1. Psychology in Your Life
Sarah Grison • Michael Gazzaniga
Psychology in Your Life
SECOND EDITION
Chapter 7
Memory
© 2016 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

2. 7.1 How Do We Acquire Memories?
Memory
The nervous system’s capacity to acquire and retain skills and knowledge for later retrieval 2

3. We Acquire Memories by Processing Information
Encoding
The processing of information so that it can be stored
Storage
The retention of encoded representations over time
Retrieval
The act of recalling or remembering stored information when it is needed 3

4. FIGURE 7.2 Three Phases of Information Processing in Memory4 4

5. Attention Allows Us to Encode a Memory
Focusing mental resources on information; allows further processing for perception, memory, and response 5

6. Attention Allows Us to Encode a Memory
Visual attention
We automatically pay attention to and recognize basic visual features in an environment, including color, shape, size, orientation, and movement 6

7. FIGURE 7.3 Visual Attention to the Feature of Color

8. Attention Allows Us to Encode a Memory
Auditory attention
Selective-listening studies examine what we do with auditory information that is not attended to 8 8

9. FIGURE 7.4 Auditory Attention to “Shadow” Message in One Ear9 9

10. Selective Attention Allows Us to Filter Unwanted Information
Filter theory
Filter theory attempts to explain how we selectively attend to the most important information
Change blindness
An individual’s failure to notice large visual changes in the environment 10

11. 11 11

12. Selective Attention Allows Us to Filter Unwanted Information
Laptops in the classroom
It can be hard to pay complete attention for an entire class period even with the most exciting lecturers
Unfortunately, students can also tune out lectures by checking Facebook or , texting, or watching YouTube videos
To do best in your courses, give your complete and undivided attention to your instructors 12 12

13. FIGURE 7.5 Technology in the Classroom13 13

14. 7.2 How Do We Maintain Memories over Time?
Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin proposed that we have three different types of memory stores
Sensory storage
Short-term storage
Long-term storage
Each of these memory stores retains different encoded input, and each has the capacity to maintain information for a certain length of time 14

15. FIGURE 7.6 Three-Part Memory Storage System15 15

16. TABLE 7.1 The Three Memory Stores16 16

17. Sensory Storage Allows Us to Maintain Information Very Briefly
Five types of sensory storage
Sensory storage: A memory storage system that very briefly holds a vast amount of information from the five senses in close to their original sensory formats. The five types are:
Visual
Auditory
Smell
Taste
Touch 17

18. Figure 7.7 Sensory Storage18 18

19. Sensory Storage Allows Us to Maintain Information Very Briefly
Duration and capacity of sensory storage
Sperling concluded from his experiment that participants maintained many of the 12 items in sensory storage for about one-third of a second
By maintaining a large amount of information for a fraction of a second, sensory storage enables us to experience the world as a continuous stream of information rather than as discrete sensations 19

20. FIGURE 7.8 Duration and Capacity of Sensory Storage20 20

21. Working Memory Allows Us to Actively Maintain Information in Short-Term Storage
A memory storage system that briefly holds a limited amount of information in awareness
Working memory
An active processing system that allows manipulation of different types of information to keep it available for current use 21

22. Working Memory Allows Us to Actively Maintain Information in Short-Term Storage
Duration of short-term storage
Short-term storage may be a “location” for maintaining memories. Working memory allows for manipulation of sounds, images, and ideas for longer maintenance in short-term storage 22

23. FIGURE 7.9 Duration and Capacity of Short-Term Storage23 23

24. Working Memory Allows Us to Actively Maintain Information in Short-Term Storage
Capacity of short-term storage
George Miller noted that the capacity of short-term storage is generally seven items (plus or minus two), which is referred to as the memory span
Chunking: Using working memory to organize information into meaningful units to make it easier to remember 24

25. Long-Term Storage Allows Us to Maintain Memories Relatively Permanently
A memory storage system that allows relatively permanent storage of a probably unlimited amount of information 25

26. Long-Term Storage Allows Us to Maintain Memories Relatively Permanently
Encoding for long-term storage
Maintenance rehearsal: Using working-memory processes to repeat information based on how it sounds (auditory information); provides only shallow encoding of information 26

27. Long-Term Storage Allows Us to Maintain Memories Relatively Permanently
Elaborative rehearsal: Using working-memory processes to think about how new information relates to ourselves or our prior knowledge (semantic information); provides deeper encoding of information for more successful long-term storage 27

28. FIGURE 7.10 Deeper Encoding Aids Long-Term Storage28 28

29. Long-Term Storage Allows Us to Maintain Memories Relatively Permanently
Long-term storage versus short-term storage
Long-term storage lasts longer, has a far greater capacity, and depends on deep encoding of information 29

30. Long-Term Storage Allows Us to Maintain Memories Relatively Permanently
The primacy effect refers to the better memory people have for items presented at the beginning of the list
The recency effect refers to the better memory people have for the most recent items, the ones at the end of the list 30

31. FIGURE 7.11 Primacy and Recency Effects31 31

32. Our Long-Term Storage Is Organized Based on Meaning
Schemas
Decisions about how to chunk information depend on schemas, ways of structuring memories in long-term storage that help us perceive, organize, process, and use information 32

33. Our Long-Term Storage Is Organized Based on Meaning
Association networks
Meaning of information is organized in long-term storage based on networks of associations
Spreading activation models of memory
According to these models, information that is heard or seen activates specific nodes for memories in long-term storage 33

34. FIGURE 7.12 A Network of Associations34 34

35. 7.3 What Are Our Different Long-Term Storage Systems?
Henry Molaison (H.M.)
Retrograde amnesia
A condition in which people lose the ability to access memories they had before a brain injury
Anterograde amnesia
A condition in which people lose the ability to form new memories after experiencing a brain injury 35

