Introductory Psychology Lectures
A series of PowerPoint lectures to accompany the introductory
psychology textbooks offered by Worth publishers
Editor: Harvey G. Shulman, Ph.D.
Memory
Joe Williams
The Ohio State University
Department of Psychology
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
1
Modal Model of the Mind
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
2
Modal Model of the Mind
Three memory store that differ in function, capacity and
duration
Control processes - control movement of information
within and between memory stores
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
3
Sensory Memory Store
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Function - holds
information long enough
to be processed for basic
physical characteristics
Capacity - large
can hold many items at
once
Duration - very brief
retention of images
.3 sec for visual info
2 sec for auditory info
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4
Sensory Memory Store
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Divided into two
subtypes:
iconic memory visual information
echoic memory auditory information
Visual or iconic
memory was
discovered by Sperling
in 1960
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5
Sperling’s Experiment
Presented matrix of letters for
1/20 seconds
Report as many letters as
possible
Subjects recall only half of the
letters
Was this because subjects
didn’t have enough time to
view entire matrix? No
How did Sperling know this?
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6
Sperling’s Experiment
Sperling showed people can
see and recall ALL the letters
momentarily
Sounded low, medium or high
tone immediately after matrix
disappeared
High
Medium
Low
tone signaled 1 row to
report
recall was almost perfect
Memory for image fades after
1/3 seconds or so, making report
of entire display hard to do
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7
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
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8
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
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9
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
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10
Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
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Sperling’s Iconic Memory
Experiment
G
A
V
M K
U
X
L
S
F
Q
J
O
N
U
A
N
Z
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What Letters Do You See?
…..
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13
What Letters Do You See?
…..
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14
What Letters Do You See?
…..
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15
What Letters Do You See?
…..
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What Letters Do You See?
…..
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17
Sensory Memory Store
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Sensory memory forms
automatically, without
attention or
interpretation
Attention is needed to
transfer information to
working memory
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18
Working Memory Store
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
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Working or
Short-term
Memory
19
Working Memory Store
Function - conscious processing of information
where information is actively worked on
Capacity - limited (holds 7 +/- 2 items)
Duration - brief storage (about 30 seconds)
Code - often based on sound or speech even
with visual inputs
Sensory
Input
Attention
Sensory
Memory
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
Working or
Short-term
Memory
20
Working Memory Store
What happens if you need to keep
information in working memory longer than
30 seconds?
To demonstrate, memorize the following
phone number (presented one digit at a
time)...
8 5 7 91 6 3
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21
Working Memory Store
What is the number?
857-9163
The number lasted in your working memory
longer than 30 seconds
So, how were you able to remember the
number?
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22
Maintenance Rehearsal
Mental or verbal repetition of information
Allows information to remain in working
memory longer than the usual 30 seconds
Maintenance rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
Working or
Short-term
Memory
23
Maintenance Rehearsal
What happens if you can’t use maintenance
rehearsal?
Memory decays quickly
To demonstrate, again memorize a phone
number (presented one digit at a time)
BUT, have to count backwards from 1,000
by sevens (i.e., 1014, 1007, 1000 … etc.)
6 2 8 50 9 4
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24
Working Memory Store
What is the number?
628-5094
Without rehearsal, memory fades
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25
Peterson’s STM Task
Test of memory for
3-letter nonsense
syllables
Participants count
backwards for a few
seconds, then recall
Without rehearsal,
memory fades
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26
Working Memory Model
Baddeley (1992)
3 interacting components
Visuospatial
Sketch Pad
Central
Executive
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Phonological
Loop
27
Working Memory Model
Visuospatial sketch pad - holds visual and spatial
info
Phonological loop - holds verbal information
Central executive - coordinates all activities of
working memory; brings new information into
working memory from sensory and long-term
memory
Visuospatial
Sketch pad
Central
Executive
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Phonological
Loop
28
Long-Term Memory Store
Once information passes from sensory to
working memory, it can be encoded into
long-term memory
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
29
Long-Term Memory Store
Function - organizes and stores information
more passive form of storage than working
memory
Unlimited capacity
Duration - thought by some to be permanent
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Encoding
Attention
Sensory
Memory
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
30
Long-Term Memory Store
Encoding - process that controls movement
from working to long-term memory store
Retrieval - process that controls flow of
information from long-term to working
memory store
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
31
Summary
Modal model of memory
three memory stores (sensory, working
and long-term memory)
control processes (attention, maintenance
rehearsal, encoding and retrieval) govern
movement of information within and
between stores
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32
Review of Long-Term Memory
Organizes and stores information
Capacity unlimited
Thought by some to be permanent
Encoding transfers info from STM to LTM
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Encoding
Attention
Sensory
Memory
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
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33
Elaboration
Focus on meaning of information to encode it
into LTM
don’t simply repeat items over and over
tie item to other info in memory
also called elaborative rehearsal
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34
Ways to Use Elaboration
Actively question new information
Think about its implications
Relate information to things you already
know
Generate own examples of concepts
Don’t highlight passage as you read
focus on the ideas in the text
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35
Which Level is More Effective?
