Memory
Mr. McElhaney
PLHS
Remembering is an Active Process
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Memories can be lost and revised
Types of Memory
– Short Term Memory
– Long Term Memory
Info that appears to be lost may still be in
memory
 Problems with memory:
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– Forgetting and storage issues
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Recovered memories are problematic
Strategies such as Mnemonics can improve
memory
Basics
Definition- Memory is an active system
that receives, stores and organizes, alters,
and recovers information
 “Memory- is learning that persists over
time”
 Encoding- info is changed into usable and
storable form
 Deals with Encoding-Storage-Retrieval
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Dual Processing
Parallel Processing Brain processes information in many ways
simultaneously
 Example- sights, sounds, environment
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3 Part System Memory
Sensory
 STM (Working)
 LTM
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Sensory Memory
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New info is perceived through the senses
Info is held exactly as perceived for a few
seconds (Transduced)
 Preceding short term Memory
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All of the Senses:
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Use Transduction:
– The process of changing energy (stimulus) to
a form that can be processed by the nervous
system– For example- light to a form that can be
recognized by the retina.
Dual System in Memory
Short Term Memory
 Long Term Memory
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Small desk and file cabinet concept
STM
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Meaningful info stored
Fig. 9.2 Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps. Incoming
information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory.
Information selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage
in short-term memory. If new information is not rapidly encoded, or
rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is transferred to long-term memory, it
becomes relatively permanent, although retrieving it may be a problem. The
Short Term Memory 1
Is working memory
 Includes Selective attention
 Holds small amounts of info for a brief
time
 Encoding in STM
– memories are stored by images
– And phonetically- by sound, words and letters
Short Term Memory 2
Storehouse for small amounts of info
 Phone numbers/shopping lists
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Working memory holds info while other
activities are taking place.
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Is sensitive to interruption + interference
Processing info helps Memory
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Connecting to LTM
– Linking information with previously learned
information.
Chunking
 Rehearsal
 Elaborative Rehearsal
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Short Term Memory 3
Limited size = 7 “slots”/Information bits
 Good mem = 9 bits
 Recoding= reorganizing information
 Chunking = form of recoding, creating
connections/groups between info
 Rehearsal- repeating info increases STM
and can lead to transfer to LTM
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Elaborate Rehearsal –
Linking new info to memories in LTM will
improve memory
 Elaborate = extend, think about info as
you study
 Ask yourself “why” why would that be
true?
 Try to relate new ideas to your own
experiences and knowledge
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Elaborate Rehearsal when you
don’t even know you’re doing it.
Your understanding of academic material improves and your memory
improves with the number of content interactions;
 For Example when we are in class we:
1.
Above all the organism needs to try to learn the stuff
2.
Listen (auditory interaction)
3.
Visualize
4.
Take notes (processing the visual, and auditory)
5.
Think (which is processing)
6.
Asking questions (evidence of thinking)
7.
Summarize (which is thinking, and engaging in the material/ also
monitoring comprehension)
8.
Reviewing notes at home (more thinking and engaging in the
material)
9.
READ (tons of processing if you really read)
10. Discussion (shows you are thinking)
11. Extended writing (massive amounts of thinking)
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Long Term Memory
Found in the Cortex of Brain
Hippocampus clearly associated with memory
(see brain map of memory)
 permanent storehouse for Memory
 Everything you know goes into LTM
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Important + Meaningful info gets transferred to
LTM
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The more you know the easier it is to add
memory
Brain Anatomy and Memory
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Locations of memory is identified through
brain mapping
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Experiments through Electroconvulsive
Shock destroys memory
– Mostly effects recent memories
– Before Consolidation
Brain #2
Hippocampus= closely associated with
LTM (Thalamus is also associated with LTM)
 Used in Consolidation of memory
 Known as the “Switching Station” between
STM and LTM
 Grows neurons that make new
connections with in the brain
 Damage to hippocampus = Anterograde
amnesia= inability to store new memories
LTM (“50 First Dates”)
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Brain 3
3lbs of brain
 Cerebral Cortex- multiple areas associated
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Pre-Front of Cortex = Episodic Memoryevents
 Back area of Cortex = Semantic Memoryideas
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Current Research:
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Stimulation from environment promotes new synapses
New experiences alter the functioning of existing
synapses
Neurotransmitters associated in memory- Glutamate,
acetylcholine,
Memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s related
to a deficiency in neurons that use acetylcholine
and found in hippocampus and cortex
Drugs that increase Acetylcholine in synapses improve
memory
“Formation of memories is associated with changes in
synapses and strengthens and networks”
Long Term Memory
Encoding = storage (LTM) stored based on
meaning
 Recoding/reorganizing/revision is present in LTM
 example- Chunking can/will work in LTM
 Constructive Processing = updating memory
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– Fills in the gaps of memory with logical conclusions or
extensions, or inferences
– (Pseudo Memories are false memories)
– Relates to how we can sometimes not know the
source of some memories
Organization of Info in LTM
Patterns of Association = memory structure
 Examples: rules, images, symbols, similarities,
formal meaning, personal meaning
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Network Model (or schema)
– Associations of new of linked ideas
– We make organization based on linked meanings
Memory Aids
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Chunking info= try to link 2-3 or more
facts into larger chunks and your memory
will improve
Key to memory is to find meaning
 Always think about how you feel about
things
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Fig. 9.7 In the model shown here, long-term memory is divided into procedural
memory (learned actions and skills) and declarative memory (stored facts).
