Transcript lecture 4-psy 101 memory

Fiorentina Poulli
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OUTLINE OF THE LESSON
The main stages of memory.
Ways of improving memory.
Forgetting – factors contributing to forgetting.
Disorders associated with forgetting- Amnesia, Fading and
Distortion, etc.
Ways to improve study methods- time schedules,
concentration, preparing for tests, etc.
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Introduction
Where were you on the evening of last February
28th?
Difficulty in remembering
How can we improve abilities like memory?
Why memory sometimes succeeds and sometimes
fail?
Learn ways to minimize forgetting and sharpen your
memory !
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MEMORY
Imagine what it
would be like not to
have memory
You would not know
who you are, where
you are, you wouldn't
be able to speak,
read, write etc.
Importance of
memory
Consider the many
things you do
remember
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Memory is essential to all
our lives. Without a memory
of the past, we cannot
operate in the present or
think about the future.
Memory : is the processes
by which information is
encoded, stored, and
retrieved
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Psychologists compare the human
memory to a Filing Cabinet
 .
You pick out
special information from the
environment & store it in your brain
If you File it correctly, you will be able to retrieve
it easily from your brain file
If you misfile it or forget where it is filed, you will
have trouble retrieving or remembering the info
People use only a very small portion of
their memory potential
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THE STAGES OF MEMORY
input
Sensory
Register
Short term
Memory
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Long Term
Memory
retrieval
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 The difference between each stage is the length of time
involved
Sensory
Register
Short-Term
Retention
Long-Term
Retention
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• Lasts only a few
milliseconds
• lasts only few
seconds
• can last a lifetime
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THE STAGES OF MEMORY
Sensory Register
First stage of memory when information that is sensed
is briefly recorded & rapidly decays if not passed along
to short-term memory
Lasts less than
a second
Records
everything
that you
sensed
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You sensory
Only a
register take in
fractional
far more
percentage of
information
sensations are
than can be
passed along
processed, so
into shortmost inputs
term memory
will be lost
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THE STAGES OF MEMORY
Short-Term Memory
Second stage of memory when information
is stored for less than 30 seconds
Case- if you looked the phone number of your favourite restaurant, you
could probably retain it just long enough to dial the number.. if your friend
asked you to repeat the number you would not remember it.
limited duration12seconds-20
seconds
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limited capacity
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Short-Term Memory-Chunking
For example you
could remember
a number with
max seven digits
to dial, but if
someone tell
you to dial the
country code,
you may have a
problem
Most
people can
manipulate
only 7
items at a
time
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Items can be
stored either
individually or in
chunks, many
people find it
profitable to
group
information or
items to
increase shortterm retention
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Short-Term Memory
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Short-Term Memory
 Practice & rehearsal help to maintain items in shortterm memory
If you repeat a phone number over and over again
you are more likely to remember it, if you dial it two
or three times
If you are distracted or need to retain some new
information in short-term memory, chances are you
will find yourself with your finger on the phone &
have no idea which numbers should be dial
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Memory
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Short-Term Memory
Practice has been found to
be an effective method in
increasing retention
Repeating information to yourself
either silently or aloud you create a
memory that can last
If you want to remember the name of someone you just
met, use the name as you are talking with the person.
(repeating the name will act as a rehearsal and you will
be hearing your own voice)
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THE STAGES OF MEMORY
Long-Term Memory
 Third stage of memory
 Items remembered more than 5 minutes are likely to be stored
there indefinitely
 Memories can last hours, days, months, years or a lifetime
 After 100 years of memories, new material can still be stored
 You need to sort through an immense supply of information to
find a correct response in long-term memory
 As a result, retrieval or recall from long-term memory is
generally slower & more difficult than is recall from short-term
memory
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IMPROVING LONG-TERM
MEMORY
There are a number of
tricks & gimmicks that
have been successful in
increasing the efficiency
of long-term retention
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Most techniques focus
on 1 or 2 aspects of
memory:
• Depositing
• Retrieving
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IMPROVING DEPOSITING
 Most systems in the brain use mnemonics to improve the
deposit of memories
 Mnemonics: Method that gives meaning & organization
to help memory
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Case
 Mathematics students who want to memorize the first 15
digits in the decimal expansion of “π”
 “How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy
lectures involving mechanics”
 Astronomy students
 “Mercury’s very eager mother just served us nine potatoes”
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IMPROVING DEPOSITING
Pegword: Method for improving memory, using a poem to attach material
image associations with items on a list that is to be retained
 1st memorize the following poem:





