Download What is Memory?

What is Memory?
The Processes of encoding, storage & retrieval
What is Memory?
• The encoding, storage and later retrieval of
a response that was previously acquired.
• The Learning Process is made up of Two
Stages: Acquisition & Retention
Acquisition
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Acquisition – The initial learning of information.
Affected by…
1. Attention Process
2. Degree of Motivation
3. Preparedness of the Learner
4. Type of Practice Followed
5. Kind of Material to be Learned
6. Transfer of Training (Application)
Situational Factors that Influence
Acquisition
Attention
• Sensory Gating – process by which the brain sends
messages to some of the sensory systems to decrease the
amount of information they must deal with.
– Example: Feeling of clothes, “white” noise
• Parallel vs. Sequential Attention (parallel sensory
processing)
– Parallel – Useful only when receiving new info. Brain processes
several different stimuli simultaneously.
– Sequential Attention – Higher Level, treat each piece of info
separately in order.
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Factors Influencing Attention
• Feature Extraction (Decoding) – Sensory System
selects which incoming stimuli to process then
establishes meaning for these stimuli.
– Example: “r” is different from “f”
• Characteristics of the Learner:
– Individual Differences: development, motivation, expression
of emotions
• Preparedness – Time & Place. Example: Chimps can’t
speak but are prepared for signing.
• The Learning Curve: Performance is not always an
accurate indicator of learning.
Methods of Acquisition
• 1. Overlearning – any repetition over the point of acquisition
– Follows the law of diminishing returns – more is not always better.
• 2. Knowledge of Results: Feedback – any info about the effect of a
response.
– Leads to faster acquisition of new material
– Immediate feedback is more beneficial than delayed
• 3. Distribution of Practice – Study - Rest - Study – Rest. (Take
Breaks)
• 4. Whole-Part Distribution – Deciding whether to learn the entire
amount of material as a whole or divide it into parts to learn. Depends
on the task.
• 5. Active vs. Passive Approach – The more involved (active) you are
in your learning the better you will remember it.
• 6. Content – We are better able to remember info that we can make
associations to and infer meaning from.
The InformationProcessing Model
Information Processing Model
• Encoding - getting information into
the memory system
• Storage - the retaining of encoded
information over time
• Retrieval - getting encoded
information out of memory storage
How is Our Memory Like a
Computer?
• Both encode, store, and retrieve data
• We can activate information from our long
term memory (hard drives)
• Information on the screen disappears if not
used right away – short term memory
Encoding:
Serial Position Effect
Serial Position Effect
• The tendency to recall the first and
last items in a list
• Primacy effect – the ability to recall
information near the beginning of a
list
• Recency effect – the ability to recall
information near the end of a list
Primacy/Recency Effect
or
Serial Position Effect
(From Craik & Watkins, 1973)
Encoding:
Spacing Effect
Spacing Effect =
Distributed Practice
• Spreading rehearsal out in several
sessions separated by period of time
• Yields better retention than is
achieved through massed practice
(cramming)
Massed Practice = Cramming
• Putting all rehearsal together in one
long session (cramming)
• Not as effective as distributed practice
Encoding:
Encoding Meaning
Semantic Encoding
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The encoding of meaning
What does this mean?
What are examples of this?
How can I apply this to my
life?
• Encoding information that is
meaningful enhances recall
How does this
apply to me?
Self-Reference Effect
• Type of semantic encoding
• Making information meaningful to a person by
making it relevant to one’s life
• See how the “mental athletes” at the annual
Memoriad do it – ABC News Report (4 min)
Semantic Encoding
(From Craik & Tulving, 1975)
Acoustic Encoding
• Encoding information based on the
sounds of the information
Acoustic Encoding
(From Craik & Tulving, 1975)
Visual Encoding
• Encoding information based on the
images of the information
Visual Encoding
(From Craik & Tulving, 1975)
Encoding:
Organizing
Information
Chunking
• Organizing information into
meaningful units
• More information can be encoded if
organized into meaningful chunks.
Encoding:
Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonic Device
• A memory trick or technique for
remembering specific facts
• “Every good boy does fine” to remember
the notes on the lines of the scale
Method of Loci
• A mnemonic device in which the
person associates items to be
remembered with imaginary places
Peg-Word System
• A mnemonic device in which the
person associates items to remember
with a list of peg words already
memorized
• Goal is to visualize the items to
remember with the items on the pegs
Peg Word System
Categorical Clustering
• Grouping items you want
to remember by categories
• A type of chunking
• Example: Grocery list
organized by aisles or food
category.
Acronyms
• Formed by the initial letters of
INDIVIDUAL words.
• Example: HOMES = Names of the Great
Lakes
Acrostics
• Acrostics are formed by the first letters of
components LONGER THAN one word
• Example: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt
Sally (Math)
• Example: Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
(Music)
Interactive Images
• Link a set of isolated words by creating
visual representations for the words and
then picturing interactions among the items.
• Example: If you had to remember a list of
random things like an aardvark, pencil,
table and book picture the aardvark sitting
on a table holding pencil in its claws and
writing in a book.
Keyword System
• Learning isolated words by
linking sounds and meanings
together.
