Unit 7 A Lecture Notes ‘Memory’
The Phenomenon of Memory

Memory is

Flashbulb Memory is
What are the stages of memory?
How is memory like a computer?
Information Processing
Three stage model of memory:
1.
2.
3.
Problems with the model:
1.
2.
3.
Encoding: the processing of _____________________________________
Storage: the retention of ____________________________________
Retrieval: process of getting information _____________________________
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Sensory Memory
o
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Working Memory
o
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Short-term memory
o
o
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Long-term Memory
o
Maintenance Rehearsal
o
Long term memory: Once information passes from sensory to working memory, it can be encoded into
long term memory.
o
o Unlimited capacity
o Duration-thought by some to be permanent
A Simplified Memory Model
Copy the model below:
Encoding
o Automatic Processing
o Unconscious encoding of incidental information
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o Well-learned information
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o
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o Effortful processing
o
o Rehearsal
o
o
Forgetting

How much do people forget in 30 days?
Encoding
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Semantic Encoding
o
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o
Acoustic Encoding
o
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o
Visual Encoding
o
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Imagery
o
o
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Mnemonics
o
o
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Chunking
o
o
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Hierarchies
o
Storage- Short Term Memory
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
Storage- Long Term Memory
 How does storage work?
 Karl Lashley (1950)
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
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 Synaptic changes
 Long-term Potentiation
 increase in
_______________________________________________________________
 Strong ____________________ make for stronger ___________________________
 some stress hormones boost learning and retention
 Amnesia- the _________________________________
 Explicit Memory
 memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare
 _____________________________________- neural center in limbic system that helps
process explicit memories for storage
 Implicit Memory
 retention without ___________________________________
 motor and cognitive skills
 dispositions- conditioning
Retrieval- Getting Information Out
 Recall
- ability to retrieve info
______________________________________________________________________-like fill in the
blank test
 Recognition
- ability to identify
_______________________________________________________________________
Retrieval
 Relearning
 amount of time saved when
_______________________________________________________
 Priming
 activation, often unconsciously, of particular __________________________________
Retrieval Cues
 Reminders of information to prime memory
 Guides to where to look for info
 ______________________________________________
- memory works better in the context of original learning
 Deja Vu- (French) _________________________
 cues from the current situation may __________________________________________
of an earlier similar experience
 "I've experienced this before"
 Mood Congruent Memory
 tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with
_________________________________
 memory, emotions or moods serve as retrieval cues
 State Dependent Memory
 what is learned in one state (while one is high, drunk or depressed) can
__________________________________________________________________
______
Forgetting as Encoding Failure
Encoding Failure

Information ____________________________________________________

Attention is selective


we cannot attend to everything in our environment
William James said
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________
Forgetting as Interference
 Learning some items may disrupt retrieval of other information
 Proactive(forward acting) Interference
- disruptive effect of ________________________________________________
 Retroactive (backwards acting) Interference
- disruptive effect of ________________________________________________
 Motivated Forgetting
 people ___________________________________________
 Repression
 ____________________________________________________________________arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
 Positive Transfer
 sometimes ________________________ facilitates our learning of
________________________
 knowledge of Latin may help us to learn French
Forgetting- Retrieval Failure

Forgetting can result from
__________________________________________________________
Memory Construction
We filter information and fill in missing pieces
 Misinformation Effect
 incorporating misleading information into one's ____________________________
 Source Amnesia
 _____________________________________________________that we experienced,
heard about, read about, or imagined (misattribution)
 People fill in memory gaps with _________________________________________________
 Imagining events can create ______________________
 Children's eyewitness recall
 Child sexual abuse does occur
 Some innocent people suffer false accusations
 Some guilty cast doubt on true testimony
 Memories of Abuse
 Repressed or Constructed?
 Child sexual abuse does occur
 Some adults do actually forget such episodes
 False Memory Syndrome
 condition in which a person’s
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________
 sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists
 Most people can agree on the following:
 ___________________________________
 Incest happens
 ___________________________________
 Recovered memories are commonplace
 Memories recovered under
_____________________________________________________
 Memories of things happening before age 3 are unreliable
 Memories, whether false or real, are upsetting
Improve your Memory
 Study repeatedly to ________________
 Spend more time _______________________ or actively thinking about the material
 Make material ________________________________________________
 Use mnemonic devices
 associate with peg words- something already stored
 make up story
 chunk-acronyms
 Activate retrieval cues: mentally recreate _______________________________
 Recall events while they are fresh________________________________________________________
 Minimize interference
 Test your own knowledge
- rehearse
- determine what you do not yet know