CHAPTER SEVEN: MEMORY

Learning Goal One: Identify three fundamental processes of

memory. Learning Goal Two: Explain how memories are

encoded.

The Nature of Memory

A. Memory is defined as the retention of information or experience over time.

B. Memory occurs through three important processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

1. Encoding occurs when we take in information from the world around us.

2. Storage is when we do something with that information in order to remember it at a later stage.

3. Retrieval is when we recall the information we stored.

Encoding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bzZIxo-ngk

Encoding is defined as the way in which information is processed for storage in memory.

Examples: Paying attention, processing deeply, elaborating, and using mental imagery.

Encoding: Levels of Processing

Attention In order to encode information we must first pay attention to it.

Selective attention occurs when we attend only to certain things in the environment. We ignore other stimuli and only attend to a specific aspect of an experience.

Divided attention occurs when we have to pay attention to several different things at the same time. People who give divided attention to a memory task are less successful at encoding the information than are people who give full attention to the task.

Sustained attention is the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time. Studying your notes is a good example of this!

Divided attention can have negative effects on encoding. Multitasking, which involves dividing attention between two or more tasks, compromises the way information is getting into memory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDlYSPVro0Q

Levels of Processing

The shallow level occurs when we are paying attention to the physical attributes of a stimulus.

The intermediate level occurs when we recognize the stimulus and give it a name.

The deepest level occurs when we think of the stimulus’ meaning and make associations. The more associations we make, the deeper the processing.

Studies have shown that a person’s memory improves when processing at the deepest level.

Elaboration

Elaboration is how extensive processing is at any level.

Elaboration takes place when a person not only remembers the definition of a stimulus, but also adds meaning to it. Coming up with an example of the stimulus is an example of elaboration.

By elaborating on a stimulus, we are making that stimulus distinctive and unique.

The more unique the memory of the stimulus, the better we are able to remember it.

As encoding becomes more elaborate and unique, there is more information to be stored.

Relating materials to your own experience, self-referencing, is another effective way to elaborate on information.

Encoding: Elaboration

elaboration can enhance memory

number of mental connections vivid examples self-referencing effect

Imagery

1. Alexander Luria (1968) studied S., a person with an amazing memory who could remember vast amounts of information in great detail. For example, S. could not only remember a list of seventy numbers but could recall them in the same order in which they appeared.

2. S.’s amazing memory is a case of what we know as mnemonic ability, or skill in remembering. Page 211

Encoding: Imagery

memory wizards (See page 211, figure 7.4) Records in memory

dual-code hypothesis (Paivio)1. verbal code – word or label2. image code – detailed and distinctive

image codes are stored as both superior to verbal codes alone A picture is worth a 1000 words!

Questions

1. Akira Haraguchi demonstrated an amazing memory ability when he recited all 80,000 digits of pi. What process in the human memory system did he utilize?

A. encoding B. storage C. retrieval D. recognizing

2. What key process is critical when moving new information from sensory memory into short-term memory?

A. recall B. retrieval C. attention D. analysis

Questions

3. Your mom is always giving you grief about how you surf the web and send text messages while you are studying. You explain that multitasking does not affect your grades. Is your position supported by the information presented in the textbook?

A. Yes; several studies have confirmed that young adults do well on memory tests of information that was acquired while performing other tasks.

B. Yes; several studies have found that multitasking actually improves students’ grades.

C. No; studies have confirmed that the benefits associated with multitasking only apply to tasks that include listening to music.

D. No; studies have confirmed that individuals do not do well on memory tests of information that was acquired while performing other tasks.

Questions

4. Which of the following is NOT one of the three main memory processes?

A. encoding B. storage C. retrieval D. thinking

5. Which of the following is NOT included in the encoding process?

A. paying attention B. testing yourself C. elaborating D. using imagery

Answers

1) C

2) C

3) D

4) D

5) B

Homework

Read Chapter 7 section 3, (Memory Storage) pages 212 to 223 and make detailed notes.

Complete worksheets 7.1 and 7.2

Please define the terms and create detailed examples using imagery to make a lasting memory of the assignment.

Memory Storage

Learning Goal Three: Discuss how memories are stored.

Atkinson-Shiffrin Theory

Three systems are involved in memory: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory holds information only briefly before it is either lost or transferred to short-term memory.

