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lecture notes on memory...

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CHAPTER 25 – MEMORY

Studying Memory -

Memory: the persistence of learning overtime through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Measuring Retention -

It was a psychologist, evidence that learning persists includes these three measures of retention: o Recall  retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learn at an earlier time (i.e. fill in the blank question) o Recognition  identify items previously learned (i.e. multiple-choice question) o Relearning  Learning something more quickly when you learn a second or later time (i.e. study for a cumulative final exam) ** these indicate memory strength

Memory Models -

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To remember any event, we must: o Get that information into our brain (encoding) o Retain the information (storage) o Later get the information back out (retrieval) Parallel Processing: the brains natural mode of information by processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously o Connectionism  views memories as products of interconnected neural networks  Every time you learn something new year brings neural connections change (new pathways) Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin proposed a three-stage model: 1. We first record to be remembered information as fleeting sensory memory 2. From there, we process information into short term memory, where we encode it through a rehearsal 3. Finally, information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval

Working Memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and information retrieved from long-term memory o Ex: right now, you are using your working memory to link the information you are reading with your previously stored information Allan Baddeley’s model  a “central executive” handles focus processing

RP-How does the working memory concept update the classic Atkinson-Shiffrin three stage information processing model? The new her idea of a working memory emphasizes the active processing that we now know takes place in Atkinson Shiffrin short-term memory stage. While the Atkinson Shiffrin model viewed short-term memory as a temporary holding space, working memory plays a key role in processing new information and connecting it to previously stored information. RP-what are the two basic functions of working memory? 1. Active processing of incoming visual and auditory information, and 2. Focusing our spotlight of attention

Encoding Memories -

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Explicit Memory: retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare o Atkinson and Shifrin’s model o Declarative memories Effortful Processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort o We encode explicit memories Automatic Processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information (such as space, time, and frequency) and of well learned information (such as word meanings) Implicit Memory: retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection o Nondeclarative memories

Automatic Processing and Implicit Memories -

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Our implicit memories include procedural memory for automatic skills (riding a bike) and classically conditioned associations among stimuli o If attacked by a dog in childhood, years later you may, without recalling the conditioned association, automatically tense up as a dog approaches Without conscious effort you also automatically process information about: o Space  visualizing a location o Time  unintentionally noting the sequence of events (remembering what time of the day you lost your watch; retracing steps) o Frequency  how many times things happen

Effortful Processing and Explicit Memories -

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Effortful processing must occur before automatic processing o i.e. learn to understanding the language: at first it is difficult but after a while it becomes automatic Sensory Memory o Iconic Memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli (a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second) o Echoic Memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli (if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within three or four seconds) Short-term Memory Capacity o What we can briefly retain o George Miller propose we can store about seven pieces of information in short-term memory o Working memory capacity – ability to juggle multiple items while processing information  Reflects intelligence level

RP-What is the difference between automatic and effortful processing? Automatic processing occurs unconsciously (automatically) for such things as the sequence and frequency of the days events, in reading and comprehending words in our own language(s). Effortful processing requires attention and awareness and happens when we work hard to learn new material in class or lines for a play.

Effortful Processing Strategies -

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Several effortful processing charges can boost our ability to form new memories – later when we try to retrieve the memory of these strategies can make the difference between success and failure Chunking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically o Enables us to recall it more easily o Ex: remembering a set of letters M G V S R M T as MGV SRM T Mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices o Ex: HOMES for remembering Ontario’s Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario etc.) Hierarchies: placing broad concepts into narrower concepts and facts (subdivisions)

Distributed Practice -

We retain information better when our encoding is distributed overtime – Long term recall Spacing Effect: the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice o Testing Effect: enhance memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information  Repeated self testing  Protects our memory from harmful effects of stress

Levels of Processing -

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Memory researchers have discovered that we processed verbal information on different levels and the depth of processing affects our long-term retention Shallow Processing: encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words o Elementary level (word’s, letters); intermediate level (a word’s sound) o Thus mistaking their, there, and they’re Deep Processing: encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention o Deeper (more meaningful) the processing, the better the retention The amount remember depends both on the time spent learning and on your making it meaningful for deep processing...