Download Memory - Mayfield City Schools

THREE MEMORY PROCESSES
Encoding – making a mental
representation to be placed into memory
(meaningful association)
 Storing – placing encoded information into
permanent storage
 Retrieving – getting or recalling information
that has been placed in storage

WHAT DO WE REMEMBER?

Things that
 are unusual
 involve you
 are connected
 you can see
 interest you
SENSORY MEMORY
Initial sensory
process
 Raw form
information from the
senses
 Held for a brief
period from an
instant to several
seconds

SENSORY MEMORY

Iconic memory holds
visual information ¼
second
 (after image)

Echoic memory holds
auditory for 1-2
seconds
 (What? / Repeat)
SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Working memory –
holds an average of
7-9 items of
information
 usually 2 to 30
seconds
 phone numbers,
social security
number
FEATURES OF SHORT-TERM
MEMORY
 Maintenance rehearsal
–
intentionally repeating or
rehearsing information
 remains longer in short –term
memory
○ phone number
FEATURES OF SHORT-TERM
MEMORY
Interference – new information enters
short-term memory
 pushes out current information

 forgetting the phone number
FEATURES OF SHORT-TERM
MEMORY

Chunking – combining separate items
into chunks of information
 (social security number, combination lock)
PRIMACY vs RECENCY

Primacy – better recall of information
presented at the beginning of a list
 more time to rehearse

Middle of the list is forgotten unless the
subject stands out

Recency – better recall of information
presented at the end of a list
 in sensory memory

example – going to the store game
LONG-TERM MEMORY

Storing unlimited
amounts of information
over a long period of
time

Transferring
information from shortterm to long-term
memory
DECLARATIVE MEMORY:
EVENTS, FACTS AND STORIES

Semantic – facts, concepts, words,
definitions, language rules (learned in
school)

Episodic – knowledge of events, personal
experiences, places, songs, activities
(episodes)
PROCEDURAL MEMORY

Memories for skills (bike riding, tooth
brushing, driving)

Memories for conditioned fears and
phobias (snakes, spiders)
ENCODING

Automatic Encoding – transferring
information from short-term into long-term
memory with little effort and little awareness
 events that hold your interest and attention

Effortful Encoding – working hard to repeat
information and make associations between
new and old information
 elaborative rehearsal
PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY

Occurs in adults –
ability to form sharp
detailed images
after examining a
picture or page
EIDETIC IMAGERY
Photographic
memory in children
 Ability to examine
and remember
details of a picture
 Only 5% of children /
lost by adolescence

FLASHBULB MEMORY


Vivid recollections –
detail of dramatic,
emotionally charged
events
Lasting memory
(accidents, romantic
experiences, President
assassinated)
FORGETTING

Repressed Memories – mind pushes a
threatening or traumatic memory into the
unconscious
 usually cannot be retrieved
 sometimes implanted by therapists

Poor Retrieval Cues – problem with mental
reminders we create to access information
 association between new information and already
learned information
RECALL AND RECOGNITION

Recall – retrieving information with no
external cues or choices
 EX: fill in the blank on a test

Recognition – retrieving information with
external cues
 EX: multiple choice, true-false, matching test
questions
FORGETTING

Amnesia –loss of memory may occur
after a blow to the head, drug use, or
psychological stress
INTERFERENCE

Forget information because related old or
new information blocks or mixes up retrieval
cue

Proactive interference – old information
blocks new information “forward”

Retroactive interference – new information
blocks old information “backward”
RETRIEVAL CUES
Tip of the Tongue
Phenomenon
 Unable to recall
information from
memory

 recall later in a
different situation

Caused by
interference
STATE DEPENDENT LEARNING

Easier to recall information when you are
in the same physiological state as when
you originally encoded information

Anger – produces angry memories

Sadness – produces sad memories
EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY
MISCONCEPTIONS






Juries assume eyewitness testimony to be
accurate
Juries assume confidence as accuracy
Misleading /biased questions by police
Distinguishing among people of other races
Stress of violent crimes over non-violent
crimes
Photos of suspects before reviewing a line-up