1. Memory Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin CHAPTER 6: Memory
Prepared by Michael J. Renner, Ph.D.
These slides ©2001 Prentice Hall Psychology Publishing.
CHAPTER 6:
Memory
©2001 Prentice Hall

2. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Memory
Memory
An Information-Processing Model
The Sensory Register
Short-Term Memory
Long-Term Memory
Autobiographical Memory
Chapter outline
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

3. Information-Processing Model of Memory
Figure 6.1 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
A model of memory in which information must pass through discrete stages via the processes of attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

4. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Memory
Memory Types of Memory
Sensory Memory
Records information from the senses for up to three seconds
Examples are Iconic (Visual) Memory and Echoic (Auditory) Memory
Short-Term Memory
Holds about seven items for up to twenty seconds before the material is forgotten or transferred to long-term memory
Long-Term Memory
Relatively permanent, can hold vast amounts of information
Section outline
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

5. The Sensory Register Testing for Iconic Memory
Invented by George Sperling
A letter array is shown briefly
After array is gone, tone signals which row to report
Subjects recalled more letters when signaled to recall only one row compared to trying to recall all the letters
Figure 6.2 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Sperling, G. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological Monographs, 74 (Whole number 11), 1-29.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

6. The Sensory Register Duration of Iconic Memory
Figure 6.3 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Sperling, G. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological Monographs, 74 (Whole number 11), 1-29.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

7. Short-Term Memory Capacity Memory-Span Test
Read the top row of digits, then look away and repeat them back in order. Continue until a mistake is made. The average capacity is seven items of information.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

8. Short-Term Memory Capacity Increased Memory Span
Two students practiced memory span tasks for an hour 3-4 days/week.
After six months, digit span had increased from 7 to 80 items.
Figure 6.5 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Ericsson, K.A., & Chase, W.G. (1982). Exceptional memory. American Scientist, 70,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

9. Short-Term Memory Capacity Chunking
Process of grouping distinct bits of information into larger wholes to increase short-term memory capacity.
Take 5 seconds to memorize as much as possible on the next slide.
Then, try to reproduce the arrangement of pieces.
Figure 6.6 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

10. Short-Term Memory Capacity The Value of Chunking
Was the number correct around seven pieces? Or, was the information chunked?
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

11. Short-Term Memory Duration of Short-Term Memory
Subjects memorized nonsense syllables, (e.g., MJK, ZRW).
To prevent rehearsal, they were given a distracter task during the waiting period.
When a cue was given, subjects tried to recall the letters.
Short-term memories vanish within twenty seconds.
Figure 6.7 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Peterson, L.R., & Peterson, M.J. (1959). Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

12. Short-Term Memory Functions of Short-Term Memory Working Memory
Term used to describe short-term memory as an active workspace where information is accessible for current use.
Baddeley’s model of working memory contains three elements:
A “central executive”
Auditory working memory
Visuo-spatial working memory
Material can enter conscious workspace from senses or from long-term memory
Figure 6.8 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

13. Short-Term Memory The Serial-Position Effect
Serial Position Curve
Indicates the tendency to recall more items from the beginning and end of a list than from the middle.
Both groups of subjects showed primacy effects, good recall of first items on list.
Only the no-delay group showed recency effects, good recall for last items.
Figure 6.9 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Glanzer, M., & Cunitz, A. (1966). Two storage mechanisms in free recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 5,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

14. Short-Term Memory The Long-Term Serial-Position Effect
Can you name the U. S. Presidents?
Can you name them in the correct order?
Note that these subjects exhibited both primacy and recency effects.
Figure 6.10 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Crowder, R. (1993). Short-term memory: Where do we stand? Memory and Cognition, 21,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

15. Long-Term Memory Encoding Elaborative Rehearsal
Subjects were shown lists of words and asked to use one of three strategies:
Visual: Is the word printed in capital letters?
Acoustic: Does the word rhyme with _____?
Semantic: Does the word fit the sentence _________?
The more thought involved (elaborative rehearsal), the better was their memory.
Figure 6.11 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Craik, K., & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

16. Long-Term Memory Storage
Procedural Memory
Stored long-term knowledge of learned habits and skills.
Examples are how to drive, ride a bike, tie one’s shoes, etc.
Declarative Memory
Stored long-term knowledge of facts about ourselves and the world.
Includes both semantic (nonpersonal) and episodic (personal) memories
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

