Chapter 7

MEMORY

Media Assignment

Questions1. Does the media present psychology more

as a science or more as a form of common sense?

2. Does the media present the diverse fields of psychology or only a few?

3. Does the media rely more on psychologist or self-proclaimed experts for information?

4. Does the media present psychological information more in a sober manner or in a sensationalistic manner?

Definition of Memory

An Internal Record or Representation of Some Prior Event or Experience

Definition of Constructive Process

Organizing and shaping of information during processing,

storage, and retrieval of memories.

Memory is a Constructive Process

Four Models of Memory

Information Processing Model Parallel Distributed Processing Model Levels of Processing Approach Traditional Three-Stage Memory

Model

Information Processing Approach

Memory is a process, analogous to a computer, where information goes through three basic processes – encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Encoding – Translating information into neural codes (language) – i.e. sensory (sound/visual image) into language.

Storage – Retaining neurally coded information over time.

Retrieval – Recovering information from memory storage.

Levels of Processing Approach

Memory depends on the degree or depth of mental processing occurring when material is initially encountered. Shallow processing leads to little memory, whereas deeper processing adds meaning and greater memory.

Traditional Three-Stage Memory Model

Memory requires three different storage boxes or stages to hold and process information for various lengths of time. Sensory memory holds information for exceedingly short intervals, short-term memory retains information for approximately 30 seconds or less (unless renewed), and long-term memory provides relatively permanent storage.

Sensory MemoryFirst Stage of Memory

What we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell first enters our sensory memory.

Lasts up to ½ a second for visual (iconic memory); ¼ to ½ a second for auditory but weaker echo (echoic memory) can last up to 4 seconds.

The Sensory Register Testing for Iconic Memory

Invented by George Sperling

A letter array is shown briefly

After array is gone, tone signals which row to report

Subjects recalled more letters when signaled to recall only one row compared to trying to recall all the letters

Short-Term Memory (STM) Second Stage of Memory

Temporarily stores sensory information and decides whether to send it on to long-term memory; capacity limited to five to nine items and duration is about 30 seconds.

Short-Term MemoryCapacity

Memory-Span Test

Read the top row of digits, then look away and repeat them back in order. Continue until a mistake is made. The average capacity is seven items of information.

Improving Short Term Memory

Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating information over and over to maintain it in short-term memory.

Chunking – Grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit (or chunk).

Short-Term MemoryCapacity Chunking

Process of grouping distinct bits of information into larger wholes to increase short-term memory capacity.

Take 5 seconds to memorize as much as possible on the next slide.

Then, try to reproduce the arrangement of pieces.

Short-Term MemoryCapacity The Value of Chunking

Was the number correct around seven pieces? Or, was the information chunked?

Short-Term Memory Duration of Short-Term Memory

Subjects memorized nonsense syllables, (e.g., MJK, ZRW).

To prevent rehearsal, they were given a distracter task during the waiting period.

When a cue was given, subjects tried to recall the letters.

Short-term memories vanish within twenty seconds.

Short-Term Memory as a “Working Memory”

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Phonological Rehearsal Loop

Central Executive

Long Term Memory (LTM)Third Stage of Memory

Stores information for long periods of time; its capacity is virtually limitless, and its duration is relatively permanent.

Types of Long-Term Memory

Explicit/Declarative Memory – Subsystem within long-term memory that consciously stores facts, information, and personal life experiences.

Implicit/Nondeclarative Memory – Subsystem within long-term memory that consists of unconscious procedural skills, simple classically conditioned responses, and priming.

Improving Long-Term Memory

Three Key Strategies

Organization – Utilization of Hierarchies

Rehearsal – Utilization of Elaborative Rehearsal. One of the best ways to encode new information into long-term memory is to understand.

Retrieval – Utilization of a Retrieval Cue – Recognition.

Retrieval Strategies on Exams

Context and Retrieval

Mood Congruence

State-Dependent Retrieval

Long-Term Memory Forgetting The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

ForgettingFive Key Theories

Decay – Degrading with time. Interference – one memory competing with,

or trying to replace, another memory (retroactive and proactive interference).

Motivated Forgetting – unconscious wish to forget something unpleasant.

Encoding Failure – no need to remember precise details.

Retrieval Failure – momentarily inaccessible as a result of such things as interference, faulty cues, or emotional states.

Long-Term Memory Forgetting Can You Recognize a Penny?

One reason people forget is due to lack of encoding.

Recognizing Problems with

Forgetting

Serial Position Effect – remembering at the beginning (primary effect) and ending of a list (recency effect),

Source Amnesia – forgetting the true source of a memory.

Sleeper Effect – confusing reliable information with unreliable information.

Spacing of Practice – distributed practice vs. massed practice (cramming).

Biological Basis of Memory

Neuronal and Synaptic Changes in Memory Long-term Potentiation – long-lasting increase in

neural excitability believed to be a biological mechanism for learning and memory.

Repeated stimulation of a synapse can strengthen the synapse by causing the dendrites to grow more spines.

The ability of a particular neuron to release its neurotransmitters can be increased or decreased.

Hormonal Changes and Memory Being stressed or excited naturally produce

hormones that arouse the body, such as epinephrine and cortisol. These hormones affect the amygadala which stimulates the hippocampus and cerebral cortex affecting memory.

Location of Memories

Memory tends to be localized and distributed throughout the brain

Brain Area Connected to Memory

Amygdala Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum Hippocampal Formation Thalamus Cortex

Two Common Causes of Biological Memory Failure

Brain Injury Retrograde Amnesia – loss of memory

that occurs before the accident. Anterograde Amnesia – loss of memory

for events that occur after an accident.

Alzheimer’s Disease Progressive mental deterioration that

occurs most commonly in later life.

Eight Ways to Improve Memory

Pay attention and reduce interference. Use rehearsal techniques Improve your organization Counteract the serial position effect Manage your time Use the encoding specificity principle Employ self-monitoring and overlearning Use Mnemonic Devices