Chapter 8
Memory
Numbers
How well can you remember these?
Quiz
Memory: Some Key Terms
• Memory: Active system that stores,
organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves)
information
• Encoding: Converting information into a
useable form
• Storage: Holding this information in memory
for later use
• Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage
In some ways, a computer acts like a
mechanical memory system. Both systems
process information, and both allow
encoding, storage, and retrieval of data.
Fig. 8-1, p. 252
Sensory Memory
• Sensory memory: Storing an exact copy of
incoming information for a few seconds or
less (either what is seen or heard); the first
stage of memory
• Iconic memory: A mental image or visual
representation
• Echoic memory: After a sound is heard, a
brief continuation of the activity in the auditory
system
Short-Term Memory (STM)
• Storing small amounts of information briefly
– Working memory: Part of STM; like a
mental “scratchpad”
– Selective attention: Focusing (voluntarily)
on a selected portion of sensory input (e.g.,
selective hearing)
– Phonetically: Storing information by sound;
how most things are stored in STM
• Very sensitive to interruption or interference
Long-Term Memory (LTM)
• Storing meaningful information relatively
permanently
• Stored on basis of meaning and importance
Culture?
• Members of cultures that trade beads can remember
color patterns of long strands of beads; those who herd
cattle can remember and recognize dozens of individual
animals. Name some type of information that is easily
remembered in our culture, but that might be difficult for
a member of another culture to encode? Include
subculture
The Atkinson-Schiffrin model. Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps.
Incoming information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information
selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory
(STM). If new information is not rapidly encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is
transferred to long-term memory (LTM), it becomes relatively permanent, although
retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful, but highly simplified, model
of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain
Fig. 8-2, p. 253
Short-Term Memory Concepts
• Digit span: Test of attention and short-term
memory; string of numbers is recalled forward
or backward
• Magic number 7 (±2): STM is limited to
holding seven (plus or minus two) information
bits at once
– Information bit: Meaningful single piece of
information, like numbers or letters
More Short-Term Memory Concepts
• Recoding: Reorganizing or modifying
information to assist storage in memory
– Information chunks: Bits of information that
are grouped into larger units
Chunking Activity
Maintenance Rehearsal
• Repeating information silently to prolong its
presence in STM
Elaborative Encoding: Links new
information with existing memories and
knowledge in LTM
– Good way to transfer STM information into
LTM
• Long-Term Memory Concepts: Constructive
processing: Updating memories on basis of
logic, reasoning, or adding new information
• Pseudo-memories: False memories that a
person believes are true or accurate
Remember these words:
• Ask them to introspect about their initial
processing of the words. Are they aware of an
echo? Do they silently rehearse the words? Do
they attempt to chunk them in some way? Do
they try to link them to knowledge in long-term
storage?
Exposed cerebral
cortex of a patient
undergoing brain
surgery. Numbers
represent points
that reportedly
produced
“memories” when
electrically
stimulated. A critical
evaluation of such
reports suggests
that they are more
like dreams than
memories. This fact
raises questions
about claims that
long-term
memories are
permanent
Fig. 8-3, p. 256
Eyewitness memories
are notoriously
inaccurate. By the time
witnesses are asked to
testify in court,
information they
learned after an
incident may blend into
their original memories.
Cognitive interview: Use of various cues
and strategies to improve eyewitness
memory
p. 257
Redintegration
• Memories that are reconstructed or
expanded by starting with one memory
and then following chains of association to
related memories
Suppose you are shown a
series of photographs that
depict various scenes
related to having lunch at
the campus commons.
One of the photos shows
an unexpected event (the
spilled soda). If you were to
see all of the photos again
a few days later, it’s likely
that you would “remember”
seeing the image on the
right (next slide), even
though it wasn’t in the
original group of photos.
When we see an
unexplained event, we are
very likely to think about its
cause. Later, it is easy to
mistake these thoughts for
an actual memory
Fig. 8-4a, p. 258
Fig. 8-4b, p. 258
Types of Long-Term Memories
• Procedural (skilled): Long-term memories of
conditioned responses and learned skills
(e.g., driving)
• Declarative (fact): Part of LTM that contains
factual information
Subparts of Declarative Memory
• Semantic memory: Includes impersonal
facts and everyday knowledge
• Episodic: Includes personal experiences
linked with specific times and places
A hypothetical network of facts about
animals shows what is meant by the
structure of memory. Small networks of
ideas such as this are probably organized
into larger and larger units and higher
levels of meaning.
