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Chapter 9
Memory
AP Psych
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Memory
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persistence of learning over time via the
storage and retrieval of information
Information learned long ago is stored in
long-term memory.
Other information, that we’re working on
right now is stored in working memory.
Flashbulb Memory
 a very clear or vivid memory of an
emotionally significant moment or event
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Three kinds of memory
1. When we search our memories for a particular fact
or a specific event, we draw it from episodic
memory.
 When we recall events in great detail it is called
flashbulb memory.
2. Generic memory is our mental dictionary, our
commonsense knowledge. Millions of facts: George
Washington was our 1st president.
3. Procedural memory consists of the skills and
procedures you have learned. Throwing a ball, riding a
bike, typing, playing an instrument etc.
4. Simon
http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/memory/simon.html
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Sensory Memory
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the immediate, initial recording of
sensory information in the memory
system
Working Memory
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focuses more on the processing of
briefly stored information
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Memory as Information Processing
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similar to a computer
 Use keyboard to write or get info in computer
 Save to disk or hard drive
 Read or print back info
3 Steps – Encoding, Storage and Retrieval
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1. Encoding
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the processing of information into the memory
system
i.e., extracting meaning
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2.Storage
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the retention of encoded
information over time
3.Retrieval
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process of getting information out
of memory
Encoding
Effortful
Automatic
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Effortful Processing
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requires attention and effort
can become automatic through
practice/rehearsal.
After you hear a phone number, it
will disappear unless you work to
maintain it in consciousness.
Automatic Processing
Walking to class today was done automatically
– you just sort of got yourself here.
unconscious encoding of incidental
information
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 space
 time
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well-learned information
 word meanings (after practicing vocab, you just use
them in a sentence.)
 Athletic moves or techniques
 Dancing
 Lines from a play, words from a song.
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Rehearsal
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conscious repetition of information
 to maintain it in consciousness
 to encode it for storage
• Experiments also confirm the benefit of a spacing
effect. For better long term retention, cramming
does not work as well as distributed study.
• The benefits of rehearsal are further demonstrated
by the serial position effect.
• You will remember the last and first items better
than the middle items. Also called the primacy
and recency effect.
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Ebbinghaus used nonsense syllables
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TUV ZOF GEK WAV
the more times practiced on Day 1, the
fewer repetitions to relearn on Day 2
Spacing Effect
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distributed practice yields better longterm retention than massed practice
Time in
minutes
taken to
relearn
list on
day 2
20
15
10
5
0
8
16
24
32
42
53
Number of repetitions of list on day 1
64
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Semantic Encoding
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encoding of meaning
including meaning of words
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encoding of sound
especially sound of words
Acoustic Encoding
Visual Encoding
encoding of picture images
So as you read this sentence, are you
encoding the image of the words
(visual), the sound of the words
(acoustic) or are you encoding the
meaning of the words (semantic)?
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Imagery
mental pictures
 a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when
combined with semantic encoding.
 Which of the following words then, will you most
likely recall when asked later? typewriter, void,
cigarette, inherent, fire, process?
 Imagery is at the heart of many memory aids.
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Mnemonics
Memory aids
What are some mnemonics that you know?
 especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and
organizational devices.
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Mnemonic is Greek for memory.
The Method of Loci -- imagine walking
through a familiar series of locations -associate each place with a visual
representation of the to be remembered topic.
Try to use it to remember these words:
lumberjack, dart, skate, hedge, colony, duck,
furniture, stocking, pillow, mistress.
Use imagery to put a story to the words.
The Peg Word Method
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Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units.
 Can you remember these numbers?
 4191218167712941
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How about now? 1776149218121941
 How about now? 1776 1492 1812 1941
 use of acronyms
 HOMES--Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie,
Superior
 Roy G. Biv
 Organized information is more easily recalled.
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Hierarchies
 complex information broken down into broad concepts
and further subdivided into categories and subcategories
Encoding
(automatic
or effortful)
Meaning
(semantic
Encoding)
Imagery
(visual
Encoding)
Chunks
Organization
Hierarchies
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How does storage work?
Synaptic changes
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Long-term Potentiation
 increase in synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid
stimulation
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Strong emotions make for stronger memories
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some stress hormones boost learning and retention
60 minutes propranalol
http://cnettv.cnet.com/memory-pill/9742-1_5350035773.html
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Amnesia: severe memory loss caused by brain
injury, shock, fatigue, illness or repression.