Declarative memories can be either semantic (impersonal knowledge) or episodic
(personal experiences associated with specific times and places).
Types of LTM = skill and fact
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Procedural- Skill
Conditioned Response
Learned Actions
Automatic
Lower braincerebellum
Typing and Driving
Actions
Types of Memory
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Declarative- Facts
Names, faces, dates,
words, ideas
Expressed in words
and symbols
Semantic Memory
Encyclopedia of basic
knowledge
You don’t forget
Episodic Memory=
experiences
 Autobiographic
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– When we access we
re-experience
Most easily forgotten
LTM
 Iconic Memory
 Echoic Memory
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Memory Formation
Consolidation- the forming of LTM
memory
 Takes time to move info from STM to LTM
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Meaning is key
Models of Memory
Why do some stimuli
leave no more than a
fleeting impression
and others remain in
memory forever? (see
chart Pg. 244)
 5 models or
explanations for how
memory works
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Information
Processing
Levels of Processing
Transfer Appropriate
Processing
Parallel Distributed
Processing
Multiple Memory
System
Re-integrative Memories
Memories in LTM
 Can be triggered by cues
 Cues (associations/clues) always enhance
memories
 Triggered memories are cues to other
connected memories
 Pictures, smells, songs, sounds
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Cue-Dependent
Forgetting
Stimuli associated with memory are missing
Memory Tasks- LTM
Recall
Direct
Retrieval of Info
Who-What
Facts
Recognition
Previous
learned info is
correctly
identified
MC tests
Accurate for
visuals
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Relearning
Reviewing
previously
exposed
to/learned info
25% greater
proficiency
Review helps
we Re-learn
faster.
Serial Position Effect
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STM
Being able to memorize the beginning and end of a
list
But not the middle
Why?The end- interference, STM has limited capacity
Primacy Effect- first 2-3 words on list recall is good
Probability of recall decreases for words in the middle
of the list and then rises dramatically
Recency Effect- easier to recall end of list because
first are in STM rehearsal helps the last are close in
STM.
Implicit and Explicit Memories
Implicit Memories
 We are not aware
 Unconscious
Priming
 Giving a person
limited cues
 Info previously
learned is reflected in
cued responses
 Related to implicit
memory
 Sub-conscious
Explicit Memories
 Recall is used
 Conscious memories
 Trying to remember
Forgetting
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Encoding Failure: When a memory was never formed
in the first place
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Memory Traces: Physical changes in nerve cells or
brain activity that occur when memories are stored
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Memory Decay: When memory traces become
weaker; fading or weakening of memories
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Disuse: Theory that memory traces weaken when
memories are not used or retrieved
Activity for Fri: Bring books or
Definition of these terms
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State Dependent Learning (Remembering)
Context Dependent Learning (Remembering)
 Interference (Forgetting)
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Decay (Forgetting)
Proactive Interference (Forgetting)
Retroactive Interference (Forgetting)
Positive Transference (Remembering)
Negative Transference (Forgetting)
Repression (unconscious)
Suppression (conscious)
Why do we forget? The Role of
Decay and Interference:
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Decay- the gradual (over time) disappearance of the mental
representation of a stimulus (wears out) especially in STM
Interference- a process through which either the storage or
retrieval of information is impaired by the presence or other
information. (STM forgetting too)
Might occur because one piece of information might interfere
with other pieces of info (displaces) pushing it out of
memory. (rehearsal prevents displacement STM)
Or, one piece of info makes storage or recall more difficult.
LTM- two types of interference:
Retroactive interference- learning of new info interferes
with recall of old info
Proactive Interference- old info interferes with learning or
remembering new info.
Remembering
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Context Dependent Memory:
– “People remember more of what they learned
when conditions during recall match encoding”
– Why? We tend to encode features of the
environment in which the learning occurred and
these features may later serve as retrieval cues.