2. Echoic memory (From the word echo) is auditory sensory memory.

3. Iconic memory (From the word Icon or image)is visual sensory memory.

4. George Sperling conducted the first research on sensory memory. (Memory is very short unless coupled with another sense)

George Sperling

George Sperling conducted the first type of research on iconic memory. He found that people could remember seeing as many as nine letters he had flashed on a screen for about 1/20 of a second, but the iconic memory was too brief for people to transfer all nine letters to short-term memory where they could be named, so they could only recall about half of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD7cCUB-pks

Storage: Sensory Memory

A split second holding tank for ALL sensory information.

George Sperling’s (1960) research on Iconic Memory – free recall vs cued recall (brief perfect image then discarded)

Echoic Memory

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Storage: Retaining Information

Storage is at the heart of memory. Three stores of memory are shown

below:SensoryMemory

WorkingMemory

Long-termMemory

Encoding

RetrievalEncoding

Events

Retrieval

Short-Term Memory

Some of the information to which a person attends is transferred from sensory memory into short-term memory.

Information is held in short-term memory for about 30 seconds.

Most people can hold about 7 bits + or – 2 of information in short-term memory. This is known as memory span.

Short Term Memory

The stuff we encode from the sensory goes to STM.

Events are encoded visually, acoustically or semantically.

Working Memory

Chunking and Rehearsal

Chunking and rehearsal are two ways to improve short-term memory. Chunking involves grouping amounts of information larger than the 7 bits + or – 2 memory span into higher-order, single units.

Rehearsal involves repeating information over and over again as a way to remember it. The information retained by rehearsal can be held indefinitely unless there is some sort of interruption. Rehearsal works best when a person must only remember the information briefly and not for long-term retention, mainly because rehearsal does not involve deep processing.

Ways to remember things in STM…so they go to LTM

Chunking: Organizing items into familiar, manageable units. Acronyms are examples of chunking

HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

ROY G. BIP = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Purple

1-4-9-2-1-7-7-6-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M

Working Memory

Working memory, proposed by Alan Baddeley (2006, 2007) is a three-part system that temporarily holds information while a person is working on a cognitive task. Unlike long-term memory, working memory and its components have limited capacity.

The first part is the phonological loop, which stores speech-based information about the sounds of language. It includes an acoustic code and rehearsal.

The second part is called visuospatial working memory, which stores visual and spatial information, including visual imagery. The phonological loop and visuospatial working memory function independently and can be used concurrently for separate tasks.

Working Memory Model

Working Memory

The third part is called the central executive, which combines information from the phonological loop and visuospatial working memory. It also integrates information from long-term memory.

The concept of working memory can help us understand how brain damage affects cognitive skills. Some people have good working memory but poor long-term memory, while others have good long-term memory but problems with working memory. Deficits in working memory can be found in patients with Alzheimer disease. Baddeley (2006, 2007) feels these can be traced to the central executive, which coordinates different mental activities. This is a function with which Alzheimer patients have great difficulty.

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Working Memory Duration

Peterson and Peterson (1959) measured the duration of working memory by

manipulating rehearsal.

CH??

Duration of working memory is about 20 sec.

CHJMKTHIJ547

547544541…

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Working Memory Duration

Working Memory – An Alternative to STM

Is Atkinson-Shiffrin’s theory too simplistic?

Active Memory System phonological loop visuospatial working memory central executive

Three Box/Stage Model of Memory

Atkinson-Schiffrin (1968) three-stage model of memory includes a) sensory memory, b) short-term memory, and c) long-term memory

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is a relatively permanent memory storage base.

There is a virtually unlimited amount of space for long-term memory storage.

Long Term Memory

Unlimited storehouse of information.

Lasts for Years.

Explicit Memory

Explicit memory is also known as declarative memory. It is a type of memory for specific facts or events and information that can be verbally communicated.

A study conducted by Harry Bahrick found that any forgotten information from explicit memory is forgotten within the first three years after the memory was stored; after that, the forgetting leveled off.

Gradual learning is the key to permanent memory storage. If the information is learned and stored over time, there is a better chance that it will remain in explicit memory indefinitely.

Storing MemoriesLong-Term Potentiation Synaptic Enhancement

after learning (synaptic plasticity)

long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously.

In other words…they learn to fire together and get better at it…creating a memory.

Explicit Memory

Episodic memory is a type of explicit memory. It stores information about where, what, and when information is occurring. Episodic memory is autobiographical, meaning that it pertains specifically to a person’s life.

