MemoryWait…what were we talking about?

Before We Begin…Memorize the definitions of the following words:

Tortuous: full of twists and turns

Decorous: proper; polite and restrained

Surfeit: an excessive amount of something

Ere: (archaic) Before

Prevaricate: speak or act in an evasive way

Question!How do we define “memory”?

How About This?Memory: the ability to store and retrieve

information over time

Three Functions of Memory:EncodingStorageRetrieval

EncodingThe process by which we transform what we

perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory

Question: How many lines can you memorize?

Digit Memorization Test

28

Digit Memorization TestUse your brain!

Digit Memorization Test

28

691

Digit Memorization TestDon’t overthink it!

Digit Memorization Test

28

691

0473

Digit Memorization TestNo pressure!

Digit Memorization Test

28

691

0473

87454

Digit Memorization TestSO MANY NUMBERS

Digit Memorization Test

28

691

0473

87454

902481

Encoding Part 2Memories are NOT copies of sensory experience

Memories ARE made by combining information we already have in our brains with new information that comes through our senses

Elaborative EncodingLong-term retention of information is greatly

enhanced by elaborative encoding

Actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory

Difference between semantic judgments, rhyme judgments, and visual judgments in word memorization

Bubbles!

Visual Imagery EncodingStoring new information by converting it into

mental pictures

How does it work?When you create a visual image, you relate

incoing information to knowledge already in memory

When you use visual imagery to encode words and other verbal information, you end up with two different mental “placeholders” for the items—a visual one and a verbal oneMore ways to remember

Organizational EncodingNoticing the relationships between a series of

items and mentally “grouping” them accordingly

Question!How many words can you memorize in 15

seconds?

Peach, cow, chair, apple, table, cherry, lion, couch, horse desk

Organizational Encoding, Anyone?

Fruits Animals Furniture

Peach Cow Chair

Apple Lion Couch

Cherry Horse Desk

StorageMemory storage: the process of maintaining

information in memory over time

Sensory MemorySensory memory store: the place in which

sensory information is kept for a few seconds or less Iconic memory: fast-decaying store of visual

informationEchoic memory: a fast-decaying store of auditory

information

George Sterling’s Sensory Memory Test

Short-term memory!Short-term memory: a place where nonsensory

information is kept for more than a few seconds but less than a minute

Typically lasts 15-20 seconds

Rehearsal: the process of keeping information in short-term memory by mentally repeating it

Cheating Short-Term Memory

Short-term memory typically holds seven meaningful items

Chunking: combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks

But is memory a PLACE?Working memory: active maintenance of

information in short-term storageSubsystems store and manipulate visual images

and verbal information

Human working memory vs. Chimp working memory

Long-Term Memory StoreA place where information can be kept for hours,

days, weeks, or years

Has no known capacity limits, unlike sensory and short-term memory

Who am I?Anterograde Amnesia: the inability to transfer

new information from the short-term store into the long-term store

Retrograde amnesia: the inability to retrieve information that as acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation

Hippocampus helps group pieces of information together to form long-lasting memories

Memories and the Brain“Cells that fire together wire together”: the cat

of sending neurotransmitters across a synapse CHANGES the synapse.

Strengthens the connection between the two neurons, making it easier for them to transmit to each other the next time

Long-term potentiation (LTP): enhanced neural processing that results from the strengthening of synaptic connections

Aplysia slug!

RetrievalBringing memories to consciousness in the present

Retrieval cue: external information that is associated with stored information and helps bring it to mind

Encoding Specificity Principle: a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps re-create the specific way in which information was initially encoded

Retrieve the DefinitionsTortuous:

Decorous:

Surfeit:

Ere:

Prevaricate:

Drinking: Good or Bad for Memory

State-dependent Retrieval: the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval

Implicit and Explicit Memory

Explicit memory: when people consciously or intentionally retrieve past experience“Knowing THAT”

Implicit memory: occurs when past experiences influence later behavior and performance, even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are rememberingProcedural memory: the gradual acquisition of

skills as a result of practice—knowing HOW to do things

“Knowing HOW”

PrimingPriming: an enhanced ability to think of a

stimulus, such as a word or object, as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Priming Part 2Study the following words:

avocado, mystery, climate, octopus, assassin

Now Fill in the Blanks!Ch – – – – nk

O – t – p – –

– o g – y – – –

– l – m – te

7 Sins of Memory