Chapter 10Memory and Thought

The Processes of Memory

• The storage and retrieval of what has been learned or experienced is memory

• There are three processes of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval

Encoding

• Encoding is the transforming od information so the nervous system can process it

• You use your senses to encode and establish a memory (ex: singing the states song)

Storage

• Storage is the process by which information is maintained over time

• Information can be stored for a few seconds or for many years- usually depends on the encoding effort

Retrieval

• Retrieval occurs when information is brought to mind from storage

• The ease of which information can be retrieved depends on how efficiently it was encoded and stored

Sensory Memory

• In sensory memory, the senses of sight and hearing are able to hold an input for a fraction of a second before it disappears

• If you choose to pay attention, information is automatically transferred to short-term memory

Short-Term Memory

• Short-term memory is limited in capacity and in duration

• Maintenance rehearsal is the act of repeating information out loud in order to memorize it (ex: telephone numbers)

Short-Term Memory, Cont.

• Chunking is the process of grouping items to make them easier to remember

• (ex: we ‘chunk’ numbers into groups like 916-4100 instead of 9164100)

Short-Term Memory, Cont.

• The Primacy-Regency Effect refers to the fact that we are better able to recall items at the beginning or end of a list

• Short-term memory is also called working memory

Long-Term Memory

• Long-term memory refers to the storage of information over extended periods of time

• The capacity of long-term memory is limitless

• There are four types of long-term memory

Types of Long-Term Memory

• Semantic memory is knowledge on language including rules, words and meanings

• Episodic memory is memory of one’s life and personal experiences

• Declarative memory involves both episodic and sematic memory that you call forth and use as you need it

• Procedural memory is memory of learned skills

Memory and the Brain

• Short-term memory is stored in the cortex

• Long-term memory is stored in the hippocampus

• Psychologists are still studying physiological changes to the brain in learning and memory

Retrieving Information

• The storage of memory is useless without the ability to retrieve it

• The solution to retrieval is organization and the human brain is extremely organized

Recognition

• Recognition is memory retrieval in which a person identifies something they have or have not experienced before

• Recognition is quite easy for the human mind

Recall

• Recall is memory retrieval in which a person reconstructs previously learned material

• More challenging than recognition

• Recall is influenced by reconstructive processes, or alterations of recalled memories

Recall, Cont.

• If reconstruction of a memory is incomplete, sometimes confabulation occurs where memory gaps are filled with incorrect information

• We construct memory within our pre-existing schemas, or conceptual framework

Forgetting

• Forgetting happens when once known information cannot be recalled

• Decay refers to the fading of memories over time (high school)

• Interference is the blockage of a memory by previous or subsequent memories (addresses)

Amnesia

• Amnesia is a loss of memory

• May occur as a result of head injury, drug use, or severe stress

• Infant amnesia is the relative lack of early memories before age 3

Improving Memory

• You can use several techniques to improve memory and learn better

• Elaborative rehearsal is the linking of new information to already known material

• Mnemonic devices are associations used to memorize information (EGBDF, PEMDAS, etc.)