Transcript Slide 1

Chapter 7
Notes
AP Tips
Be able to identify to three steps necessary to
have memories.



Encoding: the process of acquiring and
entering information into memory
Storage: maintaining the encoded
information over a period of time so it can be
retrieved later
Retrieval: the process of accessing the
stored information
Understand the parallel distributed processing
(PDP) model of memory.


New information is integrated with existing
memories, resulting in a change in a person’s
overall knowledge base.
Enables multiple networks in the brain to
process different kinds of sensory information
simultaneously
Understand the information processing model
of memory.




Memory must be processed through three stages:
sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term
memory.
People have a distinct sensory memory for each
sense
Iconic memory (visual) is retained for less than a
second
Echoic memory (auditory) tends to be retained for
only a few seconds





Short-term memory receives information from
sensory memory and then uses information
stored in long-term memory to understand
and associate the new information
Working memory: the info that a person is
actively “working with” in short-term memory
Duration of short-term memory is 20 to 30
seconds; limited capacity ( 7 + 2)
Maintenance
Chunking


Long-term memory is the “warehouse” that
stores a limitless amount of information over
a period of time.
Elaborative rehearsal: application of
personal meaning and understanding to help
ensure that the information is encoded into
long-term memory
Know the difference between explicit and
implicit memories.



Explicit memories require conscious thinking
to recall.
Episodic memories: personal memories
Semantic memories: generalized knowledge
of the world that does not involve a specific
event
Implicit memories: do not require conscious
thinking to recall

Procedural memory: contains information
about how to do things
Know how long-term memories are organized.



Semantic network model: memories are
stored through associations
Fire truck – red – stop sign – street - ….
Priming: a process that refers to activating
and associating the strands of memories
positioned in the semantic network; often
occurs unconsciously
Understand retrieving from long-term memory



Retrieval cues: clues that help trigger a longterm memory
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: retrieval
cues fail to trigger the memory
Primacy and recency effects: people often
have an easier time retrieving info located at
the beginning and the end of a list
Know factors that affect retrieval.



Encoding specificity principle: retrieval is more
effective when retrieval conditions are similar to
those that were in effect when the information
was encoded
Mood congruence effect: when a person is in a
happy mood, that person tends to think of happy
memories
State-dependent memory: retrieval is most
successful when people are in the same
psychological state as when they learned the
information
Be prepared to explain how schemas could
lead to memory distortion.
Schemas: established mental representations
of people, objects, and events
Schemas can contribute to memory distortions
by making it hard to incorporate new info that
contradicts established info represented by a
schema
Know about the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.


The most dramatic drop in what people retain
in long-term memory occurs during the first
nine hours, especially in the first hour.
After initial decline, the rate of forgetting
slows down considerably
Know the difference between retroactive and
proactive interference.
Retroactive interference: a new memory
interferes with your remembering an old
memory
 Proactive interference: an older memory
interferes with your remembering a new
memory

Know about suppression and repression.



Suppression is used to consciously forget
information.
Repression is the unconscious forgetting of
information
Freud: repressed memories can still
influence a person unconsciouly
Know about biological basis for memory.



Neurons play a role in memory retrieval and
forming new memories.
Neuron changes in the hippocampus are
facilitated by the neurotransmitters glutamate
and acetylcholine.
Acetylcholine deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s
disease.
Know the difference between retrograde and
anterograde amnesia.


Retrograde amnesia is the inability to
remember events from the past, specifically
episodic memories.
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form
new memories
Be able to explain how mnemonic devices
improve memory.


Mnemonics are memory aids that help
organize information
PEMDAS