Memory:Encoding & Storage

Information Processing

Atkinson-Schiffrin three-stage model of memory includes a) sensory memory, b) short-

term memory and c) long-term memory.

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Information Processing

a) sensory memory-immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the

memory systemB

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Information Processing

b) short-term memory-activated memory that hold a few items briefly before it is

stored or forgottenB

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Information Processing

b) short-term memory-activated memory that hold a few items briefly before it is

stored or forgottenB

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Information Processing

c) long-term memory-relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

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Modifications to the Three-Stage Model

1. Some information skips the first two stages and enters long-term memory automatically.

2. Since we cannot focus on all the sensory information received, we select information that is important to us and actively process it into our working memory.

Information Processing

What is special about working memory?

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Working Memory Store

• What happens if you need to keep information in working memory longer than 30 seconds?

• To demonstrate, memorize the following phone number (presented one digit at a time):

Working Memory Store

8 5 7 19 36

Working Memory Store

• The number lasted in your working memory longer than 30 seconds

• So how were you able to remember the number?

•What is the number? 857-9163

Maintenance Rehearsal

• Mental or verbal repitition of information allows it to stay in your working memory longer than the usual 30 seconds

• What is the number? 857-9163

Encoding: Getting Information in

Encoding: Getting Information In

How We Encode

1. Some information (route to your school) is automatically processed.

2. However novel information (friend’s new cell-phone number) requires attention and effort.

Automatic Processing

Enormous amount of information is processed effortlessly by us, like:

1. Space: While reading a textbook you automatically encode place of a picture on a page.

2. Time: We unintentionally note the events that take place in a day.

3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of things that happened to you.

Effortful Processing

Novel information committed to memory

requires effort, like learning a concept from a text. Such

processing leads to durable and

accessible memories.

Spencer G

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Rehearsal

Effortful learning usually requires

rehearsal or conscious

repetition.

Ebbinghaus studied rehearsal by using nonsense syllables: TUV YOF GEK XOZ

Hermann Ebbinghaus(1850-1909)

http://ww

w.isbn3-540-21358-9.de

Rehearsal

The more times the nonsense syllables were practiced on

Day 1,the fewer repetitions

were required to relearn them on Day

2.

Memory Effects

1. Next-in-line-Effect: When your recall is better for what other people say but poor for a person just before you in line.

2. Spacing Effect: We retain information better when our rehearsal is distributed over time.

3. Serial Position Effect: When your recall is better for first and last items, but poor for middle items on a list.

Serial Position Effect

1. TUV2. ZOF3. GEK4. WAV5. XOZ6. TIK7. FUT8. WIB9. SAR10. POZ11. REY12. GIJ

Better recall

Better recall

Poor recall

Memory Demo

Handout 27-1

What We Encode

1. Encoding by meaning2. Encoding by images3. Encoding by organization

Encoding Meaning

Q: Did the word begin with a capital letter?

StructuralEncoding

Q: Did the word rhyme with the word “weight”?

Q: Would the word fit in the sentence? He met a __________ in the street.

PhonemicEncoding

SemanticEncoding

“Whale”

Craik and Lockhart (1972)

Intermediate

Deep

Shallow

Results

Visual Encoding

Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially

when combined with semantic encoding.

Showing adverse effects of meth usein a picture may be more powerful than simply talking about it.

Storage: Retaining Information

Sensory Memory

Working/Short-term Memory

Long-Term Memory

Storing Memories in the Brain

Déja Vu means "I've experienced this before.”Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an

earlier similar experience.

Retrieval Cues

Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations are like

anchors that help retrieve memory.

Fire Truck

truck

red

fire

heatsmoke

smellwater

hose

Storage: Retaining Information

the heart of memory is storage. Three stores of memory are :

SensoryMemory

WorkingMemory

Long-termMemory

Encoding

RetrievalEncoding

Events

Retrieval

Sensory Memory

SensoryMemory

WorkingMemory

Long-termMemory

Encoding

RetrievalEncoding

Events

Retrieval

Sensory Memory

SensoryMemory

Events

Iconic memory—few tenths of a second

Echoic memory—3 or 4 seconds

Working Memory

SensoryMemory

WorkingMemory

Long-termMemory

Encoding

RetrievalEncoding

Events

Retrieval

Long-Term Memory

SensoryMemory

WorkingMemory

Long-termMemory

Encoding

RetrievalEncoding

Events

Retrieval

Long-Term Memory

Unlimited! Estimates on capacity range from 1000 billion to 1,000,000 billion bits of

information.

Clark’s nutcracker can locate 6,000 caches of buried pine

seeds during winter & spring.

Rajan Mahadevan recited 31, 811 digits of pi on July 4th,

1983

Hippocampus ≠ Cerebellum

Hippocampus – a neural center in the

limbicsystem that processes

explicit memories.

Cerebellum – a neural center in the

hindbrain that processes implicit

memories.

Explicit Memories

Explicit Memory refers to facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.

What is the capital of Kyirblahkyrstan?

Hippocampus ≠ Cerebellum

Hippocampus – a neural center in the

limbicsystem that processes

explicit memories.

Cerebellum – a neural center in the

hindbrain that processes implicit

memories.

Implicit Memories

Implicit memory involves learning an action, but the individual doesn’t know/declare what she knows.

Two Types of Long-Term Memory

Stress Hormones & Memory

Heightened emotions (stress related or otherwise) make for stronger memories. Continued stress can disrupt memory.