Infantile amnesia: the forgetting of events
before the age of three. Freud’s reasons?
Others believe that the hippocampus is not
fully developed, therefore we’re incapable.
Antegrade amnesia: memory loss from
trauma that prevents a person from forming
new memories. Can remember stuff prior. Clip
Retrograde amnesia: Forget the period leading
up to the event that caused damage.
Vermont
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Explicit Memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can
consciously know and declare
 also called declarative memory
 hippocampus--neural center in limbic system that
helps process explicit memories for storage
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Implicit Memory
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retention independent of conscious recollection
also called procedural memory
Types of
long-term
memories
Explicit
(declarative)
With conscious
recall
Facts-general
knowledge
(“semantic
memory”)
Personally
experienced
events
(“episodic
memory”)
Implicit
(nondeclarative)
Without conscious
recall
Skills-motor
and cognitive
Dispositionsclassical and
operant
conditioning
effects
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MRI scan of hippocampus (in red)
Hippocampus
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What do you think is easier, recall or recognition?
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Recall
measure of memory in which the person must retrieve
information learned earlier
 as on a fill-in-the blank test.
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Recognition
Measure of memory in which the person has only to
identify items previously learned
 as on a multiple-choice test.
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Can you recall the names of the 7 Dwarves?
How about recognize them?
Sneezy, Dopey, Sleezy, Happy, Cranky, Bashful,
Grumpy, Sleepy, Dumby, Crazy, Doc, Dorky
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Relearning
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memory measure that assesses
the amount of time saved when
learning material a second time
Priming
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activation, often unconsciously,
of particular associations in
memory
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Deja Vu (French)--already seen
cues from the current situation may subconsciously
trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience
 "I've experienced this before.“
Context Effects: returning to where you once lived or a
school you once attended may have flooded your
brain with retrieval cues.
Taking an exam in the same room you were taught
may help.
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Mood-congruent Memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent
with one’s current mood
 memory, emotions, or moods serve as retrieval cues
 State-dependent Memory
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 what is learned in one state (while one is high, drunk, or
depressed) can more easily be remembered when in
same state
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After learning to
move a mobile by
kicking, infants had
their learning
reactivated most
strongly when
retested in the same
rather than a
different context
(Butler & RoveeCollier, 1989).
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Forgetting as
encoding failure
Which penny is the
real thing?
Learning some items may disrupt
retrieval of other information
2 types of interference:
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Proactive (new is effected) Interference
 disruptive effect of prior learning on recall
of new information
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Retroactive (old is effected) Interference
 disruptive effect of new learning on recall of
old information
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Motivated Forgetting
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people unknowingly revise memories
Repression
defense mechanism that banishes from
consciousness anxiety-arousing
thoughts, feelings, and memories.
If you remembered everything, you
wouldn’t be very well off. Some things
are better off forgotten. Old parking
spots, old phone numbers, old
restaurant orders, bad memories.
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Leveling: simplifying material
Sharpening: highlighting or overemphasizing
some details
Assimilation: changing details to better fit the
subject’s own background or knowledge.
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We filter information and fill in missing
pieces
Misinformation Effect
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incorporating misleading information into
one's memory of an event
Source Amnesia
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attributing to the wrong source an event that
we experienced, heard about, read about, or
imagined (misattribution)
Depiction of actual accident
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Eyewitnesses
reconstruct
memories when
questioned
Leading question:
“About how fast were the cars
going when they smashed into
each other?”
Memory
construction
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Memories of Abuse
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Repressed or Constructed?
 Child sexual abuse does occur
 Some adults do actually forget such episodes
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False Memory Syndrome
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condition in which a person’s identity and relationships
center around a false but strongly believed memory of
traumatic experience
sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists
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Study repeatedly to boost recall
Spend more time rehearsing or actively
thinking about the material
Make material personally meaningful
Use mnemonic devices
associate with peg words--something
already stored
 make up story
 chunk--acronyms
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Activate retrieval cues--mentally recreate
situation and mood
Recall events while they are fresh-- before
you encounter misinformation
Minimize interference
Test your own knowledge
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rehearse
determine what you do not yet
know