Memory
Chapter 8
Memory
 Memory is any
indication that
learning has
persisted over
time.
 It is our ability to
store and retrieve
information.
Information Processing
 The Atkinson-Schiffrin three stage model of memory
includes; 1)Sensory Memory, 2)Short-Term Memory, 3)LongTerm Memory
Modifications to the 3 Stage Model
 Some information skips the first two stages and enters long
term memory automatically.
 Since we cannot focus on all the sensory information
received, we select information that is important to us and
actively process it into our working memory.
 Working Memory – a newer understanding of short-term
memory that involves conscious, active processing of
incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of
information retrieved from long-term memory.
Encoding: Getting Information In
 How We Encode
 Some information (your route to school) is automatically
processed.
 However, new or unusual information (friend’s new cell
phone number) requires attention and effort.
Automatic Processing
 We process an enormous amount of information effortlessly,
such as the following.
 Space – while reading a book, you automatically encode the
place of a picture on a page.
 Time – we unintentionally note the events that take place in a
day.
 Frequency – you effortlessly keep track of things that happen
to you.
Effortful Processing
 Committing novel
information to
memory requires
effort just like
learning a concept
from a textbook.
Such processing
leads to durable and
accessible memories.
Rehearsal
 Effortful learning usually
requires rehearsal or
conscious repetition.
 Ebbinghaus studied
rehearsal by using
nonsense syllables
 TUV
 OF
 GEK
 XOZ
Rehearsal
 The more times
the nonsense
syllables were
practiced on Day
#1, the fewer
repetitions were
required to
remember them
on Day #2.
Memory Effects
 Spacing Effect – we retain information better
when we rehearse over time.
 Serial Position Effect – when you recall is better
for first and last items on a list, but poor for
middle items.
What We Encode
 Encoding by Meaning
 Processing the meaning of verbal information
by associating it with what we already know
or imagine.
 Encoding meaning (semantic encoding)
results in better recognition later than visual
or acoustic encoding.
What We Encode
 Visual Encoding
 Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to effortful
processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.
 Showing adverse effects of smoking may be more powerful
than simply talking about it.
Mnemonics
 Imagery is at the heart of many memory aids.
 Mnemonic techniques use vivid imagery and organizational
devices in aiding memory.
 Remembering the Planets
Organizing Information for Encoding
 Break down complex information into broad concepts and
further subdivide them into categories and subcategories.
 Chunking
 Organizing items into familiar manageable unit
 Phone Numbers 412-749-6000
 HOMES – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
 Hierarchies
Storage: Retaining Information
 Sensory Memory – the immediate, very brief recording of sensory
information.
 Short-Term Memory – activated memory that holds a few items
briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing.
 Working Memory – a newer understanding of short-term memory
that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory
and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from
long-term memory.
 Long-Term Memory – the relatively permanent and limitless
storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and
experiences.
Sensory Memories
 The duration of sensory memory varies for the different senses.
Iconic
0.5 sec. long
Echoic
3-4 sec. long
Hepatic
< 1 sec. long
Sensory Memory
Percent Recognized
 The longer the delay, the greater the memory loss.
80
60
40
20
0.15
0.30
0.50
Time (Seconds)
1.00
Working Memory
 The new name for short-term memory.
 Has a limited capacity of 7+/- 2 items.
 Duration of about 20 seconds
Let’s Test Your Capacity
 I’m going to show you a list of letters for 20 seconds.
 Let’s see how many you can remember.
 Ready…
MUTGIKTLRSYP
Capacity
Was your total 7 plus or minus 2?
Chunking
 Chunking – organizing items into familiar, manageable units,
this often occurs automatically.
F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M
FBI – TWA – CIA – IBM
Chunking
 Try this one.
 Ready…
Chunking
5934794397
Duration
 Peterson (1959)
measured the
duration of
working memory
by manipulating
an individual’s
rehearsal.
 The duration of
working memory
is about 20
seconds.
Long-Term Memory
 Essentially has unlimited storage capacity.
 The Clark’s Nutcracker can hide, then later locate 6,000
buried pine seeds during winter and spring.
Feats of Memory
Information Processing
 Encoding – the process of information into the memory
system.
 Storage – the retention of encoded information over time.
 Retrieval – the process of getting information out of memory
storage.
Memory Stores
Storing Memories in the Brain
 Loftus (1980) reviewed previous research data showing,
through brain stimulation, that memories were etched into
the brain and found that only a handful of brain stimulated
patients reported flashbacks.
 Using rats, Lashley (1950) suggested that even after
removing parts of the brain, the animals retain partial
memory of the maze.
 Kandel & Schwartz (1982) showed that serotonin release
from neurons increased after conditioning.
Synaptic Changes
 Long-Term Potentiation –
refers to synaptic
enhancement after
learning.
 An increase in
neurotransmitter release
or receptors on the
receiving neuron indicates
strengthening of synapses.
Stress Hormones & Memory
 Heightened emotions (stress-related or otherwise) make for
stronger memories.
 Flashbulb Memories - clear memories of emotionally
significant moments or events.
Amygdala- 2 emotion processing clusters. Boost activity and
proteins in the memory forming areas.
Storing Implicit and Explicit Memories
 Explicit Memory – refers to facts and experiences that one
can consciously know and declare.
 Implicit Memory – involves learning an action while the
individual does not know or declare what he/she knows.
 *Amnesia and the tack.
