MEMORY
Memory- mental processes that allow us to
acquire, retain, and retrieve information.
1) Encoding- transforming information
into a symbolic form that can be
retained by the memory system.
2) Storage- retaining information in
memory so it can be used later.
3) Retrieval- process of recovering
information stored in memory.
Stage model of memory- theory that describes
memory as consisting of 3 module/ stages:
1) Sensory memory-takes in massive
amounts of information from the
environment but can only hold it briefly.
“Snapshots” Only holds the information
that you pay attention to.
2) Short-term memory- what is attended
to is transferred to short-term or
working memory to be processed, used
for analysis and problem-solving.
Information is only held for 30 sec.
Limited capacity- 7+/-2 chunks.
It requires rehearsal to keep the information
available. What is used and practiced is
transferred to:
3) Long-term memory- holds information
for the lifetime unless destroyed through
disuse or trauma. Huge capacity.
Elaborative rehearsal- focuses on the meaning
of information to encode and transfer it to LTM.
It means finding something in your past
memory/ experience to relate new information
to. (Self-reference effect)
Levels of Processing theory- the idea that
information that is processed at a deeper level is
more likely to be remembered than information
that is processed at a shallow level. Deeper
means finding more uses for the information and
using more modalities to learn it (vision,
hearing, kinesthesia, problem-solving, concepts).
Types of information in Long-term Memory1) Procedural information- remembering
how to perform different skills, actions.
2) Episodic information- autobiography.
3) Semantic information- general
knowledge of facts, concepts.
4) Explicit memory- information that can
be consciously recalled, declarative
memory, memory with awareness.
5) Implicit memory- information that
can’t be consciously recalled,
nondeclarative memory, without
awareness.
Organization of information in LTM:
1) Clustering- organizing information
into related categories (clusters).
2) Associated- Associating items based on
some logical association or common
characteristic.
Semantic network model- we make many
kinds of associations between concepts,
based on various characteristics or uses.
Some links are tighter and easier to access
than others. Organized material is much
more accessible than unorganized. (70%
recall vs. 20% recall).
This also accounts for why you can’t always
recall on demand information only learned
for the purposes of a test. It’s simply not
associated with enough other concepts that
you use regularly.
Retrieval- process of accessing stored
information. Not everything stored is able to
be retrieved on demand. That may be due to
retrieval cue failure, because there are
inadequate retrieval cues (prompts, cues,
hints that trigger recall). Tip-of-the-tongue
phenomenon is when you know that you
know something, but you can’t retrieve it.
Sometimes we remember parts of it, but not
all of the information desired.
Recall vs. recognition retrieval- how you
are asked to recall something makes a
difference in what you recall and how easy it
is.
1)
Free recall-producing
information with no retrieval cues
(i.e. essay tests)
2)
3)
Cued recall- remembering in
response to a retrieval cue. (i.e.
Fill in the blanks, matching)
Recognition- finding the right
information from a variety of
choices (i.e. multiple choice)
Principles that affect what we remember:
1) Serial position effect- the ability to
remember items best at the beginning and
end of a list.
2) Encoding specificity principle- the more
the conditions of recall match conditions
of encoding, the easier it is to retrieve.
3) Context effect- it is easiest to recall
information in the context in which it was
learned. (study in the room in which you
will be tested). Cues in the environment
help trigger item recall.
4) State-dependent retrieval- match the
state you were in when you learned the
information (if you study with coffee and
cigarettes, then take the test in the same
condition- but it doesn’t apply to being
intoxicated, though- that obliterates
memory!)
5) Mood congruence- your current mood
will affect what you can remember. (when
sad, you tend to remember sad things)
6) Flashbulb memories- intense memories
formed during a significant, rare, or
emotionally vivid event (WTC,
Columbine). They aren’t as accurate as we
think over time, even though detailed.
Sources of Errors in Recall- memory retrieval
is not a passive process. It is an active
reconstruction of an event, which can be
distorted as the event holds different meaning.
(more like writing a book than reading it).
1) Schemas- organized clusters of
information about a topic. A template.
We often impose this expectancy on an
event and remember what we expect to
see rather than what is actually there- a
source of eyewitness errors in recall of a
crime witnessed).
2) Source confusion- we remember
something, but don’t remember where
we learned it. Confusing something you
read/ heard with something that
happened to you.
3) Distortions- memory can be distorted if
it is coached, led, directed in the process
of recall. The misinformation effectwhen existing memories can be changed
if the person is exposed to misleading
information (Elizabeth Loftus’ research
on the error in recovered memories) The
phenomenon of memory for past lives
recovered under hypnosis is often really
cryptomesia- where a new memory is
actually based on an unrecalled
previously stored memory, often
misattributed to self, rather than stories
learned.
Forgetting- why don’t we remember what we
need to, and is it actually helpful sometimes?
1) The forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus)rapid forgetting of rehearsed
information in the first 20 minutes up to
24 hours.
2) Encoding failure- it was never encoded
well enough to get to LTM for later
recall.
3) Interference theory- forgetting happens
when one memory interferes with recall
for another one- it competes with the
other, or replaces it. Proactive (loss is
for a new memory) vs. retroactive
interference (loss is for an old memory)
4) Motivated forgetting- an undesirable
memory is repressed out of active
awareness to protect the person.
(suppression is consciously forgetting,
distracting self from memory, also
known as denial/ repression is
unconsciously forgetting disturbing
information) Freud’s psychoanalysis
focused on recognizing the power of
repressed memories to drive behavior.
5) Decay- when a memory isn’t used, it
fades over time as the brain processes
erode memory traces formed in the
brain wiring.
Biological Basis of Memory
Lashley searched for where in the brain the
memory trace (engram) is held. After excising
most of a rat’s cortex gradually, it was found the
memory for a maze was held all over the brain.
Memories are distributed all over the brain.
Particularly maze running, as it is an
interrelated group of memories learned using
multiple senses.
Thompson used classical conditioning of a
rabbit (tone with air puff to eye) and excised the
area in the cerebellum that responded- the
behavior disappeared). So some specific
memories are stored in discrete places in brain.
So memories are both distributed and localized.
Forming a memory results in changes to the
function and structure of specific neurons.
Amnesia victims are a source of much
memory research.
Retrograde amnesia is loss of episodic
information from the past. Often due to trauma,
when even the accident is obliterated. It takes
some time to set a memory- memory
consolidation.
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to
form new memories, usually due to damage in
the hippocampus. Victim still has past abilities
and memories, but can’t learn anything new.
Infantile amnesia is the loss of memory for
things that happened before age 2 or 3 years.
Necessary brain structures involved in memory
aren’t fully developed to allow accurate LTM.
Also language is not present, so memories are
encoded nonverbally. Once language develops it
overwhelms such abstract memories. Sometimes
very emotional memories are held.
Brain structures used in memory:
1) Prefrontal cortex- holds memory for
sequence of events
2) Amygdala- encodes emotional aspects
of memories/ associates memories
regarding the senses.
3) Medial temporal lobe &
hippocampus- encodes/ transfers new
explicit memories into LTM.
4) Cerebellum- encodes memories
involving movement.
Senile dementia- is any severe impairment of
memory/ intellectual function. May be due to
stroke, severe illness, Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s occurs in 10% of people over 65.
Improve your memory with these tricks:
1) focus attention on new information
2) commit necessary time
3) space study sessions (cramming isn’t
as helpful)
4) organize the information
5) elaborate on the information
6) use visual imagery
7) explain it to another student
8) reduce interference by breaking
information up into sections and
learning each section well separately
9) counteract serial position effect by
focusing on information in the middle
10) use contextual cues to trigger memory