Chapter 7 Notes - Memory PDF

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PSYCHOLOGY: CHAPTER 7 – Memory

1. The Nature of Memory - Memory – the retention of information or experience over time o Occurs through encoding, storage and retrieval

2. Memory Encoding - Encoding – process by which information gets into memory stage  listening to a lecture, reading a book Attention - Divided attention – concentrating on more than one activity at the same time  listening to music while studying - Sustained/vigilance attention – ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time o Paying close attention to your notes while studying for an exam o Multitasking – involves dividing attention between three or more activities Levels of Processing - A continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate processing from shallow to intermediate to deep with deeper processing producing better memory Elaboration - The formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at any given level of memory encoding - Self-reference – relating material to your own experience to elaborate deeply on information Imagery - Dual-code hypothesis – claims that memory for pictures is better than memory for words because pictures – at least those that can be name – are stored as both image codes and verbal codes

3. Memory Storage The quality of encoding does not alone determine the quality of memory - Storage – retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory - Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin o Atkinson-Shiffrin theory – stating that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory  Sensory memory  time frames of a fraction of a second to several seconds  Short-term memory  time frames up to 30 seconds  Long-term memory  time frames up to a lifetime

Sensory Memory - Memory system that involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer than the brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory and other senses - Rich and detailed but we lose the information quickly unless we use certain strategies to transfer into short-term or long-term - Retains information from your senses, including large portion of what you think you ignore  NOT FOR VERY LONG! o Iconic memory – refers to visual sensory memory retained for only about ¼ of a second Short-Term Memory - Limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless the individual uses strategies to retain it longer  Chunking and Rehearsal - Chunking – involves grouping or “packing” large amounts of information into more manageable - Rehearsal – the conscious repetition of information...if not interrupted, can be retained indefinitely  Working Memory - A combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow individuals to hold information temporarily as they perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and assembles information to guide understanding, decision making and problem solving o Central executive – integrates information not only from phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad but also from long-term memory  attention, planning & organizing Long-Term Memory - Relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time  staggering capacity (virtually unlimited)  Explicit (Declarative) Memory - Conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts and events, at least in humans, information that can be verbally communicated o Recounting the events in a movie you’ve seen - Episodic memory – retention of information about the where, when, and what of life’s happenings – basically, how we remember life’s episodes o Autobiographical  details of where you were when your sibling was born - Semantic memory – type of explicit memory pertaining to a person’s knowledge about the world  areas of expertise, general knowledge o Person’s knowledge of chess or geometry o Appears to be independent of an individual’s personal identity with the past

o Permastore memory – represents that portion of original learning that appears destined to be with the person virtually forever, even without rehearsal  Implicit (Non-declarative) Memory - Memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience o Skills of playing soccer or snowboarding or even texting - Procedural memory – implicit memory process involving memory for skills o Typing a paper, not conscious of where the keys are - Priming – activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster  How Memory is Organized - Connectionist Networks o Connectionism (parallel distributed processing) – theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons, several of which may work together to process a single memory

4. Memory Retrieval - Retrieval – the memory process that occurs when information that was retained in memory comes out of storage Serial Position Effect - Tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list more readily than those in the middle o Primary effect  better recall for items at the beginning of a list o Recency effect better recall for items at the end Retrieval Cues and the Retrieval Task  Recall and Recognition - Recall – memory task in which the individual has to retriever previously learned information o Essay tests - Recognition – memory task which the individual only has to identify (recognize) learned items o Multiple-choice tests Special Cases of Retrieval  Retrieval of Autobiographical Memories - Autobiographical memory – special form of episodic memory, a person’s recollections of his or her life experiences  some parts can be made up! o Reminiscence bump – effect that adults remember more events from the second and third decades of life than from other decades  Possible because during our teens/20s, forming a sense of identity  Retrieval of Emotional Memories - Flashbulb memory – memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events

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o Assassination of JFK, 9/11, killing of Osama bin Laden Repressed Memories Motivated forgetting – forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxiety-laden that remembering it is intolerable Eyewitness Testimony Focuses on distortion, bias and inaccuracy of memory in forensic psychology

5. Forgetting - Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) – first person to conduct scientific research on forgetting Encoding Failure - Occurs when the information was never entered into long-term memory  encode only a small portion of our life experiences...not cases of forgetting, cases of not remembering Retrieval Failure - Interference - One of the reason that people forget - Interference theory – people forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember - Two kinds of interference: 1) Proactive interference – situation which material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later  pro = “forward in time 2) Retroactive interference – situation which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier  retro = “backward in time”  Decay - Decay theory – when an individual learns something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms but over time this trace disintegrates; suggest that the passage of time always increases forgetting  Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon - Type of “effortful retrieval” that occurs when we are confident that we know something but cannot quite pull it out of memory o Shows we don’t store all information about particular topic  Prospective Memory - Retrospective memory – remembering information from the past - Prospective memory – remembering information about doing something in the future o Includes both timing (when we have to do something) and content (what we have to do)  Amnesia - Memory loss

- Anterograde amnesia – memory disorder that affects the retention of new information and events

6. Study Tips from the Science of Memory  Organize - Steps in Improving Academic Performance: 1) First step in improving academic performance is to make sure that the information studying is accurate and well organized 2) Review your course notes routinely and catch errors 3) Organize the material in a way that will allow you to commit it to memory effectively 4) Experiment with different organizational techniques...