THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MEMORY
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IN
“acquisition”
“re” =again
REceive
• REspond• REact• REfer to what you already know• REmember from before• REsume where you left off
KEEP IT
STORE
“retention”
Also known
as “MEMORIZING”
• REduce• REpeat• REhearse• REcite out loud• REarrange• REwrite in your own words• REview periodically
REPITITION, REPITITION REPITITION, REPITITION, REPITITION, REPITITION, REPITITION,
REPITITION, REPITI….
SHOW IT
“retrieval”
OUT
REcognition
• The answer is ON the page• objective tests
– multiple choice– true/ false– matching
REcall
• you have to produce the answer
• fill-in-blanks• essay questions
MEMORY’S 3 stages:
1. SENSORY MEMORY
• lasts only seconds•selective attention
By the fifth knock, Roger decided he’d given enough for this day.
2. SHORT-TERM MEMORY (STM)
•short duration•limited space
Pentium IV – 750GB hard drive
256 kb of RAM memory
3. LONG -TERM MEMORY (LTM)
• possibly permanent• possibly unlimited storage
• needs conscious effort to store
Homer Simpson’s brain scan
Short and long-term memory: It’s a “jungle” out
there.
Visualize thefollowing
metaphors for memory
Think of your memory as a vast, overgrown jungle:
- thick with wild plants, exotic shrubs, twisted trees, and creeping vines….
In the jungle there are animals, millions.The “animals” represent all the information in your
memory.
Imagine what happens as a thought, say an “elephant,” tramps across short-term memory and into the jungle.
It leaves a trail of broken twigs and footprints that you can follow.
1. Visualize a well-worn
path
The more well-worn the path, the easier it is to retrieve the thought.
In other words, the more often the “elephant” retraces the path, the
clearer the path becomes.
The more often you recall information, and the more often you put the same information into your memory, the easier it is to find.
2. Visualize a herd of
thoughts
Now picture lots of animals gathering at a clearing—like thoughts gathering at a central location in the memory.
It is easier to retrieve thoughts that are grouped together, just as it is easier to find a herd of animals gathered than it is to find single, separated elephants.
3. Visualize turning your
back
Imagine releasing the “elephant” into the “jungle,” turning your back on it, and counting to 10.
When you turn around, the “elephant” is, naturally, gone.
Review ASAP after it enters the long-term memory jungle.
Wear a “path” in your memory immediately.
4. Visualize you directing
the traffic
The last picture includes you, standing at the entrance to the short-term memory “meadow.”
But, you’re doing more than just passively watching the animal traffic
file into your brain, wherever they want to go.
You direct the herds of “animals” as they file through the pass (your
senses), across the “meadow” (your STM), and into your long-term
memory where YOU want them to go.
You are taking an active role in the memorizing.
In other words, you’re paying attention.
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