Memory Chapter 7

Memory Studying Memory Building Memories An Information-Processing Model Two Memory Tracks Building Memories Encoding: Getting Information In Storage: Retaining Information Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Memory Forgetting Improving Memory Encoding Failure Storage Decay Retrieval Failure Improving Memory

Memory is the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage and retrieval of information 7 Dwarfs

Building a Memory To remember any information or experience requires: Encoding: getting information into our brain Storage: retaining the encoded information Retrieval: getting the information back out of memory storage

An Information-Processing Model A model of memory based on a computer (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968) Experience is first recorded, for just a moment, as a sensory memory Information is processed into short-term memory, encoded through rehearsal Holds a few items briefly Information moves to long-term memory for later retrieval

Updates to the I-P Model Some memories are formed through unconscious processing, without our awareness Working memory: a view of short-term memory that stresses conscious, active processes Working memory is not just a storage shelf, but an active desktop for linking new and old information

An Information-Processing Model

Two-Track Processing: Automatic vs. Effortful We automatically process vast amounts of everyday information We remember new and important information through effortful processing

Automatic Processing We automatically process information about Space “The definition was at the top of the right page” Time “I went to the store before lunch” Frequency “This is the third time I’ve seen her today!”

Effortful Processing Requires close attention and effort Memory can be improved through rehearsal, the conscious repetition of information Rehearsal was the subject of one of many studies of memory by Hermann Ebbinghaus

Effortful Processing Spacing effect: we remember better if study or practice is spread over time Cramming is less effective! Testing effect: repeated quizzing of previously studied material also helps

Building Memories Encoding: Getting Information In Storage: Retaining Information Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Encoding Meaning We may encode meaning rather than raw information When asked to recall text, we often report the meaning, or gist, rather than the raw text It can be difficult to remember things without a meaningful context You will more easily remember what you read and hear if you translate it into personally meaningful information Encoding ex. 7a-4

Encoding Images We can more easily remember things we can process visually as well as meaningfully Memorable sentences often evoke powerful imagery, or mental pictures High-imagery words are more easily remembered than low-imagery words Visual vs auditory encoded exercise

Sensory Memory Storage is extremely short, especially for visual sensory memory - sparklers Study: Sperling (1960) flashed nine letters for 1/20th of a second. Sensory memory made the letters momentarily available for encoding. Exercise - capacity

Storage Capacities Short-term memory capacity is limited The Magical Number Seven, plus or minus two (George Miller, 1956) Exercise - capacity Long-term memory seems to have no limit and can endure for a lifetime Jill Price – the woman who never forgets

Serial Position Serial position effect: We remember the first and last items in a list best After a delay, we only remember the first items best Exercise – capacity and position effect

How Does the Brain Store Memory? Memory is not stored like books in a library, in neat, precise locations. Rather, different aspects of a memory are assigned to various groups of neurons. Thus, to understand how memory works, we must study the brain Clive Wearing video

Flashbulb Memories Emotion-triggered hormone changes help explain flashbulb memories, unusually clear memories of an emotionally significant moment or event E.g., many people remember exactly where they were on September 11, 2001

Retrieval: Getting Information Out Evidence that something has been remembered: The item can be recalled, as on a fill-in-the-blank test The item can be recognized, as on a multiple-choice test Recognition memory is quick and vast Relearning the item may be easier than it was the first time

Retrieval Cues Memories are linked together in the brain, in a storage web of associations. These associations can serve as retrieval cues, any stimuli (events, feelings, places, etc.) linked to a specific memory The more retrieval cues you’ve encoded, the better chance of finding a path to retrieve the memory Retrieval exercise

Context Effects Returning to the context where you experienced something can prime your memory of it Godden and Baddeley (1975) had scuba divers learn lists of words on land or underwater, and then attempt to recall them in the same or different context

Context Effects Sometimes being in a similar context to one previously experienced can trigger the eerie feeling of déjà vu (I’ve seen this before) This can happen when the current situation is loaded with retrieval cues that remind us of earlier, similar experiences déjà vu exercise Crash course video #13

Memory failure Forgetting Improving Memory Encoding Failure Storage Decay Retrieval Failure Improving Memory

Encoding Failure We cannot remember what we have not encoded

Storage Decay Forgetting is initially rapid, and then levels off People who had studied Spanish in high school but not after were tested on vocabulary recall One explanation may be a gradual fading of the memory trace, the physical changes in the brain as a memory forms

Retrieval Failure We can sometimes fail to retrieve a memory because we don’t have enough information to access the pathway to it

Forgetting Forgetting, the loss of information in between sensation and retrieval, can occur at any stage Eye Witness Testimony video part 1 Part II

Tips for Improving Memory Study repeatedly Space study sessions apart Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material Make the material personally meaningful Activate retrieval cues Minimize interference Sleep more Test your knowledge, both to rehearse it and to find out what you don’t know