Fig. 8-5, p. 259
The tower puzzle. In this puzzle, all the colored disks must be moved to another post
without ever placing a larger disk on a smaller one. Only one disk may be moved at a
time, and a disk must always be moved from one post to another (it cannot be held
aside). An amnesic patient learned to solve the puzzle in 31 moves, the minimum
possible. Even so, each time he began, he protested that he did not remember ever
solving the puzzle before and that he did not know how to begin. Evidence like this
suggests that memories for skills are distinct from memories for facts.
Fig. 8-6, p. 260
In the model shown here, long-term
memory is divided into procedural memory
(learned actions and skills) and declarative
memory (stored facts). Declarative
memories can be either semantic
(impersonal knowledge) or episodic
(personal experiences associated with
specific times and places).
Fig. 8-7, p. 260
Measuring Memory
• Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state: Feeling that a
memory is available but not quite retrievable
• Feeling of knowing: Feeling that allows
people to predict beforehand whether they’ll
be able to remember something
Recall
• Direct retrieval of facts or information
– Hardest to recall items in the middle of an
ordered list; known as the serial position
effect
– Easier to remember first and last items in a
list
Fig. 8-8, p. 262
Measuring Memory Continued
• Recognition memory: Previously learned
material is correctly identified
– Usually superior to recall
• Distractors: False items included with a
correct item
– Wrong choices on multiple-choice tests
• False positive: False sense of recognition
More on Measuring Memory
• Relearning: Learning again something that
was previously learned
– Used to measure memory of prior learning
• Savings score: Amount of time saved when
relearning information
Measuring Memory Concluded
• Explicit memory: Past experiences that are
consciously brought to mind
• Implicit memory: A memory not known to
exist; memory that is unconsciously retrieved
• Priming: When cues are used to activate
hidden memories
External cues like those
found in a photograph, in a
scrapbook, or during a walk
through an old neighborhood
often aid recall of seemingly
lost memories. For many
veterans, finding a familiar
name engraved in the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
unleashes a flood of
memories.
p. 266
Curve of Forgetting
• Graph that shows the amount of memory
information remembered after varying lengths of
time
• Nonsense syllables: Meaningless three-letter
words (fej, quf) that test learning and forgetting
• Encoding failure: When a memory was never
formed in the first place
Don’t Forget These Terms!
• Memory traces: Physical changes in nerve
cells or brain activity that occur when
memories are stored
• Memory decay: When memory traces
become weaker; fading or weakening of
memories
• Disuse: Theory that memory traces weaken
when memories are not periodically used or
retrieved
Handout 8.1
• When I say “GO”, you have 45 seconds to try
and remember and learn as many words as you
can from your list
Forgetting
• A. What is the difference between the two lists? You
should project the two lists together on an overhead
projector so the students can compare them.
• B. Why is there a difference in performance on the two
lists?
• C. Some students who had the second list, the one
lacking organization, will still do as well as or better than
those in the other group. Identify those persons and try
to find out what they did to recall so much. This could
lead to some interesting discussion of memory
techniques.
• D. Can what has been found in this exercise apply to
the study habits of the students? Discuss ways to make
Fig. 8-9, p. 264
Some More Theories of Forgetting
• Memory cue: Any stimulus associated with a
memory; usually enhances retrieval of a
memory
– A person will forget if cues are missing at
retrieval time
The amount of forgetting after a period of
sleep or of being awake. Notice that sleep
causes less memory loss than activity that
occurs while one is awake.
Fig. 8-14, p. 268
What is your earliest memory
and how old were you?