1 is a bun
6 is sticks
2 is a show
7 is heaven
3 is a tree
8 is a gate
4 is a door
9 is a lion
5 is a hive
10 is a hen
 Learn 10 unrelated items by using association of mental images
 Advantage  you can recall items backwards & forward
 Disadvantage  limited to 10 items
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IMPROVING DEPOSITING
 Loci (House Method)
 Mnemonic method that associates locations along a
familiar path with items to be remembered
 Successful with about 20 items
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IMPROVING DEPOSITING
1st step - walk through your house or a familiar location & assign
a number to each piece of furniture or fixture that you pass
2nd step - overlearn the locations just as you overlearned
the list in the pegword method
3rd step - associate each item on the list to be memorized
with a location
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IMPROVING RETRIEVAL
 Have you ever had an answer or a name “on the tip of
your tongue”?
 Failure to retrieve information that you once deposite
 Although the deposit was successful, you are
experiencing a problem in locating & picking up the
memory
 Free association
 Following a sequence of associated, spontaneous personal
thoughts
 On the other hand, slight changes in appearance can
make retrieval difficult
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FORGETTING
Why do we forget?
possible that you are not aware that the event occurred
• Your sensory register may not have retrieved the input
although you experienced something, you never
processed it into short-term & long-term memory
items or events have been stored in long-term memory
but are now difficult to retrieve
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Reasons for forgetting
Repression
Amnesia
Distortion
Fading from
Disuse
Interference
Drugs
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REPRESSION
 Forgetting that is caused by unconscious blocking of
thoughts or events that are threatening or frightening
 Having difficulty recalling an unpleasant happening is a type
of repression
 Freud  a way of protecting yourself from remembering
things that are distressing
 Remain buried in the unconscious & can be revealed only
through hypnosis or dreams
 Repression only applies to highly unpleasant emotional
experiences
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SUPPRESSION
Consciously & intentionally
avoiding unpleasant
thoughts & memories
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Unfortunately, suppressing
the painful thoughts does
not remove the emotional
side effects which may
include excessive fears,
phobias & depression
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AMNESIA
 Loss of memory or a memory gap that includes forgetting
personal information that would normally be recalled.
Amnesia victims
Forget who they are
Retain basic
memories
How to add
Read
Where they are from
Almost all other
personal information
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Write
Dress
Cook
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FADING & DISTORTION
 Memories will fade with time if they are not used
 People often forget valuable information & remember
things that are totally useless
 Several experiments
 Memories can become distorted with time
 New memory materials changes to conform with
information that was previously learned

As additional material is learned, old information becomes
incorporated
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INTERFERENCE
 You forget because other information interferes with your
remembering
 2 types of obstructions:
Proactive Interference
(acting forward) 
forgetting that occurs
because of confusion with
previously learned material
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Retroactive Interference
(acting backwards) 
forgetting that occurs
because of confusion with
newly learned material
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POSITIONS
 Young children have no difficulty singing the 1st line of the
alphabet song “A, B, C, D” & enjoy ending with a robust
“X, Y, Z”
 The middle part of the song creates confusion
 Little difficulty remembering the 1st part because of a
primary effect  for the 1st part you learn, you will not
be bothered by any proactive interference
 The last items learned are also easier to remember
 They are fresh in your mind & not bothered by retroactive
interference (recency effect)
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DRUGS
 Recent studies have shown that certain drugs given in
carefully controlled doses can help people remember
 The hormones epinephrine & norepinephrine enhance
memory (McGaugh, 1983)
 Nicotine & caffeine speed up the incorporation of
information in long-term memory
 Disrupted & poisoning if the dosage is not controlled
 “State Dependence”  recall is best if you are in the
same state that you were in when you learned the
information
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 Thanks for your attention
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