Semantic memory is a second type of explicit memory. This type of memory pertains to information about the world. It includes general, everyday, and academic knowledge but not the personal information of episodic memory.

Many explicit or declarative memories are neither purely episodic nor purely semantic. Tulving (1983, 2000) argues that episodic and semantic systems often work together in forming new memories.

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Storing Implicit & Explicit Memories

Explicit Memory = Declarative memories -- facts and experiences that you consciously know and declare.Implicit memory = Procedural memories & Conditioned learning.

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Storing MemoriesHeightened emotions (stress-related or otherwise) make for stronger memories.Flashbulb memories are clear memories of emotionally significant moments or events

Explicit Memories

Episodic Memories -- Events

Semantic Memories – Facts & Meaning

Hippocampus – a neural center in the limbic system that processes explicit memories

Rehearsal & Spacing Effect Effortful learning usually requires

rehearsal or conscious repetition Hermann Ebbinghaus studied

rehearsal by using nonsense syllables: TUV YOF GEK XOZ

We retain information better when we rehearse over time (Spacing Effect)

DO NOT CRAM!!!!!!!!!!!! Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

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Rehearsal

Forgetting Curve

Implicit Memory

Implicit memory is also known as nondeclarative memory. It is a type of memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without conscious memory of the experience. For example, a person may know how to type on a computer without consciously remembering the past learning process.

One subsystem of implicit memory is known as procedural memory. This type of memory is a memory for skills. For example, when you first learned how to drive a car, there were many steps involved and you consciously followed each of those steps. However, after you have been driving for awhile, you start the car and drive without thinking through all the steps involved.

Implicit Memories

Procedural Memories = Skills

Conditioned Memories

Cerebellum – a neural center in the hindbrain that processes implicit memories

Implicit Memory

Another subsystem of implicit memory is called classical conditioning. This type of memory involves the automatic association between stimuli.

The third subsystem is priming. Priming involves taking information that a person has already learned out of storage in order to learn new information. By using priming, the person is able to learn this new information faster and better.

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Priming

To retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations, you must first

activate one of the strands that leads to it. This process is called priming.

How Memory Is Organized

We can remember information or facts better when we organize them hierarchically. By this we mean that we store the information from general to specific.

New information can be stored in semantic networks, meaning that information is incorporated into the correct region of memory. There are semantic networks for all sorts of common information.

A schema is a preexisting mental concept which helps us organize and interpret new information. Schemas help us to reconstruct inexact long-term memories by filling in the gaps between fragments. Schemas have scripts, which help us figure out what is happening around us, and which help to organize our storage of memories about events.

How Memory Is Organized

Connectionism, or parallel-distributed processing (PDP), is based on the theory that memories are stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons. Several of these neuronal connections may work together to form one memory.

Karl Lashley (1950) discovered that memories are not stored in one specific area of the brain, but throughout various parts of the brain.

Neurons and Memory

Researchers today believe that memories are located in specific sets or circuits of neurons (Ardiel & Rankin, 2010; Clark & Squire, 2010). Larry Squire (1994, 2000, 2007) says that most memories are probably clustered in groups of about one thousand neurons.

Researchers have also discovered that when brain chemicals such as neurotransmitters are released in sea slugs, they trigger memories. Scientists theorize that this process may occur the same way in humans.

Brain Structures and Memory Functions

The hippocampus, the temporal lobes in the cerebral cortex, and other parts of the limbic system are all involved in explicit memories.

The left frontal lobe is more active in encoding, while the right frontal lobe is more active in retrieval. Older adults begin to use the left frontal lobe in retrieval as well, which may compensate for memory problems.

The amygdala plays a role in emotional memories.

The cerebellum is involved in the implicit memories required to perform various skills.

Case of Clive Wearing

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Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Retrieval refers to getting information out of the memory store.

Serial Position Effect

The serial position effect is the tendency to remember information that falls at the beginning and the end of a list more easily than the information in the middle.

The primacy effect is better recall for information at the beginning of a list.

The regency effect is better recall for information at the end of a list.

Types of Retrieval

Recall

you must retrieve the information from your memory using effort.

fill-in-the blank or essay tests

The capital of France is ______.

Recognition

you must identify the target from possible targets

multiple-choice tests

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Measures of Memory

In relearning, the individual shows how much time (or effort) is saved when learning material for the second time.