• Example: Elvis shook his
pelvis
– Stalactite holds tight to the
ceiling
– Fibula lies beneath the Tibia
– Tibia is on top of the fibula
Do Mnemonics Work?
• Watch this 8 minute video on how the world’s best
memory competitors use mnemonics.
• Andi Bell - World Memory Champion 2002 BBC (5 min) - How the Method of Loci &
Interactive Images mnemonics help a memory
champion remember 520 cards in order in a short
amount of time. See how the host of this BBC
show does when he tries this method (6 min).
Storage:
Stages of Memory
Three Storage Systems
• Three distinct storage systems :
– Sensory Memory
– Short-Term Memory (includes
Working Memory)
– Long-Term Memory
Three Stages of Memory
• Three memory stages that differ in…
– Capacity – How much info can be stored
– Duration – How long the info can be stored
– Function – what is done with the stored info capacity and duration.
• Information is transferred from one stage to another
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Encoding
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Long-term
Working or
memory
Short-term
Memory Retrieval
Sensory Memory
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
• Function—holds
information long enough
to be processed for basic
physical characteristics
• Capacity—large
can hold many items at
once
• Duration—very brief
retention of images
• .3 sec for visual info
• 2 sec for auditory info
Sensory Memory
Divided into two types:
1. Iconic Memory–
visual information,
• ½ second
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
2. Echoic Memory–
sound information,
• 2-3 seconds
*Information held just long enough to
make a decision on its importance
Sensory Memory
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
• Sensory memory forms
automatically, without
attention or
interpretation
• Attention is needed to
transfer information to
working memory
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
Want to try
this
experiment
yourself?
Click
HERE
Sperling’s Experiment Recap
• Presented matrix of letters for
1/20 of a second
• Report as many letters as
possible
• Subjects recall only half of the
letters
• Was this because subjects
didn’t have enough time to
view entire matrix? No
• How did Sperling know this?
Sperling’s Experiment Recap
• Sperling showed people can
see and recall ALL the letters
momentarily
• Sounded low, medium or high
tone immediately after matrix
disappeared
– tone signaled 1 row to report
– recall was almost perfect
 Memory for image fades after
1-3 seconds or so, making report
of entire display hard to do
High
Medium
Low
Short-Term Memory
• Conscious, activated memory which holds
information briefly before it is stored or
forgotten
• Holds approximately seven, plus or minus
two, chunks of information
• Can retain the information as long as it is
rehearsed
• Also called “working memory”
Working Memory
• Function - conscious processing of information
– where information is actively worked on
• Capacity - limited (holds 7 +/- 2 items)
• Duration - brief storage (about 30 seconds)
• Code - often based on sound or speech even with visual inputs
Sensory
Input
Attention
Sensory
Memory
Working or
Short-term
Memory
Maintenance Rehearsal
• Mental or verbal repetition of information
Allows information to remain in working
memory longer than the usual 30 seconds
Maintenance rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Working or
Short-term
Memory
Ways to Improve STM:
Chunking
• Grouping small bits of information into
larger units of information
– expands working memory load
• Which is easier to remember?
–4 8 3 7 9 2 5 1 6
– 483 792 516
Sloth Meets Chunk
Storage:
Long-Term Memory
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Encoding
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Long-term
Working or
memory
Short-term
Memory Retrieval
Long-Term Memory
• The relatively permanent and limitless
storehouse of the memory system
• Holds memories without conscious effort
Retrieval
Retrieval
• The process of getting information
out of memory storage
• Two forms of retrieval
– Recall
– Recognition
Take out a piece of paper
Name the Seven Dwarves
Recall
• A measure of memory in which the person
must retrieve information learned earlier
• Example: Essay, fill-in-the-blank, and
short answer test questions test recall
• Recall Tests will do THIS to your head.
Recognition
• A measure of memory in which a
person must identify items learned
earlier
• Example: Multiple choice and
matching test questions test
recognition
Turn your paper over.
Now pick out the seven dwarves.
Grouchy Gabby Fearful Sleepy
Smiley Jumpy Hopeful Shy
Droopy Dopey Sniffy Wishful
Puffy Dumpy Sneezy Pop
Grumpy Bashful Cheerful Teach
Snorty Nifty Happy Doc Wheezy
Stubby Poopy
Seven Dwarves
Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Doc and Bashful
Retrieval: Context
Context Effect
• The enhanced ability to retrieve
information when you are in an
environment similar to the one in
which you encoded the information
Retrieval:
State Dependency
State Dependent Memory
• The enhanced ability to retrieve
information when the person is in the
same physical and emotional state
they were in when they encoded the
information
• The retrieval state is congruent with
the encoding state
Let’s Review
The Three Processes of Memory
Encoding
• The processing of information into the
memory system.
Typing info into a computer
Getting a girls name at a party
Storage
• The retention of encoded material over
time.
Pressing Ctrl S and
saving the info.
Trying to remember her name
when you leave the party.
Retrieval
• The process of getting the information out
of memory storage.
Finding your document
and opening it up.
Seeing her the next day
and calling her the wrong
name (retrieval failure).