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Memory
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What is Memory?
refers to the processes that are used to
acquire, store, retain and later retrieveinformation. There are three major processesinvolved in memory: encoding, storage andretrieval.
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Remembering
Psychologists think of memory as involving threeprocesses
Encodingtransforming information into a formthat can be stored in memory
Storagethe act of maintaining information inmemory
Consolidationa physiological change in thebrain that must take place for encodedinformation to be stored in memory
Retrievalthe act of bringing to mind materialthat has been stored in memory
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Atkinson-Shiffrin model
Consists of three different, interactingmemory systems known as sensory, short-term, and long-term memory
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1. Sensory memory
The memory system that holdsinformation coming in through the sensesfor a brief period
Visual sensory memory lasts just long
enough to keep whatever you are viewingfrom disappearing when you blink youreyes
Auditory sensory memory lasts about 2
seconds and is experienced when the lastfew words someone has spoken seem toecho briefly in your head
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Look up here
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J B X E
M F Z H
A C N L
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2. Short-term memory
The second stage of memory, whichholds about seven items (+ or 2) forless than 30 seconds without rehearsal
working memorythe mental workspacea person uses to keep in mind tasksbeing thought about at any givenmoment
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Look up here
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Th ezeb ralo oksl ikeahor sewi thstr ipes
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The zebra looks like a
horse with stripes
Th ezeb ralo oksl ikeahor sewi thstr ipes
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Displacement--the event that occurs when
short-term memory is holding its maximumand each new item entering short-termmemory pushes out an existing item
chunkinggrouping information to make it
easier to remember An interruption to rehearsal can cause
information to be lost in just a few seconds
Elaborative rehearsal A memory technique that relates new info
to that already known and stored in LTM
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3. Long-term memory
The relatively permanent memory systemwith a virtually unlimited capacity
Some experts believe that there are twomain subsystems within LTM
Declarative memory Nondeclarative memory
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Declarative memory (explicit memory)
The subsystem within long-term memorythat stores facts, information, andpersonal life experiences
Two types of declarative memory
Episodic memory Contains memories of personally
experienced events
Semantic memory Stores general knowledge; a mental
encyclopedia or dictionary
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Nondeclarative memory (implicitmemory)
The subsystem within long-termmemory that consists of skills acquired
through repetitive practice and simpleclassically conditioned responsesmotor skills, habits
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In order to form new
memories, information mustbe changed into usable form,which occurs through theprocess known as encoding.Once information has been
successfully encoded, it mustbe stored in memory for
later use.
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Three kinds of memory tasks
1. Recall A measure of retention that requires a
person to remember material with fewor no retrieval cues, as in an essay test
Trying to remember someones name,recalling items on a shopping list,memorizing a speech or a poem word
for word and remembering Try it
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Which of the following test questions is moredifficult?
1. What are the three basic learningtheories?
2. Which of the following is NOT one of thethree basic learning processes?
A. classicalB. observationalC. organizational
D. operant Most people think the second question is
easier because it requires only recognitionmemory
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2. Recognition
A measure of retention that requires a person
to identify material as familiar, or as havingbeen encountered before
Multiple-choice, matching, and true/falsequestions are examples of recognition testitems
The main difference between recall andrecognition is that a recognition task does not
require you to supply the information but onlyto recognize it when you see it
Try it
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3. Relearning
Measuring retention in terms of the
percentage of time saved in relearningmaterial compared with the timerequired to learn it originally
Example is studying for
comprehensive final exams
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Nature of Remembering
Memory as a reconstruction Elizabeth Loftus
Believes that what a person normally recalls is
not an exact replica of an event Rather, a memory is a reconstructionpieced
together from a few highlights, usinginformation that may or may not be accurate
Try it
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Using stories and asked to recall them:
Accurate reports were rare
The participants seemed to reconstructthe material they had learned, ratherthan actually remember it
Errors in memory increased with time
The parts participants had createdwere often the very parts that theymost adamantly believed to haveremembered
Eyewitness testimony
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Eyewitness testimony
eyewitness testimony is highly subject to error
have an eyewitness first describe the
perpetrator and then search for photos matchingthat description
In lineups, subjects must resemble the suspect in
age, body build, and certainly in race Misidentification more likely when suspect isdifferent, when a weapon was used, and ifquestions are leading
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Look up here
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Read this list of words at a rate of about one word per second.When I click the mouse to have the words covered, write down all thewords you can remember.
bed awake dream snooze nap snore
rest tired wake doze yawn slumber
Now check your list. Did you remember the word sleep?
Many people do, even though it is not one of the words on the list(Deese, 1959).
Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2005
Distortion in memory
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Distortion in memory
Occurs when people alter the memory of anevent or an experience in order to fit their
beliefs, expectations, logic, or prejudices
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Many research participants who areinstructed to imagine that a fictitiousevent happened do in fact develop a falsememory of the imagined event
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Garry and Loftus
Were able to implant a false memory of
being lost in a shopping mall at 5 yearsof age in 25% of participants aged 18 to53, after verification of the fictitiousexperience by a relative
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Where were you andwhat were you doingon 9-11-01?
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Flashbulb memory
An extremely vivid memory of the
conditions surrounding ones first hearingthe news of a surprising, shocking, or highlyemotional event
Memories can vary on the dimensions ofemotion, consequentiality, and rehearsal
Flashbulb memories are high on all 3 and soare remembered better
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But, others found:
When questioned again 3 years later, one-
third gave accounts that differedmarkedly from those given initially, eventhough they were extremely confident oftheir recollections
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Eidetic imagery
The ability to retain the image of a visual
stimulus several minutes after it has beenremoved from view
Some studies show that about 5% ofchildren apparently have something like tophotographic memory
Children with eidetic imagery generallyhave no better long-term memory than
others their age Virtually all children with eidetic imagery
lose it before adulthood
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Look up here
T
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ToyOilLightbulbAspirinShirtSunglasses
CalendarStringFolder
WhiskSoapPencilsSocks
Diapers
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Factors Influencing Retrieval
1. Serial position effect
The tendency to remember the beginning andending items of a sequence or list better thanthe middle items
2. Primacy effect The tendency to recall the first items on a list
more readily than the middle items
3. Recency effect
The tendency to recall the last items on a listmore readily than the middle items
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4. Environmental context and memory
Suggests that any elements of the
physical setting in which a person learnsinformation are encoded along with theinformation and become part of thememory trace
Words were better recalled in theenvironment they were learned
Physical environment, otherspresent, smell
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5. State-dependent effect
The tendency to recall information better
if one is in the same pharmacological orpsychological (mood) state as when theinformation was encoded
Participants learned (encoded) materialwhile sober or intoxicated, and later weretested in either the sober or intoxicatedstate
Recall was found to be best when theparticipants were in the same state forboth learning and testing
Forgetting
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ForgettingHermann Ebbinghaus
Conducted his studies on memory using 2,300
nonsense syllables with himself as the onlyparticipant He repeated a list until he could recall it twice
without error, a point that he called mastery
He recorded the amount of time or thenumber of trials it took to memorize his liststo mastery
After different periods of time had passed
and forgetting had occurred, he recorded theamount of time or number of trials needed torelearn the same list to mastery
C f f i
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Causes of forgetting
Encoding failure
A cause of forgetting resulting frommaterial never having been put intolong-term memory
Decay theory
A theory of forgetting that holds thatthe memory trace, if not used,disappears with the passage of time
Decay causes forgetting in STM andsensory memory, but not LTM
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6. Interference
Memory loss that occurs because information orassociations stored either before or after a givenmemory hinder the ability to remember it
Proactive interference
Occurs when information or experiences alreadystored in long-term memory hinder the abilityto remember newer information
Retroactive interference
Happens when new learning interferes with theability to remember previously learnedinformation
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7. Consolidation failure
Any disruption in the consolidation
process that prevents a permanentmemory from forming
Retrograde amnesia
A loss of memory affectingexperiences that occurred shortlybefore a loss of consciousness
Anterograde amnesia
A loss of memory affectingexperiences that occurred after atrauma to the present
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8. Motivated forgetting
Forgetting through suppression or repression inorder to protect oneself from material that istoo painful, anxiety- or guilt-producing, orotherwise unpleasant
Repression
Removing from ones consciousnessdisturbing, guilt-provoking, or otherwise
unpleasant memories so that one is no longeraware that a painful event occurred
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Prospective forgetting
Forgetting to carry out some action,
such as mailing a letter
9. Retrieval failure When someone is certain that theyknow something, but they are not ableto retrieve the information when they
need it
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Much of what people call forgetting
is really an inability to locate theneeded information
Found that participants could recall alarge number of items they seemed
to have forgotten if providedretrieval cues to jog their memory
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Improving MemoryApply it to Your Life
How information is organized stronglyinfluences your ability to remember it
Overlearning
Practicing or studying material beyond thepoint where it can be repeated oncewithout error Research suggests that people
remember material better and longer ifthey overlearn it
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Spacing study over several different sessionsgenerally is more effective than massed
practice Massed practice
Learning in one long practice session as
opposed to spacing the learning in shorterpractice sessions over an extended period
Long periods of memorizing make materialparticularly subject to interference and oftenresult in fatigue and lowered concentration
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Recent research suggests that significantimprovement in learning results when spaced
study sessions are accompanied by short,frequent tests of the material being studied
The spacing effect applies to learning motorskills as well as to learning facts and
information Participants recalled two to three times
more if they increased their recitation time
up to 80% and spent only 20% of their studytime rereading
Finally, get a good nights sleepit helpsencode and consolidate the memories
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