It's on the tip of my tongue." The tip of the tongue phenomenon reveals that lexical access occurs in stages.

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.

Fergus Ian Muirden Craik FRS 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.

A source-monitoring error is a type of memory error where the source of a memory is incorrectly attributed to some specific recollected experience. For example, individuals may learn about a current event from a friend, but later report having learned about it on the local news, thus reflecting an incorrect source attribution. This error occurs when normal perceptual and reflective processes are disrupted, either by limited encoding of source information or by disruption to the judgment processes used in source-monitoring. Depression, high stress levels and damage to relevant brain areas are examples of factors that can cause such disruption and hence source-monitoring errors.

A verbal fluency test is a kind of psychological test in which a participant is asked to produce as many words as possible from a category in a given time. This category can be semantic, including objects such as animals or fruits, or phonemic, including words beginning with a specified letter, such as p, for example. The semantic fluency test is sometimes described as the category fluency test or simply as "freelisting", while letter fluency is also referred to as phonemic test fluency. The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) is the most employed phonemic variant. Although the most common performance measure is the total number of words, other analyses such as number of repetitions, number and length of clusters of words from the same semantic or phonemic subcategory, or number of switches to other categories can be carried out.

Henry L. "Roddy" Roediger III is an American psychology researcher in the area of human learning and memory. He rose to prominence for his work on the psychological aspects of false memories.

Recognition memory, a subcategory of declarative memory, is the ability to recognize previously encountered events, objects, or people. When the previously experienced event is reexperienced, this environmental content is matched to stored memory representations, eliciting matching signals. As first established by psychology experiments in the 1970s, recognition memory for pictures is quite remarkable: humans can remember thousands of images at high accuracy after seeing each only once and only for a few seconds.

Difference due to memory (Dm) indexes differences in neural activity during the study phase of an experiment for items that subsequently are remembered compared to items that are later forgotten. It is mainly discussed as an event-related potential (ERP) effect that appears in studies employing a subsequent memory paradigm, in which ERPs are recorded when a participant is studying a list of materials and trials are sorted as a function of whether they go on to be remembered or not in the test phase. For meaningful study material, such as words or line drawings, items that are subsequently remembered typically elicit a more positive waveform during the study phase. This difference typically occurs in the range of 400–800 milliseconds (ms) and is generally greatest over centro-parietal recording sites, although these characteristics are modulated by many factors.

Memory gaps and errors refer to the incorrect recall, or complete loss, of information in the memory system for a specific detail and/or event. Memory errors may include remembering events that never occurred, or remembering them differently from the way they actually happened. These errors or gaps can occur due to a number of different reasons, including the emotional involvement in the situation, expectations and environmental changes. As the retention interval between encoding and retrieval of the memory lengthens, there is an increase in both the amount that is forgotten, and the likelihood of a memory error occurring.

In psychology, the misattribution of memory or source misattribution is the misidentification of the origin of a memory by the person making the memory recall. Misattribution is likely to occur when individuals are unable to monitor and control the influence of their attitudes, toward their judgments, at the time of retrieval. Misattribution is divided into three components: cryptomnesia, false memories, and source confusion. It was originally noted as one of Daniel Schacter's seven sins of memory.

The Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm is a procedure in cognitive psychology used to study false memory in humans. The procedure was pioneered by James Deese in 1959, but it was not until Henry L. Roediger III and Kathleen McDermott extended the line of research in 1995 that the paradigm became popular. The procedure typically involves the oral presentation of a list of related words and then requires the subject to remember as many words from the list as possible. Typical results show that subjects recall a related but absent word, known as a 'lure', with the same frequency as other presented words. When asked about their experience after the test, about half of all participants report that they are sure that they remember hearing the lure, indicating a false memory – a memory for an event that never occurred.

In psychology, confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage or a specific subset of dementias. While still an area of ongoing research, the basal forebrain is implicated in the phenomenon of confabulation. People who confabulate present with incorrect memories ranging from subtle inaccuracies to surreal fabrications, and may include confusion or distortion in the temporal framing of memories. In general, they are very confident about their recollections, even when challenged with contradictory evidence.

Jessica D. Payne is a psychologist and associate professor at the University of Notre Dame. Payne's research focuses on the impact of sleep and stress on human memory and psychological well-being. Payne won the Early Career Award from the Psychonomic Society in 2015. Previously, she received the Laird Cermak Award for early contribution to memory research by the International Neuropsychological Society in 2010. Payne has contributed her expertise on sleep to media outlets including New York Times, CNN, and Huffington Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forward testing effect</span>

The forward testing effect, also known as test potentiated new learning, is a psychological learning theory which suggests that testing old information can improve learning of new information. Unlike traditional learning theories in educational psychology which have established the positive effect testing has when later attempting to retrieve the same information, the forward testing effect instead suggests that the testing experience itself possesses unique benefits which enhance the learning of new information. This memory effect is also distinct from the 'practice effect' which typically refers to an observed improvement which results from repetition and restudy, as the testing itself is considered as the catalyst for improved recall. Instead, this theory suggests that testing serves not only as a tool for assessment but as a learning tool which can aid in memory recall. The forward testing effect indicates that educators should encourage students to study using testing techniques rather than restudying information repeatedly.

References

  1. 1 2 Roediger, Henry L.; McDermott, Kathleen B. (1995). "Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists". Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 21 (4): 803–814. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.495.353 . doi:10.1037/0278-7393.21.4.803.
  2. 1 2 Stambor, Zak. "Exploring mistaken memories". American Psychological Association. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  3. "Rising Stars, Part II". APS Observer. 20 (10). 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  4. "Psychonomic Society Mid-Career Award - Psychonomic Society". www.psychonomic.org. Archived from the original on 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  5. "Kathleen McDermott | Psychological & Brain Sciences". Washington University in St. Louis. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  6. Deese, James (1959). "On the prediction of occurrence of particular verbal intrusions in immediate recall". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 58 (1): 17–22. doi:10.1037/h0046671. PMID   13664879.
  7. McDermott, Kathleen B.; Gilmore, Adrian W.; Nelson, Steven M.; Watson, Jason M.; Ojemann, Jeffrey G. (February 2017). "The parietal memory network activates similarly for true and associative false recognition elicited via the DRM procedure". Cortex. 87: 96–107. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.09.008 . PMID   27745847.
  8. Kelley, William M; Miezin, Francis M; McDermott, Kathleen B; Buckner, Randy L; Raichle, Marcus E; Cohen, Neal J; Ollinger, John M; Akbudak, Erbil; Conturo, Thomas E; Snyder, Abraham Z; Petersen, Steven E (May 1998). "Hemispheric Specialization in Human Dorsal Frontal Cortex and Medial Temporal Lobe for Verbal and Nonverbal Memory Encoding". Neuron. 20 (5): 927–936. doi: 10.1016/S0896-6273(00)80474-2 . PMID   9620697. S2CID   15447559.
  9. Szpunar, Karl K.; Watson, Jason M.; McDermott, Kathleen B. (2007-01-09). "Neural substrates of envisioning the future". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (2): 642–647. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104..642S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0610082104 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   1761910 . PMID   17202254.
  10. Jennifer., Ouellette (2014). Me, myself, and why : searching for the science of self. New York. ISBN   978-0143121657. OCLC   849718958.