Relearning EffectListJetDaggerTreeKite…SilkFrogRing

It took 10 trialsto learn this list

ListJetDaggerTreeKite…SilkFrogRing

It took 5 trialsto learn the list

1 day laterSaving

OriginalTrials

RelearningTrials

OriginalTrials

10 510

50%

X 100

X 100

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Retrieval Cues

Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations are like anchors that help retrieve memory.

Fire Truck

truck

red

fire

heatsmoke

smellwater

hose

The Context Matters!!!

Context Effect Flashbulb

Memories Mood Congruent

Memory State Dependent

Memory

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Mood-Dependent MemoryWe usually recall experiences that are consistent with our current mood.Emotions, or moods, serve as retrieval cues. Our memories are mood-congruent.State-Dependent Memories?

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Déjà Vu Déjà Vu means “I've experienced this

before.” Cues from the current situation may

unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience.

Context at Encoding and Retrieval

When people remember information better in the same context in which they stored it, this is called context-dependent memory.

Some memories have special significance because of relevance to the self, because of their emotional or traumatic character, or because they have unusually high levels of apparent accuracy.

Retrieval of Autobiographical Memories

Autobiographical memories are a form of episodic memory of a person’s life experiences.

On the most abstract level of autobiographical memories are memories of lifetime periods.

The middle level consists of general events. The most concrete level consists of event-

specific knowledge. When people tell their life stories, all three

levels are usually present and intertwined. Most autobiographical memories are comprised

of some truth and some myth.

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Forgetting

•An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval.•Encoding Failure - cannot remember what we do not encode•Storage Decay - Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay - Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

Forgetting

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Retrieval Failure

Although the information is retained in the memory store, it cannot be accessed.

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon. Given a cue (What makes blood cells red?) the subject says the word begins

with an H (hemoglobin).

Interference

Retroactive Interference: new information blocks out old information.

Proactive Interference: old information blocks out new information.

Calling your new girlfriend by old girlfriend’s name.

Getting a new bus number and forgetting old bus number.

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Motivated Forgetting

People unknowingly revise their memories.

Repression: A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Sigmund Freud

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No New Memories

Anterograde Amnesia

AnterogradeAmnesia

(HM)

Surgery

After losing his hippocampus in surgery, patient Henry Molaison (HM) remembered everything before the operation but could not make new memories. We call this anterograde amnesia.

Memory Intact

Amnesiahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omphbdtaw3s

Anterograde amnesia occurs when a person cannot remember new information. This disorder occurs forward from the time of the event causing the amnesia.

Retrograde amnesia occurs when someone cannot remember past information, but does not have a problem forming or retrieving newer memories. The memories lost are of things that occurred previous to the event causing the amnesia.

In some cases, people can have both anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

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Improving Memory

1. Rehearsal -- study repeatedly to boost long-term recall.

2. Spacing Effect -- spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material.

3. Semantic Ecoding -- make material personally meaningful.

4. Chunk material – Acronyms5. Use mnemonic devices:

peg words make up a story

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Improving Memory

6. Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate the situation and mood.

7. Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation.

8. Minimize interference:1. Test your own knowledge.2. Rehearse and then determine what you

do not yet know.

Organizing, Encoding, Rehearsing, and Retrieving Course Content

1. The first step in studying accurately is to review your notes and make sure the information is correct.

2. Secondly, you should organize the material so that it can be easily stored in memory.

3. After the information is accurate and organized, the next step is memorization, which requires effective processing so that it can be encoded in long-term memory.

4. After class, the course material should be rehearsed so that it can be stored permanently.

5. The final step is to test yourself to check that you can retrieve the course material.

The Vital Role of Autobiographical Memory

1. Autobiographical memories allow us to learn from our experiences because we store the lessons we learned from life.

2. Autobiographical memories also allow us to understand ourselves. They provide a person with a sense of identity.

3. Autobiographical memories also play a role in social bonding. They are a way for people to share of themselves with others.

Keeping Memory Sharp

When people lead lives that are active intellectually and physically, they seem to be protected against the mental decline typically associated with age.

A message from the research on memory: “Use it or lose it!”

There are also many everyday occurrences that are potentially remarkable and that we can remember, provided we are actively engaged in them. The processes of attention and encoding explored in this chapter suggest that this active engagement, or mindful living, is needed for experiencing—and remembering—everyday life in all of its richness.