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Chapter 7
MEMORY
Media Assignment
1.
2.
3.
4.
Questions
Does the media present psychology more as
a science or more as a form of common
sense?
Does the media present the diverse fields of
psychology or only a few?
Does the media rely more on psychologist
or self-proclaimed experts for information?
Does the media present psychological
information more in a sober manner or in a
sensationalistic manner?
Definition of Memory
An Internal Record or Representation of
Some Prior Event or Experience
Definition of Constructive Process
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Organizing and shaping of information
during processing, storage, and
retrieval of memories.
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Memory is a Constructive Process
Four Models of Memory
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Information Processing Model
Parallel Distributed Processing Model
Levels of Processing Approach
Traditional Three-Stage Memory Model
Information Processing Approach
Memory is a process, analogous to a
computer, where information goes
through three basic processes –
encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Encoding – Translating information into
neural codes (language) – i.e. sensory
(sound/visual image) into language.
Storage – Retaining neurally coded
information over time.
Retrieval – Recovering information from
memory storage.
Levels of Processing Approach
Memory depends on the degree or depth
of mental processing occurring when
material is initially encountered.
Shallow processing leads to little
memory, whereas deeper processing
adds meaning and greater memory.
Traditional Three-Stage Memory Model
Memory requires three different storage boxes
or stages to hold and process information for
various lengths of time. Sensory memory
holds information for exceedingly short
intervals, short-term memory retains
information for approximately 30 seconds or
less (unless renewed), and long-term
memory provides relatively permanent
storage.
Sensory Memory
First Stage of Memory
What we see, hear, touch, taste, and
smell first enters our sensory
memory.
Lasts up to ½ a second for visual (iconic
memory); ¼ to ½ a second for
auditory but weaker echo (echoic
memory) can last up to 4 seconds.
The Sensory Register
Testing for Iconic Memory
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Invented by George
Sperling
A letter array is shown
briefly
After array is gone, tone
signals which row to
report
Subjects recalled more
letters when signaled to
recall only one row
compared to trying to
recall all the letters
Short-Term Memory (STM)
Second Stage of Memory
Temporarily stores sensory information
and decides whether to send it on to
long-term memory; capacity limited to
five to nine items and duration is about
30 seconds.
Short-Term Memory
Capacity
Memory-Span Test
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Read the top row of digits, then look away and repeat them
back in order. Continue until a mistake is made. The average
capacity is seven items of information.
Improving Short Term Memory
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Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating
information over and over to maintain it
in short-term memory.
Chunking – Grouping separate pieces of
information into a single unit (or
chunk).
Short-Term Memory
Capacity
Chunking
Process of grouping distinct bits of
information into larger wholes to increase
short-term memory capacity.
Take 5 seconds to memorize as much as
possible on the next slide.
Then, try to reproduce the arrangement of
pieces.
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Short-Term Memory
Capacity
The Value of Chunking
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Was the number
correct around seven
pieces? Or, was the
information chunked?
Short-Term Memory
Duration of Short-Term Memory
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Subjects memorized
nonsense syllables, (e.g.,
MJK, ZRW).
To prevent rehearsal, they
were given a distracter task
during the waiting period.
When a cue was given,
subjects tried to recall the
letters.
Short-term memories vanish
within twenty seconds.
Short-Term Memory as a
“Working Memory”
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Visuospatial Sketchpad
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Phonological Rehearsal Loop
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Central Executive
Long Term Memory (LTM)
Third Stage of Memory
Stores information for long periods of time;
its capacity is virtually limitless, and its
duration is relatively permanent.
Types of Long-Term
Memory
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Explicit/Declarative Memory – Subsystem
within long-term memory that consciously
stores facts, information, and personal life
experiences.
Implicit/Nondeclarative Memory – Subsystem
within long-term memory that consists of
unconscious procedural skills, simple
classically conditioned responses, and
priming.
Improving Long-Term
Memory
Three Key Strategies
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Organization – Utilization of Hierarchies
Rehearsal – Utilization of Elaborative Rehearsal. One
of the best ways to encode new information into
long-term memory is to understand.
Retrieval – Utilization of a Retrieval Cue –
Recognition.
Retrieval Strategies on
Exams
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Context and Retrieval
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Mood Congruence
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State-Dependent Retrieval
Long-Term Memory
Forgetting
The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
Forgetting
Five Key Theories
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Decay – Degrading with time.
Interference – one memory competing with, or
trying to replace, another memory (retroactive
and proactive interference).
Motivated Forgetting – unconscious wish to
forget something unpleasant.
Encoding Failure – no need to remember precise
details.
Retrieval Failure – momentarily inaccessible as a
result of such things as interference, faulty cues,
or emotional states.
Long-Term Memory
Forgetting
Can You Recognize a Penny?
 One reason
people forget is
due to lack of
encoding.
Recognizing Problems with
Forgetting
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Serial Position Effect – remembering at the
beginning (primary effect) and ending of a list
(recency effect),
Source Amnesia – forgetting the true source
of a memory.
Sleeper Effect – confusing reliable information
with unreliable information.
Spacing of Practice – distributed practice vs.
massed practice (cramming).
Biological Basis of Memory
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Neuronal and Synaptic Changes in Memory
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Long-term Potentiation – long-lasting increase in neural
excitability believed to be a biological mechanism for
learning and memory.
Repeated stimulation of a synapse can strengthen the
synapse by causing the dendrites to grow more spines.
The ability of a particular neuron to release its
neurotransmitters can be increased or decreased.
Hormonal Changes and Memory
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Being stressed or excited naturally produce hormones
that arouse the body, such as epinephrine and cortisol.
These hormones affect the amygadala which stimulates
the hippocampus and cerebral cortex affecting memory.
Location of Memories
Memory tends to be localized and
distributed throughout the brain
Brain Area Connected to
Memory
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Amygdala
Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum
Hippocampal Formation
Thalamus
Cortex
Two Common Causes of
Biological Memory Failure
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Brain Injury
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Retrograde Amnesia – loss of memory that
occurs before the accident.
Anterograde Amnesia – loss of memory for
events that occur after an accident.
Alzheimer’s Disease
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Progressive mental deterioration that occurs
most commonly in later life.
Eight Ways to Improve Memory
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Pay attention and reduce interference.
Use rehearsal techniques
Improve your organization
Counteract the serial position effect
Manage your time
Use the encoding specificity principle
Employ self-monitoring and overlearning
Use Mnemonic Devices