UNIT 3: MEMORY
DECK – PSYCH
PATIENT HM
AN INTRODUCTION…
What is memory?
 If someone asked you to
define what memory is, what
would you say?
 According to
thefreedictionary.com,
memory is the mental
faculty of retaining and
recalling past experience
Types of Memory
 Are there different types or kinds
of memory?
 If so, brainstorm some:
 a)
 b)
 c)
 d)
Is memory important?
 How important is the ability
to remember?
 Why?
 Explain your thoughts:
 a)
 b)
 c)
 d)
AGREE/DISAGREE?
 Without our memory we
would not survive.
 Explain your choice(s)
 a)
 b)
 c)
 d)
AGREE/DISAGREE?
 Without memories we
would not know who we
are.
 Explain your choice(s):
 a)
 b)
 c)
 d)
MEMORY – VID 1
Memory
WHAT IS MEMORY?
GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR THIS UNIT
 1. What is memory?
 2. What are the different types of memories?
 3. How do we memorize items?
 4. Why do we forget?
 5. How can memories be recalled?
 6. Can false memories be created?
KEY TERMS
Memory
H.M.
Serial Learning
Paired-Associate Learning
Free Recall
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
Donald Broadbent
Filter Theory
E.C. Cherry
Cocktail Party Phenomenon
Chunking
Working Memory
Long Term Memory
Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon
Maintenance Rehearsal
Elaborative Rehearsal
Proactive Interference
Retroactive Interference
Semantic LTM
Episodic LTM
Encoding Specificity Hypothesis
Elizabeth Loftus
Sensory Memory
Short Term Memory
George Miller
7 +/- 2 Theory
MEMORY DEFINED
• The concept of memory is difficult to define.
• Memory is one of those abilities that we take for
granted.
• Certainly memory is related to learning.
• Memory: Is the system or process by which the
products or results of learning are stored for
future use.
HOW WE MEMORIZE LEARNED
MATERIAL
SERIAL LEARNING:
- Material that has been learned must be
repeated in the order which it was presented.
Examples:
- Phone numbers
- Simple procedure like how to make coffee Math equations
PAIRED-ASSOCIATE LEARNING:
- Items to be recalled are learned in pairs. During recall,
one member of the pair is presented and the other is to
be recalled.
Example: Learning a foreign language, basic definition
study, etc.
FREE RECALL:
- When material that has been learned may be repeated in any
order. Here the task is to remember as many items as possible,
regardless of their order
Example: Essay Answers.
READ HANDOUT: INITIAL STUDIES IN
MEMORY
1 Who was Herman Ebbinghaus?
2 What are nonsense syllables and why are
they important?
3 Explain the curve of forgetting.
4 What is a recognition test (provide an
example).
5 What is a relearning test? What does it
show?
Ten Second Tom
Clive Wearing
Thoughts about H.M...
" 'Every day is alone in itself'...
H.M. remembered nothing form minute to minute but knew that he
remembered nothing."
Is life worth living
without memory?
Ethics - why keep it
a secret till his
death?
Was he good for
science?
HM (Henry Molaison)
 Suffered from severe seizures; removed seizure causing
portion of his brain
 Lost the ability to form new long-term memories
 Could remember things up to his surgery but nothing after
(never knew what day of the week it was)
 Forgot things within a minute; short-term memory worked
 Remembered nothing from minute to minute but knew he
remembered nothing
 Able to learn new motor tasks – able to hold down a job
Types Of Memory
A REVIEW
 Memory is the system or process by which the products
or results of learning are stored for future use (recall)
 What is something that you have recently “filed” in your
brain for later use?
 Hint – think something you wanted to use as a
“weapon” or “against someone”
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory
 Proposed that there are three types of memory:
Sensory
Short-Term
Long-Term
SENSORY MEMORY
 First stage of memory
 Retention only lasts for a few
seconds
 Largely based on what we see or
hear
 Memory is fragile at this stage and
likely disappears if not processed
further
 “in one ear and out the other”
 What happens if you do not
repeat a number or write it down
you got from 311/411?
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
An Example in Action
Short-Term Memory
The Facts
Short-term memory is the middle stage of
memory
This stage is usually measured in seconds
or minutes
Memory is still fragile but has been
processed more than in the sensory
stage
If processed further it will be transferred
to long-term memory
The Reasons
Unless memories are practiced or
rehearsed, they become weaker and
fade away
To make room for new incoming
information, some of the memories in
short-term memory are pushed out or
displaced (less valuable ones usually)
The Reflection
 How do cultural groups try and keep memories alive?
 A)
 B)
 C)
 D)
 E)
REFLECTION cont’d…
 How do you try and keep memories alive?
 A)
 B)
 C)
 D)
 E)
The Future???
How can it be argued that computers
are negatively influencing our short-term
memories?
How can it be argued that computers
are positively influencing our short-term
memories?
The Practice
 Memorize the following phone numbers:
(316) 343-5800
(401) 246-4531
(912) 692-3423
STM continued…
Telephone
Ford
Pin
Poplar
Fax
Chevrolet
 Memorize as many words as you can:
machine
Oak
Telegraph
Walnut
Buick
Mazda
Television
Cedar
Mail
Porsche
Maple
Audiocasset
te
elm
Memory Experiment
Write down as many as you can
remember:
A Strategy
Miller’s theory states we can only hold so
many items in short-term memory
As a result, grouping or chunking items
together is one solution to increase
memory
A Second Chance
Try again. This time I will give you the
categories:
 Types of vehicles
 Parts of a computer
 Food
 Clothing
 Coins
STM continued…
Limo
quarter
Apple
Skirt
Disk
keyboard
Dime
Car
Shirt
potato
Banana
Penny
Printer
bike
Carrot
Van
Monitor
mouse
Pants
Boat
Nickel
shoes
Tie
cherry
 Memorize as many words as you can:
How did you do?