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State Dependent Memory:
 A person’s internal state can aid or hamper retrieval
(mood)
 Positive-recall is easier when positive mood occurs
during encoding
Positive and Negative
Transference
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Positive Transference
Mastery of one task aids mastery of a second
task
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Knowledge and skill in one adds to another
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Negative Transference (language)
Skills developed in one situation conflict with
those required to master a new task
Repression and Suppression
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Repression (unconscious)
Memory motivated by forgetting
Forgetting painful troubling or embarrassing memories
Held out of consciousness
Sensitive to emotional events
Use repression to protect themselves from threatening
thoughts
Suppression (conscious)
An active conscious attempt to put something out of mind
We actively avoid remembering upsetting information
Painful upsetting event avoided suppression could be
repression
Amnesia
Retrograde (before) Amnesia
 Forgetting events that occur
before an injury or trauma
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Korsakoffs Syndrome
Korsakoff's syndrome
(also called Korsakoff's
dementia, is a neurological
disorder caused by a lack of
thiamine (vitamin B1) in the
brain. Its onset is linked to
chronic alcohol abuse
and/or severe malnutrition.
Anterograde- Amnesia
“50 First Dates”
Forgetting invents that
follow an injury
 “These patients are also
able to keep information
temporarily in working
memory, which depends on
the activity of dopamine
neurons in the prefrontal
cortex. So the hippocampus
is crucial in the formation of
new episodic memoires, but
implicit memory, procedural
memory, and working
memory appear to be
governed by other regions
of the brain.”
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Sleep + Memory
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Sleep improves brains
ability to remember info
Important for memory
consolidation
Increases procedural
memory
During sleepShort term memories in
Hippocampus and are
then transferred to long
term storage in NeoCortex
90 minute nap helps
speed up learning
 Naps help
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Using your brain
reduces risk of
Alzheimer’s
(crosswords)
False Memories
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Repressed Memories
Many traumatic events
retained in the unconscious
mind which affects
conscious thoughts feelings
and behavior no conscious
memory.
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1-4 girls are molested
When people say they have
recovered memories it is
probably true, but still is a
problem for false memories.
Spontaneous
Recovery (study said)
 37% of time
spontaneous recovery
memories were
corroborated
 Memories recovered
in Therapy were not
corroborated – should
be seen cautiously
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Memory Supports
Making Notes- write things down
 Prevents info from slipping out of short
term memory before you can review it and
store it more permanently
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Mnemonics “strategies for placing
information into an organized context in
order to remember it”
To Improve Memory
Training to improve memory
 Use chanting
 Association
 Memory Strategy is Mnemonics
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Basic Principles
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Use mental pictures
Make things meaningful
Make info Familiar- connect to what you already know
Mental associations- more outrageous = easy to
remember
Memory Aides
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Recitation
 Summarize aloud while you learn
 You practice retrieving information
 While reading stop and try to reinforce by
re-stating info
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Elaborate Rehearsal
 Emotion aides memory
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Method of Loci: remembering through
visualization of location and associationsUse the location like a map as mental
picture.
Guidelines for Effective Studying
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Relate new info to knowledge already stored.
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Organize The Information:
Create an outline or overall context for learning
Repetition- (rehearsal) not necessarily works well for LTM (but on
a limited basis)
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Distributed PracticeSpread out learning over time
Use Elaborative Rehearsal
Self-Testing:
Practice retrieving information you want to remember
Address main points from memory
Flashcards
Reading A Textbook: What do successful
students do?
Monitor understanding
 Re-read difficult sections
 Deep level processing
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– think about each new topic in relation to
other material
 Helps organize material
Lecture Notes:
Take notes on the important ideas
 Use your own words to express ideas
 Think about what is being said, draw
connections with other matieral
 Review the lecture note and fill in missing
details
 Summarize major points
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PQ4R (strategy)
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Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, Review
All designed to increase the depth of processing
Preview: Skim the chapter- look at headings, bold face, italicized
words. Get a general idea of what is in the chapter and how it is
organized (review the entire chapter then, more closely the individual
sections)
Question: before reading each section ask yourself what content will
be covered and what information you should be getting from it.
Read: and think about the material, monitor understanding. Are you
able to answers earlier questions?
Reflect: as you read think of your own examples, create visual
representations of the content; Ask yourself what the material
means; consider how each section relates to other sections in the
chapter and other content in the book
Recite: at the end of each section, recite the major points out loud;
be active… put the ideas in your own words (a form of self testing)
Review: at the end of the chapter, review all the material, review
how the material is organized
Basics: from Idiots Guide to Psych: Memory
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Our memory doesn’t mind very well—it often misremembers, forgets, and makes
mistakes.
The three mental operations required for memory are encoding (putting information
in), storage (filing it away), and retrieval (finding it); forgetting is a failure in one of these
areas.
Mnemonics are very effective memory aids that help us store information in a way
that enables us to easily recall it later on. And the use of written reminders and other
memory strategies can be especially useful for the elderly, who have more problems
remembering recent events.
Sleep is believed to be actively involved in consolidating memory, especially
procedural memories.
Mental and physical exercise can slow the impact of degenerative neurological
diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
False memories can fool us and professionals as well; although not likely, it is
possible to remember serious childhood trauma that never that never happened. As far as
forgetting traumatic things that did happen, the truth is still up in the air. However, the
vast majority of people remember ongoing traumatic events.