1. Agenda To Get: To Do: Handout from the back Opener
Notes on memory – forgetting and improving
Activities
Memory Draft – ONE 25 points

2. Opener
1. Name the three stages of memory. 2. Define: Memory Trace 3. Primacy and Recency are part of what stage of memory? 4.The capacity of LTM is what?

3. Tuesday – Open note “TEST”
20 questions using your notes on memory.
We are required to give 5 summative assessments per semester – this will serve as number 4 and your writing assignment will serve as number 5.

4. Forgetting and Memory Improvement
Can occur in any of the three stages – sensory, short-term, or long- term
Sensory decays almost immediately unless used
Short-term disappears after seconds unless transferred to LTM
Lost when displaced or crowed out by new information
Long-term holds so much information in abstract form that it can be forgotten or recalled incorrectly. Information can also get mixed with things you already know. (trois, tres, tre)

5. Basic Memory Tasks 3 Basic tasks
Recognition
Recall
Relearning
Frist studied by Hermann Ebbinghaus, in the late 1800’s, by using nonsense syllables.
DAL, RIK, KAX required the use of acoustic coding as they have no other meaning

6. Basic Memory Tasks Recognition
Identifying objects or events that have been encountered before
Multiple choice tests are easier for this reason – only have to recognize the right answer, not recall it.
Bahrick Study – 1975 – Summarize…
Mixed photos from a yearbook with 4x as many images of strangers
Recent grads picked out former classmates at a rate of 90%
Those graduated 40 years had a rate of 75%
Remembered faces (recognition) far better than names (recall)
Ability to remember faces is strong and long lasting

7. Basic Memory Tasks Recall
Being able to bring something BACK to mind; reconstruct without seeing it or being triggered by given information
Ability to recall a list drops dramatically after an hour of learning it
Half of information is lost within first hour – then becomes more gradual unless stored in LTM
Paired Associates improves recall
Psychologists studied this using nonsense syllables
DUS-----TEL GOR------NIF XAR MUP
Study participants could recall a syllabic pair, after study, just by being given its partner.
Ex. When learning languages: Spanish – Mano is Hand in English
To do something manually means to do it by hand

8. Basic Memory Tasks Relearning Not remembering things we once knew
I need to relearn Pythagorean Theorem ‘cause last class I said it was for finding the area of a triangle…
Can usually be relearned quickly and easily

9. Different Kinds of Forgetting
Usually caused by interference or decay
Interference – when new information shoves aside or disrupts what has been placed in memory
Decay – the fading away of a memory
Both are normal occurrences of memory – occur when memory traces fade from sensory or short-term memory
Can occur in LTM as well – as when something stored can no longer be retrieved.

10. Repression
Sigmund Freud suggested that sometimes we forget things on purpose without even knowing we are doing it.
Usually unpleasant or painful experiences
Protective mechanism that pushes memories to our subconscious so we are not anxious, guilty, or fearful of past behavior or experiences.
Still a controversial idea in contemporary psychology

11. Amnesia (movie clip examples?)
Can be caused by brain injury, shock, fatigue, or illness.
Dissociative amnesia is a severe form of repression
Thought to be caused by psychological trauma (extremely upsetting experience or series of upsetting experiences)
Infantile Amnesia
People cannot remember events from before 3 years of age
Freud explained it as repressing violent and sexual tendencies towards our parents. (eeewww…)
Most likely reflects biological and cognitive factors such as an undeveloped hippocampus, myelination of brain pathways are incomplete and language is not developed enough to symbolize and classify events.
Anterograde Amnesia
Caused by head trauma, electric shock or brain surgery
Prevents formation of NEW memories as there is damage to hippocampus
Retrograde Amnesia
People forget the period leading up to a traumatic event
Ex. Auto accidents, athletics, severe cases have documented years of memory loss!

12. Real or Fictional?
What the provided clips and determine if they are real or fictional accounts of memory loss.
3:00
13:30

13. Improving Memory Memory can be improved with devices and strategies
Drill and Practice
Going over something again and again, ex. Flash cards
Saying someone’s name as much as you can after first meeting them
“Glad to meet you, Sam.” “Where do you live, Sam?” “What sort of work do you do, Sam?” “See you later, Sam.” “I like green eggs and ham, do you, SAM?”
Relate to Things You Already Know
Requires you to think more deeply about new information, thus improving retention
Ex “i before e except after c except if it is weird cause it is just ‘weird.’”
Form Unusual Associations
The stranger or funnier the more likely you will remember
Grocery List example – imagine different meals hanging from different parts of you body…
Construct Links
Peso (PAY-soh) is Mexican money and people PAY for things with money.

14. Systems for remembering information
Mnemonic Devices
Systems for remembering information
All the methods discussed have been mnemonic devices
Camels – Dromedary (one hump) Bactrian (two humps)
Ex. “Her name is KATE and she will be my next DATE!” (make your own)
The book says numbers are more difficult to create mnemonic devices with, I disagree and apologize in advance…

15. Did it work?
What was the phone number from that DISTURBING music video from 1981?

16. Rough Draft Additions/Changes
By next class you should…