Information Processing
Module 20
What is Memory?
Process of encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Learning that persists over time.
Encoding
▫
Get info in
Storage
▫
Retain the info
Retrieval
▫
Getting the information out
In-Class Activity—A Look Into Memory
Take out a sheet of paper
Write down, in order, all responses that come to mind
Ready?
What are the names of the seven dwarfs in
the story of Snow White?
Don’t ask a friend!
What are the names of the seven dwarfs in
the story of Snow White?
Difficult?
Why?
▫ Never learned the names (encoding)
▫ Length of time (storage)
▫ Distractions (retrieval)
What if you had a list to choose from?
Grouchy
Sleepy
Hopeful
Dopey
Puffy
Lazy
Bashful
Shorty
Doc
Gabby
Smiley
Shy
Sniffy
Dumpy
Pop
Cheerful
Nifty
Wheezy
Fearful
Jumpy
Droopy
Wishful
Sneezy
Grumpy
Teach
Happy
Stubby
What are the names of the seven dwarfs in
the story of Snow White?
The names…
▫ Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Doc &
Bashful
Get more names correct with list?
Why?
▫ Recall vs. Recognition
What are the names of the seven dwarfs in
the Disney movie Snow White?
Feel like you knew a name but couldn’t recall it?
Why?
▫ Tip of the tongue phenomenon
▫ Retrieval failure
In-Class Activity – Part 2…
Turn your paper over or fold in half
Write down the names of the seven dwarfs
Easier than before?
▫ Short term memory vs. long term memory
Encoding: Getting Information In
Automatic Processing
▫
▫
▫
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Time
Space
Frequency
Well-learned material
Effortful Processing
Encoding: Getting Information In
Effortful Processing
Ebbinghaus: Rehearsal & Overlearning
How do we encode?
Serial Position Effect
How do we encode?
Spacing Effect
Distributed vs. Cramming
Rehearsal
Primacy & Recency
What do we encode?
Meaningful Information
▫ Personally meaningful
▫ Related to previously learned info
Encoded Images
▫ Mental “pictures”
▫ Mnemonics
▫ Kids Please Close Our Front Gate Slowly
What do we encode?
Organized Information
▫ Chunking
 ROY G BIV
 Phone numbers… 867-5309
▫ Hierarchies
This might help you study…
Let’s test your encoding!
iclicker question
According to the serial position effect, when
recalling a list of words you should have the
greatest difficulty remembering those:
A) at the beginning of the list
B) at the end of the list
C) in the middle of the list
D) at the beginning and the end of the list
iclicker question
You are most likely to automatically encode
information about:
A) Politicians names
B) New phone numbers
C) What you did before and after you ate breakfast
D) What we learn today
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Storage: Retaining the Information
Sensory
Memory
Working/
Short-term
Memory
Long-term
Memory
Encoding
Events
Encoding
Retrieval
Retrieval
Storage- Retaining the Information
Sensory Memory
Fleeting representation unless we attend
Lasts for ~ second
Iconic & Echoic
Storage
Working/Short-Term Memory
20 secs – couple minutes
“Hold” a limited amount of info (7 +/- 2)
No active processing = no short-term memories
disappear
Storage
Long-Term Memory
Info stored; can be retrieved
Lasts indefinitely
Can hold billions of pieces of info
Storage- How do we do it?
Synaptic Changes
Pathway of neural activation creates a stored memory
Path reinforced with use
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Storage
Stress Hormones
Heightened emotions = stronger memories
Boosts activity in memory-forming brain areas
More replay= stronger connections
Can we take a pill for this?
Storage
Implicit Memory
▫ Memory for procedures & skill acquisition
▫ Ex: Driving a car
▫ Cerebellum
Explicit Memory
▫
▫
▫
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Memory for facts & experiences
Ex: Who was your first kiss?
Hippocampus-temporary storage site
Cortex
Retrieval- Getting Information Out
3 Retrieval Types
▫ Recall: generate information
▫ Recognition: identify items
▫ Relearning: learn material for a second time
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Retrieval
Retrieval Cues:
Anchor points used to access the info later
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Retrieval
Context Effects
Remember better if cues present at encoding are
present at retrieval
Retrieval
Mood-Congruent Memory
Recall experiences consistent with current mood
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Déjà Vu
Familiar situation can
trigger feelings of
“I’ve been here before”
Another Activity…
2 volunteers
1 with musical knowledge (majors, private lessons)
1 with little musical knowledge
Retrieval & Expertise
Expertise Development
Central concepts become increasingly elaborated,
organized & interconnected
Iclicker Question
When 80-year-old Ida looked at her old wedding
pictures, she was flooded with vivid memories of
the early years of her marriage, which she had not
thought about in decades. The pictures served as
powerful:
A) Encoding cues
B) Iconic memories
C) Implicit memories
D) Retrieval cues
Iclicker Question
Memory of facts is to ________ as memory of
skills is to ________.
A) Brainstem; Hippocampus
B) Explicit Memory; Implicit Memory
C) Automatic Processing; Effortful
Processing
D) Short-term Memory; Long-term Memory
So could our memory ever be too good?
The women who can’t forget…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoxsMMV538U&feature=related
Mini-writing #9
You have a friend who is struggling in a class. Now
that you know so much about memory, identify 2
effects that we have learned about in class that
pertain to memory that could help him. Explain
each effect and how each effect would
improve his test performance.
Effortful processing
Serial position effect
Meaningfulness
Retrieval Cues
Sleep
Rehearsal
Spacing Effect
Mnemonics
Hierarchies
Overlearning
Imagery
Chunking
Context Effects