“I remember”……..

III Memory and forgetting

1. Key process in memory: encoding, storage and retrieval . Measuring memory:
recall, recognition, relearning

2. Sensory memory(iconic- echoic),

short term memory(rehearsal, chunking),
long term memory( declarative, procedural, episodic, Implicit and explicit
memory, flashbulb memory, tip of tongue)
3. Level of processing theory
Working memory model – Alan Baddley
4. Retrieval cues: encoding specificity principle; context dependent memory and
state dependent memory, serial position effect, reconstructive memory;
eyewitness testimony, flashbulb memory and meta memory.
5. Forgetting: Forgetting Curve
6. Reason for forgetting: decay theory, interference theory, prospective theory,
absents of retrieval cues,
7. Strategies for remembering: rehearsal, elaboration, organization
What is memory? A dusty
storehouse of facts?????
 Memory is an active system, that receives, stores, organizes,
alerts, and recovers information.

 learning and memory represent two sides of the same coin:

learning depends on memory for its ‘permanence’, and memory
would have no ‘content’ without learning. Hence, we could define
memory as the retention of learning and experience
Definition

 In the world of psychology:- it is the ability or power of our mind

to store the past experiences of learning and utilizing them at a
later stage is known a s memory.
 Memory consist in remembering what has been previously
learned.( Woodworth & Marquis 1948)
 ‘ The ability to retain information or a representation of past
experience, based on the mental processes of learning’ – APA
dictionary.
Memory--- a gateway ……

 Human memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover

information.
 This is not a flawless process
 Sometimes forgot or is remember…and of being not properly
encoded….
 Minor to major signs ….
How memories are formed?
 Encoding
 memories form due to changes in brain neurons…..(nerve cells) and connections between nerve
cells (known as synapses….) .

 Our understanding today is that memories are created through the connections that exist
between these neurons—And which are associated with the learning and retention of new
information, either by strengthening these connections or through the growth of new
connections.
 Awareness
 How long memories can last?
 Painful memories….increased biological arousal l!!
 Availability and accessibility of information
 Memory conceptualized in
terms of types, stages, and
processes Explicit memory
As Implicit memory
types

Sensory memory
Short term memory
As
Long term memory
stages
Encoding
As
"Encoding, Storage, and
Retrieval Stages of Memory".
Elaborate
encoding

Encoding Storage
Sensory Long term
Short term
memory memory
memory
Retrieval
Encoding and Storage: How
Our Perceptions Become
Memories

Encoding is the process by which we place the things that we
experience into memory. Unless information is encoded, it cannot
be remembered.
 Encoding is transforming internal thoughts and external events into short term
and long-term memory. This is the process in which the information is
processed and categorized for storage and retrieval. It is a crucial first step in
creating a new memory. Memory encoding converts the perceived item or
event into a construct that can be stored and recalled later from the brain.
Encoding process….
 Hermann Ebbinghaus
 Learning and forgetting- within self- learning curve
 Association of new things to prior knowledge-recall
 Ivan Pavlo- semantic relationship- unrelated things
 Frederic Bartlett – mental schemas
 Donald Hebb- neural connections
 George Miller- seven, plus or minus two

 Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch – central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, and
phonological loop as a method of processing and encoding.
 Encoding …
 Types of encoding :-
 Visual encoding : visual image to understand it as an object- visual information is
converted to the memory stored in the brain- through visuospatial sketchpad –
connected to central executive: the key area of working memory. Iconic memory
 Acoustic encoding : auditory information - It includes processing of sounds, words, and other
auditory input for storage and retrieval. The phonological loop, which is a component of acoustic
encoding, involves two different processes. First, acoustic information comes into the brain for one to two
seconds. Second, rehearsal is required to convert it into long-term memory..
 Types of encoding ….
 Semantic encoding : Encoding of sensory input that has a particular meaning or context is
known as semantic encoding. This may include remembering concepts, ideas, definitions, and dates,
etc. Semantic encoding is easier to recall than the non-semantic or shallow encoding of things.
Attaching emotions to information is a good idea to make semantic encoding much more
memorable.
 Elaborative encoding : process new information in ways that make it more
relevant or meaningful. Elaborative encoding of something has been shown to greatly enhance
long-term memory
 Tactile encoding : Tactile encoding is encoding and processing of feeling of
touching something. Neurons in the somatosensory cortex play an important
role in this process. Tactile encoding may include remembering the taste of a
fruit, feeling of cuddling with your cat, or feeling of your first kiss. Processing of
Odors can also be a part of the tactile encoding.
 Organizational encoding : Classifying information to a sequence of terms is
what we know as organizational encoding. It includes categorization, listing,
and grouping of information by noticing relationships among different items.
Existing memories are encoded differently in organizational encoding.
Principles of encoding: selective- attend some
events and ignore others : promiscuous-encoding the events of your life,
recoding- taking the information from one form as it is given to us and then
converting in a way that makes sense to us.