Implicit & Explicit Memory
Hippocampus
 Hippocampus – a neural
center in the limbic system
that processes explicit
memories.
Anterograde Amnesia
 After losing his hippocampus in surgery, patient Henry M
(HM) remembered everything before the operation but
cannot make new memories.
Memory Intact
Surgery
No New Memories
*What does his memory consist of now?
Implicit Memory
 HM is unable to make new memories that are explicit
(declarative), but he can form new memories that are
implicit (procedural).
 HM learned the Tower of Hanoi game after his surgery.
Each time he plays it, he is unable to remember the fact
that he has already played the game.
A
B
C
Cerebellum
 Cerebellum – a neural
center in the rear of the
brain that processes
implicit memories.
 Amnesia Patient and the
tack.
 Damage to the Cerebellum
eliminates learned
reflexes.
*Activity
Measures of Memory-Recognition
 In recognition, the person
must identify an item
amongst other choices.
 A multiple choice test
requires recognition.
1.
Name the Capital of
France.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brussels
Rome
London
Paris
Measures of Memory- Recall
 In recall, the person must
retrieve information using
effort.
 A fill-in-the-blank question
requires recall.
1. The capital of France is
________.
Famous People Slides
Measures of Memory- Relearning
 In relearning, the individual shows how much time (or effort)
is saved when learning material for the second time.
List
List
Jet
Dagger
Tree
Kite
…
Silk
Frog
Ring
Jet
Dagger
Tree
Kite
…
Silk
Frog
Ring
It took 10 trials
to learn this list
1 day later
It took 5 trials
to learn the list
Retrieval Cues
 Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These
associations are like anchors that help retrieve memory.
 Fire
 Smell
 Smoke
 Heat
 Truck
 Red
 Water
 Hose
FIRE TRUCK
Priming- awakening associations
 Say these letters out loud
S-H-O-P
 What do you do at the mall?
 What do you do at a green light?
Priming
 To retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations,
you must first activate one of the strands that leads to it.
Context Effects
 Scuba divers recall more words underwater if they learned
the list underwater, while they recall more words on land if
they learned that list on land.
Context Effects
 After learning to move a mobile by kicking, infants most
strongly respond when retested in the same context rather
than in a different context.
Deja Vu
 Deju Vu means “I’ve experienced this before.”
 Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger
retrieval of an earlier similar experience.
Moods & Memories
 We usually recall experiences that are consistent with our
current moods (state-dependent memory).
 Emotions, or moods, serve as retrieval cues.
List
Vegetables
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Fruits
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Teachers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Alphabetical Order
Vegetables
Fruits
Teachers
Compare lists
 Does your first list compare to your ranking list?
 Typically the things that interest you the most will be the first
to come to your mind.
Forgetting
 An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding,
storage, or retrieval.
 We cannot remember what we do not encode.
Storage Decay
 Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay.
 The Forgetting Curve
Why don’t we Retain Spanish
 Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of forgetting and
retaining over 50 years.
Retrieval Failure
 Although the information is retained in the memory store, it
cannot be accessed.
 Tip of the tongue forgetting is a retrieval failure.
 Given a cue – What makes blood cells red?
 The subject says – The word begins with H (Hemoglobin)
Interference
 Learning some new information may disrupt retrieval of
other information.
Retroactive Interference
 Retroactive Interference – the disruptive effect of new
learning on the recall of old information.
 Sleep prevents retroactive interference, therefore, sleeping
leads to better recall.
Proactive Interference
 Proactive Interference – the disruptive effect of prior learning
on the recall of new information.
Motivated Forgetting
 Motivated Forgetting –
people unknowingly revise
their memories.
 Repression – a defense
mechanism that banishes
anxiety arousing thoughts,
feelings, and memories
from consciousness.
Sigmund Freud
Why do we Forget?
 Forgetting can occur at
any memory stage.
 We filter, alter, or lose
much information during
these stages.
Memory Construction
 While tapping our memories, we filter or fill in missing pieces
of information to make our recall more coherent.
 Misinformation Effect – incorporating misleading
information into one’s memory of an event.
 Let’s Try It…
Depiction of an Accident
Misinformation
 Group A – How fast were the cars going when they HIT each
other?
 Group B – How fast were the cars going when the SMASHED
INTO each other?
Memory Construction
 A week later they were asked: Was there any broken glass?
 Group B (smashed into) reported more broken glass than
Group A (hit).
Broken Glass? (%)
50
40
32
30
20
14
10
0
Group A (hit)
Group B (Smashed into)
Verb
Source Amnesia
 Source Amnesia – attributing an event to the wrong source
that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined.
 Misatribution
Children’s Eyewitness Recall
 Children’s eyewitness recall can be unreliable if leading questions
are posed.
 However, if cognitive interviews are neutrally worded, the accuracy
of their recall increases.
 In cases of sexual abuse, this usually suggests a lower percentage of
abuse.
 Are memories of abuse constructed?
 Many psychotherapists believe that early childhood sexual abuse
results in repressed memories.
 However, other psychologists question such beliefs and think that
such memories may be constructed.
Constructed Memories
 Loftus’ research shows that if false memories (lost at the mall or
drowned in a lake) are implanted in individuals, they construct
(fabricate) their memories.
 Improving Memories
 Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall.
 Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the





material.
Make material personally meaningful.
Use mnemonic devices.
Activate retrieval cues – mental recreation.
Recall events while they are fresh.
Minimize interference.