Memory

•Memory - the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.•Example – Flashbulb Memory of 9/11

The Memory ProcessThree step process….

1.Encoding: The processing of information into the memory system.

2.Storage: The retention of encoded material over time.

3.Retrieval: The process of getting the information out of memory storage.

Information Processing Model of Memory

• Simplified Memory Model

• Encoding• Storage• Retrieval

Atkinson and Shiffin’s 3 Step Model of Memory

Sensory memory – brief recording of sensory information

Short-term memory – memory that holds few items briefly before info is forgotten

Long –term memory – relatively permanent and limitless storage of memory.

Sensory Memory

• A split second holding tank for ALL sensory information.

• Sperling’s research on Iconic Memory

• Echoic Memory

Short Term Memory

• The stuff we encode from the sensory goes to STM.

• Events are encoded visually, acoustically or semantically.

• Holds about 7 (plus or minus 2) items for about 20 seconds.

• We recall digits better than letters.

Short Term Memory Activity

Long Term Memory

• Unlimited storehouse of information.

• Examples:

Modified Atkinson – Shiffrin (3 Stage) Model

• Working Memory –conscious, active processing of auditory and visual-spatial info. and info from long term memory

• Our memory sketchpad

Modified Three-stage Model of Memory

Connectionism Model of Memory

• Memory from activation of networks of interrelated concepts • the memory is stored in the activation pattern • retrieval of the memory is a reconstruction based on each of the elements of the

pattern

How We Encode

2 Ways to Encode1. Automatically Processing– Automatic– Parallel

2. Effortful processing – Rehearsal

Encoding - Automatic Processing

Automatic Processing - unconscious encoding of incidental information– Examples: Unintentionally encoding…and later remembering– Time –

– Space –

– Frequency –

– well learned info –

• Parallel Processing – processing of many things simultaneously

Encoding – Effortful Processing

1. Effortful Processing –encoding that requires conscious effort and attention

• Rehearsal – conscious repetition of info to encode it for storage

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

• Ebbinghaus Curve - The amount remembered depends on the time spent learning

• Overlearning – additional rehearsal after we learn material increases retention

Effortful Processing• Spacing effect – distributed study is better long-term recall

than massed study (cramming)– DO NOT CRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Testing effect – repeated quizzing or testing improves retention

Take out a piece of paper and name all the Presidents…

Encoding Information• Serial Positioning Effect –

we tend to remember the first and last items on a list – Primacy Effect – remember

items at the beginning of a list – Recency Effect –

remembering items at the end of a list (most recent

• Von Rostorff effect – remembering unique items on a list

What We Encode…• Visual Encoding: the

encoding of picture images.

• Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words.

• Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning.

Encoding Exercise

Visual Encoding– Imagery – visual images help us remember

concrete words (aided by semantic encoding– Rosy Retrospection – recalling high points,

forgetting the worst–Mnemonic Devices – memory aids that use

visual images and organizational devices• Peg word system – memorizing a jingle

• Chunking - Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

– Hierarchies – broad concepts divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts

Encoding Exercise

Acoustic and Semantic Encoding

Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words.

Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning.

Storage

Types of Memory1.Sensory Memory2.Working Memory3.Long-Term Memory

Sensory Memory• Sperling’s memory experiment–Momentary photographic memory

• Iconic memory – photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second– Example:

• Echoic memory – auditory memory lasting no more than a 3-4 seconds (mind’s echo chamber)– Example:

Working/Short-Term Memory

• Duration – Brief (30 sec or less)• Capacity – Limited

• The list of magic sevens

Long-Term Memory

• Duration – unlimited• Capacity - unlimited

Types of Long-Term Memory

Implicit Memories• Procedural Memories

– without conscious recall– Processed by

cerebellum and other brain areas

• Conditioned Memories – memories from conditioned learning

Explicit Memories• Explicit Memories – memories of

facts and experiences, consciously recalled

Episodic Memories - memories of specific events, situations, and experiences

Semantic Memories – memory of words, meanings, and understandings

Storing MemoriesLong Term-Potentiation• long-lasting enhancement in

signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously.

• Neurons that fire together wire together…creating a memory.

• Memory boosting drugs– CREB – Glutamate – enhances synaptic

communication (LTP)

The Context Matters!!!

• Flashbulb Memories – clear moment of a emotionally significant event

• Mood Congruent Memory – recalling memories consistent with current mood

• State Dependent Memory – learning that takes place in one situation or "state" is generally better remembered later in a similar situation or state

Amnesia• Amnesia – loss of memory– Retrograde Amnesia –

inability to remember past events

– Anterograde Amnesia – inability to create new memories• Loss of Explicit Memory but not

Implicit memories

Retrieval

Recall• you must retrieve the

information from your memory

Recognition• you must identify the

target from possible targets

Retrieval• Relearning – learning material for

the second time, saves time.

• Retrieval Cues – anchor points used to access target info for retrieval later

• Priming – unconscious activation of associations in memory

Forgetting• Schacter’s sevens sins of memory– Sins of Forgetting

• Absent-mindedness• Transience• Blocking

– Sins of distortion• Misattribution• Suggestibility• Bias

– Sin of intrusion• persistence

Encoding Failure

Storage DecayEbbinghaus Curve

Retrieval Failure

Forgetting

• Retroactive Interference: new information blocks out old information.

• Proactive Interference: old information blocks out new information.

Retrieval Failure• Repression – (Freud’s

Psychoanalytic Theory)• A defense mechanism that

banishes painful memories from consciousness to minimize anxiety

Constructive Memory• Constructed memory - a

created memory, altered when encoded or retrieved.–Misinformation effect– Imagination effect– Source amnesia

Constructive Memory• Elizabeth Loftus• Misinformation Effect – incorporating

misleading info into a memory

• Imagination Effect – imagining nonexistent actions and events can create false memories

• Source Amnesia – retaining the memory of an event, but not the source

Repressed or Constructed Memories of Abuse?

• Areas of agreement–Sexual abuse happens– Injustice happens–Forgetting happens–Recovered memories are incomplete–Memories before 3 years are unreliable–Hypnotic memories are unreliable–Memories can be emotionally upsetting

Improving Memory Techniques

• Study repeatedly• Make the material meaningful• Activate retrieval cues• Use mnemonic devices• Minimize interference• Sleep more• Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it

and to help determine what you do not yet know