Adil Lughmani

 Define memory
 Define and describe various types of Memories
 Demonstrate an understanding of the processes of
forgetting.

04/30/24
 Memory is the process of maintaining information
over time. (Matlin,2005)

 Memory is the means by which we draw on our

past experiences in order to use this information in
the present
(Sternberg, 1999).
 Memory is essential to all our lives.
Without a memory of the past we cannot
operate in the present or think about the
future.
 We would not be able to remember what

we did yesterday, what we have done today

or what we plan to do tomorrow. Without
memory we could not learn anything.
 Memory is involved in processing vast
amounts of information. This information
takes many different forms, e.g. images,
sounds or meaning.
 Human memory resembles a computer,
consists of an information processing system
in three separate stages:
 Encoding:
 Sensory information is received and coded or

transformed into neural impulses that can be

processed further or stored for later use.
 Storage:
 Like a computer program, the encoded

information must be stored in the memory

system.
 Although some bits of information are stored

briefly or used only once, and then discarded,

others, like certain telephone numbers, are
used frequently, and are therefore stored on
a more permanent basis.
 Retrieval:
 Once a file has been named and stored on a

computer, we can call it up by its name and

use it again.
 Human memory works in much the same way.

When we recall or bring a memory into

consciousness, we have retrieved it.
 This recall process is known as memory

retrieval.
 Sensory memory (STM) :
 is a memory or storage of sensory events

such as sights, sounds and tastes with no

further processing or interpretation.
 Sensory memory appears to Last only briefly,

about one half to one second

 For example, the ability to look at something
and remember what it looked like with just a
second of observation is an example of
sensory memory.
 Sensory memory is an ultra-short-term
memory and decays or degrades very quickly
 Short-term memory (STM):
 Not everything seen or heard is kept in

memory. Lets say a TV commercial is running

in the background as your friend reads you
his notes on Anatomy.
 Do you remember the words of the TV ad?
 Probably not, because selective attention

determines what information moves on to

short- term memory
 Short-term memory (STM):
 Short term memory acts as a temporary

storehouse for small amounts of information.

Unless the information is important, it is
quickly dumped from STM and is lost forever.
 Short-term memory (STM):
 Short Term Memory is the part of the memory
system where information is stored for
roughly 30 seconds.
 Information can be maintained longer with
the use of techniques such as rehearsal.
 Long Term Memory (LTM):
 Information that is meaningful and important
is transferred to the third memory system
called long- term memory.
 In contrast to STM, long-term memory acts as
a permanent storehouse for information.
 LTM contains everything you know about the
world and yet there appears to be no danger of
running out of room in LTM.
 which is considered to have a Limitless storage
capacity.
 Types of Long Term Memory:
 Procedural Memory:

 Procedural memory is a part of the long-term

memory is responsible for knowing how to do
things, i.e. memory of motor skills, For
example, procedural memory would involve
knowledge of how to ride a bicycle.
 Episodic memory:
 Represents our memory of experiences and

specific events in time in a serial form, from

which we can reconstruct the actual events
that took place at any given point in our lives.
It is the memory of autobiographical
events(times, places, associated emotions).
Individuals tend to see themselves as actors
in these events.
 Semantic memory:
 On the other hand, is a more structured record
of facts, meanings, concepts and knowledge
about the external world that we have acquired.
 It therefore includes such things as types of
food, capital cities, social customs
 Memories can be encoded poorly or fade with
time; the storage and recovery process is not
flawless.
 It is easier to remember recent events than
those further in the past, and the more we
repeat or use information, the more likely it is
to enter into long-term memory.
 Forgetting is the inability to recall information.
 This means that much of what we think as
forgotten is not really forgotten because it was
never encoded and stored in the first place.
 The information, due to lack of attention, may not
have reached short term memory from the sensory
register.
 Alternatively due to inadequate encoding and
rehearsal the information may not have been
transferred from the short term memory to the
tong term memory
 How much of the information is forgotten
depends on the following factors
 Interference:
 Experimental evidence as well as everyday
experience indicates that learning new things
interferes with our memories of what we
learned earlier
 Retrieval problems: Finding information in the
organized long term memory store is aided
by retrieval cues, or reminders which direct
the memory search to the appropriate part of
the tong term memory library.
 Without the retrieval cues, the sought for

