Transcript Memory
Ch 7 Memory Process by which we recollect prior experiences and information/skills learned in the past 3 Kinds of Memory Ways to classify memory Episodic Memory: memory of a specific event Flashbulb memory: EXTEMELY detailed memory Reasons for flashbulb memories Semantic Memory: general knowledge people remember Don’t usually remember when acquired info Implicit Memory: skills 3 Processes of Memory Encoding: translation of info into form that can be stored First stage of processing info Storage: maintenance of encoded information over a period of time Second stage of processing info Maintenance rehearsal: repeating over and over Elaborative rehearsal: relating to info you already know well Organizational system Not without errors Retrieval: locating stored information and returning it to conscious thought Context-dependent memory: easier to remember something when back in the same context as when memory was originally created State-dependent memory: retrieve memories when they are in the same emotional state they were in when first made memory Also better when in same state of consciousness On-the-tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: come close to retrieving info but can’t seem to verbalize “feeling of knowing” 3 Stages of Memory Sensory Memory: immediate, initial recording of information that enters through our senses Memory trace of a visual stimulus held in our sensory memory decays within a second If want to remember, must do something with it Sensory registers: all our senses have these Eidetic Imagery (photographic memory) Short-Term Memory (AKA: Working Memory) If pay attention to iconic and echoic memories you can transfer them into short-term memory Whenever you’re thinking of something, it’s in your shortterm memory Info fades rapidly after several seconds To remember it longer, need to keep rehearsing or take steps to prevent it from fading Usually better to encode info as sounds Primacy/Recency Effects Remember things at the start/end of a list better than the middle Chunking: organize info into familiar/manageable units Interference: new info appears it takes the place of what’s already there Bridge between sensory memory and long-term memory Long-Term Memory Final stage of memory Have to take steps to store into long-term memory Mechanical Repetition: maintenance rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal: relate to prior knowledge We don’t know the capacity of memory Memory is Reconstructive Reconstruct our memories and tend to shape them according to the personal and individual ways we view the world Tend to remember things in accordance with our beliefs and needs Put our own personal stamp on our memories Schemas: mental representations of the world Organized bits of information and knowledge shaped by our outlook on the world Forgetting and Memory Improvement Forgetting: can occur at any of the 3 stages Basic Memory Tasks: Recognition: identifying objects/events that have been encountered before Easiest memory task Multiple choice questions on test Recall: bringing back to the working memory Reconstruct it in your mind Relearning: sometimes we don’t remember things we once knew but it’s much easier to learn again Different Kinds of Forgetting Decay: fading away of memory Repression: forget on purpose without knowing we are doing it to protect ourselves from disturbing memories Amnesia: severe memory loss Infantile amnesia: forgetting early events in life Anterograde amnesia: memory loss from trauma that prevents a person from forming new memories Retrograde amnesia: people forget period leading up to traumatic event Improving Memory Drill and Practice: going over info again and again Relate to Things You Already Know: prior knowledge must be well known to remember new info better Form Unusual Associations: even humorous so that info stands out from ordinary things and can be recalled easier Construct Links: another form of elaborative rehearsal Use Mnemonic Devices: systems for remembering info Ex: HOMES