Memory
Cody Reardon
Human Behavior
What is Memory and why is it
Important?
• Memory- is the process by which we recollect
prior experiences, information, and skills
learned in the past.
– We classify memory by knowledge, skills, and
events.
Episodic Memory
• The first type of memory is Episodic (or memory
of a specific event that took place in the
person’s presence)
• Some memories are so surprising and significant
to us that is as if a flashbulb went off. Flashbulb
memory is something that can be remembered
in great detail.
• Examples?
Generic Memory
• Generic Memory (memory that is general
knowledge that people remember) is less
specific in the where and when.
– Who was the first president?
– When did you learn that?
Procedural Memory
• The third kind of memory Procedural Memory
(consists of skills or procedures you may have
learned)
– What are some of these skills you can remember
off hand?
– How and when did you learn them?
Three Processes of Memory
• 1. Encoding (the translation of information into
a form in which it can be stored) is a way for
people to individualize how they place their
memories in their memory bank.
– Visual Codes (See the letters in your mind as a
picture)
– Acoustic Codes (read and repeat out loud or silently)
– Semantic Codes (relating to meaning)
Three Process of Memory
• 2. Storage (the maintenance of encoded
information over a period of time)
– Maintenance Rehearsal- Repeating information over
and over
– Elaborative Rehearsal- relating new information to
information already known
– Organizational Systems- Memories you organize in
your mind for future use (chronological)
Three Processes of Memory
• 3. Retrieval- locating stored information and
returning it to conscious thought
– Context dependent memory- The memories that
come back to you in a certain place
– State Dependent memory- Memories that are
retrieved because of the mood you are in.
– Tip of the tongue phenomenon- When we come
close to retrieving information but the process in
incomplete
Three Stages of Memory
• Sensory Memory- The First Stage of memory
that consists of immediate, initial recordings
of information through our senses
– Iconic Memory- like snapshots are extremely
brief, photographic memories that last a fraction
of a second
– Eidetic imagery- or what most of us refer to as
photographic memories
Three Stages of Memory
• Short Term Memory- also known as working
memory where info will remain in your
sensory register where it can be held briefly
– Primacy Effect- Remembering the first few items
in a group
– Recency Effect- Remembering the last few items
in a group
Short Term Memory (contd.)
• Chunking- Grouping items into small
manageable units
• Interference- When new information appears
in short term memory and takes the place of
what is already there.
Three Stages of Memory
• Long Term Memory- the third and final stage of
memory where you want to remember
something more than just briefly.
– The capacity of our memory is limited by how much
we pay attention
– Memory is Reconstructive and can be seen differently
based of the experience
– Schemas- Mental representations that we form of
the world by organizing bits of information into
knowledge
Forgetting and Memory Improvement
• Basic Memory Tasks
– Recognition- identifying objects or events that
have been encountered before.
– Recall- When you try to bring something back to
mind and reconstruct the event or object
– Relearning- When we do not remember things
that have already been taught to us, but are able
to pick back up a skill very quickly
Different Kinds of Forgetting
• 1. Repression- Some memories may be so
painful or unpleasant that they make us feel
anxiety, guilt, or shame.
– What kinds of actions may people want to forget.
Different Kinds of Forgetting
• Amnesia- severe memory loss caused by brain
injury, shock, fatigue, ill, or repression
– Infantile Amnesia- cannot remember things before
the age of three
– Anterograde Amnesia- memory loss forming from
trauma that prevents a person from forming new
memories
– Retrograde Amnesia- forgetting the events leading
up to a traumatic event.
Improving Memory
• Drill and Practice-repetition and practice
seems to be the most basic way to improve
memory
• Relate to things you already know
• Form unusual associations
• Construct links
• Use Mnemonic Devices-HOMES