Chapter Six

Information Processing Approach

• Encoding – converting info to be entered into memory

• Storage – retaining info

• Retrieval – locating & accessing info

Human Memory3 Kinds of Memory• Sensory – temporary info

brought to us by our senses.

• Working (aka = short-term) – holds small amounts of info for (how long)?

• Long-term – vast amounts of info for very long periods of time

Types of Information in Memory• semantic memory – general

knowledge about the world

• episodic memory –specific events that we experience personally

• Procedural memory – memory that can’t be put into words

Sensory Memory• What is the capacity of sensory

memory?• Holds information from our

senses very briefly

Working Memory• also referred to as =

“consciousness”• serial position curve

– example

CXR RPG AEI

BDO VKY QTS

LPZ YWF DFG

TCN MKQ PXR

Serial Position Curve

• List of words – tendency to remember first and last words, but not the middle

• Recency effect – most recent items presented, will recall.

STM & LTM• Is recall easier with shorter or

longer words?• Is recall easier for similar or

unsimilar words?• Capacity = 7 to 9• Coding = we code info

phonologically for STM– We code the way the word

sounds even if reading the word

• Retention & Retrieval– decay theory – passing of time

will cause the strength of memory to decrease.

– interference theory – info gets mixed up with, or pushed aside by other info.

Long-Term Memory• memory which is more or less

permanent• Which type(s) of information

is housed here?

Memory Distortion & Construction

• distortion = alterations in what is remembered– schemas = set of beliefs or

expectations about something that is based on past experience

• Ie: “classroom schema”

LTM• Construction = tendency

to fill in details when remembering events or to recall events that never occurred

• eyewitness testimony

Retrieval Cues• context-dependent memory =

info learned in one environment is easier to remember in similar environments

• state-dependent retrieval = easier to recall info when internal state matches that when we stored info

• mood-dependent memory = what we remember in a given mood may be determined in part by what you learned when previously in that mood.

• mood-congruence effects = tendency to remember info congruent with our current mood

LTM

• Coding:– Elaborative rehearsal

• Relating new info to something that we already know

• Necessary for LTM• Requires cognitive

effort

– Dependent upon how we have to retrieve the info

• Ie: fill-in-the-blank versus multiple choice

• Storage & Retrieval– Rx suggests info

staying in LTM is related to how hard you had to work to “put” it there.

MemoryForgetting & LTM• retroactive interference –

new info interferes with old info

• proactive interference – old info interferes with or blocks new info

• Repression – active elimination from memory; info that is painful

– Little rx to support; mostly support comes from case studies

• Intentional forgetting – trying to forget or ignore info because no longer useful

Autobiographical memory• aka = episodic memory• How accurate is this

information?

Infantile Amnesia• What is your earliest memory?• 2 Early Explanations:

– Structure necessary for autobiographical memory is not present

– Absence of language skills

• 2 Current Explanations:– Lack of a self-concept– Lack ability to reflect on

experiences in past, present & future

MemoryFlashbulb Memory• vivid memories of what we

were doing at an emotionally-provoking event

• Accurate or inaccurate?

Biological Bases of Memory• Lashley (1950) removed

certain parts of rats brains & rats were still able to recall certain memories.– Concluded—no one part of

brain is responsible for memory

• limbic system – believed to be instrumental in transferring info from STM to LTM

Amnesia• retrograde amnesia – can’t

remember things before the amnesia-producing event

• anterograde amnesia – can’t remember things after the amnesia-producing event

• Korsakoff’s Syndrome – huge consumption of alcohol; sensory & motor prob’s; accompanied by anterograde and retrograde amnesia

• Alzheimer’s disease – occurs among 5% of people over 65

Differences between STM & LTM• Entry of info

– STM = info enters as a result of applying attention to the stimulus

– LTM = if info is rehearsed enough, then transfers

• Modality– STM = acoustic; visually;

semantic (applying meaning to info)

– LTM = info encoded semantically

• Capacity– STM = limited and

small– LTM = No known limit

• Duration– STM = up to 30

seconds– LTM = potentially a

lifetime