Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (4th Ed)

Chapter 7

Memory

James A. McCubbin, PhDClemson University

Worth Publishers

MemoryMemory

persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information

Flashbulb Memory a clear memory of an

emotionally significant moment or event

MemoryMemory as Information

Processing similar to a computer

write to filesave to diskread from disk

Encoding the processing of information into the

memory system

Memory

Storage the retention of encoded

information over timeRetrieval

process of getting information out of memory

MemoryShort term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly

e.g., the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Long term memory the relatively permanent and limitless

storehouse of the memory system

Encoding

Encoding

Effortful Automatic

Encoding

Sensory Memory immediate, initial recording of sensory

information in the memory systemAutomatic Processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, frequency and well-learned information, such as word meanings

Encoding

Effortful Processing encoding that requires attention

and conscious effortRehearsal

conscious repetition of informationto maintain it in consciousness to encode it for storage

Encoding

Ebbinghaus used nonsense syllables TUV ZOF GEK WAV the more times practiced on Day 1, the

fewer repetitions to relearn on Day 2

Spacing Effect distributed practice yields better long

term retention than massed practice

Encoding

20

15

10

5

08 16 24 32 42 53 64

Time in minutestaken to relearnlist on day 2

Number of repetitions of list on day 1

Encoding

Serial Position Effect tendency to

recall best the last and first items in a list

Position of word in list

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Percentage ofwords recalled

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

What do we Encode?

Semantic Encoding encoding of meaning including meaning of words

Acoustic Encoding encoding of sound especially sound of words

Visual Encoding encoding of picture images

EncodingImagery

mental pictures a powerful aid to effortful processing,

especially when combined with semantic encoding

Mnemonics memory aids especially those techniques that use vivid

imagery and organizational devices

EncodingChunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable unitslike horizontal organization-

1776149218121941

often occurs automatically use of acronyms

HOMES- Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, SuperiorARITHMETIC- A Rat In Tom’s House Might Eat

Tom’s Ice Cream

Encoding- ChunkingOrganized information is more easily recalled

EncodingOrganization benefits memory

Encoding(automatic or effortful)

Imagery(visualencoding)

Meaning(semanticencoding)

Organization

Chunks Hierarchies

EncodingForgetting as encoding failureInformation never enters the memory

systemAttention is selective

we cannot attend to everything in our environment

William James said that we would be as bad off if we remembered everything as we would be if we remembered nothing

Encoding

Forgetting as encoding failure

Externalevents

Sensorymemory

Short-termmemory

Long-termmemory

Attention

Encoding

Encoding

Encoding failureleads to forgetting

Encoding

Forgetting as encoding failure

Which penny is the real thing?

Storage-Retaining InformationSensory Memory

the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system

Iconic Memory a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more

that a few tenths of a second Registration of exact representation of a scene

Echoic Memory momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Storage-Short Term Memory

Short Term Memory

limited in duration and capacity

“magical” number 7+/-2 Time in seconds between presentation

of consonants and recall request(no rehearsal allowed)

Percentagewho recalledconsonants

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

03 6 9 12 15 18

Storage-Long Term Memory

Long Term Memory virtually limitless capacity we don't have to discard old items to

remember new itemsEbbinghaus- forgetting curve over

30 days initially rapid, then levels off with time

Storage-Long Term Memory

12345 10 15 20 25 30

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

Time in days since learning list

Percentage oflist retainedwhen relearning

How Does Storage Work?Karl Lashley (1950)

trained rats to solve maze, then cut out pieces of their cortex and retested their memory of maze

partial memory retained

Long-Term Potentiation increase in synapse’s firing potential after

brief, rapid stimulation

Strong emotions make for stronger memories some stress hormones boost learning and

retention

Storage-Long Term MemoryAmnesia- the loss of memory Implicit Memory

retention without conscious recollection skills and dispositions also called nondeclarative memory

Explicit Memory memory of facts and experiences that one can

consciously know and declare hippocampus- neural center in limbic system

that helps process explicit memories for storage

Storage-Long Term Memory

MRI scan of hippocampus (in red)

Hippocampus

Storage- Long Term Memory Subsystems

Types oflong-termmemories

Explicit(declarative)

With consciousrecall

Implicit(nondeclarative)

Without conscious recall

Facts-generalknowledge(“semanticmemory”)

Personally experienced

events(“episodic memory”)

Skills-motorand cognitive

Dispositions-classical and

operant conditioning

effects

RetrievalRecall

measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

like fill-in-the-blank test

Recognition a measure of memory in which the person

need only to identify items previously learned

like on a multiple choice test

RetrievalRelearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when relearning material for a second time

Priming activation, often unconsciously,

of particular associations in memory

Retrieval Cues

Reminders of information we could not otherwise recall

Guides to where to look for info Context Effects

memory works better in the context of original learning

Retrieval Cues

0

10

20

30

40

Water/land

Land/water

Land/water

Different contexts for hearing and recall

Same contexts for hearing and recall

Land/land

Percentage ofwords recalled

Retrieval CuesDeja Vu- (French) already seen

eerie sense that "I've experienced this before" cues from the current situation may subconsciously

trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience

Mood Congruent Memory tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with

one’s current mood memory, emotions or moods serve as retrieval cues

State Dependent Memory what is learned in one state can more easily be

remembered when in same state

Retrieval

Forgetting can result from failure to retrieve information from long-term memory

Externalevents

Attention

Encoding

Encoding

Retrieval failureleads to forgetting

Retrieval

Sensorymemory

Short-termmemory

Long-termmemory

Forgetting- Interference

Learning some items may interfere with retrieving others Proactive (forward acting) Interference

disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new information

Retroactive (backwards acting) Interferencedisruptive effect of new learning on recall

of old information

Forgetting- Interference

Motivated Forgetting people unknowingly revise history

Repression defense mechanism that banishes

anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

Positive Transfer sometimes old information facilitates

our learning of new information

Forgetting

Forgetting can occur at any memory stage

As we process information, we filter, alter, or lose much of it

Sensory memory - the senses momentarily register amazing detail

Short term memory - a few items are both noticed and encoded

Long-term storage - Some itemsare altered or lost

Retrieval from long-term memory - depending on interference, retrieval cuesmoods and motives, some things get retrieved, some don’t

Memory ConstructionWe filter information and fill in

missing piecesMisinformation Effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

Source Amnesia attributing to the wrong source an

event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (misattribution)

Memory Construction

People fill in memory gaps with plausible guesses and assumptions

Imagining events can create false memories

Children's eyewitness recall Child sexual abuse does occur Some innocent people suffer false

accusations Some guilty cast doubt on true testimony

Memory Construction

Memories of Abuse Repressed or Constructed?

Child sexual abuse does occurSome adults do actually forget such episodes

False Memory Syndrome condition in which a person’s identity and

relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience

sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists

Memory ConstructionMost people can agree on the following:

Incest happens Forgetting happens Recovered memories are commonplace Memories “recovered” under hypnosis or

drugs are especially unreliable Memories of things happening before age 3

are unreliable Memories, whether false or real, are

upsetting

Improve Your Memory

Study repeatedly to boost recallSpend more time rehearsing or

actively thinking about the materialMake material personally meaningfulUse mnemonic devices

associate with peg words- something already stored

make up story chunk-acronyms

Improve Your Memory

Activate retrieval cues- mentally recreate situation and mood

Minimize interference Test your own knowledge

to rehearse it to determine what you do not

yet know