CHAPTER 7 – MEMORY

Memory – process by which information is acquired, stored in the brain, and later retrieved

BASIC PROCESS OF MEMORY

* Encoding – process of putting information into memory

o Acoustic (sound) -


o Visual (sight) -


o Semantic (meaning) - 



* Storage – maintenance of information over time

o Episodic – events (“I remember…”) –


o Semantic – meanings, general knowledge (“I know…”) –


o Procedural – “how to”, skills -



* Retrieval – find information in your memory and bring it into consciousness

o Recall -



o Recognition - 



EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT?

* Explicit memory –


* Implicit memory –



LEVELS OF PROCESSING MODEL

* Most important determinant of memory is how extensively information is encoded (processed) when it is first received

o Maintenance rehearsal -


o Elaborative rehearsal -



TRANSFER-APPROPRIATE PROCESSING MODEL

* Encoding should be in the same “form” as how the information needs to be retrieved


* Retrieving memories – encoding specificity principle




PARALLEL-DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING MODEL

* Parallel Distributed Processing

o New facts change your overall knowledge base
o Neural networks of associations
o Spontaneous generalizations


* Constructive memory

o Schemas -



INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

* Information must pass through three stages

o Sensory memory
o Short-term memory (STM)
o Long-term memory (LTM)


   Sensory Memory

o Holds information long enough for further processing


o Info held in the sensory registers - 


o Selective attention - 



   Short-Term Memory

o Stores limited amount of information for approximately _____________


o __________ encoding dominates

o AKA:  Working memory

* Enables people to do their current mental work


o Storage capacity


* Immediate memory span or “Magic Number”


o Chunking –




   Long-Term Memory

* What we usually think of as “memory”

* _________ coding dominates

* Storage capacity believed to be ___________



MORE COOL MEMORY CONCEPTS

* Distinguishing between STM and LTM

o Primacy effect (LTM) -


o Recency effect (STM) -



* Retrieving memories

o Context-dependent - 


o State-dependent - 


* Mood-congruency effect -


* Flashbulb memories - 



FORGETTING

* Forgetting curve (p. 248)



* Forgetting is not total loss

o Method of savings – difference between amount of time it takes to learn something and amount of time it takes to relearn it

* Abnormal forgetting

o Anterograde amnesia -



o Retrograde amnesia -



THEORIES OF FORGETTING

* Decay –


* Interference –

o Retroactive -


o Proactive -



ADDITIONAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES

* Discuss the use of eyewitness testimony in the courtroom. (see Linkages:  Memory, Perception, and Eyewitness Testimony)

* Discuss the controversy surrounding repressed memories. Describe motivated forgetting, false memories, and flashbulb memories. (see Thinking Critically:  Can Traumatic Memories be Repressed, Then Recovered?)

* Describe the synaptic activity associated with forming new memories. Describe the role of the hippocampus in episodic and procedural memory formation. (see The Biochemistry of Memory)

* Define mnemonics and explain why they improve memory. Give an example of the method of loci. (see Improving Your Memory)

* Explain why distributed practice is more effective than massed practice. Describe the PQ4R method and its use. Describe the best method of taking notes in a lecture. (see Improving Your Memory)