MemoryLightbulb

  1. Processes of Memory

    1. Information Processing (IP) Model
    2. Process of receiving, encoding, storing, and recalling data (use analogy, i.e. computers)
    3. Encoding- way information is put into memory system. Sensory stimuli from environment is represented in a perceptive form, i.e., sound, visual image, meaning, etc.
    4. Encoding- takes places in different stages of memory, if recorded some info may be lost.
    5. Example of information processing: Computers vs Humans

Computer: Environment--> input disks, cards, etc--> software recodes, manipulates--> Output LCD or printer, etc.

Human: Environment--> sensory input-->emotion, neural recoding--> output verbal, nonverbal etc.

    1. Sensory Memory
      1. George Sperling (1960) Subjects recalled specific stimulus from visual matrix when cued to do so after a short period of time.
      2. Sperling's research indicates the presence of a visual sensory memory
      3. Attention- selection of some incoming information for further processing.
        1. Attention is based upon the meaning it has to us
        2. Cocktail Party Phenomenon- ability to hear our name out of a room full of conversations taking place.
      4. Information enters through one of sense organs, along with much other data, info is lost here very quickly in about 250ms.
      5. Unlimited information may be stored here, but only temporarily.
      6. Information is selected by what we call attention to - chosen from of all the sensory input given to our senses.

    2. Short Term Store or Memory
      1. STM Capacity is about 7 plus or minus 2 chunks or Unrelated items, true for any kind of item. Or more accurately, what can be held or rehearsed for 20-30 seconds.
      2. It can hold a limited amount of data-- about a phone number.
      3. Information may enter a rehearsal buffer where it may be kept "active", information is repeated over and over.
      4. This limitation of its capacity is overcome by chunking or clustering (grouping), i.e. remembering a social security number in chunks rather than 9 independent digits

    3. Long Term Memory- Large capacity, many years of memories stored in our brains
      1. Types of LTM
        1. Explicit or Declarative Memory
          1. Semantic Memory - facts and general knowledge
          2. Episodic Memory - Personally experience events
        2. Implicit or Nondeclarative Memory
          1. Procedural Memory - skills learned through practice (playing basketball) and cognitive skills (thinking)
          2. Dispositions or Learned behaviors - form classical and operant conditioning effects

  1. Memory Retrieval
    1. Recall - retrieval form LTM, the most difficult test of learning or memory (short answer test or essay)
    2. Recognition - recognizing seen material, easier but not always (multiple choice test)

  2. Factors Affecting Recall or Forgetting
    1. Problem is not being able to recall
    2. Faster right after having learned the material, when the greatest amount of loss exists
    3. Causes
      1. Failure to learn or encode
        1. Never actually learned or committed to LTM
      2. Consolidation or Formation Failure
        1. Something happens to interrupt the process of memory creation. For example a blow to the head interferes with memory of what actually happened at the time of the accident
      3. Decay or Trace Theory- Without use this 'pathway' to the stored memory will decay. When the decay is not a pattern the memory is gone-- function of time and use, use or lose it.
      4. Interference Theory- From conflict between old and new material in memory.
        1. Proactive Interference - when something you learned earlier disrupts recall of something you are learning now
        2. Retroactive Interference - when something you are learning now makes it harder to recall something you learned earlier.
      5. Motivated Forgetting - Repression of memory usually believed to help deal with the anxiety by not letting us deal with the memory of a traumatic experience
      6. Reconstructive Memory- Changing of material in LTM, due to their own view or desired view of themselves. The reason eyewitness testimony is not always accurate. Many factors affect the recall or construction of the recalled memory, easily influenced by leading questions.
      7. Primacy Effect - First items in a list are remembered better than items in the middle.
      8. Recency Effect - Last items in a list remembered better than those in the middle (suggestion, interview first or last when looking for a job)
      9. State Dependent Memory - Your mood or emotional state is part of the encoding of a memory itself. If you are in the same mood or emotional state you will remember that memory better than if you are not

  3. Biological Basis of Memory
    1. Brain Areas
      1. Hippocampus
      2. Frontral Lobes
      3. Cerebellum
    2. Neuronal Theories
      1. Changes in electrical activity of neurons. Chemical substances more available to sequences of nerve impulses, neurotransmitters actually change the end of the dendrite receiving the impulse.
      2. Imagine it as a path worn between two common buildings. The more you use it the more the path "becomes worn" actually changes the grass itself and alters your decision when moving from building to building.
      3. Location of memory storage is unknown mostly we believe memories utilize the Hippocampus of the limbic system and in conjunction with the frontal lobes. Storage appears to be in temporal lobe
      4. Increased synaptic activity results in more efficient memory circuits. Forms new synapses in the brain, cannot form new neurons only new synapses, called Long Term Potentiation.

Key Terms

Memory Memory refers to the persistence of learning over time via storage and retrieval of information.
Amnesia Amnesia is loss of memory.
Flashbulb Memory A flashbulb memory is an unusually vivid memory of an emotionally important moment or event.
Encoding Encoding is the first step in memory; information is translated into some form that enables it to enter our memory system.
Storage Storage is the process by which encoded information is retained over time.
Retrieval Retrieval is the process of bringing to consciousness information from memory storage.
Long-term Memory (Store) Long-term memory is the relatively permanent and unlimited capacity memory system into which information from short-term memory may pass.
Short-term Memory(Store) Short-term memory is conscious memory, which can hold about seven items for a short time.
Automatic Processing Automatic processing refers to our effortless encoding of incidental information such as space, time, and frequency and of well-learned information, such as word meaning.
Effortful Processing Effortful processing is encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
Rehearsal Rehearsal is the conscious, effortful repetition of information that you are trying to maintain in consciousness or encode for storage.
Spacing Effect The spacing effect is the tendency for distributed practice to yield better retention than massed practice, or cramming.
Serial Position Effect The serial position effect is the tendency for items at the beginning and end of a list to be more easily retained than those in the middle.
Imagery Imagery refers to mental pictures and can be an important aid to effortful processing.
Mnemonics Mnemonics are memory aids (the method of loci, acronyms, peg-words, etc.), which often use visual imagery and organizational devices.
Chunking Chunking is the memory technique of organizing material into familiar, manageable units.
Sensory Memory Sensory memory is the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Iconic Memory Iconic memory is the visual sensory memory consisting of a perfect photographic memory, which lasts no more than a few tenths of a second. Icon means "image" or "representation." Iconic memory consists of brief visual images.
Echoic Memory Echoic memory is the momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli, lasting about 3 or 4 seconds
Implicit Memory Implicit memories are memories of skills or procedures for how to do things. These memories are evidently processed, not by the hippocampus, but by more primitive parts of the brain. They are also called nondeclarative memories.
Explicit Memory Explicit memories are memories of facts and experiences. They are also called declarative memories.
Hippocampus The hippocampus is a neural region within the limbic system that is important in the processing of names, images, events, and other facts in memory.
Recall Recall is a measure of retention in which the person must remember, with few retrieval cues, information learned earlier.
Recognition Recognition is a measure of retention in which one need only identify, rather than recall, previously learned information.
Priming Priming is the activation of a web of associations in memory in order to retrieve a specific memory.
Mood-congruent Memory Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with our current mood.
Proactive Interference Proactive interference is the disruptive effect of something you already have learned on your efforts to learn or recall new information.
Retroactive Interference Retroactive interference is the disruptive effect of something recently learned on old knowledge. Memory aid: Retro means "backward." Retroactive interference is "backward-acting" interference.
Repression In psychoanalytic theory, repression is a basic defense mechanism by which painful and unacceptable memories are prevented from entering consciousness.