Memory Chapter 7

MemoryChapter 7

AP PsychologyAlice F. Short

Hilliard Davidson High School

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• The Nature of Memory• Memory Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval• Forgetting• Study Tips• Memory and Health and Wellness

The Nature of Memory

• memory - retention of information or experience over time; three phases of memory– encoding – the first step in memory, the process by

which information gets into memory storage • “typing”

– storage – • “saving”

– retrieval• “opening”

Encoding Sensory Input• encoding – the first step in memory, the process by which

information gets into memory storage • “typing”

• automatic vs. effortful encoding• What is the role of attention?

– selective attention (purposive focus) – focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others

– divided attention (multitasking) – concentrating on more than one activity at the same time• heavy media multitaskers performed worse on a test of task-switching

ability (decreased ability to filter out interference

– sustained attention (vigilance) – the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time • Example: paying close attention to notes while studying

Encoding: Levels of Processing• Encoding occurs on a continuum…– shallow processing (amygdala)– intermediate processing– deep processing (prefrontal cortex)

Encoding: Elaboration

• elaboration – the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at a given level of memory encoding– can enhance memory

• number of mental connections– weave a complex spider web around concept– think of concrete examples– provide vivid examples– create self-referencing effect

A SHORT Time to Ponder

• How could knowing more things in general help you encode information?

Encoding: Imagery

• memory wizards (see p. 211)– S. created a visual narrative to learn a crazy

formulas

• dual-code hypothesis (Paivio)– verbal code – word or label– image code – detailed and distinctive• image codes are stored as both• superior to verbal codes alone

Memory Storage

• storage – the retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory

• Atkinson-Shiffrin Theory (1968) – theory stating that memory storage involves three separate systems:– sensory memory– short-term memory (STM)– long-term memory (LTM)

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

• Atkinson-Shiffrin Theory (1968)– sensory memory – memory system that involves holding information form the

world its original sensory form for only an instant• lose it if strategies to convert to short- or long-term memory not used

– short-term memory (STM) – limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless we use strategies to retain it longer

– long-term memory (LTM) – a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time

Storage: Sensory Memory

• rich and detailed information held in original sensory form

• very brief duration • echoic (auditory) memory – up to several seconds

• iconic (visual) memory – ¼ second

• other senses (little research)

Storage: Short-Term Memory

• attention: sensory memory STM• limited duration (about 30 seconds)• limited capacity (7 ± 2)• memory span – most college students 8-9

numbers

Storage: Short-Term Memory

• How can we improve STM?– chunking• grouping items into a unit

– rehearsal• conscious repetition of information• prolongs STM duration indefinite

– deep, elaborate processing = best for memory

Working Memory:An Alternative to STM

• Is Atkinson-Shiffrin’s theory too simplistic?• working memory (RAM)• Active Memory System– phonological loop – speech-based info– visuospatial working memory – visual/spatial infor,

visual imagery– central executive – integrates phonological loop,

visuospatial working memory, long-term memory• attention, planning, organizing

Working Memory Model

working memory – a three-part system that allows us to perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and assembles information to help us understand, make decisions, and solve problems

Storage: Long-Term Memory

long-term memory - relatively permanent with “unlimited” capacity

• explicit long-term memory (declarative)– episodic memory– semantic memory

• implicit long-term memory (nondeclarative)– procedural memory– classical conditioning– priming

Storage: Long-Term Memory• explicit long-term memory (declarative)

– episodic memory– semantic memory

• implicit long-term memory (nondeclarative)– procedural memory– classical conditioning– priming

Storage: Explicit LTM

• explicit memory (declarative memory) – the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, information that can be verbally communicated– Who? What? Where? When? Why? (Not How?)

• conscious recollection of specific facts and events that can be verbally communicated

• Bahrick (1984) – recall college Spanish– initial learning is important (grades, intelligence, etc.)– permastore content– effect of distributed practice


• Bahrick (1984) – recall college Spanish– initial learning is

important (grades, intelligence, etc.)

– permastore content

– effect of distributed practice


Subtypes of Explicit Memory• episodic memory – the retention of information about

the where, when, and what of life’s happenings—that is, how individuals remember life’s episodes– autobiographical memories

• semantic memory – a person’s knowledge about the world, including his or her areas of expertise; general knowledge, such as of things learned in school; and everyday knowledge– knowledge about the world

• fun fact: amnesia just affect one or the other

Storage: Implicit LTM

• implicit memory (nondeclarative memory) – memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience– procedural memory – memory for skills

• examples: typing, driving, how to tie a shoe

– classical conditioning – automatic learning of associations between stimuli

– priming – the activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster• can influence social behavior


• Consider priming… if you were going to make a poster for school to “prime” desirable behaviors in students, what would you create?

• How could you prime yourself (or other people) to make healthy food and exercise decisions?

Memory: Organization

• schemas – a preexisting mental concept or framework that helps people to organize and interpret information. Schemas from prior encounters with the environment influence the way we encode, make inferences about, and retrieve information– script (event schema) – often contains information about

physical features, people, and typical occurences• connectionist networks

– connectionism (a.k.a. parallel distributed processing or PDP) – the theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons, several of which may work together to process a single memory

A SHORT Activity

• Write a quick schema for a unit in AP Psychology? Is this a script as well? Is it not a script? Why?

