1. Memory Processes What roles does memory serve? How do those memory processes affect what we remember?

2. Functions of memory Encoding - How do we convert information from sensory energy into a usable representation? Storage - How is information retained? Retrieval - How do we get information back?

3. Interference Theory Two types of memory interference: - Retroactive: Learning a later item interferes with an item we learned earlier. - Proactive: Learning an early item interferes with learning of a later item. Why does interference happen? What does it say about encoding?

4. Retroactive interference and the phonological loop Conrad (1964): Errors recalling visually presented letters are more likely to be a substitution of acoustically similar letters (I.e. P for B, F for S, etc.) Baddeley (1966): Recall of a list of acoustically similar words is worse than recall of acoustically distinct words.

5. Retrieval How accurate is memory retrieval? Loftus’s car accident video –Depending on the verb used, people reported different speeds: Smashed: 40.8 mph Collided: 39.3 Bumped: 38.1 Hit: 34 Contacted: 31.8 –People also differentially remembered broken glass based on the verb (N=50 in each group): Smashed: 16 yes, 34 no Hit: 7 yes, 43 no No question: 6 yes, 44 no. Loftus’s “Lost in the Mall” study.

6. Structures that affect retrieval Schema - Memory structure that organizes information about static situations Script - Memory structure that organizes information about dynamic situations

7. Schemas Broad term that encompasses a number of different ways of organizing information. In its simplest form - A way of representing the “typical” something. e.g., the dog schema, the office schema, the bathroom schema, etc.

8. Scripts Scripts are very similar to schemas, but they are used to store generic versions of common episodes. e.g., the restaurant script

9. Constructed Memory Is memory just a videotape, playing back what we actually remember? Or do we construct it, based partly on events, but also based on expectations and beliefs? In other words, does memory work bottom-up or top-down?