Transcript Memory

Encoding
Chapter 8, Lecture 2
“To paraphrase Ebbinghaus, those who learn
quickly also forget quickly.”
- David Myers
Questions for Your Notes
What have you had to eat today?
What have you talked with your friends about
today?
What have you learned about in one of your
other classes today?
At any point today did you think, “I have to
remember these events because my psychology
instructor might ask for my recall.”
Encoding: Getting Information In
How We Encode
1. Some information (route to your school) is
automatically processed.
2. However, new or unusual information
(friend’s new cell-phone number) requires
attention and effort.
Automatic Processing
We process an enormous amount of information
effortlessly, such as the following:
1. Space: While reading a textbook, you
automatically encode the place of a picture
on a page.
2. Time: We unintentionally note the events
that take place in a day.
3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of
things that happen to you.
Effortful Processing
© Bananastock/ Alamy
Spencer Grant/ Photo Edit
Committing novel
information to memory
requires effort just like
learning a concept from
a textbook. Such
processing leads to
durable and accessible
memories.
Rehearsal
http://www.isbn3-540-21358-9.de
Effortful learning
usually requires
rehearsal or conscious
repetition.
Ebbinghaus studied
rehearsal by using
nonsense syllables:
TUV YOF GEK XOZ
Hermann Ebbinghaus
(1850-1909)
Rehearsal
The more times the
nonsense syllables were
practiced on Day 1,
the fewer repetitions were
required to remember
them on Day 2.
Memory Effects
1. Spacing Effect: We retain information
better when we rehearse over time.
2. Serial Position Effect: When your
recall is better for first (primacy effect)
and last (recency effect) items on a list,
but poor for middle items.
In your notes, write down the names of as many
U.S. presidents as you can remember…
1. Washington
2. J. Adams
3. Jefferson
4. Madison
5. Monroe
6. J.Q. Adams
7. Jackson
8. Van Buren
9. W.H. Harrison
10. Tyler
11. Polk
12. Taylor
13. Fillmore
14. Pierce
15. Buchanan
16. Lincoln
17. A. Johnson
18. Grant
19. Hayes
20. Garfield
21. Arthur
22. Cleveland
23. B. Harrison
24. Cleveland
25. McKinley
26. T. Roosevelt
27. Taft
28. Wilson
29. Harding
30. Coolidge
31. Hoover
32. F.D. Roosevelt
33. Truman
34. Eisenhower
35. Kennedy
36. L. Johnson
37. Nixon
38. Ford
39. Carter
40. Reagan
41. George H.W. Bush
42. Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Obama
What We Encode
1. Encoding by meaning
2. Encoding by images
3. Encoding by organization
For some examples, look at Handout 8-4…
Encoding Meaning
Processing the meaning of verbal
information by associating it with
what we already know or imagine.
Encoding meaning (semantic
encoding) results in better recognition
later than visual or acoustic encoding.
Visual Encoding
Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to
effortful processing, especially when combined
with semantic encoding.
Both photos: Ho/AP Photo
Showing adverse effects of tanning and smoking in a
picture may be more powerful than simply talking about it.
Mnemonics
Imagery is at the heart of many
memory aids. Mnemonic techniques
use vivid imagery and organizational
devices in aiding memory.
Organizing Information for
Encoding
Break down complex information into
broad concepts and further subdivide
them into categories and subcategories.
1. Chunking
2. Hierarchies
Chunking
Organizing items into a familiar, manageable
unit. Try to remember the numbers below.
1-7-7-6-1-4-9-2-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1
If you are well versed with American history,
chunk the numbers together and see if you
can recall them better. 1776 1492 1812 1941.
Chunking
Acronyms are another way of chunking
information to remember it.
HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan,
Erie, Superior
ROY G. BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow,
Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
Hierarchy
Complex information broken down into broad
concepts and further subdivided into categories
and subcategories.
Encoding Summarized in a
Hierarchy
p.336
Homework
Read p.337-345
“Asked later what we heard or read, we recall
not the literal text but what we encoded. Thus,
studying for an exam, you may remember your
lecture notes rather than the lecture itself.”
- David Myers