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Types of Memory
INTRODUCTION

Definitions
 Memory
○ ability to retain information over time through
three processes: encoding, storing, and
retrieving
○ not copies but representations of the world that
vary in accuracy and are subject to error and
bias
 Encoding
○ refers to making mental representations of
information so that it can be placed into memory
INTRODUCTION
(CONT’D)

Definitions
 Storing
○ process of placing encoded information
into relatively permanent mental
storage for later recall
 Retrieving
○ process of getting or recalling
information that has been placed into
short- or long-term storage
THREE TYPES OF
MEMORY

Sensory memory
 Initial process that receives and holds
environmental information in its raw form
for a brief period of time, from an instant
to several seconds

Short-term memory
 Also called working memory; refers to
another process that can hold only a
limited amount of information an average
of seven items, from 2 to 30 seconds

Long-term memory
 Process of storing almost unlimited
amounts of information over long periods
of time
THREE TYPES OF
MEMORY (CONT’D)

Memory processes
 Sensory memory
○ don’t pay attention, information is forgotten
○ pay attention, information is automatically
transferred into short-term memory
 Short-term memory
○ don’t pay attention, information isn’t
encoded and is forgotten
 Long-term memory
○ encoded information will remain on a
relatively permanent basis
THREE TYPES OF
MEMORY (CONT’D)
SENSORY MEMORY:
RECORDING

Iconic memory
 Form of sensory memory that
automatically holds visual information for
about a quarter of a second or more; as
soon as you shift your attention, the
information disappears
 Icon means image

Echoic memory
 Form of sensory memory that holds
auditory information for 1 to 2 seconds
 Holds speech sounds long enough to know
that sequences of certain sounds form
words
SENSORY MEMORY:
RECORDING (CONT’D)

Functions of sensory memory
 Prevents being overwhelmed
 Gives decision time
 Provides stability, playback, and
recognition
SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
WORKING

Short-term, or working, memory
 Process of holding a limited amount of
information (an average of seven items)
for a limited period of time (2 to 30
seconds)
 Short duration can be lengthened by
repeating or rehearsing the information

Two features
 Limited duration
 Maintenance rehearsal
○ practice of intentionally repeating
information so that it remains in short-term
memory longer
SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
WORKING (CONT’D)

Interference
 Results when new information enters
short-term memory and overwrites or
pushes out information that’s already
there

Chunking
 Combining separate items of
information into a larger unit, or
chunk, and then remembering these
chunks rather than individual items
SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
WORKING (CONT’D)

Functions of short-tem memory
 Attending
○ selectively attend to relevant information
and disregard everything else
 Rehearsing
○ allows you to hold information for a short
period of time until you decide what to do
with it
 Storing
○ helps store or encode information in longterm memory
THREE TYPES OF
MEMORY (CONT’D)
LONG-TERM MEMORY:
STORING

Putting information into long-term
memory
 Encoding
○ transferring information from short- to longterm memory by paying attention to it,
repeating it, or forming new associations
 Long-term memory
○ process of storing almost unlimited amounts
of information over long periods of time
 Retrieving
○ process of selecting information from longterm memory and transferring it to shortterm memory
LONG-TERM MEMORY:
STORING (CONT’D)
Separate memory systems
 Primacy versus recency

 Primacy effect
○ better recall or retention of information
presented at the beginning of a task
 Recency effect
○ better recall or retention of information
presented at the end of a task
 Primary-recency effect
○ better recall of information presented at the
beginning and end of a task
LONG-TERM MEMORY:
STORING (CONT’D)

Declarative versus procedural or
nondeclarative
 Declarative memory
○ involves memories for facts or events, such
as scenes, stories, words, conversations,
faces, or daily events
○ aware of and can recall or retrieve these
kinds of memories
 Semantic memory
○ type of declarative memory that involves
knowledge of facts, concepts, words,
definitions, and language rules
LONG-TERM MEMORY:
STORING (CONT’D)

Declarative versus procedural or
nondeclarative
 Episodic memory
○ type of declarative memory that involves
knowledge of specific events, personal
experiences (episodes), or activities, such as
naming or describing favorite restaurants,
movies, songs, habits, or hobbies
LONG-TERM MEMORY:
STORING (CONT’D)

Declarative versus procedural or
nondeclarative
 Procedural or nondeclarative memory
○ involves memories for motor skills (playing
tennis), some cognitive skills (learning to
read), and emotional behaviors learned
through classical conditioning
○ can’t recall or retrieve procedural memories
ENCODING: TRANSFERING

Encoding
 Acquiring information or storing it in
memory by changing it into neural or
memory codes
 Two kinds of encoding
○ Automatic encoding
 transfer of information from short- to long-term
memory without effort or awareness (personal
events, interesting facts, skills/habits)
○ Effortful encoding
 transfer of information from short- to long-term
memory by working hard to rehearse the
information or by making associations
ENCODING: TRANSFERING
(CONT’D)

Rehearsing and encoding
 Maintenance rehearsal
○ simply repeating or rehearsing information
rather than forming any new associations
○ works better for short-term memory
 Elaborative rehearsal
○ using effort to actively make meaningful
associations between new information that
you wish to remember and old or familiar
information already stored in long-term
memory
ENCODING: TRANSFERING
(CONT’D)

Levels of processing
 Theory says that remembering depends on
how information is encoded
 Information encoded at a shallow level
results in poor recall
 Deeper and deepest processing: encode by
making new association
REPRESSED MEMORIES

Definition of repressed memory
 Process by which the mind pushes a
memory of some threatening or traumatic
event deep into the unconscious mind

Implanting false memories
 Studies show that a false suggestion can
grow into a vivid, detailed, and believable
personal memory
UNUSUAL MEMORIES

Photographic memory
 Occurs in adults; ability to form sharp, detailed
visual images after examining a picture or
page for a short period of time and to recall
the entire image at a later date

Eidetic imagery
 Form of photographic memory that occurs in
children; the ability to examine a picture or
page for 10 to 30 seconds and then for several
minutes hold in one’s mind a detailed visual
image of the material
UNUSUAL MEMORIES
(CONT’D)

Flashbulb memories
 Vivid recollections, usually in great detail,
of dramatic or emotionally charged
incidents that are of interest to the person
 Encoded effortlessly and may last for long
periods of time
UNUSUAL MEMORIES
(CONT’D)