Psychology Today has surveyed its readers regarding their earliest
memories. Ninety-six percent of the respondents reported having memories
prior to the age of six, with sixty-eight percent reporting recall for events
occurring when they were two or three. Furthermore, a surprising seven
percent said they had memories prior to age one, and a few even claimed to
have prenatal recollections as well as memories of their own birth! While
some of the early memories were of traumatic experiences (such as the
birth of a sibling, being injured, or the death of relatives or pets), the majority
of recollections were of more mundane things (like being given a bath,
having a picture taken, or being pushed in a swing). Interestingly, most of
the memories involved images rather than events. People remembered
things like curtains blowing in the breeze, a light shining on someone’s face,
and a mobile hanging in the air. This is probably because small children
generally lack the language skills necessary to encode a complicated series
of events. Many psychologists, in fact, believe that it is rare for people to
remember things that occurred before they were able to talk.
State-Dependent Learning
• When memory retrieval is influenced by bodily
state at time of learning; if your body state is the
same at the time of learning AND the time of
retrieval, retrievals will be improved
– If Robert is drunk and forgets where his car is
parked, it may be easier to recall the location if
he gets drunk again!
– Can include moods also
Fig. 8-13, p. 267
Interference
• Tendency for new memories to impair retrieval of
older memories, and the reverse
• Retroactive interference: Tendency for new
memories to interfere with retrieval of old
memories
• Proactive interference: Prior learning inhibits
(interferes with) recall of later learning
Retroactive and proactive interference. The
order of learning and testing shows
whether interference is retroactive
(backward) or proactive (forward).
Fig. 8-16, p. 268
Transfer of Training
• Positive transfer: Mastery of one task aids
learning or performing another
• Negative transfer: Mastery of one task
conflicts with learning or performing another
Repression and Suppression
• Repression: Unconsciously pushing painful,
embarrassing, or threatening memories out of
awareness/consciousness
– Motivated forgetting
• Suppression: Consciously putting something
painful or threatening out of mind or trying to
keep it from entering awareness
Memory Formation
• Retrograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that
occurred before an injury or trauma
• Anterograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that
follow an injury or trauma
• Consolidation: Forming a long-term memory
in the brain
Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS)
• Mild electrical shock passed through the brain
produces a convulsion, destroys any memory
that is being formed
• One way to prevent consolidation
Memory Structures
• Hippocampus: Brain structure associated with
emotion and transfer of information passing
from short-term memory into long-term
memory
– If damaged, person can no longer “create”
long-term memories and thus will always
live in the present
– Memories prior to damage will remain
intact
Flashbulb Memories
• Memories created during times of personal
tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant
events
– Where were you when you heard that
terrorists had attacked the USA on September
11th, 2001?
• Includes both positive and negative events
• Not always accurate
• Great confidence is placed in them even though
they may be inaccurate
Your own Bulbs
• Ask students to report a “flashbulb” memory that
is especially vivid for them. What role did
emotion play in the formation of the memory?
Have they rehearsed and retold the memory
unusually often? How can flashbulb memories
be explained?
Ways to Improve Memory
• Spaced practice: Alternating short study
sessions with brief rest periods
• Massed practice: Studying for long periods
without rest periods
• Lack of sleep decreases retention; sleep aids
consolidation
• Hunger decreases retention
Ways to Improve Memory (Cont)
• Selection: Selecting most important concepts
to memorize
• Organization: Organizing difficult items into
chunks; a type of reordering
Ways to Improve Memory Concluded
• Whole Learning: Studying an entire package
of information at once, like a poem
• Part Learning: Studying subparts of a larger
body of information (like text chapters)
• Progressive Part Learning: Breaking learning
task into a series of short sections
• Serial Position Effect: Making most errors
while remembering the middle of the list
• Overlearning: Studying is continued beyond
bare mastery
Retrieval Strategies
• Knowledge of Results: Feedback allowing you to
check your progress
• Recitation: Summarizing aloud while you are
learning
• Rehearsal: Reviewing information mentally
(silently)
Mnemonics: Memory “Tricks”
• Any kind of memory system or aid
– Use mental pictures
– Make things meaningful
– Make information familiar
– Form bizarre, unusual, or exaggerated
mental associations
Mneunomic Activity
Keyword Method
• Aid to memory; using a familiar word or
image to link two items
Using Mnemonics to Remember Things
in Order
• Form a chain or story: Remember lists in
order, forming an exaggerated association
connecting item one to two, and so on
• Take a mental walk: Mentally walk along a
familiar path, placing objects or ideas along
the path
• Use a system