THE Extra Credit Opportunity
• Attend this lecture & write a two-page
(Double spaced, 1” margins, 12 point
Times New Roman) reflection paper
(Due Tuesday, October 25th)
• Paper Should Address:• What did you learn from the lecture?
• What did you agree with?
• What did you disagree with and why?
• How does Dr. Cacioppo’s research inform
contemporary issues faced by our society?
• If you do this, I will add up to5% to
your final grade.• Late papers will not be accepted in any
circumstances.
• Papers that do not conform to the stated
style guidelines will receive no credit
• Only hard copies (i.e., paper copies) will be
accepted.
} “The system by which we retain information and
bring it to mind”
} A method of retaining the information and skills
we acquire through experience
What Is Memory?
1.Encoding
• Convertinginformationintoaformusableinmemory
2.Storage
• Retaininginformationinmemory
3.Retrieval
• Bringingstoredinformationtomind
Memory Processes
} Human memory can be represented as an
information processing system
§ Computer metaphor
} Memory does not exist in isolation!
§ “continuum of information processing”
• attention => sensation => perception => learning
=> memory => retrieval to facilitate the use of
stored information for…
§ Thinking, problem solving, language, intelligent behavior,
etc.
} Encoding refers to the process of acquiring
information and transferring it into memory.
§ The transformation of information from one form to
another
• Sensory systems transduce electromagnetic energy,
sound waves, pressure, and chemical stimulation
into action potentials that can be processed by the
nervous system.
} One important aspect of encoding is paying
attention to the incoming information!
Encoding
Storage
} The retention of information over time.
§ Storage of memories can last anywhere from
fractions of a second (sensory memory) to several
seconds (short-term and working memory) to
indefinitely (long-term memory).
} Important: Human memory does not generate
exact records.
§ Bits of information are stored separately, and are
later reconstructed into usable memories.
• Typically useful -- however errors and distortions can
occur!
Retrieval
} Recovery of stored information when it is needed
§ Storing information is no guarantee that you can
access it when you need it.
§ Common causes of retrieval failure:
• Interference (e.g., distraction)
• Stress
Types of Memory
} This section covers:
§ The stages of memory
§ Types of memory
} Information flows through a series of separate
stages of memory.
§ The model defines various memory storage areas
that differ in capacity and duration.
} The model also includes control processes
§ i.e., person’s active interventions that influence
memory.
• Rehersal
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model
} Incoming information is first processed by the
sensory memory.
§ Holds enormous amounts of sensory data.
§ Data remain for very brief periods of time (e.g.,
second or less), or as long as the neural activity
produced by a sensation continues.
Sensory Memory
} Sensory input is transduced into several types of
representation.
§ Representation of a memory = a mental model of a
bit of information that exists even when the
information is no longer available.
• Visual codes are used for the temporary storage of
information about visual images.
• Haptic codes are used to process touch and other
body senses.
• Acoustic codes represent sound and words.
Sensory Memory
} Some information in the sensory memory will
move to the next stage, short-term memory
(STM), for further processing.
§ Importantly, no information will be processed in
short-term memory unless you pay attention to it!
} Like sensory memory, STM features different
types of representations.
§ E.g., Visual codes representing images
Short-Term Memory
} STM has remarkable limitations in duration.
§ Without additional processing, information in short-
term memory usually lasts 30 seconds at most
} What to do to prevent this loss of information?
§ Maintenance rehearsal
• Challenging -- during rehearsal, data are easily
displaced by new, incoming bits of data.
Short Term Memory: Limitations in Duration
} STM has severe limitations in capacity.
} The most famous estimate of STM capacity came
from George Miller in the 1950s.
§ He claimed that the “magic number” of memory
was 7 ± 2 (between 5–9 items).
} Nelson Cowan has arrived at a different
conclusion
§ He suggests that other researchers failed to
account for the strategies that participants were
using.
• True capacity is closer to 4 items
Short Term Memory: Limitations in Capacity
Chunking
} Trying to remember the following sequence of
letters:
FBIIRSCIAEPA
} The task is greatly simplified by “chunking” the
letters into meaningful batches of common
abbreviations—FBI IRS CIA EPA.
§ Now you have only 4 meaningful bits to remember
rather than 12
• Within the capacities of short-term memory.
} Store more information by increasing the
efficiency of short-term memory, as opposed to
increasing the overall capacity
Chunking
} Short-term memory and working memory differ in
two ways.
§ First, STM involves the passive storage of
information; WM involves an active manipulation of
information.
§ Second, STM is viewed as managing a single
process at a time; WM more complex, allowing
multiple processes to occur simultaneously.
Working Memory
Working Memory
} From research, we know we can manage 2 STM
tasks at the same time.
§ What types of information could be maintained
separately in STM?
} 4 components:
§ Central executive (parcels out the attention)
§ Phonological loop (responsible for verbal and auditory information)
§ Visuospatial sketch pad (holds visual and spatial information)
§ Episodic buffer (provides a mechanism for combining information
stored in long-term memory)
Working Memory
Long-Term Memory
} The final stage of memory processing is long-
term memory (LTM).