item stored in LIM may not be found and

seem forgotten.
 Motivated Forgetting: Motivated forgetting, introduced
by Sigmund Freud, is a theory in that explores how
individuals suppress anxiety-provoking information.
 Freud's concept of repression explains why people
struggle to recall threatening or distressing memories.
 Repression involves pushing unpleasant memories
into the unconscious mind, making them difficult to
retrieve consciously.
 Consequently, individuals tend to remember pleasant
events more readily than unpleasant ones because the
latter have been repressed.
 Amnesia
 Amnesia, the inability to recall certain
memories, often results from damage to any
of a number of regions in the temporal lobe
and hippocampus
 Amnesia
 There are two main forms of amnesia:
retrograde and anterograde.
 Retrograde Amnesia
 Retrograde amnesia is the inability to recall
memories made before the onset of amnesia.
 Anterograde Amnesia
 Anterograde amnesia is the inability to create
new memories after the onset of amnesia, while
memories from before the event remain intact.
 Anterograde amnesia can be caused by the
effects of long-term alcoholism, severe
malnutrition, stroke, head trauma, surgery
 Anterograde Amnesia
 Sufferers can be treated through education to
define their daily routines: typically,
procedural memories (motor skills and
routines like tying shoes or playing an
instrument)
 Attention: A setting that enhances your focus
while studying, and ensures minimal
distraction will turn your attention to the
memory job at hand.
 Recitation and rehearsal: This means

repeating to yourself what you have learned.

 If you are going to remember something,

eventually you will have to retrieve it.

 Organize: Assume that you must memories
the following lest of words; north, man, red,
spring, woman, east, autumn, yellow,
summer, boy, blue, west, winter, girl. green,
south. This rather difficult list
 could be organized into chunks as follows:

north-east-south- west, spring-summer-

autumn-winter, red- yellow-green-blue,
man-woman-boy-girl. Similarly by making
up stories.
 Selection: The Dutch scholar Erasmus said
that a good memory is like a fisherman’s net.
 It should keep all the big fish and let the little

ones escape.
 If you boil down the paragraphs in your

textbooks to one or two important terms or

ideas, you will find memorizing more
manageable.
 Serial position: Whenever you must learn
something, be aware of the serial position
effect.
 This is the tendency to make most errors in

remembering the middle of a list.

 Over learning: Many studies indicate that

memory is greatly improved when study is

continued beyond bare mastery.
 In other words after you have learned material
well enough to remember it without error, you
should continue to study the material.
 Spaced practice: Spaced practice generally is
superior to massed practice. Three 20
minutes study sessions can produce more
learning than one hour of continuous study.
 Steep: Sleeping after study is helpful and

reduces the interference.

 Similarly breaks and free times in a schedule

are as important as the study periods.

 Staying awake the whole night before your

exams is not the smart thing to do.

 Review: Reviewing shortly before an
examination is helpful though one should
avoid the tendency to memories new
information at that point.
 This review should take about an hour not
the whole night prior to the exam.
 Other techniques to improve memory:
 Stay mentally active

◦ Just as physical activity helps keep your body in

shape, mentally stimulating activities help keep
your brain in shape
 Socialize regularly
◦ Social interaction helps ward off depression and
stress, both of which can contribute to memory loss
 Get organized
◦ Keep to-do lists current and check off items
you've completed.
 Eat a healthy diet
◦ A healthy diet might be as good for your brain
as it is for your heart. Eat fruits, vegetables and
whole grains
 Include physical activity in your daily
routine
◦ Physical activity increases blood flow to your
whole body, including your brain. This might
help keep your memory sharp