17. Long-Term Memory Storage Semantic Networks
A complex web of semantic associations that link items in memory such that retrieving one item triggers the retrieval of others as well
Supported by research using the lexical decision making task
Figure 6.13 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

18. Long-Term Memory Storage The Hippocampal Region
Hippocampus: Part of the limbic system that plays a key role in encoding and transferring new information into long-term memory.
Anterograde amnesia
Inability to store new information
Retrograde amnesia
Inability to retrieve memories from the past
Figure 6.14 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

19. Long-Term Memory Retrieval
Explicit Memory
The types of memory elicited through the conscious retrieval of recollections in response to direct questions.
Conscious retention, direct tests, disrupted by amnesia, encoded in the hippocampus
Implicit Memory
A nonconscious recollection of a prior experience that is revealed indirectly, by its effects on performance.
Nonconscious retention, indirect tests, intact with amnesia, encoded elsewhere
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

20. Long-Term Memory Retrieval Context-Dependent Memory
Russian-English bilinguals were prompted in English and in Russian to recall stories.
They recalled more Russian-experienced events when interviewed in Russian and more English-experienced events when interviewed in English.
Replicates Figure 6.15 from:
Kassin, S. (1998). Psychology, second edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Godden, D.R., & Baddeley, A.D. (1975). Context-dependent memory in two natural environments: On land and underwater. British Journal of Psychology, 66,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

21. Long-Term Memory Retrieval Retention Without Awareness
Amnesic patients and normal controls were tested for memory of words learned previously.
Amnesics performed poorly on explicit memory tasks.
However, performance on implicit memory tasks was similar to control subjects.
Figure 6.16 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Warrington, E. K. & Weiskrantz, L. (1970). Amnesic syndrome: Consolidation or retrieval? Nature, 228,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

22. Long-Term Memory Retrieval Implicit Memory in Everyday Life
Déjà vu
A sense of familiarity but no real memory
The false-fame effect
Names presented only once, familiarity but no real memory, assume person is famous
Eyewitness transference
Face is familiar, but situation in which they remembering seeing face is incorrect
Unintentional plagiarism
Take credit for someone else’s ideas without awareness
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

23. Long-Term Memory Forgetting The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
Figure 6.17 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. (H. Roger & C. Bussenius, Trans.). New York: Teachers College Press. (Original work published 1885.)
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

24. Long-Term Memory Forgetting Long-Term Forgetting Curve
How much Spanish vocabulary is remembered over time?
Most forgetting occurs within the first three years.
After that, memory remains stable.
Figure 6.16 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Bahrick, H. P. (1984). Semantic memory content in permastore: Fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 1-35.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

25. Long-Term Memory Forgetting Can You Recognize a Penny?
One reason people forget is due to lack of encoding.
Figure 6.19 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
The correctly drawn penny is A
Source:
Nickerson, R.S., & Adams, M.J. (1979). Long-term memory for a common object. Cognitive Psychology, 11,
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

26. Long-Term Memory Forgetting
Proactive Interference
The tendency for previously learned material to disrupt the recall of new information
Retroactive Interference
The tendency for new information to disrupt the memory of previously learned material
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

27. Long-Term Memory Forgetting Interference and Forgetting
Figure 6.21 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

28. Long-Term Memory Reconstruction “Office” Schema
Study this picture for 30 seconds.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

29. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
List as many objects as you can recall from the photograph you just saw.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall

30. Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
Memory
How to Improve Memory
Mnemonics
Memory aids designed to facilitate the recall of new information.
Increase Practice Time
Increase the Depth of Processing
Hierarchical Organization
Verbal Mnemonics
Method of Loci
Peg-Word Method
Minimize Interference
Utilize Context Effects
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

31. Autobiographical Memory Memorable Transitions
The recollections people have of their own personal experiences and observations.
People’s memories are most vivid for times of transition.
In college, these are memories from the beginning of the first year and end of the last year.
Figure 6.24 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Source:
Pillemer, D. B., Picariello, M. L., Law, A. B., & Reichman, J. S. (1996). Memories of college: The importance of educational episodes. In D. C. Rubin (Ed.), Remembering our past: Studies in autobiographical memory (pp ). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall

32. Autobiographical Memory
Flashbulb Memories
Highly vivid and enduring memories, typically for events that are dramatic and emotional
Childhood Amnesia
The inability of most people to recall events from before the age of three or four
Hindsight Bias
The tendency to think after an event that one knew in advance what was going to happen
Psychology, 4/e by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall
©2001 Prentice Hall