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9 Memory

This chapter discusses memory and how it is processed and stored in the brain. It covers the following key points in 3 sentences: Memory is the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. Encoding involves processing information to be stored in memory through automatic or effortful means like rehearsal and imagery. Information is stored either in short-term memory which has limited duration and capacity, or long-term memory which has virtually unlimited capacity through changes in synaptic connections in the brain.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
103 views46 pages

9 Memory

This chapter discusses memory and how it is processed and stored in the brain. It covers the following key points in 3 sentences: Memory is the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. Encoding involves processing information to be stored in memory through automatic or effortful means like rehearsal and imagery. Information is stored either in short-term memory which has limited duration and capacity, or long-term memory which has virtually unlimited capacity through changes in synaptic connections in the brain.
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY

(5th Ed)

Chapter 9
Memory
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University

Worth Publishers
Memory
 Memory
 persistence of learning over time via
the storage and retrieval of
information
 Flashbulb Memory
 a clear memory of an emotionally
significant moment or event
Memory
 Memory as Information Processing
 similar to a computer
 write to file
 save to disk
 read from disk
 Encoding
 the processing of information into the
memory system
Memory
 Storage
 the retention of encoded information
over time
 Retrieval
 process of getting information out of
memory
Memory
 Short term memory
 activated memory that holds a few items briefly
 look up a phone number, then quickly dial
before the information is forgotten
 Long term memory
 the relatively permanent and limitless
storehouse of the memory system
Encoding

Encoding

Effortful Automatic
Encoding
 Automatic Processing
 unconscious encoding of incidental information
 space
 time
 frequency
 well-learned information
 word meanings
 we can learn automatic processing
 reading backwards
Encoding
 Effortful Processing
 requires attention and conscious effort
 Rehearsal
 conscious repetition of information
 to 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
Time in
minutes 20
taken to
relearn
list on
day 2 15

10

0
8 16 24 32 42 53 64
Number of repetitions of list on day 1
Encoding
 Serial Position Effect
 tendency to recall best the last and first
items in a list
Encoding

Percentage 90
of 80
words
recalled 70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Position of word in list
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
Encoding
 Imagery
 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
Encoding
 Chunking
 organizing items into familiar, manageable units
 like horizontal organization- 1776149218121941
 often occurs automatically
 use of acronyms
 HOMES- Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
 ARITHMETIC- A Rat In Tom’s House Might Eat
Tom’s Ice Cream
Encoding
 Hierarchies
 complex information broken down into broad
concepts and further subdivided into
categories and subcategories
Encoding
Encoding
(automatic
or effortful)

Meaning Imagery Organization


(semantic (visual
Encoding) Encoding)

Chunks Hierarchies
Encoding
 Forgetting as encoding failure
 Information never enters the memory system
 Attention 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

Attention
Encoding

External Sensory Short-term Long-term


events memory Encoding memory memory

Encoding failure
leads to forgetting
Encoding
 Forgetting as
encoding failure

 Which penny is the


real thing?
Storage-
Retaining Information
 Sensory 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
Storage-
Short Term Memory
Percentage
90
who recalled
consonants 80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
3 6 9 12 15 18

Time in seconds between presentation


of contestants and recall request
(no rehearsal allowed)
Storage-
Long Term Memory
 Long Term Memory
 virtually limitless capacity
 we don't have to discard old items to
remember new items
 Ebbinghaus- forgetting curve over 30
days
 initially rapid, then levels off with time
Storage-
Long Term Memory
Percentage of
list retained 60
when
50
relearning
40

30

20

10

0
12345 10 15 20 25 30

Time in days since learning list


Storage-
Long Term Memory
 How does storage work?
 Karl Lashley (1950)
 rats learn maze
 lesion cortex
 test memory
 Synaptic changes
 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 Memory
 Amnesia- the loss of 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
 Implicit Memory
 retention without conscious recollection
 motor and cognitive skills
 dispositions- conditioning
Storage-
Long Term Memory
 MRI scan of hippocampus (in red)

Hippocampus
Storage- Long Term
Memory Subsystems
Types of
long-term
memories

Explicit Implicit
(declarative) (nondeclarative)
With conscious Without conscious
recall recall

Facts-general Personally Dispositions-


knowledge experienced Skills-motor classical and
(“semantic events and cognitive operant
memory”) (“episodic conditioning
memory”) effects
Retrieval
 Recall
 the ability to retrieve info learned earlier
and not in conscious awareness-like fill
in the blank test
 Recognition
 the ability to identify previously learned
items-like on a multiple choice test
Retrieval
 Relearning
 amount of time saved when
relearning previously learned
information
 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
Percentage of
words recalled
40

30

20

10

0
Water/ Land/ Land/ Land/
land water water land

Different contexts for Same contexts for


hearing and recall hearing and recall
Retrieval Cues
 Deja Vu- (French) already seen
 cues from the current situation may subconsciously
trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience
 "I've experienced this before"
 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 (while one is high, drunk or
depressed) can more easily be remembered when in
same state
Retrieval Cues
 After learning to move a mobile by
kicking, infants had their learning
reactivated most strongly when retested
in the same rather than a different
context (Butler & Rovee-Collier, 1989).
Retrieval
 Forgetting can result from failure to
retrieve information from long-term
memory

Attention
Encoding
External Sensory Short-term Long-term
events memory Encoding memory Retrieval memory

Retrieval failure
leads to forgetting
Forgetting-Interference
 Learning some items may disrupt retrieval
of other information
 Proactive(forward acting) Interference
 disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of
new information
 Retroactive (backwards acting) Interference
 disruptive 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
 Positive Transfer
 sometimes old information facilitates our
learning of new information
 knowledge of Latin may help us to learn
French
Forgetting
 Forgetting can occur at any memory
stage
 As we process information, we filter,
alter, or lose much of it
Forgetting
Sensory memory - the senses momentarily
register amazing detail

Short term memory - a few items are


both noticed and encoded

Long-term storage - Some items


are altered or lost

Retrieval from long-term memory -


depending on interference, retrieval cues
moods and motives, some things get
retrieved, some don’t
Memory Construction
 We filter information and fill in missing
pieces
 Misinformation 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 occur
 Some 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 Construction
 Most people can agree on the following:
 Incest happens
 Forgetting happens
 Recovered memories are commonplace
 Memories recovered under hypnosis or drugs
are unreliable
 Memories of things happening before age 3
are unreliable
 Memories, whether false or real, are upsetting
Improve Your Memory
 Study repeatedly to boost recall
 Spend more time rehearsing or
actively pondering material
 Make material personally meaningful
 Use 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
 Recall events while they are fresh-
write down before interference
 Minimize interference
 Test your own knowledge
 rehearse
 determine what you do not yet
know

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