1. MEMORY AND THINKING

2. I.MEMORY AND HOW IT WORKS A. Memory: Learning that has persisted over time B. To remember an event, we must successfully 1.Encode – get information into our brain 2.Storage – retain information 3.Retrieval – get information back out

3. II.HOW WE ENCODE A. Parallel processing – doing many things at once B. We automatically process information about space, time, frequency and well- learned information

4. C. Effortful processing – encoding that requires attention and conscious effort 1.Can be boosted through rehearsal – conscious repetition 2.Overlearning increases retention

5. D. Spacing effect – we retain information better when our rehearsal is distributed over time –Spaced study and self-assessment beats cramming

6. E. Serial position effect – tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list 1.Primacy effect – best recall for first items 2.Recency effect – best recall for last items

7. III.WHAT WE ENCODE A. Visual encoding – encoding of images –Mnemonics – memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices B. Acoustic encoding – encoding of sounds C. Semantic encoding – encoding of meaning, including meaning of words

8. IV.SHORT TERM VS. LONG TERM MEMORY A. Short-Term Memory 1.Limited, unless actively processed 2.Capacity of 7 digits +/- 2 — chunking - organizing items into familiar, manageable units 3.Better for random numbers than random letters 4.Better for sound than sight

9. V.STORING MEMORIES A. Flashbulb memories – clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event –Strong emotional experiences = strong, reliable memories

10. B. Amnesia victims 1. Have implicit memory – how to do something 2.But no explicit memory – memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”

11. VI.RETRIEVAL: GETTING INFORMATION OUT A. Priming - often unconscious activation of particular associations in memory –“memoryless memory”

12. B. Context effects 1.Easier to remember things in the same context you learned them 2.Déjà vu - sense that “I’ve experienced this before” 3.Mood congruent memory - tendency to recall experiences that are consistent w/one’s current good or bad mood

13. VII.WHY WE FORGET A. Three sins of forgetting 1.Absent-mindedness - inattention to details 2.Transience - storage decay over time 3.Blocking - inaccessibility of stored info

14. B. Three sins of distortion 1.Misattribution - confusing the source of the information 2.Suggestibility - lingering effects of misinformation 3.Bias - belief-colored recollections C. One sin of intrusion 1.Persistence - unwanted memories

15. VIII.FORGETTING A. Course of forgetting is initially rapid, but levels off w/time

16. B. Interference 1.Proactive interference - something you learned earlier disrupts your recall of something you experience later 2.Retroactive interference - new information makes it harder to recall something you learned earlier

17. C. Freud believed we repress - banish anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings and memories –Most psychologists disagree

18. IX.FAULTY MEMORY CONSTRUCTION A. Misinformation effect - incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

19. B. Source amnesia - attributing the wrong source to an event we have experienced, heard about, read about or imagined C. False memories feel as real as true memories D. Unreliable memories 1.Things happening before age 3 2.Memories “recovered” under hypnosis or drugs

20. X.IMPROVING MEMORY A. Study repeatedly B. Make the material meaningful C. Activate retrieval cues D. Use mnemonic devices E. Minimize interference F. Sleep more G. Test your own knowledge