Introduction to Memory
Psychology
What do we already know about Memory?
• Short Term?
• Long Term?
• Memory loss?
• Anything else?
Memory
Memory
• Memory is learning that has persisted over time
• It is our ability to store and retrieve information
• Cognitive Psychology
The Case of Clive Wearing
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmkiMlvLKto
• Encephalitis
Spoiler alert! 50 First dates
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2ZzZf7zkjM
Discuss
• Imagine what would happen if you woke up to find you completely
lost your memory. Answer these questions
• What do you normally do in a day that you would no longer be able to
do?
• What would you be unable to do if you would not recognise your
friends or family?
Discuss cont
• What experiences would you miss?
• How would you plan your day if you could not remember what you
were just thinking about a few moments ago?
Key words
• Memory: the mental process involved in registering storing and
retrieving information
• Capacity: the amount of information that can be stored
• Duration: the length of time that information can be kept
Key Words cont
• Short term memory: a limited capacity system for storing information
for short periods
• Long term memory: an unlimited capacity system for storing
information for long periods
Why can’t Clive Wearing remember?
• One possible explanation is that no new memory trace is laid down
• Can you think of two others?
• It could be laid down but disappears quickly
• Or it could be laid down but could not be retrieved :
• A functioning brain would be able to register info, store it and retrieve it
Memory test
Nine
Swap
Cell
Ring
Lust
Plugs
Lamp
Apple
Table
Sway
Army
Bank
Fire
Hold
Worm
Clock
Horse
Color
Baby
Sword
Desk
Hold
Find
Bird
Rock
How did you do?
• Experiments like these demonstrate the limitations of short term
memory
• According to George Miller the typical storage capacity for STM is 7 + 2 items.
• Memory rehearsal strategies such as chunking can significantly
increase memorisation and recall.
Chunking: A term referring to the process of taking
individual units of information (chunks) and
grouping them into larger units
Horse
Cat
Dog
Fish
Bird
Orange
Yellow
Blue
Green
Black
Table
Chair
Desk
Bookcase
Bed
Teacher
School
Student
Homework Class
Apple
Banana
Kiwi
Grape
Mango
Next week
• Start to think about your own experiments
• Continue looking at STM and LTM in more detail including research