Memory Chapter 6

Memory Memory is the ability to recall past learning, events, images, and ideas It is also the storage system that allows a person to retain and retrieve information

Brain as Information Processor Information processing refers to organizing, interpreting, and responding to information from the environment The first process is encoding The second process is placing information in storage The third is making the information available through retrieval

Encoding Encoding is the first step in establishing a memory Encoding involves organizing sensory information so the nervous system can process it Attention, the processing of directing mental effort to some feature of the environment, is important for encoding

Levels of Processing Craik and Lockhart argued that the brain can encode and process information several different ways Levels of processing is equated with how deeply information is analyzed

Levels of Processing The encoding specificity principle states that the effectiveness of a retrieval cue depends on how well it matches the originally encoded information A related idea is transfer appropriate processing that occurs when the initial processing of information is similar to the process of retrieval

Storage Storage is the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available

Sensory Memory Sensory memory is a very brief storage area based on the sensory system

Sensory Memory Sperling presented research participants with a display consisting of three rows of letters for a fraction of a second They typically could report only three to four letters total When cued, however, they could report three or four letters from any given row

Sensory Memory Visual sensory memory is called iconic memory The images in iconic memory are called icons The storage mechanism for the auditory system is called echoic storage Echoic storage lasts only about three seconds

Short-Term Storage Information in sensory memory fades rapidly unless transferred to short-term storage This area was originally called short-term memory (storage) to highlight its brief duration However, after its active nature was recognized, some researchers started calling it working memory

Early Research on Short-Term Memory Peterson and Peterson asked participants to recall three consonant sequences Recall was either immediate or after 1 to 18 seconds Accuracy of recall decreased as the length of the interval increased

Early Research on Short-Term Memory Miller argued humans can retain about seven (plus or minus two) items in short-term memory This is referred to as the memory span People can group information in ways that expand short-term memory These groups are called chunks

Early Research on Short-Term Memory Rehearsal is especially important in memory It is the process of acting on or transforming information to keep it active in memory

Early Research on Short-Term Memory Maintenance rehearsal is the repetitive review of information with little or no interpretation Elaborative rehearsal involves repetition plus analysis

Working Memory Working memory is a storage mechanism that temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use In working memory, information is encoded and then maintained for 20 to 30 seconds while processing takes place

Figure 6.5 Short-Term Working Memory

Long-Term Memory Long-term memory is a relatively permanent storage area of unlimited capacity Procedural memory is memory for skills Declarative memory is memory for specific items of information

Figure 6.6 Procedural and Declarative Long-Term Memory

Episodic and Semantic Memory Episodic memory is memory for specific, personal events and situations Episodic memory about ourselves can be termed autobiographic memory Semantic memory is memory for ideas, rules, words, and general concepts about the world

Explicit and Implicit Memory Explicit memory is memory that a person is conscious or aware of Implicit memory is memory a person is not aware she or he possesses