ESSENTIALS OF PSYCHOLOGY 8TH EDITION By Robert Feldman Powerpoint slides by Kimberly Foreman

CHAPTER SIX: MEMORY

MODULE 18: The Foundations of Memory What is memory? Are there different kinds of memory? What are the biological bases of memory?

Memory Process by which one encodes, stores, and retrieves information Figure 1 of Module 18

Three-System Memory Theory Sensory Memory Short-term Memory Long-term Memory Figure 2 of Module 18

Sensory Memory Iconic Memory Echoic Memory Reflects information from the visual system Echoic Memory Stores auditory information coming from the ears

Short-term Memory Memory store in which information first has meaning Chunk Meaningful grouping of stimuli that can be stored as a unit in short-term memory Example: PBSFOXCNNABCCBSMTVNBC

Short-term Memory The prior example in chunks: PBS FOX CNN ABC CBS MTV NBC

Short-term Memory Rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal Mnemonics Information is considered and organized in some fashion Mnemonics Organizational strategies For example: “ROY G BIV” (Colors of the spectrum)

Short-term Memory Working Memory Set of temporary memory stores that actively manipulate and rehearse information Central executive processor Visual store Verbal store Episodic buffer Figure 4 of Module 18

Long-term Memory Long-term Memory Modules Declarative memory Factual information Semantic memory General knowledge and facts Episodic memory Events Procedural memory Skills and habits

Long-term Memory Semantic Networks Mental representations of clusters of interconnected information Spreading activation Figure 6 of Module 18

Long-term Memory The Neuroscience of Memory Hippocampus Amygdala Figures 7 and 8 of Module 18

Long-term Memory Memory at the Level of Neurons Long-term potentiation Shows that certain neural pathways become easily excited while a new response is being learned Consolidation Memories become fixed and stable in long-term memory

Long-term Memory Dulling the Edges of Painful Memories Roger Pitman Propranolol Drug that reduces the intensity of traumatic memories but does not erase them

MODULE 19: Recalling Long-Term Memories What causes difficulties and failures in remembering?

Retrieval Cues Recall Recognition Specific piece of information must be retrieved Recognition Occurs when one is presented with a stimulus and asked whether he has been exposed to it previously, or is asked to identify it from a list of alternatives

Levels of Processing Levels-of-processing Theory Suggests that the amount of information processing that occurs when material is initially encountered is central in determining how much of the information is ultimately remembered

Explicit and Implicit Memory Explicit Memory Intentional or conscious recollection of information Implicit Memory Memories of which people are not consciously aware, but which can affect subsequent performance and behavior Priming

Flashbulb Memories Memories related to a specific, important, or surprising event that are so vivid they represent a virtual snapshot of the event Source amnesia Example: September 11th, 2001

Constructive Processes in Memory: Rebuilding the Past Processes in which memories are influenced by the meaning one gives to events Schemas Organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information in interpreted, stored, and recalled

Constructive Processes in Memory: Rebuilding the Past Memory in the Courtroom: The Eyewitness on Trial Mistaken identity Specific wording of questions Children witnesses

Constructive Processes In Memory: Rebuilding the Past Repressed and False Memories Recollections of events that are initially so shocking that the mind responds by pushing them into the unconscious Memories may be inaccurate or even wholly false Controversy regarding their legitimacy

Constructive Processes in Memory: Rebuilding the Past Autobiographical Memory Recollection of circumstances and episodes from our own lives One tends to forget information about one’s past that is incompatible with the way in which one currently sees oneself

MODULE 20: Forgetting: When Memory Fails Why do we forget information? What are the major memory impairments?

Why We Forget Failure of Encoding Decay Did not pay attention to material Decay Loss of information through nonuse Memory traces

Why We Forget Interference Cue-dependent Forgetting Information in memory disrupts the recall of other information Cue-dependent Forgetting Occurs when there are insufficient retrieval cues to rekindle information that is in memory

Proactive and Retroactive Interference Proactive Interference Information learned earlier disrupts the recall of newer material Retroactive Interference Difficulty in the recall of information because of later exposure to different material

Memory Dysfunctions: Afflictions of Forgetting Alzheimer’s Disease Amnesia Retrograde Anterograde Korsakoff’s Syndrome Afflicts long-term alcoholics

Improving Memory Effective strategies The keyword technique Organization cues Take effective notes Practice and rehearse Do not believe claims about drugs that improve memory