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Memory
 Memory; an indication that learning has persisted over time through storage and
retrieval of information.
 Flashbulb memory; a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or
event. People remember close to exactly what they were doing and their
surroundings at the time they heard some tragic news or witnessed some tragic
event.
 Information processing
o In forming memories we must select, process, store, and retrieve
information.
o We go through this process when studying for a test or just processing and
remembering everyday events.
o Our memory is in some ways like a computer information processing
system.
o To remember any event requires that we get information into our brains
(encoding), retain that information (storage), and later get it back out
(retrieval)
 Encoding; the processing of information into the memory system.
 Storage; the retention of encoded information over time.
 Retrieval; the process of getting information out of memory storage
 Three stage processing model of memory
o We record to be remembered information as fleeting sensory memory
o We process it into short term memory
o We then encode it into long term memory
o . . . . Then we can retrieve it later
 Sensory memory; the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the
memory system
 Short term memory; activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the
seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or
forgotten. Working memory is similar concept that focuses more on the
processing of briefly stored information.
 Long term memory; the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memory
system.
 Encoding: getting information in
o Automatic processing; unconscious encoding of incidental information,
such as space, time, and frequency, and frequency, and well-learned
information, such as word meanings
 Automatic processing occurs with little or no effort, without our
awareness, and without interfering with our thinking about other
things.
 This is another example of brains ability to parallel process
multiple information.
 For example:
 To recall where you left something, you can recreate the days
events to figure it out
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During and exam, you may recall the information by remembering
the page in the textbook where found the information when
studying.
o Effortful processing; encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
o Rehearsal; conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in
consciousness or to encode it for storage.
 Hermann Ebbinghaus was dedicated to the study of memory
 Ebbinghaus discovered that the amount remembered depends on
the time spent learning. Even after we learn the material, additional
rehearsal (overlearning) increases retention.
o Practice – effortful processing – does indeed make perfect:
o Next-in-line effect
Information presented in the seconds before sleep is seldom remembered.
Consciousness has faded before we have processed all in formation, thus all is
lost.
Information presented or studied an hour before sleep – is remembered.
Sleep learning does not occur. Information played during sleep is registered by
the ears, but is not remembered.
We learn and remember better when our rehearsal is distributed over time;
spacing effect.
Spacing effect; the tendency for distributed study or practiced
o The longer the space between practice sessions, the better their retention
up to 5 years
o Spaced study beats cramming, those who learn quickly also forget quickly.
Serial position effect is our tendency to recall best that last and first items in a list.
We remember the first and last items or names rather than the middle.
Last items are encode in short term memory those we are able to retrieve it easier,
then we focus on the first things
Our memory system process information not just by repetitive rehearsal but also
by encoding its significant features.
What we encode
o We tend not to remember things exactly as they happened, rather we
remember what we encoded
o Visual encoding; the encoding of picture images
o Acoustic encoding; the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
o Semantic encoding; encoding the meaning of words.
o Processing a word by its meaning produces better recognition of it at a
later than the shallow processing of sound or appearance.
o Imagery encoding; creating mental pictures about a sentence or statement,
a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with
semantic encoding
o Two ways of encoding are better than one
o Mnemonic; memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid
imagery and organizational devices.
o Remembering in acoustic ways – material presented in a song or jungle
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o Remembering in visual ways – visualizing the notebook you study from
during the test
o Chunking; organizing items into familiar, manageable units, this often
occurs automatically
 Storage: retaining information
o Iconic memory; a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli, a
photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths
of a second.
o Echoic memory; a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.
o We remember random digits, rather than random letters – some letters
sound the same.
o Short term memory is limited in duration and capacity of information to be
remembered.
 Electroconvulsive therapy destroys some recent short term stored
memory, but keeps rooted memories intact
o Arousal sears events in the brain and increases memory
 More glucose energy is available to fuel brain activity, the
hormone surge signals the brain that something important has
happened. The amygdala, which process emotion, boost activity in
the brains memory forming areas.
 The stronger the emotional experience, the more vivid and reliable
the memory
 However, prolonged stress can corrode neural connections and
shrink brain area
o Implicit memory; procedural
o Explicit memory;
 Places of storage
o Hippocampus and frontal lobe
o Right brain holds memories
o Left brain holds memories
o Cerebellum holds memories
o Brain acts like a library that holds files in cabinets and then stores them
permanently in the basement
 Retrieval: getting information out
o Recall; a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve
information learned earlier.
o Recognition; a measure of memory in which the person need only identify
items previously learned.
o Relearning; a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved
when learning material for a second time.
o Priming; the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in
memory.
o Memory is held in storage by a web of associations. To retrieve a memory
all that we need to do is recognize one of the strands that lead to it.
Priming is the awakening of those associations, which usually happens
unconsciously.
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o Mood congruent memory; the tendency to recall experiences that are
consistent with one’s current mood – good or bad.
o Déjà vu; cues from current situations may subconsciously trigger retrieval
of an earlier experience.
Forgetting
o Three sins of forgetting
 Absent mindedness; inattention to details produce encoding failure
 Transience; storage decay time
 Blocking; inaccessibility of stored
o Three sins of distortion
 Misattribution; confusing the source of information
 Suggestibility; the lingering effects of misinformation
 Bias; belief colored recollections
o The sin of intrusion
 Persistence; haunted by unwanted memories
o What cause us to forget?
 We fail to encode information, thus it never entered into our long
term memory
 Areas in the brain responsible for remembering become less
responsive when we get older. Thus, slower encoding helps
explain age related memory decline.
o Proactive interference; the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall
of new information
o Retroactive interference; the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall
of old information.
o Forgetting is a matter of interference, inhibition, and obliteration of the old
by the new information.
o Repression; basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety arousing
thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Memory construction
Misinformation and imagination effect
o As we recount an experience, we fill in memory gaps with plausible
guesses and assumptions. After multiple retellings, we often recall the
guessed details, which have now been absorbed into our memories, as if
we had actually observed them.
o Even imagining nonexistent events when remembering something can
create false memories.
o Source amnesia (misattribution); attributing to the wrong source an event
that we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
o Because memory is reconstructed as well as reproduced, we can not be
sure how well a memory is real by how real it feels.
Hypnotic remembering in cases of abuse
o Injustice happens
o Are unreliable
o Memories happening before the age 3 are unreliable – infantile amnesia
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o Memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting and
dangerous - so be sure before accusing
 Improving memory
o Study repeatedly to boost long term recall
o Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material
o Make the material personally meaningful
o Use mnemonic devices
o Refresh your memory by activating retrieval cues
o Recall and record events as you witnessed them before receiving another’s
misinformation
o Minimize interference
o Test and retest, to determine what you know and do not know