© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter 7: Memory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Memory Encoding –Refers to the process by which information is initially recorded in a form usable to memory Storage –The maintenance of material saved in the memory system Retrieval –Material in memory storage is located, brought into awareness, and used

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Sensory Memory Sensory memory –The initial, momentary storage of information, lasting only an instant Iconic memory –Reflects information from our visual system Echoic memory –Stores auditory information coming from the ears

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Memory store in which information first has meaning May hold 7 (plus or minus 2) chunks of information –A chunk is a meaningful grouping of stimuli that can be stored as a unit in short term memory Holds information for approximately seconds

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Chunking PBSFOXCNNABCCB SMTVNBC PBS FOX CNN ABC CBS MTV NBC

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Rehearsal –The repetition of information that has entered short-term memory Elaborative rehearsal –Occurs when information is considered and is organized in some fashion resulting in greater likelihood to be transferred into long-term memory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Mnemonics –Formal techniques for organizing information in a way that makes it more likely to be remembered ROY G. BIV for the colors of the rainbow –Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Working memory –A set of temporary memory stores that actively manipulate and rehearse information –Stress can reduce the effectiveness of working memory by reducing its capacity

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Short-Term Memory Working memory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Long-Term Memory A storehouse of almost unlimited capacity Information in long-term memory is filed and coded so that we can retrieve it when we need it

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Three Systems of Memory: Long-Term Memory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Modules of Long-Term Memory Declarative memory –Factual information: names, faces, dates, etc. Procedural memory –Skills and habits, such as riding a bike or hitting a baseball

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Modules of Long-Term Memory Semantic memory –General knowledge and facts about the world, as well as memory for the rules of logic that are used to deduce other facts

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Modules of Long-Term Memory Episodic memory –Memory for events that occur in a particular time, place, or context

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Neuroscience Of Memory Hippocampus –Part of limbic system and plays a central role in the consolidation of memories Amygdala –Involved in memories involving emotion

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Recalling Long-Term Memories 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

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Recalling Long-Term Memories Flashbulb Memories –Memories centered on a specific, important, or surprising event that are so vivid it is as if they represented a snapshot of the event

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Recalling Long-Term Memories Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon –Inability to recall information that one realizes one knows Retrieval cue –Stimulus that allows us to recall more easily information that is located in long-term memory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Recalling Long-Term Memories Levels of processing theory –Emphasizes the degree to which new material is mentally analyzed –The amount of information remembered hinges on how much attention was paid

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Constructive Processes in Memory Constructive processes –Processes in which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events Schemas –Organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Repressed and False Memories Repressed memories –Recollections of events that are initially so shocking that the mind responds by pushing them into the unconscious False Memories –Develop when people are unable to recall the source of a memory of a particular event about which they have only vague recollections

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Autobiographical Memory Our recollections of circumstances and episodes from our own lives

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Forgetting: When Memory Fails Herman Ebbinghaus

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Forgetting: When Memory Fails Decay –Loss of information in memory through its nonuse Interference –Phenomenon by which information in memory disrupts the recall of other information

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Forgetting: When Memory Fails Amnesia –Memory loss that occurs without other mental difficulties Retrograde –Memory is lost for occurrences prior to a certain event Anterograde –Memory is lost for events that follow and injury

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Forgetting: When Memory Fails Memory dysfunctions –Alzheimer’s disease Characterized in part by severe memory problems –Korsakoff’s syndrome Affects long-term alcoholics Includes hallucinations

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Improving Memory Keyword technique Encoding specificity Organization cues Effective note taking Practice and rehearse Don’t believe claims about memory improvement drugs...save your money!