Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Each of the three memory stages encodes and stores memories in a different way, but they work together to transform sensory experience into a lasting record that has a pattern of meaning How Do We Form Memories?
I CAN Explain the 3 stages of memoryExplain the 3 stages of memory Describe ways in which we can extend our STM or transfer STM to LTMDescribe ways in which we can extend our STM or transfer STM to LTM Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The Three Stages of Memory Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-term Memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Three Stages of Memory Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-term Memory Preserves brief sensory impressions of stimuli
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The First Stage: Sensory Memory On the next slide, you will see a series of letters for one second Try to remember as many letters as you can DO NOT WRITE THEM DOWN
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 D J B X H G C L Y
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The First Stage: Sensory Memory How many can you recall?
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 D J B X H G C L Y
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The First Stage: Sensory Memory A. Capacity/Duration Holds the barrage of incoming sensations just long enough for brain to scan it and decide which information needs attention…. 1/4 of a sec Lasts just long enough to dissolve into another and give us a sense of flow and continuity in our experience
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The First Stage: Sensory Memory Actual storage capacity can be 12 or more items, but all but 3 or 4 disappear before they enter our consciousness
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The First Stage: Sensory Memory B. Structure/Function There is as separate sensory register for each sense…each holds a different kind of sensory information Visual Stimulation = Iconic Memory Auditory Stimulation = Echoic Memory Tactile (touch) Stimulation = Tactile Sensory Memory Olfactory Stimulation = Olfactory Sensory Memory Gustatory Stimuli = Gustatory Sensory Memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007
The First Stage: Sensory Memory The job of sensory memory is to store these images briefly If they were held too long, they would interfere with new information Psychologists believe that, in this stage, memory images take the form of nerve impulses
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Three Stages of Memory Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-term Memory Preserves recently perceived events or experiences for less than a minute without rehearsal, also called short-term memory or STM
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Second Stage: Working Memory Working memory consists of… A central executive A phonological loop The sketchpad
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Three Parts of Working Memory Central Executive: Directs attention to material retrieved from LTM or to important input from the sensory memory Phonological Loop: Temporarily stores sounds….like someone’s name Sketchpad: Stores and manipulates mental images…like when you can imagine yourself driving a car to school from home
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Working Memory Like the central processing chip of a computer The center of mental action AND the go- between for the other parts of memory It is where the brain sorts out and encodes information before adding it to long term memory We are conscious of everything in the working memory
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Working Memory Also the area where ‘thinking’ occurs… which is the brain mulling over images and ideas taken from the LTM AKA = Short Term Memory Example: A phone number you just looked up
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Capacity/Duration Has limited capacity and a short duration Typically hold information for about 20 seconds “Magic Number Seven” …seven items of any sort..(letters, numbers, words, shapes, sounds) will fill the working memory of most people Has the smallest capacity of the three stages “Put on your thinking cap”
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Biological Basis: Working memory probably holds information in actively firing nerve circuits…most likely in the frontal cortex
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Encoding and Storage in Working Memory I. Chunking II. Rehearsal Maintenance/ROTE Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal III. Acoustic Encoding: The Phonological Loop IV. Visual and Spatial Encoding.. the sketchpad
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Working Memory Aides To Overcome Limited Capacity and Short Duration Chunking Organizing pieces of information into a smaller number of meaningful units Example: A social security number F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M FBI TWA CIA IBM
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Acronyms/Mnemonic Device HOMES Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior PEMDAS Parentheses, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract ROY G. BIV Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization SNAFU Situation Normal, All F’ed Up WTF Williamstown Theater Festival Acronyms are another way of chunking information to remember it.
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Rehearsal Process in which information is repeated or reviewed to keep it from fading while in working memory Spacing Effect We retain information better when we rehearse over time
Rehearsal Maintenance ROTE Rehearsal Repeating information to remember it Ex: Cramming for a test, a shopping list in your head Not an efficient method of transferring information into the LTM Elaborative Rehearsal Repeating information AND connecting it to knowledge already stored in LTM A more efficient method of transferring information into the LTM Ex: EYE-EXAM
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Acoustic Encoding uses phonological loop Encoded memory of a stimulus on the basis of any sound associated with it Whrr -- pop -- splash -- cuckoo: You can hear in your mind the sounds they describe Examples: Hearing words and phrases Repeating notes to yourself while studying. Working Memory Aides To Overcome Limited Capacity and Short Duration
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Visual and Spatial Encoding... The Sketchpad Encodes visual images and mental representations of objects in space Example: Holds those images you think of when trying to remember where you left your lost coat Working Memory Aides To Overcome Limited Capacity and Short Duration
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Explanation for the fact that the more connections you make with new information while it is in the working memory to prior knowledge in the LTM, the more likely you are to remember it. Also known as… Elaboration or Elaborative Rehearsal Levels-of-Processing Theory
CAN I? Explain the 3 stages of memory Describe ways in which we can extend our STM or transfer STM to LTM Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007