How does the Memory

7/28/2019 How does the Memory

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Memory


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What is Memory?

refers to the processes that are used to

acquire, store, retain and later retrieveinformation. There are three major processesinvolved in memory: encoding, storage andretrieval.


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Remembering

Psychologists think of memory as involving threeprocesses

Encodingtransforming information into a formthat can be stored in memory

Storagethe act of maintaining information inmemory

Consolidationa physiological change in thebrain that must take place for encodedinformation to be stored in memory

Retrievalthe act of bringing to mind materialthat has been stored in memory


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Atkinson-Shiffrin model

Consists of three different, interactingmemory systems known as sensory, short-term, and long-term memory


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1. Sensory memory

The memory system that holdsinformation coming in through the sensesfor a brief period

Visual sensory memory lasts just long

enough to keep whatever you are viewingfrom disappearing when you blink youreyes

Auditory sensory memory lasts about 2

seconds and is experienced when the lastfew words someone has spoken seem toecho briefly in your head


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Look up here


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J B X E

M F Z H

A C N L


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2. Short-term memory

The second stage of memory, whichholds about seven items (+ or 2) forless than 30 seconds without rehearsal

working memorythe mental workspacea person uses to keep in mind tasksbeing thought about at any givenmoment


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Look up here


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Th ezeb ralo oksl ikeahor sewi thstr ipes


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The zebra looks like a

horse with stripes

Th ezeb ralo oksl ikeahor sewi thstr ipes


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Displacement--the event that occurs when

short-term memory is holding its maximumand each new item entering short-termmemory pushes out an existing item

chunkinggrouping information to make it

easier to remember An interruption to rehearsal can cause

information to be lost in just a few seconds

Elaborative rehearsal A memory technique that relates new info

to that already known and stored in LTM


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3. Long-term memory

The relatively permanent memory systemwith a virtually unlimited capacity

Some experts believe that there are twomain subsystems within LTM

Declarative memory Nondeclarative memory


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Declarative memory (explicit memory)

The subsystem within long-term memorythat stores facts, information, andpersonal life experiences

Two types of declarative memory

Episodic memory Contains memories of personally

experienced events

Semantic memory Stores general knowledge; a mental

encyclopedia or dictionary


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Nondeclarative memory (implicitmemory)

The subsystem within long-termmemory that consists of skills acquired

through repetitive practice and simpleclassically conditioned responsesmotor skills, habits


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In order to form new

memories, information mustbe changed into usable form,which occurs through theprocess known as encoding.Once information has been

successfully encoded, it mustbe stored in memory for

later use.


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Three kinds of memory tasks

1. Recall A measure of retention that requires a

person to remember material with fewor no retrieval cues, as in an essay test

Trying to remember someones name,recalling items on a shopping list,memorizing a speech or a poem word

for word and remembering Try it


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Which of the following test questions is moredifficult?

1. What are the three basic learningtheories?

2. Which of the following is NOT one of thethree basic learning processes?

A. classicalB. observationalC. organizational

D. operant Most people think the second question is

easier because it requires only recognitionmemory


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2. Recognition

A measure of retention that requires a person

to identify material as familiar, or as havingbeen encountered before

Multiple-choice, matching, and true/falsequestions are examples of recognition testitems

The main difference between recall andrecognition is that a recognition task does not

require you to supply the information but onlyto recognize it when you see it

Try it


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3. Relearning

Measuring retention in terms of the

percentage of time saved in relearningmaterial compared with the timerequired to learn it originally

Example is studying for

comprehensive final exams


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Nature of Remembering

Memory as a reconstruction Elizabeth Loftus

Believes that what a person normally recalls is

not an exact replica of an event Rather, a memory is a reconstructionpieced

together from a few highlights, usinginformation that may or may not be accurate

Try it


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Using stories and asked to recall them:

Accurate reports were rare

The participants seemed to reconstructthe material they had learned, ratherthan actually remember it

Errors in memory increased with time

The parts participants had createdwere often the very parts that theymost adamantly believed to haveremembered

Eyewitness testimony


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Eyewitness testimony

eyewitness testimony is highly subject to error

have an eyewitness first describe the

perpetrator and then search for photos matchingthat description

In lineups, subjects must resemble the suspect in

age, body build, and certainly in race Misidentification more likely when suspect isdifferent, when a weapon was used, and ifquestions are leading


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Look up here


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Read this list of words at a rate of about one word per second.When I click the mouse to have the words covered, write down all thewords you can remember.

bed awake dream snooze nap snore

rest tired wake doze yawn slumber

Now check your list. Did you remember the word sleep?

Many people do, even though it is not one of the words on the list(Deese, 1959).