Elaboration leads to better recall than
shallow processing
Type of
Processing
Deep
0
Shallow -Acoustic
Shallow - Visual
10
20
30
40
50 60
70
80
Percent of words recalled
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90 100
36
More Evidence for Elaboration
Positive correlation between grades and use
of elaboration in 5th grade students
In an experiment, college students assigned
to use elaboration received higher grades
than students not taught elaboration
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37
Organization
Chunking
Hierarchical organization
1492181219982 0 01
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38
Chunking
Grouping small bits of information into larger
units of information
expands working memory load
Which is easier to remember?
4 8 3 7 9 2 5 1 6
483 792 516
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39
Hierarchical Organization
Related items clustered together to form categories
Related categories clustered to form higher-order
categories
Remember list items better if list presented in
categories
poorer recall if presented randomly
Even if list items are random, people still organize info
in some logical pattern
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40
Hierarchical Organization
Mammals
Dogs
German
Shepherds
Scottish
Terriers
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Cats
Siamese
Calico
41
Visualization
Dual coding theory
Key word method
Method of loci
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42
Review of Long-Term Memory
Retrieval transfers info from LTM to STM
Forgetting - inability to retrieve previously
available information
Why do people forget?
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
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43
Forgetting Theories
Encoding failure
Role of time
Interference theories
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44
Forgetting as Encoding Failure
Information never encoded into LTM
X
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45
Encoding Failure Demonstrations
What letters accompany the number 5 on
your telephone?
Where is the number 0 on your calculator?
According to this theory, objects seen
frequently, but information is never encoded
into LTM
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46
Forgetting as Retrieval Failure
Not all forgetting is due to encoding failures
Sometimes information IS encoded into LTM, but we
can’t retrieve it
X
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47
Role of Time : Decay Theory
Memories fade away or
decay gradually if
unused
Time plays critical role
Ability to retrieve info
declines with time after
original encoding
Problem: Many things
change with time.
Something else may
change and actually
cause forgetting:
Interference
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48
Interference Theories
“Memories interfering with memories”
Forgetting NOT caused by mere passage of time
Caused by one memory competing with or
replacing another memory
Two types of interference
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Two Types of Interference
Types of interference
Retroactive
Interference
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Proactive
Interference
50
Retroactive Interference
When a NEW memory interferes with
remembering OLD information
Example: When new phone number interferes
with ability to remember old phone number
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Retroactive Interference
Example: Learning a new language interferes with
ability to remember old language
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52
Proactive Interference
Opposite of retroactive
interference
When an OLD memory
interferes with
remembering NEW
information
Example: Memories of
where you parked your
car on campus the past
week interferes with
ability find car today
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53
Proactive Interference
Example: Previously learned language interferes with
ability to remember newly learned language
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54
Review of Interference Theory
Retroactive Interference
Learn A Learn B
Recall A, B interferes
Proactive Interference
Learn A Learn B
Recall B, A
interferes
Interference reflects competition between
responses.
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55
Review of Long-Term Memory
Retrieval transfers info from LTM to STM
How is information organized so that it may be
easily retrieved?
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input
Sensory
Memory
Attention
Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval
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56
Are Memories Organized?
Demonstration:
recite the days of the week
recite the days of the week in alphabetical order
demonstrates that long-term memory is organized
not just a random jumble of information
How are memories organized?