What was different?
What did you do differently?
How could you apply this to your daily
school/life routines?
Music and Memory:
Advertisers have found a strategy that emphasizes
free recall. . . Use music.
How many commercials have you seen or heard
that did not include music or a jingle?
Advertisers assume that we are more likely to
remember brands and products if they are
associated with catchy phrases or jingles.
Surprisingly little research has been conducted to verify this
assumption
Results of research that has been done are mixed:
Some studies have yielded a positive correlation between
memory and music, some have found no relationship, and still
others have found that music can actually interfere with recall.
Most psychologist conclude that items associated with
musical jingles or catchy phrases are easier to retrieve from
memory, but that pairing an item with music it does not
necessarily enhance recognition of those items
Let’s Test Your Memory for
Advertisements:
•Be all that you can be
•Army
•M'm, M'm good
•Campbell’s Soup
•Waaay delicious
•Wendy’s
•Winston tastes good like a
cigarette should
•Winston’s Cigarettes
•A little dab'll do ya
•Brule Cream
•Diamonds are forever
•Debeers
•Just do it
•Nike
•Tastes great, less filling
•Miller Lite
•Good to the last drop
•Maxwell House
•Don’t leave home without it
•American Express
•Wassup?!
•Budweiser
•Have it your way.
•Burger King
•Got milk?
•I’m Love’n it
•McDonalds
Eat Fresh
Subway
Have a Break
Kit Kat
Betcha can’t have just
one
Lay’s Chips
Makes a nice light snack
Coffee Crisp
Pure Nature
Disani
Be Kool
Kool Aid
Look, Ma, no cavities!
Crest
Zoom Zoom
Mazda
Ingredients for life.
Safeway
Excelerate your Breath
Excel
You’ll Find Us
Best Sleep Center
Think outside the Bun
Taco Bell
The Best a Man can get
Gillette
Do the Dew
Mountain Dew
You can do it we can help
Home Depot
What’s in your Wallet
Capital one
Is it in you?
Gatorade
What is memory like?
OR
Well, memories are...
• Incomplete
• Bias
• Distorted
• We remember personal stuff and
filter a lot of information
Does Attention determine what is remembered?
Visual Attention is Selective
We can focus our attention on
primitive things such as:
• Shape
• Colour
• Movement
• Orientation
Shall we see...
Count the Red As
AA A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Count the
A
AA A
A
A
A A A A
A
A
A
A
Parallel Processing
Allows us to process information
from different visual features at the
same time by looking for targets.
Application...
Something a little harder. Count the Red Squares
Conjunction Task
Stimulus you are looking for
requires more attention, because it
is made up of two features.
Application...
The Filter Theory
Thoughts:
Can we really close the
gate and not allow
information in?
Broadbent (1958)
developed the filter
Theory:
We can filter incoming
information and decide
what to let in.
Then when and how is it
closed?
Think of an example of stimulus that would
demand immediate attention? Something
that would cause us to virtually shut off the
ability to attend to anything else.
This?
Can we ignore one sound and
concentrate on another?
• Turns out we may think we are ignoring it
and can’t remember it, but our mind is still
processing it.
• MacKay (1973) ....
Here is the experiment
ONE GROUP
Attended
Ear
“They threw stones at
a bank yesterday.” Unattended
Ear
“River”
SECOND GROUP
Attended
Ear
“They threw stones at Unattended
Ear
a bank yesterday.”
“Bank”
After the listening...
• Both groups could not report to what they
heard in the unattended ear.
• River Group
• Interpreted the
sentence to
mean they were
throwing at a
river bank
• Bank Group
• Interpreted the
sentence to
mean they were
throwing at a
Financial
institute
So that is small changes, what about
big changes.
• Do you think you would notice if the person
(a stranger) you were having a conversation
with changed?
• Changed Blindness ( Simmons & Levin
1998)
Changed Blindness
A participant is approached by a
stranger asking for directions.
While being
blocked the
original
stranger is
replaced by
another
person
The stranger is momentarily
blocked by a large object.
Would you notice?
Changed Blindness
Turns out half of you would
(50%)
As long as the switch of
strangers was of the same
gender and race.
10 Techniques for Improving Memory:
Influential Factors:
1.Number of study sessions:
- Generally the greater the number of sessions the better the
learning and memory
2. Distribution of Study Sessions:
- Sessions should be spread out. Spaced practice is more effective
than massed practice
3. Meaningfulness of Material:
- If you attach meaning you will learn better and remember longer
4. Similarity of items:
- a group of items of the same general type will be learned
better than a group of dissimilar items
5. Serial Positioning:
- Items at the beginning and end of a study session or list will be
learned better than items in the middle of the study session or
list
6. Mnemonic Devices:
- When you are not able to attach authentic meaning to
information, creating associations to help you remember the
material will increase memory
7. Imagery:
- Creating mental images or pictures in your mind enhances recognition and
recall of information
8. Grouping or Chunking:
- grouping similar items together into categories helps to remember them
better
9. Coding:
- Creating special codes to help learn material that lack relevance
10. Exercise regularly – Both mind and body