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Did you need to check a real penny to be sure?
Nickerson and Adams (1979) conducted an
experiment and concluded that most people
are not able to pick the correct penny from
this drawing (Weiten 1995).
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By the way, it’s the one in the second row,
second from the left.
Involves more than taking in information and storing
it in some mental compartment.
 Memory involves three enduring questions:
 1. How does information get into memory?
(encoding)
 2. How is information maintained in memory?
(storage)
 3. How is information pulled back out of memory?
(retrieval)
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Attention involves focusing awareness on a
narrowed range of stimuli or events
“Selective Attention”. We must choose what to
pay attention to or we would be over run with
inputs.
Example: Divided attention while driving.
Craik and Lockhart propose that incoming information can
be processed at different levels—for example:
 Structural encoding-physical structures, Capital Letters
 Phonemic-what the word sounds like, rhyming words
 Semantic encoding-the meaning of the word, associations
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Levels of processing theory proposes that deeper levels of
processing result in longer-lasting memory codes.
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Caik and Tulving (1975) said that retention or the
remembering of the stimulus words would
increase as subjects moved form structural to
phonemic to semantic encoding.
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But it was determined that these are not the
only way to form memory codes and there are
other dimensions to the problem that can
improve memory
Is linking a stimulus to other
information at the time of encoding.
We form associations with other things
that aid in the encoding process, they
are best if they are personal to us
specifically.
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Another way to enrich the encoding of
memory is to create visual images to
represent the words to be remembered.
Some are easier than others: (Allan Paivio,
1969)
Concrete Objects: Things or nouns are easiest
(juggler)
Abstract concepts more difficult (truth)
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According to Paivio, imagery aids in the
encoding of memory because it provides a
second memory code and two codes are
better than one.
Dual Processing theory: holds that memory
is enhances by forming both semantic and
visual codes, since either can lead to recall.
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We use the comparison to computers to
discuss memory storage.

Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin:
incoming information passes through two
temporary storage buffers- the sensory store
and short-term store- before it is transferred
into a long term store.
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The Information Processing Model
The sensory memory preserves information in its
original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a
fraction of a second.
 It allows the sensation of a visual pattern, sound or
touch to linger for a brief moment after the sensory
stimulation is over. An example in vision is the
afterimage effect.
 It gives you additional time to try to recognize
stimuli but does not last long…1/4 of a second.
(George Sperling, 1996)
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Short term memory (STM) is limited-capacity
store that can maintain unrehearsed
information for up to about 20 seconds.
With rehearsal- the process of repetitively
verbalizing or thinking about information,
information can be recycled through your
short term memory as if on a loop.
Example: rehearsing a phone number
Without rehearsal, information is lost in
less that 20 seconds (Peterson and
Peterson, 1959) and then the idea was that
this was just due to DECAY of memory
traces. However, it was found that
interference from competing information
also contributes.
 Demo: List of words
 Demo: read TWA Passage

“Magic number of ten experiment”: people can
recall only about seven items on tasks with
unfamiliar material.
 When short-term memory is filled to capacity it
often displaces some of the information currently
in STM.
 chunking (stored as a single unit)
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There are four components to the idea of working memory
(Baddley,2001):
1. Phonological Rehearsal Loop: You use recitation to
temporarily hold you information.
2. Visuospacial Sketchpad: that permits one to hold and
manipulate visual images.
3. Executive control: controls the deployment of attention
as needed.
4. Episodic Buffer: a temporary, limited capacity store that
allows the various components of working memory to
integrate information and relays to LTM.
•Is an unlimited capacity store that can hold
information over lengthy periods of time.
•Long-term memories are durable and can possibly
endure a lifetime.
These memories are permanent and that
forgetting occurs only when people cannot retrieve
the needed information.
 An alternate view assumes that some memories
stored in LTM do vanish forever.
Example: A leaky barrel with some marbles falling
out.
 The idea of flashbulb memories, which are unusually
vivid and detailed recollections of momentous
events, support the idea of permanent memories.
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Flashbulb memories
are vivid and detailed
recollections of
momentous events.
 For example, many
people remember
exactly where they
were during the attacks
on 9/11 and the World
Trade Tower.
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Does the evidence on
flashbulb memories
provide adequate
support for the idea that
LTM storage is
permanent?
NO, research has shown
that they are neither as
accurate not as special as
once believed. They
become less detailed and
less accurate with time.
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Mental representation probably take a variety of
forms, depending on the nature of the material
Schema: an organized cluster of knowledge about
a particular object or event from previous
experience.
People are likely to remember things that are
consistent with their schemas than things that are
not.
People also recall better when things violate their
schema-based expectations.
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A semantic network or net is a graphic
notation for representing knowledge in
patterns of interconnected nodes and arcs.