Problems that affect encoding

 Sleep deprivation (lack of slow wave sleep- memory consolidation)
 Depression (STM)
 Alzheimer's disease (dysfunction of medial temporal lobe)
 Excessive multitasking
 Vitamin B-12 deficiency (RBC)
 Drug abuse
Storage

 The retention of encoded material over time

 Storage is achieved through two types of rehearsal :
 Maintenance rehearsal : repetition to aid storage
 Elaborative rehearsal:- aids storage by fitting new information in to
an organizational system (giving meaning). More secure and stable
than maintenance rehearsal.
 Once the information is encoded, it needs to be stored. This stage
involves maintaining the encoded information over time. Storage can
be short-term or long-term, depending on the importance and
frequency of the information.
Retrieval

 Retrieval is locating stored information and returning it to

conscious thought.
 Context-dependent : retrieved more readily when the person is in
a similar situation or environment as when the information was
learned.
 State –dependent: retrieved more readily when the person is in a
similar emotional state as when the information was learned.
 mood congruent effect.
Retrieval is the process of recalling stored information when it is
needed. Retrieval can be influenced by various factors, including the
context in which the information was encoded and the cues available at
the time of recall.
 Process of memory …
E S R
n t e
c o t
o r r
d i
a
i e
n g v
g e a
l
Refers to INPUT to the
memory system. Closely Refers to the process by
Refers to the process by
related to SELECTIVE which stored information
which sensory information is
ATTENTION. Relates to is recovered. Relates to
retained in memory. Relates
the questions: HOW IS the questions: ARE THERE
to the questions: WHERE ARE
SENSORY INFORMATION DIFFERENT KINDS OF
OUR MEMORIES ‘KEPT’? and
PROCESSED IN A WAY REMEMBERING? WHAT DO
IS THERE MORE THAN ONE
THAT ALLOWS IT TO BE WE REMEMBER? and WHY
KIND OF MEMORY?
STORED? or HOW ARE DO WE FORGET?
THINGS REMEMBERED?
 How do measure memory ?
 When you are not able to remember someone’s name but you know that you have
seen his/her face before, this is the process of recognition. In this process you are
checking the stimulus (face) with your memory content to find a match. In the same
manner when one tries to remember a name without a face in front, it is called
recall. Recall is a process of using a general stimulus and finding the information
about it from memory. When you are given a question in an exam you use the
process of recall. When you answer multiple choice items, you are asked to match
the information with the provided pieces of information. You have to identify and
match it with the information which is already stored in your memory. Recognition is
easier than recall. Relearning is the method of learning the material another time.
It usually takes less time than original learning.
 Recall
 Is passive but direct method of assessing retention
 Reproduction of learnt materials after a time span is recall.
 Repetition of the learned material; verbatim (word for word) recitation.
 For ex: one may recall a poem by reciting it even if he does not
remember the circumstances under which he had learned.
 Recall is often categorized into :
 Free recall- recall freely without specific order
 Serial recall- recall learned material in a specific order
Recognition

 It is an active process where identification of elements takes

place.
 Identification of learnt material object from a combination of
learned and unlearned material.
 The correct identification will provide the raw retention score:
 R-W/K-1 x 100/n
 R= total no of items correctly recognized
 W= total no of items incorrectly recognized
 K= total no of alternatives given for recognition (old + new)
 N= no of items originally presented for learning
 4 out of 10 items with 10 alternatives = ?
Relearning (saving method)

 In this method, a list of materials is presented to the subject up

to perfect learning , and after a time gap, he/she is presented
with the same list to relearn. The experimenter records the
number of trials and time taken by the subject in relearning
condition.
 OLT-RLT/OCTx100
 OLT= original learning trials
 RLT= relearning trials
 8 trials (OLT), 6 (RLT), the percentage of saving/ relearning is ?
Reconstruction

 Reproduction of the learned materials

 Rearranging the parts of an original task, presented randomly.
 The stimuli are presented in a certain arrangement, then this arrangement
is broken up and the stimuli are handed over to the subject with instruction
to reconstruct the original order.
3.2- stages of memory

 Sensory memory(iconic- echoic),

 short term memory(rehearsal, chunking),
 long term memory( declarative, procedural, episodic,
Implicit and explicit memory, flashbulb memory, tip of
tongue)
Sensory memory

 ‘Fleeting memory’ – related to process of perception

 The information from the environment first reaches sensory
memory and if required attention is given to the information, it
moves to other memory systems. It can store information only for
200-500 milliseconds.
 “Sensory buffer store”/ sensory storage
Types of sensory memory
Types of SM
 Iconic memory- visual sensory memory- typically lasts for about
one-quarter to one half of a second
 Echoic memory – auditory memory- last up to three to four
second
 Haptic memory- tactile memory- touch- lasts approximately two
seconds.

 How SM works?
 Senses enormous amount of information through sense organs-
not able to remember each one- SM creates a quick ‘snapshot’-
focused attention.
Characteristics of SM

 Limited in duration and capacity . It lasts very briefly and is

almost immediately replaced by new information.
 Researchers have found that attention to the stimulus has only a
weak impact on sensory memory.
 The type of memory stored is specific to the sensory modality; in
other words, echoic memory stores auditory information, iconic
memory stores only visual information, and haptic memory
stores only tactile information.
 Information stored in sensory memory includes a great deal of
detail.
Sperling’s SM

 Psychologist George Sperling 1960 s