Download Sensory Memory

Memory
Memory …
… is an organism's ability to store, retain, and
recall information.
Three Kinds of Memory
Sensory Memory
… is the ability to retain impressions of sensory
information after the original stimulus has
ceased.
Sensory Memory
• The two types of sensory memory that have
been most explored are visual memory and
auditory memory.
Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory has two
characteristics:
• Information that enters it is
available for only a very
limited time unless it is
actively processed.
• It has limited capacities.
Long-term Memory
• Information is normally transferred into longterm memory through an attention-related
process.
Kinds of Long-Term Memory
Three Stages of Memory
• ENCODING
• STORAGE
• RETRIEVAL
Types of Encoding
• Automatic encoding
• Attentional encoding
• Maintenance rehearsal
• Elaborative rehearsal
Flashbulb Memories
… are the very vivid
recollections we sometimes
form of dramatic incidents.
Why do you easily remember
terrifying events?
Mood Affects Memory
• Emotion can have a
powerful impact on
memory. Numerous
studies have shown that
the most vivid
autobiographical
memories tend to be of
emotional events, which
are likely to be recalled
more often and with
more clarity and detail
than neutral events.
When you’re sad, what kind of things do
you remember?
Critical thinking question
• A television station showed a short film of a young woman
walking down a hallway. Suddenly, a man in a brown leather
jacket jumped out of a doorway, ran toward the woman,
grabbed her purse, and knocked her down. As the assailant ran
away, his face was visible for several seconds. The entire film
lasted 12 seconds. TV viewers were asked to look at a lineup of
six men to decide if the assailant was among them, and if so to
pick him out and call in the correct choice to the station. Of the
more than 2,000 viewers who called in to identify the assailant,
only a small proportion (14 percent) were correct. The
remaining 1,800 viewers identified the wrong man.
• Why did so many people identify the wrong man as the
assailant?
Mnemonic Techniques
• Chunking
• The method of loci
• Pegword system
Explanations for Forgetting
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Encoding failures
Interference
Motivated forgetting
Decay theory
Where are memories stored and how are
they formed?
• Memories are formed
and stored in at least six
major and different
structures in the brain.