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57
Demonstration
List of words will be read one at a time
Recall as many words as possible
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58
Demonstration
Look at your sheet
Is there a pattern to your answers?
Most list several fruits, then vehicles, then furniture
(or vice versa)
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59
Types of Mental Associations
Association by contiguity
concepts are associated because they
occur together in a person’s previous
experience
Association by similarity
concepts with shared properties are
associated
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Network Model
Attempt to depict structure of memory as concepts
linked by associations
Car
Truck
Bus
Fire
Engine
House
Fire
Ambulance
Red
Hot
Stove
Rose
Apple
Cherry
Pot
Pan
Violet
Flower
Pear
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
Pie
61
Network Models
Links between concepts
common properties provide basis for mental link
Shorter path between two concepts = stronger
association in memory
Activation of a concept starts decremental spread of
activity to nearby concepts
Also known as the spreading-activation model
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62
Retrieval Cue Theories
Retrieval cue - a clue, prompt or hint that
can help memory retrieval
Forgetting is the result of using improper
retrieval cues
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63
Encoding Specificity Principle
Learn word list
generate ‘cue’ when
see word (jam - jelly)
at recall cues given
as retrieval aid
(jelly or traffic)
Cues generated during
learning (jelly) more
effective during
retrieval than new cues
(traffic)
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64
Context-Dependent Memory
Improved ability to remember if tested in the same
environment as the initial learning environment
better recall if tested in classroom where you
initially learned info than if moved to a new
classroom
if learning room smells of chocolate or mothballs,
people will recall more info if tested in room with
the same smell compared to different smell or no
smell at all
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65
Context-Dependent Effects
Compare words learned underwater vs on land
Words heard underwater are best recalled underwater
Words heard on land are best recalled on land
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66
Context Dependent Effects
Time of day is also important
Learn at 3 pm
Perform better at 3 pm
Than 9 pm
12
12
12
9
3
6
9
3
6
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
9
3
6
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State-Dependent Memory
Recall improved if internal physiological or emotional
state is the same during testing and initial encoding
Context vs State dependent
Context-dependent - external, environmental
factors
State-dependent - internal, physiological factors
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68
State-Dependent Effects
Mood or emotions also a factor
Bipolar depressives
information learned in manic state, recall more
if testing done during manic state
information learned in depressed state, recall
more if testing done during depressed state
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State Dependent Effects
If drink during
learning
May recall better
with drink
Than without
But not as well
as sober all the
way!
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Memory Construction
Recall not an exact replica of original events
Recall a construction built and rebuilt from various
sources
Often fit memories into existing beliefs
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Schema Theories
Schema - mental representation of an object, scene or
event
example: schema of a countryside may include
green grass, hills, farms, a barn, cows, etc.
Scripts - type of schema
mental organization of events in time
example of a classroom script: come into class, sit
down, talk to friends, bell rings, instructor begins to
speak, take notes, bell rings again, leave class, etc.
Schemas & scripts provide framework for new
information
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72
Eyewitness Testimony
Memory can be distorted as people try to fit new info
into existing schemas
Eyewitnesses usually see something complex just once
then have to remember it
Sometimes new information is distorted by
fitting into an existing schema
subsequent information (famous experiment by
Loftus)
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Loftus Experiment
Subjects shown video of
an accident between
two cars
Some subjects asked:
How fast were the cars
going when they
smashed into each
other?
Others asked: How fast
were the cars going
when they hit each
other?
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74
Loftus’s Results
Speed estimates
depended on how the
question was phrased
Subjects memory for
broken glass also
depended on the
phrasing of the speed
question.
But this was a false
memory: there was
no broken glass
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75
Long-term Memory Systems
Long-term Memory
Explicit Memory
Episodic
Memory
Semantic
Memory
Implicit Memory
Procedural
Memory
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Classical
Conditioning
Priming
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Explicit Memory
Also known as declarative or conscious memory
Properties:
memory consciously recalled or declared
Can use to directly respond to a question
Two subtypes of explicit memory
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Subtypes of Explicit Memory
Explicit Memory
Episodic Memory
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Semantic Memory
78
Episodic Memory
Memory tied to your own personal experiences
Examples:
what did you have for dinner?
do you like to eat caramel apples?
