There are 3 processes involved in memory: encoding, storing, and retrieval
• Memory: the storage
and retrieval of what
has been learned or
experienced
• Encoding: the
transforming of info so
the nervous system can
process it
• Acoustic, visual, semantic
• Storage: process by
which info is maintained
over a period of time
• Retrieval: process of
obtaining info that has
been stored in memory
• Def: very brief memory
storage immediately
following initial
stimulation of a receptor
• Iconic memory: visual
sensory memory; up to 1
second
• Echoic memory: auditory
memory; 1 to 2 seconds
• 3 functions
• 1) prevents being
overwhelmed by stimuli
• 2) allows time for
decision-making
• 3) allows for continuity
and stability in the world
• Def: memory that is
limited in capacity to
about 7 items and in
duration by the subject’s
active rehearsal
• Does not involve close
attention
• Def: a system for
remembering involving
repeating information to
oneself w/o attempting
to find meaning in it
• STM lasts <20 seconds
w/o rehearsal
• Def: the process of
grouping items to make
them easier to remember
• George Miller (1956):
STM has capacity of 7
items (+/- 2)
• Easier to recall info
presented at the
beginning and end of a
list
• Primacy effect: remember
beginning
• Recency effect: remember
end
• Name for STM
• Means it deals with the
current
• Storage of info over time
• Apparent limitless
capacity
• Semantic memory:
knowledge of language,
including its rules, words,
and meanings
• Episodic memory:
memory of one’s life,
including time of
occurrence
• Declarative memory:
memory of knowledge
that can be called forth
consciously as need
• Procedural memory:
memory of learned skills
that does not require
conscious recollection
• Theories:
• 1) Neuronal structure of
nerves change
• 2) Molecular or chemical
changes in the brain
• Striatum: procedural
memory
• Hippocampus and
amygdala: declarative
memory
Recognition, recall, and relearning
• Def: memory retrieval in
which a person identifies
an object, idea, or
situation as one he/she
has/has not experienced
• A single item may be
indexed under many
different titles
• Def: memory retrieval in
which a person
reconstructs previously
learned material
• Involves a person’s
attitudes, knowledge,
and expectations
• Influenced by:
• Reconstructive
processes: alteration of
recalled memory that
may be simplified,
enriched, or distorted,
depending on an
individual’s experiences,
attitudes, or inferences
• Confabulation: filling in
memory gaps
• We sometimes
reconstruct memory
based on our schemas
• Def: the ability to
remember with great
accuracy visual
information on the basis
of short-term exposure
• Photographic memory
• C. 5% of all children
• More rare among adults
• Recall is made easier
when you are in the
same physiological or
emotional state or setting
as you were when you
originally encoded info
• A measure of both
declarative and
procedural memory
• Info is more easily
learned if it has been
learned previously
• Decay: fading away of
memory over time
• Interference: blockage of a
memory by previous or
subsequent memories
• Proactive: earlier memories
block new ones
• Retroactive: new info blocks
old info
• Repression: subconsciously
blocking memories of
embarrassing or frightening
experiences
• Def: loss of memory
• Causes: blow to the
head, drug use, stress
• Infant amnesia: lack of
early declarative
memory
• Freud: emotional trauma
• Others: memories are
nonverbal; hippocampus
not fully developed
• Elaborative rehearsal: the linking of new info to material that is
already known
• The more meaningful, the easier it is to remember
• The more indexes, the more accessible it is
• The more senses it’s attached to, the easier it is to recall
• Don’t cram
• Distributed practice:
studying a little at a time
• Too much info in one
sitting creates too much
interference
• Def: techniques for using
associations to memorize
and retrieve info
• Method of Loci: mentally
walking and associating
material to know things
• Mental pictures
• Creating phrases