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2005

Distortion in memory


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Distortion in memory

Occurs when people alter the memory of anevent or an experience in order to fit their

beliefs, expectations, logic, or prejudices


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Many research participants who areinstructed to imagine that a fictitiousevent happened do in fact develop a falsememory of the imagined event


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Garry and Loftus

Were able to implant a false memory of

being lost in a shopping mall at 5 yearsof age in 25% of participants aged 18 to53, after verification of the fictitiousexperience by a relative


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Where were you andwhat were you doingon 9-11-01?


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Flashbulb memory

An extremely vivid memory of the

conditions surrounding ones first hearingthe news of a surprising, shocking, or highlyemotional event

Memories can vary on the dimensions ofemotion, consequentiality, and rehearsal

Flashbulb memories are high on all 3 and soare remembered better


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But, others found:

When questioned again 3 years later, one-

third gave accounts that differedmarkedly from those given initially, eventhough they were extremely confident oftheir recollections


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Eidetic imagery

The ability to retain the image of a visual

stimulus several minutes after it has beenremoved from view

Some studies show that about 5% ofchildren apparently have something like tophotographic memory

Children with eidetic imagery generallyhave no better long-term memory than

others their age Virtually all children with eidetic imagery

lose it before adulthood


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Look up here

T


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ToyOilLightbulbAspirinShirtSunglasses

CalendarStringFolder

WhiskSoapPencilsSocks

Diapers


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Factors Influencing Retrieval

1. Serial position effect

The tendency to remember the beginning andending items of a sequence or list better thanthe middle items

2. Primacy effect The tendency to recall the first items on a list

more readily than the middle items

3. Recency effect

The tendency to recall the last items on a listmore readily than the middle items


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4. Environmental context and memory

Suggests that any elements of the

physical setting in which a person learnsinformation are encoded along with theinformation and become part of thememory trace

Words were better recalled in theenvironment they were learned

Physical environment, otherspresent, smell


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5. State-dependent effect

The tendency to recall information better

if one is in the same pharmacological orpsychological (mood) state as when theinformation was encoded

Participants learned (encoded) materialwhile sober or intoxicated, and later weretested in either the sober or intoxicatedstate

Recall was found to be best when theparticipants were in the same state forboth learning and testing

Forgetting


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ForgettingHermann Ebbinghaus

Conducted his studies on memory using 2,300

nonsense syllables with himself as the onlyparticipant He repeated a list until he could recall it twice

without error, a point that he called mastery

He recorded the amount of time or thenumber of trials it took to memorize his liststo mastery

After different periods of time had passed

and forgetting had occurred, he recorded theamount of time or number of trials needed torelearn the same list to mastery

C f f i


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Causes of forgetting

Encoding failure

A cause of forgetting resulting frommaterial never having been put intolong-term memory

Decay theory

A theory of forgetting that holds thatthe memory trace, if not used,disappears with the passage of time

Decay causes forgetting in STM andsensory memory, but not LTM


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6. Interference

Memory loss that occurs because information orassociations stored either before or after a givenmemory hinder the ability to remember it

Proactive interference

Occurs when information or experiences alreadystored in long-term memory hinder the abilityto remember newer information

Retroactive interference

Happens when new learning interferes with theability to remember previously learnedinformation


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7. Consolidation failure

Any disruption in the consolidation

process that prevents a permanentmemory from forming

Retrograde amnesia

A loss of memory affectingexperiences that occurred shortlybefore a loss of consciousness

Anterograde amnesia

A loss of memory affectingexperiences that occurred after atrauma to the present


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8. Motivated forgetting

Forgetting through suppression or repression inorder to protect oneself from material that istoo painful, anxiety- or guilt-producing, orotherwise unpleasant

Repression

Removing from ones consciousnessdisturbing, guilt-provoking, or otherwise

unpleasant memories so that one is no longeraware that a painful event occurred


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Prospective forgetting

Forgetting to carry out some action,

such as mailing a letter

9. Retrieval failure When someone is certain that theyknow something, but they are not ableto retrieve the information when they

need it


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Much of what people call forgetting

is really an inability to locate theneeded information

Found that participants could recall alarge number of items they seemed

to have forgotten if providedretrieval cues to jog their memory


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Improving MemoryApply it to Your Life

How information is organized stronglyinfluences your ability to remember it

Overlearning

Practicing or studying material beyond thepoint where it can be repeated oncewithout error Research suggests that people

remember material better and longer ifthey overlearn it


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Spacing study over several different sessionsgenerally is more effective than massed

practice Massed practice

Learning in one long practice session as

opposed to spacing the learning in shorterpractice sessions over an extended period

Long periods of memorizing make materialparticularly subject to interference and oftenresult in fatigue and lowered concentration


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Recent research suggests that significantimprovement in learning results when spaced

study sessions are accompanied by short,frequent tests of the material being studied

The spacing effect applies to learning motorskills as well as to learning facts and

information Participants recalled two to three times

more if they increased their recitation time

up to 80% and spent only 20% of their studytime rereading

Finally, get a good nights sleepit helpsencode and consolidate the memories

How does the Memory

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