Memor

Lesson 1: Memory and

information processing
 Learning
objective

• How brain receives + processes

information
• How we encode information in our
memory
• How we store + retrieve information in
our memory
 Memor
y
What is
memory? • Memory: process by which our brain
retains information
• 3 stages
• Information input
• Encoding
• Output
 Information
input
How do we
put
information
• Processing: operations we in our
perform on sensory information memory?
in brain
• Input: sensory information we
receive from our environment
• brain processes information from
5 senses like a computer
Encodi
ng
• Turning sensory info into a form that can
be stored in brain
• Important info processed is encoded + is
stored in our memory
• stored for a few seconds or up to a
lifetime
• Some memories, we will retain
unconsciously (without trying), other
information have to work to remember
• Memories that are personally meaningful
to us will be stored unconsciously
3 Types of
encoding

1) Acoustic encoding: holding

sound information
2) Visual encoding: Holding
images
3) Semantic encoding: holding
meaning of information
 Output

• The information we
recall
• Retrieval: the recall of
stored memories
 Key
terms
• Processing: the operations we perform on
sensory information in the brain
• Input: for human memory, this refers to
sensory information we receive from our
environment
• Storage: the retention of information in our
memory system
• Encoding: turning sensory information into
a form that can be used and stored by the
brain
 Key
terms
• Acoustic encoding: process of storing sound in our
memory system
• Visual encoding: process of storing something
• Semantic encoding: process of storing meaning of
information in our memory system, rather than sound
of a word, we store the definition / meaning of that
word
• Output: for memory, refers to information we recall,
in a broader sense, output can refer to behavioural
response
• Retrieval: recall of stored memories
 Exam-style
question

Define what is meant by the

following terms: (4 marks)
• Encoding
• Storage
 Short-term and long-term
memory

Learning objectives
• concepts of duration +
capacity
• features of short-term
memory + long-term memory
Short-term • Information we process first
Memory enters the short-term memory
store
• - Duration: approx. 18
seconds
• - Capacity: approx. 7 items
• It can be encoded acoustically
through repetition of
information (rehearsal)
• Info from short-term memory
can be transferred to long-term
memory
Long-term • Information that is rehearsed will be
memory sent to the long-term memory store
• - Duration: up to an entire lifetime
• - Capacity: potentially unlimited
• The encoding of this information is
mostly semantic. This means it is
encoded based on its meaning
• - Think of a speech you have heard-
you may not remember the exact
words but you can remember the
meaning of what was said
Why do we
forget?
• Displacement: when the short-term
memory becomes ‘full’ and new
information pushes out older information
• Interference: when new information
overwrites older information.
• E.g. a new phone number takes the
place of an older number in your
memory
The Multi-store Model of Memory
Key
terms
• Short-term memory: our initial memory store that is temporary +
limited
• Long-term memory: a memory store that holds potentially
limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime
• Duration: length of time information can be stored in short-term
+ long-term memory
• Capacity: amount of information that can be store in short-term +
long-term memory
• Rehearse: when we repeat information over + over again to make
it stick
• Displacement: when short-term memory becomes ‘full’ + new
information pushes out older information
• Interference: when new information overwrites older
information, example when a new phone number takes place of
Memory
Solitaire
Write down
everything you
remember
How many did you get
correct?
 How can I do
better?
• Maybe you think you'll get better at memorizing things if
you practice a lot. Sorry, but it doesn't work that way.
• Back in 1927, a scientist tested 187 university students on
their ability to memorize poetry, the meaning of Turkish
words, dates of historical events, and other things.
• Then some students practiced memorizing things. Others
learned techniques for remembering things. And the rest
did nothing at all related to memory.
• When the scientist tested the students again, the group that
had learned techniques for memorizing things did much
better on the test than the others. The students who had
practiced memorizing things and the students who had
done nothing at all did about the same on the test as they
did before.
• Scientists have discovered that you don't get better at
memorizing things just by doing it more. But you can get
better by learning some clever tricks that help you out.
• On the following pages, we'll give you a few tricks you can
try. They'll help you remember -- they'll also tell you
something about how your memory works.
Think about how you tried to remember the objects in one of
the memory games. Some people try to remember them just by
repeating them over and over, like this: comb, book, can of
beans, left shoe, and so on. If you tried that, you were using
what scientists call your "working memory".
When you look up a telephone number and repeat it over and
over until you dial it, you're using your working memory. Your
working memory is great for jobs like remembering a phone
number for a few minutes.
But five minutes later, after you made a phone call using this
method, you probably won't be able to remember the
number. Your working memory can hold a small amount of
information for a relatively short time. Repeating a list of
things over and over lets you remember some of the items on
the list for a little while. But it's tough to store twenty different
things in your working memory and remember them long
enough to write them down.
• One way to remember more things for a longer time is to use
what scientists call "elaborative encoding." "Encoding" is another
word for transforming something into a memory. "Elaborative
encoding" lets you connect new information to memories that
you already have, and that helps you remember the new
information. It can help you move that list of objects out of your
working memory and into your long-term memory. (Long-term
memory is just what it sounds like: memories that last for a long
time -- days or months or years.)
• Here is 1 way that you can experiment with putting a list into
your long-term memory using elaborative encoding.
Tell yourself a story
Write down what you remember
 What is going on?
• When you tell yourself a story and imagine what's happening, you are doing a
couple of things.
• First, you are connecting the different pictures so that when you remember
one, you remember the others too. If you remember "cat," you have a good
chance of remembering "bicycle" and "dog" and "C" for Charlie. It's hard to
remember all the items in a list where nothing is connected to anything else.
It's easier to remember when one item is attached to a whole lot of others.
• Second, you are making a mental picture that includes all these different
things. Making a mental picture helps you remember something later.
• You may discover that making up a story didn't help you remember all the
objects -- but it helped you remember some of the objects for a lot longer.
When you made a mental picture of the objects, you used your long-term
memory, and that picture stuck with you.