Transcript Chapter 7: Memory

Chapter 6: Memory
In this Chapter we consider
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The Nature of Memory
Ways in which information is stored
That there are several separate types of memory
Each type functions in a slightly different manner.
Problems of retrieving information from memory,
the accuracy of memories varies, & the reasons
information is sometimes forgotten.
What are the biological foundations of memory?
How can we increase memory capacity in a
some practical way?
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Memory

The process by which
we encode, store, and
retrieve information
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Encoding
Refers to the
process by
which
information is
initially recorded
in a form usable
to memory
Storage
The maintenance
of material saved
in the memory
system
Retrieval
Material in
memory storage
is located,
brought into
awareness, and
used
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
The Three Systems of Memory:
Sensory Memory


The initial, momentary storage of
information, lasting only an instant
Echoic memory
– Stores
auditory
information
coming from
the ears

Iconic memory
– Reflects
information
from our
visual
system
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
The Three Systems of Memory:
Short-Term Memory


Memory store in which
information first has
PBSFOXCNNABCCBSMTVNBC
meaning
May hold approximately
PBS
7 (plus or minus 2)
FOX
chunks of information
CNN
– A chunk is a meaningful
grouping of stimuli that
can be stored as a unit in
short-term memory

Holds information for
approximately 15 to 20
seconds
ABC
CBS
MTV
NBC
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
The Three Systems of Memory:
Short-Term Memory

Two kinds of Rehearsal
– Repetition rehearsal
• Occurs when information is
repeated and this keeps it in
short-term memory.
– Elaborative rehearsal

Mnemonics
– Formal techniques for
organizing information
in a way that makes it
more likely to be
remembered
• Occurs when information
is considered and
organized in some fashion
resulting in a greater
likelihood to be
transferred into long-term
memory
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
The Three Systems of Memory:
Long-Term Memory

A storehouse of
almost unlimited
capacity
 Information in longterm memory is filed
and coded so that
we can retrieve it
when we need it
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Contemporary Approaches To
Memory

Working memory
– View of short-term
memory as an active
“workspace” in which
information is retrieved
and manipulated, and in
which information is held
through rehearsal
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Working Memory
Central Executive Processor
(reasoning and decision making)
Visual store
Verbal store
(visual & spatial
information)
(speech, words, &
numbers)
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Models of Memory

Associative model
– Memory consists of
mental representations of
clusters of
interconnected
information


Spreading activation
– Activating one memory
triggers the activation of
related memories
Priming
– Phenomenon in which
exposure to a word or
concept later makes it
easier to recall related
information
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Modules of Memory

Explicit memory
– Intentional or conscious
recollection of
information

Implicit memory
– Memories of which
people are not
consciously aware, but
which can affect
subsequent performance
and behaviour
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Biological Bases of Memory

Long-term potentiation
– Certain neural pathways
become easily excited
while a new response is
being learned

Consolidation
– Changes in the number
of synapses between
neurons as the dendrites
branch out to receive
messages and memories
become fixed and stable
in long-term memory
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Recalling Long-Term Memories

Tip-of-the-tongue
phenomenon
– Inability to recall
information that one
realizes one knows

Retrieval cue
– Stimulus that allows
us to recall more
easily information
that is located in
long-term memory
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Recalling Long-Term Memories

Levels-of-processing
theory
– Emphasizes the degree
to which new material is
mentally analyzed

Flashbulb memories
– Memories around a
specific, important, or
surprising event that are
so vivid they represent a
virtual snapshot of the
event
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Constructive Process in Memory

Constructive process
– Processes in which
memories are influenced
by the meaning that we
give to events

Schemas
– Organized bodies of
information stored in
memory that bias the
way new information is
interpreted, stored, and
recalled
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Recalling Long-Term Memories

Memory in the
courtroom
– Repressed memory
– False memory

Autobiographical
memory
– Recollections of
circumstances and
episodes from our
own lives
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Forgetting: Herman Ebbinghaus
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Forgetting: When Memory Fails

Decay
– Loss of information
through nonuse
– Assumes that when new
material is learned a
memory trace appears
(actual physical change
in the brain

Interference
– Information in memory
displaces or blocks out
other information,
preventing its recall
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Proactive Interference

Information learned earlier interferes with recall
of newer material
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Retroactive Interference

Difficulty in recall of information because
of later exposure to different material
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Memory Dysfunctions

Alzheimer’s disease
– An illness that
includes among its
symptoms severe
memory problems

Korsakoff’s
syndrome
– A disease afflicting
long-term alcoholics
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Memory Dysfunctions

Amnesia
– Memory loss that occurs
without other mental
difficulties

Retrograde amnesia
– Memory is lost for
occurrences prior to a
certain event

Anterograde amnesia
– Loss of memory occurs
for events following an
injury
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.