Download Chapter 6

Psychology: Brain, Mind,
and Culture, 2e
by
Drew Westen
Paul J. Wellman
Texas A&M University
John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
PowerPoint  Presentation: Chapter 6
Memory
Lecture Outline
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Memory and mental representations
Working memory
Long-term memory
 Declarative versus procedural
 Explicit versus implicit
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Encoding issues
Forgetting
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Memory
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Memory: Process by which we observe,
store, and recall information
 May be visual, auditory, tactile
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Memory processes may involve multiple
systems
 Conscious
 Automatic
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Mental Processing
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Mental Representations: A mental model
of a stimulus or category of stimuli
 Sensory representations
• Image of a dog
• Sound of a gun shot
 Verbal representations
• Concept of “Freedom”
• Involve neural activation different from that of
sensory representation
 Motoric representations
• Memories of actions
– Swinging a tennis racket
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
The Information Processing
Model of Memory
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Standard Memory Model
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Assumes a metaphor of “the mind as a
computer”
Memory consists of 3 stores:
 Sensory registers
• Iconic (visual)
• Echoic (auditory)
 Short-term memory (STM)
 Long-term memory (LTM)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Characteristics of STM
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Limited duration: After 20-30 seconds,
information fades
Limited capacity storage
 STM capacity is about 7 items of information
• Capacity is constant across cultures
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Involves rehearsal
 Maintenance: information is repeated
 Elaborative: information is related to other
knowledge
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
LTM
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Representations of facts, images, actions,
and skills that may persist over a lifetime
Involves retrieval of information
Is theoretically limitless
The serial position curve supports the
existence of STM versus LTM
 Primacy effect reflects LTM
 Recency effect reflects STM
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
The Serial Position Curve
(Figure adapted from Atkinson & Shriffrin, 1968)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Working Memory
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Working Memory is temporary storage
and processing of information used to
 solve problems
 respond to environmental demands
 achieve goals
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Working memory may consist of three
modules
 Visual Memory Store
 Verbal Memory Store
 Central Executive
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Working Memory Stores
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Visual memory store
 A temporary image (20-30 sec) that provides
information about the location and nature of
objects
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Verbal memory store
 Involves storage of verbal items
• Limited capacity
• Shallow: Items are processed in order of
presentation and are subject to interference
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Working memory stores are independent
 Brain damage may alter visual but not verbal
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Working Memory and LTM
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Evidence supporting a distinction between
working memory and LTM
 Working memory is easily accessed but is limited
in capacity
 Neurological studies in which brain damage
impairs memory
• LTM impairment: person shows normal working
memory but cannot transfer information to LTM
• Working memory deficit: person has a memory span of
2 digits but normal LTM
 Chunking: LTM information is used to increase
item size in working memory (e.g. IBM, USC)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Varieties of LTM
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Declarative memory
 Semantic: “generic” knowledge of facts
 Episodic: memories of specific events
• Autobiographical
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Procedural memory: for skills
Explicit memory: Conscious retrieval of
information
 Recall versus recognition
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Implicit memory: Skills, conditioned
learning, and associative memory
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Studies of Everyday Memories
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Laboratory memory studies can be
artificial (timing, what is memorized)
Studies of everyday memory examine the
 Function of memory
• Our intent as we learn information
– Male vs. female memory study
 Emotional significance of memory
• Emotional memories may involve different neural
mechanisms than do neutral memories
 Prospective aspect of memory
• Emphasis is on time
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Functional Aspects of Memory
(Figure adapted from Herrmann et al., 1992)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Encoding in Long-Term Memory
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Storage of information in LTM requires
encoding as a function of meaning
 Match between encoding and accessibility
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Levels of processing: Notion that encoding
can be
 Shallow: the physical aspects of the stimulus
 Deep: the meaning of the stimulus
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Encoding Issues
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Encoding specificity principle: Idea that
ease of retrieval of a memory depends
on match of encoding with retrieval
 Poor recall if shallow learning is examined
using a deep processing technique
• Student reads multiple choice items in test book
and then takes an essay exam…
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Spacing of learning is important
 Massed (“cramming”) versus spaced
learning
• Spaced learning leads to better recall
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Mnemonic Devices
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Mnemonic devices add additional cues for
retrieval to enhance memory
 Method of Loci
• The contents of a physical location that you are
familiar with is linked to the items you want to
recall
 Peg Method
• Imagery is combined with a verbal rhyme
– “One is a bun” (imagine a quart of milk in a bun…)
 SQ3R Method
• Survey, question, read, recite and review
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Networks of Association
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LTM is organized in clusters of information
that are related in meaning
 The network is composed of interconnected
nodes
 A node may contain thoughts, images,
smells, emotions, or any other information
 Mnemonic devices allow one to add concepts
to existing networks
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
An Example of Interconnected
Nodes
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Hierarchical Storage
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Nodes in LTM may be
organized in a hierarchy
 Broad categories contain
narrower categories
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Hierarchical storage can
lead to retrieval errors
 “Which is farther north Seattle or Montreal?”
Forgetting
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Forgetting refers to the
inability to recall
previously learned
information
Ebbinghaus
documented the rate of
forgetting of information
 Initial rate of forgetting is
high and then trails off...
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Memory Accuracy
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Memory is subject to errors and biases
 Memory can be primed
• Study in which subjects were presented with a
list (slumber, nap, bed) of words that were
related to the word “sleep”
– Most subjects recalled the word sleep even though
that word had not been presented to them
 Memory is altered by emotional factors
• Study of recall of high school grades
– Students misremembered the D’s and F’s...
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Emotional Factors and Memory
(Figure adapted from Bahrick et al., 1996)
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Theories of Forgetting
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Decay theory
 Memory is like a fading neural trace that is
weakened with disuse
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Interference theory: conflict between new
and old memories
 Proactive: old memories interfere with recall
of new information
 Retroactive: new memories interfere with
recall of old information
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Motivated forgetting
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Copyright
Copyright 1999 by John Wiley and Sons, 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.
© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.