Memory: Location

• storage is diffuse• circuits of neurons• neurotransmitter involvement• long-term potentiation– more connections, better chance of long-term

memory


• Think back to the States of Consciousness Unit… what type of impact can drugs have on memory? What bout drugs with permanent damaging side effects to neurotransmitter production or receptors?

Memory: The Smell of Memory

• memory and sensation link– primary olfactory cortex – linked to:• amygdala (emotion)• hippocampus (memory consolidation)

• Proust effect – the ability of a smell to transport us to a vivid memory

• implications/applications• why is smell special?

Memory: Brain Structure

• Explicit Memory– hippocampus, frontal lobes, amygdala

• Implicit Memory– cerebellum (skills = more historically necessary),

temporal lobes, hippocampus

Memory: Brain Structures

Memory Retrievalretrieval – the memory process that occurs when information that was

retained in memory comes out of storage– how encoded?– how retained?

• serial position effect• retrieval cues and the retrieval task

– recall and recognition– encoding specifity– context at encoding and retrieval

• special cases of retrieval– autobiographical memories– emotional memories– repressed memories– traumatic events– repressed memories– eyewitness testimony

special cases of retrieval• autobiographical memories – a special form of episodic memory

consisting of a person’s recollections of his or her life experiences• emotional memories

– flashbulb memory – the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events

• repressed memories– repression – a defense mechanism by which a person is so traumatized

by an event that he or she forgets it and then forgets the act of forgetting

• traumatic events• eyewitness testimony

Serial Position Effect

• …tendency to recall items at beginning and end of a list more readily than those in middle

• primacy effect– more space in working memory for elaborative

rehearsal during encoding• recency effect– items still in working memory

Retrieval: Tasks and Cues

• types of tasks– recall (essay tests) – recognition (multiple choice tests)

• encoding specificity– information present at encoding effective as

retrieval cue – context-dependent memory• know name at school• don’t know name outside of school

Retrieval: Special Cases• “reconstructive”… subjective• autobiographical memories

– life time periods• reminiscence bump – he effect that adults remember more events from the

second and third decades of life than from other decades

– general events– event-specific information

• emotional memories– flashbulb memories – emotionally significant; more accurate and vivid

than everyday events– traumatic events – has inaccuracies (aided by stress hormones of

amygdala)• perceptual errors• distorted information• incorporated others bits of information

– repressed memories: motivated forgetting• first forgotten and later recovered• Freudian defense mechanism

False Memory Recovery

• childhood sexual abuse, other events• recovered or discovered memories?– abuse is under-acknowledged– most victims accurately remember at least a part– loss of memory for abuse is possible– false reconstruction of memory is possible– difficult to separate accurate and inaccurate

memories

Eyewitness Testimony

• Distortion• Bias• Inaccuracy

Forgetting: Memory Failure

• Ebbinghaus• encoding failure • retrieval failure/interference theory – the theory that

people forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember – proactive interference – situation in which material that was

learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later

– retroactive interference – situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier


• How does proactive interference and retroactive interference influence your learning / retrieval of AP Psychology terminology? What can you do to help your scores?

Forgetting: Interference


• decay theory – theory stating that when we learning something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates– passage of time --> forgetting– does not explain all instances of forgetting

• tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon - – effortful retrieval of known information– can retrieve some information but not all


• retrospective memory – remembering information from the past

• prospective memory– remembering to do something in the future

• content – remembering what to do• timing – remembering when to do it

– absentmindedness• amnesia – the loss of memory

– anterograde amnesia• inability to store new information and events

– retrograde amnesia• inability to retrieve past information and events


• If you had to suffer from either anterograde amnesia or retrograde amnesia, which form of memory loss would you prefer?

Study Tips: Organize

• review course notes routinely and catch potential error and ambiguities

• organize the material in a way that will allow you to commit it to memory effectively

• experiment with different organizational techniques

Study Tips: Encoding

• give undivided attention• process deeply• make associations• use imagery• encode early and often

Study Tips: Rehearse

• rewrite, type, or retype your notes• talk to people about what you have learned

and how it is important to real life in order to reinforce memory

• test yourself• while reading and studying, ask yourself

questions• treat your brain kindly

Study Tips: Retrieval

• redo notes• talk to others• test yourself• ask yourself questions• rest and eat well• use retrieval cues• sit comfortably, take a deep breath and stay calm

Memory and Health and Wellness

• redemptive vs. contamination stories– redemptive – more likely to contribute to future generations

• Roles of Autobiographical Memories– learn from our experience– develop sense of identity– bond with others

• Memory and Aging– indicator of brain functioning– activity inoculates against mental decline– both physical and mental activity are important

Chapter Summary

• Identify three phases of memory.• Explain how memories are encoded.• Discuss the three stages of memory storage.• Summarize how memories are retrieved.• Describe how the failure of encoding and retrieval are

involved in forgetting.• Evaluate study strategies based on an understanding of

memory.• Discuss the multiple functions of memory in human

life.

Chapter Summary

• Encoding– attention, levels of processing, elaboration, and

imagery

• Storage– sensory, short-term, and long-term memory

• Retrieval– serial position, retrieval cues, types of memory

Chapter Summary

• Forgetting– encoding failure, retrieval failure, interference,

decay, motivated forgetting, amnesia

• Study Tips– encoding, storage, retrieval

• Memory and Health and Wellness– autobiographical memory, memory and aging

Memory Chapter 7

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