Memory External - - Sensory - - Short - - Long Events Memory Term Term Between sensory memory and short term memory you have “Novel Stimuli” that tends to get noticed more. Encoding: Processing information into memory (breaking it down, defining meaning) Storage: Retention of encoded information. Retrieval: Getting stored info into consciousness.

Flashbulb memory: Strong memory of a traumatic event (i. e Flashbulb memory: Strong memory of a traumatic event (i.e., 911, Kennedy killing) Episodic memory: Remembering “the first time” that something happened (i.e., passing your driving test, riding a bicycle without training wheels) Acoustic – encoding sound Semantic – Encoding meaning Visual – Encoding sight Implicit memory – a skill Explicit memory – when you can explain

George Sperling: 1/20th of a second George Miller: 7 +/- 2 Sensory memory: Takes in ALL information, but degrades immediately Short term memory: Recalls less, but doesn’t fully degrade for about 12 seconds. Long term memory: Is apparently limitless and is extremely durable (1 Billion bytes) Without some kind of Mnemonic device, your memory will start to degrade until you can’t remember anything.

Forgetting can occur for 2 reasons: Cell death, you lose brain cells Over-write, you lose parts of a memory due to information being written in approximately the same place as the old memory. Forgetting also occurs because something is interfering with your ability to encode info. Proactive (anteriograde) interference: Old info gets in the way of remembering new stuff. Retrograde Interference: you can’t remember old stuff, because new info gets in the way.

Which one would be worse? Retrograde Amnesia: You can’t remember old information, but can make new memories. Anteriograde Amnesia: You can remember old information, but you can’t make any new memories. Which one would be worse? A Brain Black Out destroys short term memory, but seems to have zero effect on long term memories.

Literal memory – (just like it sounds) Constructive memory – You only remember parts of what happened, so your brain “fills in” the gaps with what makes sense. Recall – Remembering without support Recognition – You can only remember when given some supporting information first. (Test types??) Priming – Giving you “hints” to help you remember (like lawyers do) State dependent recall – When you are sad, you remember all the other times you were sad.

False Memories Recovered Memories while under hypnosis. a. Oops, Sorry dad! b. Rape by proxy Experiment with interference and memory. Threshold: You can sense it one 1 time out of 3 trials. J.N.D.: The point at which you can tell a difference in magnitude difference.

Improving your memory Refresh your memory often Minimize interference Study repeatedly Link new information to old information Actively process information Test yourself Deep processing vs. Superficial

Mnemonics What is: ROYGBIV Every Good Boy Does Fine _____ ____Hath September, April, June, and November

What triggers strong long term memories? The release of stress hormones. Earthquake story: Nimitz Freeway Re-live it, retell it, rehearse it. In “Memento,” Leonard says that conditioning makes his life possible. Can someone with anteriograde amnesia really “learn” by using conditioning?

Hippocampus Lateralization: The brain can fully recall one visual component and one audio component, but cannot do two visual, or two audio at the same time. If you have damage to the right side of the head, you will have trouble remembering what you SAW. Damage to the left side of the head, you will have trouble remembering what you HEARD. - got it? – The more serious the damage to the hippocampus, the less you will be able to process into long term memory as well as keep in short term.

Transience: It doesn’t happen all the time, difficult to remember Blocking: It’s happening, but you don’t recall it later. Misattribution: What you remember is NOT what you really saw occur Bias: What you remember is not really what happened. Procedural memory (muscle memory) – You remember, but not in a overly conscious way.

Rote rehearsal: Repeating to yourself Chunking: Taking like things and putting them together Linking: Relevant new information is placed with existing information (like driving a car) Spatial memory: Remembering things due to their physical relationship in space.