36. FIGURE 7.13 Henry Molaison (H.M.)36 36

37. FIGURE 7.14 Surgery on H.M.’s Brain37 37

38. FIGURE 7.15 Retrograde and Anterograde Amnesia38 38

39. LEARNING TIP: Remembering the Types of Memory in Long-Term Storage39 39

40. Our Explicit Memories Involve Conscious Effort
After the surgery, H.M. could not encode new memories in long-term storage
He never remembered what day of the week it was, what year it was, or his own age 40

41. Our Explicit Memories Involve Conscious Effort
Amnesia and explicit memory
Explicit memory: The system for long-term storage of conscious memories that can be verbally described 41

42. Our Explicit Memories Involve Conscious Effort
Episodic and semantic memory
Episodic memory: A type of explicit memory that includes personal experiences
Semantic memory: A type of explicit memory that includes knowledge about the world 42

43. FIGURE 7.16 Two Types of Explicit Memory43 43

44. Our Implicit Memories Function Without Conscious Effort
Implicit memory and amnesia
Implicit memory: The system for long-term storage of unconscious memories that cannot be verbally described 44

45. FIGURE 7.17 H.M.’s Performance in Mirror Drawing45 45

46. Our Implicit Memories Function Without Conscious Effort
Classical conditioning and procedural memory
Classical conditioning employs implicit memory
Procedural memory: A type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits 46

47. FIGURE 7.18 Two Types of Implicit Memory47 47

48. Prospective Memory Lets Us Remember to Do Something
Remembering to do something at some future time
Remembering to do something takes up valuable cognitive resources 48

49. FIGURE 7.19 Prospective Memory49 49

50. Memory Is Processed by Several Regions of Our Brains
Memory’s physical location
Not all brain areas are equally involved in memory; a great deal of specialization occurs
The take-home message here is that memory does not “live” in one part of the brain 50

51. FIGURE 7.20 Brain Regions Associated With Memory51 51

52. Memory Is Processed by Several Regions of Our Brains
Consolidation of memories
Consolidation: A process by which immediate memories become lasting through long-term storage 52 52

53. FIGURE 7.21 Brain Activation During Perception and Remembering53 53

54. Memory Is Processed by Several Regions of Our Brains
Reconsolidation of memories
Once memories are activated, they need to be consolidated again for long-term storage; this process is known as reconsolidation
Retrieved memories can be affected by new circumstances, so reconsolidated memories may differ from their original versions 54

55. Memory Is Processed by Several Regions of Our Brains
Researchers have shown that using the classical conditioning technique of extinction during the period when memories are susceptible to reconsolidation can be an effective method for altering bad memories 55

56. 56

57. 7.4 How Do We Access Our Memories?
Retrieval Cues Help Us Access Our Memories
Retrieval cue
Anything that helps a person access information in long-term storage
Context and state aid retrieval
Context-dependent memory effect
State-dependent memory 57

58. FIGURE 7.23 Context–Dependent Memory58 58

59. Retrieval Cues Help Us Access Our Memories
Mnemonics aid retrieval
Mnemonics are learning aids or strategies that use retrieval cues to improve access to memory
Method of loci 59

60. We Forget Some of Our Memories
Forgetting
The inability to access a memory from long-term storage
In his experiment, Hermann Ebbinghaus examined how long it took him to relearn lists of unfamiliar nonsense syllables and used these data to develop the forgetting curve 60

61. FIGURE 7.24 Forgetting Curve61 61

62. USING PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: How Can I Remember Information for Exams?62 62

63. We Forget Some of Our Memories
Interference
Retroactive interference: When access to older memories is impaired by newer memories
Proactive interference: When access to newer memories is impaired by older memories 63

64. FIGURE 7.25 Proactive Interference Versus Retroactive Interference64 64

65. We Forget Some of Our Memories
Blocking
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Blocking often occurs because of interference from words that are similar in some way, such as in sound or meaning, and that are repeatedly experienced 65

66. We Forget Some of Our Memories
Absentmindedness
Absentmindedness is the inattentive or shallow encoding of events. The major cause of absentmindedness is failing to pay attention 66

67. Our Unwanted Memories May Persist
Persistence
The continual recurrence of unwanted memories from long-term storage
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Erasing memories leads to many ethical questions 67

68. Our Memories Can Be Distorted
Distortion
Human memory is not a perfectly accurate representation of the past; it is flawed
Memory bias
Memory bias is the changing of memories over time so that they become consistent with our current beliefs or attitudes 68

69. Our Memories Can Be Distorted
Flashbulb memories
These vivid memories seem like a flash photo, capturing the circumstances in which we first learned of a surprising and consequential or emotionally arousing event 69

70. Figure 7.27 Flashbulb Memories70 70

71. Our Memories Can Be Distorted
Misattribution
Misattribution occurs when we misremember the time, place, person, or circumstances involved with a memory
In cryptomnesia, we think we have come up with a new idea but really have retrieved an old idea from memory and failed to attribute the idea to its proper source 71

72. FIGURE 7.28 Cryptomnesia 72 72

73. Our Memories Can Be Distorted
Suggestibility
When people are given misleading information, this information affects their memory for an event
The suggestibility of memories in long-term storage creates problems for one of the most powerful forms of evidence in our justice system: the eyewitness account 73

74. FIGURE 7.29 Suggestibility74 74

75. FIGURE 7.30 Eyewitness Accounts Can Be Unreliable75 75

76. Our Memories Can Be Distorted
False memories
When a person imagines an event happening, he or she forms a mental image of the event. The person might later confuse that mental image with a real memory
Children are especially likely to develop false memories 76 76

77. LEARNING TIP: Remembering the Ways We Access Stored Memories77 77