§ LTM has few limitations in either capacity or
duration.
} In most cases, information moves from ST/WM to
LTM through rehearsal. § Maintenance rehearsal -- repetition of the material
§ Elaborative rehearsal -- linking the new material to
things you already know.
An Experiment: The Serial Position Effect
Types of Long-Term Memory
} Declarative -- conscious memories vs.
Nondeclarative -- unconscious memories.
§ Easy to “declare,” or discuss verbally.
• AKA. explicit memories -- typically accessed in a
very conscious, direct, and effortful manner.
} Nondeclarative memories are difficult to
verbalize.
§ Affect our behavior in subconscious, indirect, and
effortless ways.
• AKA. implicit memories
Types of Long Term Memory
•Semantic memory contains your store of general
knowledge in the form of word meanings and facts.
•Episodic memory is a more personal account of
past experiences.
} We can distinguish between semantic and
episodic memories along four dimensions:
§ 1. The type of information processed
§ 2. The organization of the information in memory
§ 3. The source of the information
§ 4. The focus of the memory.
Declarative Memory
} SM contains general knowledge about the world,
whereas EM include more specific information
about events, objects, and people.
} SM is organized in memory according to
categories, while EM is organized as a timeline.
} SM originates from others or from repeated
experience; EM can result from a single,
personal experience.
} SM provides us with an objective understanding
of our world, whereas EM provides a reference
point for our subjective experience of the self.
Declarative Memory
} Blending semantic and episodic memories
characterizes autobiographical memories.
§ Having an autobiographical memory provides a
sense of continuity or consistency in the self.
§ Helps us build social bonds with others throughout
our lifespan.
Declarative Memory
Nondeclarative Memory
} Classical conditioning
} Procedural memory
} Priming
} Procedural memories -- memories for how to
carry out motor skills
§ i.e., how we carry out procedures.
§ Great advantage in automating our performance.
• Automaticity frees us to direct our limited capacities
for divided attention to other aspects of the task.
Non Declarative Memory
} Priming -- the change in our response to a
stimulus due to pre-exposure to related stimuli
§ Explains many everyday effects of familiarity.
§ Priming can influence our responses to stimuli that
are perceptually related (e.g., two visual stimuli, for
example) or conceptually related (e.g., two words
having a related meaning).
§ Example…
Non Declarative Memory
Priming Example
Priming Example
Organization of Long-Term Memory
} Connectionist theories
§ Spreading activation
} Schemas
} How are declarative memories organized in
LTM?
} Memories that share characteristics are more
closely linked than memories don’t.
§ “Connectionist” explanations
• Evolved to account for this tendency to group
memories that share overlapping features.
Organization of Long-Term Memory
} Connectionism -- view of the
mind as an interconnected
network made up of simpler
units.
} “The spreading activation model”
§ We do not organize concepts
according to strict hierarchies
§ Organizations in memory based
on personal experiences.
Organization of Long-Term Memory
} Schemas
§ Set of expectations about objects and situations
• “Scripts” => What happens when you go to a
restaurant?
} When we encounter new information, we attempt
to fit the new information into an existing schema.
§ Schema-consistent details are more likely to be
retained in LTM
§ Schema-inconsistent details are more likely to be
left out of LTM
Organization of Long-Term Memory
Retrieval: Cues
} Retrieval via cues:
§ Recognition vs. Recall
§ The encoding specificity
effect
} Any stimulus that helps you access target information.
§ Recognition tasks, (e.g., true-false binary decisions) are
relatively easy.
• Provide complete cues (the correct information is right on the
page in front of you).
• Judgment about how well the information matches what is
stored in memory.
§ Recall tasks require an additional step.
• Information must be retrieved from memory and then
recognized as correct.
• Fewer cues = more difficult.
Retrieval: Cues
} Why are cues helpful? Encoding specificity (ES).} In LTM, “other” information is encoded simultaneously
with our memories.
} Any “other” stimulus that was present and noticed during this
encoding process could serve as a cue for retrieving the
target memory.
Retrieval: Cues
} One example of ES: context-dependent memory:
} The more similar your retrieval circumstances are to
your encoding circumstances = more likely you are to
successfully retrieve the target memory.
} Why? Greater numbers of cues aid retrieval
} Among the bits of information that get encoded along
with target memories are features of the surrounding
environment
} Leading to context-dependent memory.
Retrieval: Cues
Forgetting
} This section covers:
§ Theories of forgetting
§ Improving memory
} Forgetting is a decrease in the ability to
remember a previously formed memory.
§ The key here is that to “forget,” a memory has to
have been formed in the first place.
• You can’t miss what you never had!
Forgetting
Theories of Forgetting
} Distribute practice
} Take tests
} Sleep
} Recite
} Use mnemonics
} Dedicate time
Improving Your Memory
