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PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION
Sixth Edition
by
Karen Huffman
PowerPoint  Lecture Notes Presentation
Chapter 7
Memory
Paul J. Wellman
Texas A&M University
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Lecture Overview
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Three-Stage Model of Memory
Forgetting and Memory
Problems with Memory
Memory Improvement
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Memory
• Memory is the ability to code, store and
retrieve information
– Procedural: how to ride a bike
– Factual: definition of “learning”
• Memory involves coding the input of the
senses (visual, auditory)
• Memory is rarely perfect
– Forgetting refers to memory failure
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Three Stages of Memory
• Sensory Memory is a brief representation of a
stimulus while being processed in the sensory
system
• Short-Term Memory (STM) is working memory
– Limited capacity (7 items)
– Duration is about 30 seconds
• Long-Term Memory (LTM) is large capacity and
long duration
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Overview of Memory Model
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Long-Term Memory
• Information transferred from STM to
LTM is coded into categories and stored
in terms of meaning
– REM sleep may play a key role in
categorizing new items within LTM
– Memories retrieved from LTM are not an
exact replica of the original event
– Memories are reconstructed and can be
altered during the retrieval process
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Varieties of LTM
• Psychologists distinguish between two
types of LTM
– Semantic memory refers to factual
information (What is the capital of Georgia?)
– Episodic memory refers to autobiographical
information as to where and when an event
happened
• “I remember visiting the capital of of Georgia”
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Overview of LTM
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Organization of LTM
• Items in LTM are organized in
categories that form a hierarchy with
multiple paths (direct and indirect) to
each item
– Sometimes the cues required to recall an
item are not sufficient
– Tip-of the tongue phenomenon: person
can’t easily recall the item, but shows
some recall for its characteristics (“…it
begins with the letter ….”)
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Memory Measures
• Recognition is when a specific cue (face or
name) is matched against LTM
• Recall is when a general cue is used to search
memory
• E.g. define the term “statistical significance”
• Relearning refers to a situation in which a
person learns material a second time. Memory
is evident in savings of time to relearn the
second time versus the first
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Flashbulb Memories
• Where were you when you first heard:
– That the spaceship Challenger had
exploded during takeoff?
– That the federal building had been
bombed in Oklahoma City?
– That Princess Diana had been killed in a
car wreck?
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Forgetting
• Forgetting is the inability
to recall previously
learned information
• Forgetting rate is steep
just after learning and
then becomes a gradual
loss of recall
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Serial Position Curve
Recall immediately
after learning
Recall several hours
after learning
LTM
Recall from
LTM
Recall from
STM
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Study Strategies
• Distributed practice
refers to spacing
learning periods in
contrast to massed
practice in which
learning is “crammed”
into a single session
• Distributed practice
leads to better retention
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Theories of Forgetting
• Interference theory argues that information
competes for retrieval
• Proactive interference: old information interferes with
recall of new information
• Retroactive interference: new information interferes
with recall of old information
• Decay theory: memory trace fades with time
• Motivated forgetting: involves the loss of painful
memories (protective memory loss)
• Retrieval failure: the information is still within
LTM, but cannot be recalled because the
retrieval cue is absent
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Interference and Memory
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Amnesia
• Amnesia is forgetting produced by brain
injury or by trauma
– Retrograde amnesia refers to problems
with recall of information prior to a trauma
– Anterograde amnesia refers to problems
with recall of information after a trauma
Retrograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
Point of Trauma
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Patient H.M.
• Patient H.M. suffered from chronic brain seizures
• In the 1950’s, surgeons removed portions of his
hippocampus in order to reduce the seizures
• Since the surgery, Patient H.M. shows chronic
anterograde amnesia
– He has normal STM
– He has normal recall for material learned prior to the
surgery
– Patient H.M. has learned very little since the surgery
• Patient H.M. would have no idea of the significance of:
– Watergate
– The Challenger explosion
– The death of Princess Diana
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Anatomy of Memory
Bilateral damage to
the hippocampus
results in anterograde
amnesia (Patient H.M.)
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Issues in Memory
• Memory recall may involve reconstruction
and thus may not be accurate
• Reasons for inaccuracy of memory:
– Source amnesia: attribution of a memory to
the wrong source (e.g. a dream is recalled as
an actual event)
– Sleeper effect: a piece of information from an
unreliable source is initially discounted, but is
recalled after the source has been forgotten
– Misinformation effect: we incorporate outside
information into our own memories
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Memory Strategies
• Mnemonic devices are strategies to improve
memory by organizing information
– Method of Loci: ideas are associated with a place
or part of a building
– Peg-Word system: peg words are associated with
ideas (e.g. “one is a bun”)
– Word Associations: verbal associations are
created for items to be learned
• Other strategies for improving memory:
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Pay attention and avoid interference
Use rehearsal techniques
Improve the organization of your memory
Manage your time
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E
Copyright
Copyright 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York,
NY. All rights reserved. No part of the material protected
by this copyright may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without written permission
of the copyright owner.
© 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Huffman: PSYCHOLOGY IN ACTION, 6E