Topic #5: Memory & Intelligence
Created by Martin R. Cox
Adapted from presentation package by Dean Richards
Introductory Psychology Lecture Presentation Series
Copyright 1999 by Allyn and Bacon All rights reserved.
Processes of Memory
RetrievalEncodingPut into memory
Storage
Recover from memory
Hold in memory
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model
Environment
Short Term
Memory Retrieval
Elaboration Long Term
MemorySensing
Sensory Memory
Attention
LossLoss
Sensory Memory
• Visual sensory memory (the icon) • Auditory sensory memory (the echo) • Probably others as well
– Very large capacity– Very short duration:
• about 250 ms. for the icon• 1-2 sec. for the echo
Short Term Memory (STM)• Limited capacity -- 7 plus or minus 2
chunksChunk: a meaningful unit
Examples: • A single letter (S)• A group of letters (FBI)• A group of words (Four score and seven years ago)
• Duration of 20-30 sec., due to limited capacity & interference
Short Term Memory
STM Storage• Increases with age
• Primarily due to increases in chunking ability with age
• Often phonetic
• Things that sound the same interfere with each other
Displacement in STM
cheeseeggspeassyrupapplesflourmilk
eggspeassyrupapplesflourmilkbread
peassyrupapplesflourmilkbread
syrupapplesflourmilkbread
applesflourmilkbread
flourmilkbread
milkbreadbread
STM(7 slots) Lost from
STM
bread
Long Term Memory (LTM)• Huge capacity• Potentially long duration (decades)• Organized by meaning
• Nondeclarative Memory (implicit memory): Memory for motor skills learned through practice (procedural memory) and responses learned through classical conditioning.
• Declarative Memory (explicit memory): Memory for facts & personal experiences
Declarative Memory
• EpisodicMemory:Memory for personal events
• SemanticMemory:Memory for common knowledge &
meaning
Remembering New Facts
• Easier for subjects you already know a lot about
• Difference probably due to opportunity for elaboration (relating, forming associations, imageries, organization, etc.)
• Elaborative rehearsal involves relating the new information to what you have already known.
Latent Memory%
Lat
er R
ecal
led
Judgement RequiredLetter Size Phonetic Meaning
Measuring Memory
Three measures typically used:
Recognition
Recall
Relearning
Recall Memory
• Remembering in the absence of the item being remembered
• Usually the most difficult test
Recognition Memory
• Recognizing material when it is seen
• Often, but not always, easier than recall
Relearning
• Assessed by comparing time needed to relearn material to initial learning time
• May be the most sensitive test
Forgetting
Rate of forgetting:
• fastest right after initial learning
• slower for more meaningful material
Forgetting
Causes:• Failure to Encode• Consolidation Failure• Decay• Interference• Motivated Forgetting• Retrieval Failure
Forgetting• Failure to Encode: Failing to put material into
LTM; Common in "forgetting" people's names
• Consolidation Failure: Loss due to organic disruption while the memory trace is being formed
• Decay: Fading of memory through disuse; Impossible to distinguish from permanent retrieval failure
Forgetting• Interference: Confusion or entanglement of similar
memories
• Motivated Forgetting: Repression of memories, usually to avoid dealing with traumatic experiences. Suppression of memories occur at a conscious level, deliberately not to remember an unpleasant event.
• Retrieval Failure: Inability to find the necessary memory cue for retrieval; Sometimes temporary (tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon)
Tip of the Tongue
• The feeling of being on the verge of recalling something
• Often you can say what letter it starts with, or how many syllables it has
Reconstruction
Piecing memory together from a few highlights, then filling in details based on what we think should have happened
Schemas
A schema is a general, stereotypical description of a highly familiar place or event (mall, fast-food restaurant, school, classroom, etc.)Schemas:
(a) help guide our actions,(b) help guide our memory,(c) may distort our perception and memory.
Eye Witness Testimony
• Relies greatly on reconstructive memory
• Influential in trials
• Accuracy is variable
Witness beliefs about their own testimony over time
Confidence
Accuracy
Low
er
Time
Hig
her
Expertise
• Experts remember more details
• Probably due to use of elaborative encoding
Hypnosis
• Increases rememberer's confidence & amount of inaccurate information
• Doesn't increase memory accuracy
Factors Affecting Retrieval
• Serial Position
• Environmental Context
• State-Dependence
• Stress and Anxiety
Serial Position Effect:Primacy Effect
• First items in a list are remembered better than items in the middle
• Probably due to greater odds of getting into long-term memory
Serial Position Effect: Recency Effect
• The last items in a list are remembered better than items in the middle, if tested immediately
• Probably due to their still being in STM
Environmental Context
• Becomes encoded along with the material being remembered
• Reinstating context often increases memory
State-Dependent Memory
• Internal body states are encoded with memories
• Memories easier to retrieve when these body states are entered again
Stress and MemoryPe
rform
ance
StressLow Moderate High
Biology and Memory
• The hippocampus forms long-term declarative memories, important for transferring information from STM to LTM
• The frontal lobesImportant to recall of episodic memories
The Hippocampus
Deep in the brain
The Frontal Lobe
Patient H.M.
Became unable to form new memories after surgical removal of the hippocampus
Patient K.C.
• Cannot remember anything that ever happened to him
• His semantic memory is unimpaired
Organic Memory Loss
• Unlike psychogenic amnesia, most recent memories lost first
• Earlier memories often retained
Improving Memory
• Organization
• Spaced Practice
• Overlearning
• Recall practice (Reciting)
• Mnemonic devices
Improving Memory
• Organization: Memory greatly enhanced by actively organizing material as it is learned
• Spaced Practice: Shorter practice sessions spaced widely apart; more effective than massed practice
Improving Memory
• Overlearning: Practicing material well beyond the point needed to recall it for the moment
• Recall Practice (Reciting): Practicing recalling material rather than just rereading it; Especially useful for college material
Improving Memory
• Mnemonic Devices:
– Strategies that can increase memory, esp. for material that is not easily organized;
– Impose an artificial structure on items that would otherwise be hard to remember
Mnemonic Devices
• Method of LociInvolves pairing each thing to be remembered with one of an organized set of familiar locations
• The Peg-Word MethodConnecting each thing to be remembered in an interactive image with each item on a standard listExample list: One is a bun, two is a shoe, ...
Mnemonic Devices
• Acronyms:Representing each item with a single letter
that fits into a familiar word or phrase
Example: "all cars eat gas" for the spaces in the bass clef
Top Related