Why are these explicit memories?
Because you can actively declare your answers to these
questions
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79
Semantic Memory
Memory not tied to personal events
General facts and definitions about the world
Examples:
who was George Washington?
what is a cloud?
what is the climate at the north pole?
These are explicit memories because you can describe
what you know about them.
Unlike episodic memories, your knowledge does NOT
include your personal experience
i.e., You may never have been to the north pole but do
know about it.
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80
Implicit Memory
Also known as nondeclarative memory
Influences your thoughts or behavior, but does not
enter consciousness
Three subtypes
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Subtypes of Implicit Memory
Implicit Memory
Classical
Conditioning
Procedural
Memory
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
Priming
82
Classical Conditioning
Studied earlier
Implicit because
it is automatically
retrieved
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83
Procedural Memory
Memory that enables you to perform specific
learned skills or habitual responses
Examples:
Riding a bike
How to speak grammatically
Tying your shoe laces
Why are these procedural memories implicit?
Can’t readily describe their contents
try describing how to tie your shoes
They are automatically retrieved when
appropriate
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84
Priming
Priming is influence of one memory on
another
priming is implicit because it does not
depend on awareness and is automatic
Here is a demonstration
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85
Priming Demonstration
Unscramble the
following words:
O R E S
L T E P A
K T A L S
TSME
L O B S O M S
ELAF
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ROSE
PETAL
STALK
STEM
BLOSSOM
86
Priming Demonstration
ELAF = LEAF
Why not respond
FLEA?
Because flower
parts were primed
(flower power)
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87
Priming
Activation of one or more existing memories by a
stimulus
Activation not a conscious decision
BUT, can effect subsequent thoughts and actions
Two types of priming
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Two Types of Priming
Priming
Conceptual
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Perceptual
89
Conceptual Priming
The semantic meaning of priming stimulus influences
your encoding or retrieval
Thought to involve activation of concepts stored in
semantic memory
Example: Flower power priming demonstration
Does not depend on sense modality: pictures can
conceptually prime sounds AS THE NEXT SLIDE
SHOWS
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90
Priming across modalities
Look at the picture .
Then when the
instructor says a word,
write it down.
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Perceptual Priming
Prime enhances ability to identify a test stimulus
based on its physical features
Does not work across sense modalities
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92
Perceptual Priming
Can you identify the
fragmented stimulus to
the right?
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Perceptual Priming
What if you were shown
the following slide
earlier in the lecture?
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Perceptual Priming
Can you identify the
fragmented stimulus to
the right?
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95
Evidence for Separate
Implicit/Explicit Systems
Neurophysiological evidence
Patient H.M.
life-threatening seizures originating in temporal
lobe
surgically removed portions of temporal lobe
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96
Temporal Lobe
Includes:
hippocampus
amygdala
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Patient H.M.
Surgery was effective in reducing seizures
BUT, had other side effects as well
Can remember explicit memories acquired before the
surgery
e.g., old addresses, normal vocabulary
Cannot form NEW explicit memories
e.g., remembering the name of someone he met 30
minutes prior
cannot name new world leaders or performers
can recognize a picture of himself from before his
surgery but not from after and doesn’t recognize
himself in a mirror
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Patient H.M.
H.M. has severe explicit / declarative memory disorder
H.M. is almost normal on procedural or implicit
memory tasks including priming, classical
conditioning, and learning motor skills
This shows that explicit memory depends upon the
temporal lobes and implicit does not
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Patient H.M. Summary
Temporal lobe damage led to deficits in explicit, but
not implicit memory
H.M. had both episodic and semantic memory
deficits
Damage to the hippocampus alone produces episodic,
but not semantic memory deficits
Why did H.M. show both types of explicit memory
deficits?
He had damage not only to hippocampus, but to
other structures as well
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Hippocampal Damage
Deficits in forming new explicit
memories
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Copyright
Copyright 1999 by Worth Publishers, New York, NY and
by The Ohio State University. All rights reserved. No
part of the material protected by this copyright may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without written permission of the copyright
owners.
© 1999 The Ohio State University & Worth Publishers.
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