Memory Q1

• Persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Types of memory Q2

• Sensory - immediate, initial recording of sensory information

• Working / short-term- processing briefly stored information

• Long-term memory - relatively permanent and limitless storage

• Q3 Flashbulb memory - clear memory of emotionally significant event

Memory processes Q4

• Encoding

• Storage

• Retrieval

Encoding

• Encoding - processing information for storage• Q5 Automatic - unconscious encoding of

incidental information– Space - the definition of memory was on the first slide– Time - I lost my phone - I had it in psych class and in

math class– Frequency - that’s the third time I’ve seen her today– sdrawkcab daer ot nrael nac uoY

Effortful encoding

• Q6 Requires attention and conscious effort

• Q7 Rehearsal - conscious repetition

• Spacing - distributed practice better than massed practice

• Serial position effect - we remember best the first and last words on a long list

Processing

• Effortful vs automatic

• Deep vs shallow processing

• Focused vs divided attention

What we encode Q8

• Semantic encoding - meaning, esp words

• Acoustic encoding - sounds, word sounds, echoic

• Visual encoding - iconic, mental images

Memory aids – encoding Q9

• Imagery - adding an image to a semantic memory helps

• Mnemonics - generally memory aids

• Chunking - phone numbers

• Acronyms - HOMES

• Hierarchies - both visual and semantic

Storage

• Short-term / working

• Long term

Short term memory

• Limited in duration and capacity

• Magic number seven (Miller)

Storage: Long-Term Memory Subsystems Q10

Types oflong-termmemories

Explicit(declarative)

With consciousrecall

Implicit(procedural)

Without conscious recall

Facts-generalknowledge(“semanticmemory”)

Personally experienced

events(“episodic memory”)

Skills-motorand cognitive

Dispositions-classical and

operant conditioning

effects

How does storage work?

• Hippocampus is involved in processing memories for long term storage; cerebellum involved in procedural memory

• Strong emotions - some stress hormones boost learning and retention

• Q11 Synaptic changes - long term potentiation - after brief stimulation neurons have higher firing potential - practice improves learning?

Retrieval Q12

• Recognition - identify previously learned item - mc test

• Recall - retrieve info learned - fill-in-blank test

• Relearning - we learn something faster the 2nd time

• Priming - associations activated – one strand in the neural network can lead to others

Retrieval cues Q13

• Context - beach / sea experiment• Déjà vu - cues from current situation may

trigger association with previous experience - priming

• Mood congruence - ability to recall experiences that are consistent with current mood - happy, depressed

• State-dependent - similar to mood, may include drunk, sober, etc

Memory errors Q14

• Forgetting

• Encoding failure

• Storage failure - decay

• Retrieval failure

Forgetting Q15

• Absent mindedness - inattention to detail causes encoding errors

• Transience - decay over time of unused information

• Blocking - tip of the tongue phenomenon - information in stored but momentarily inaccessible

Distortion Q16

• Misattribution - confusing the source of information

• Suggestibility - effects of misinformation

• Bias - someone you disliked is now a friend. How do you remember initial meeting?

Intrusion Q17

• Unwanted memories we can’t get rid of

• Remember Freud’s repression?

Encoding errors

• Memory is very selective - we choose to encode very few sensory memories

• Inattention to information - effortful processing will fail

Storage errors

• Physical damage to brain

• Decay from age

• Decay from lack of use - memory for foreign language vocabulary

• Q18 Ebbinghaus’s curve of forgetting

Retrieval errors Q19

• Proactive interference

• Retroactive interference

• Motivated forgetting - we may revise memories of unpleasant events

Reconstructing memories Q20

• We fill in the blanks of incomplete memories

• We may fill in misinformation• We may attribute information to wrong

source • Eyewitnesses reconstruct memories,

especially in response to questions• Recovered memories?

How to improve your memory

• Study repeatedly for shorter periods

• Rehearse, actively process

• Make info personally meaningful - “now I know why Grandpa forgets things”

• Use mnemonics - make up a story, a song

• Minimize interference

• Practice recall when information is fresh