Chapter 7: Human Memory Figure 7.2 Three key processes in memory Encoding: Getting Information Into Memory The role of attention Focusing awareness Divided attention
Encoding: Getting Information into Memory The role of attention Levels of processing Incoming information processed at different levels Deeper processing = longer lasting memory codes Encoding levels: Structural = shallow Phonemic = intermediate
Semantic = deep Figure 7.3 Levels-of-processing theory Enriching Encoding Elaboration = linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding Thinking of examples Visual Imagery = creation of visual images to represent words to be remembered
Easier for concrete objects: Dual-coding theory Storage: Maintaining Information in Memory Analogy: information storage in computers ~ information storage in human memory Information-processing theories Subdivide memory into three different stores
Sensory, Short-term, Long-term Figure 7.6 The Atkinson and Schiffrin model of memory storage Sensory Memory Brief preservation of information in original sensory form Auditory/Visual approximately second
Short-term or Working Memory Sensory Input Sensory Memory Attention
Working or Short-term Memory Short-term Memory Functionconscious processing of information where information is actively worked on Capacitylimited (holds 7 +/- 2 items)
Durationbrief storage (about 30 seconds) Sensory Input Sensory Memory Attention
Working or Short-term Memory Maintenance Rehearsal Mental or verbal repetition of information allows information to remain in working memory longer than the usual 30 seconds Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory Input Sensory Memory Attention Working or Short-term
Memory Chunking Grouping small bits of information into larger units of information expands working memory load Which is easier to remember? 4 8 3 7 9 2 5 1 6
483 792 516 Short Term Memory (STM) Limited duration about 20 seconds without rehearsal Rehearsal the process of repetitively verbalizing or thinking about the information Limited capacity magical number 7 plus or minus 2
Chunking grouping familiar stimuli for storage as a single unit Short-Term Memory as Working Memory STM not limited to phonemic encoding Loss of information not only due to decay Baddeley (1986) 3 components of working memory Phonological rehearsal loop
Visuospatial sketchpad Executive control system Figure 7.7 Short-term memory as working memory Long-term Memory Once information passes from sensory to working memory, it can be encoded into long-term memory Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory Input Sensory Memory Attention Encoding
Long-term Working or Memory Short-term Memory Retrieval Long-Term Memory Encodingprocess that controls movement from working to long-term memory store
Retrievalprocess that controls flow of information from long-term to working memory store Maintenance Rehearsal Sensory Input Sensory Memory
Attention Encoding Long-term Working or Memory Short-term Memory Retrieval
Procedural Memory Memory that enables you to perform specific learned skills or habitual responses Examples: Riding a bike Using the stickshift while driving Tying your shoe laces Q: Why are these procedural memories implicit? A: You dont have to consciously remember the steps
involved in these actions to perform them Try to explain to someone how to tie a shoelace Types of Long-term Memory Explicit memorymemory with awareness; information can be consciously recollected; also called declarative memory Implicit memorymemory without awareness; memory that affects behavior
but cannot consciously be recalled; also called nondeclarative memory Figure 7.17 Theories of independent memory systems Encoding Specificity When conditions of retrieval are similar to conditions of encoding, retrieval is more likely to be successful You are more likely to remember things if
the conditions under which you recall them are similar to the conditions under which you learned them Three Memory Systems Copyright 2011 Three Types of Memory Tasks Recall
Producing required information by searching memory Retrieval cue Any stimulus or bit of information that aids in retrieval Recognition Identifying material as familiar or as having been encountered before Only requires that you recognize it, not
recall all the information Relearning Retention expressed as the percentage of time saved when material is relearned Serial Position Effect For information learned in a sequence, recall is better for the beginning and ending items than for the middle items in the sequence.
Primacy effect Tendency to recall the first items in a sequence more readily than the middle items Recency effect Tendency to recall the last items in a sequence more readily than those in the middle Poorer recall of information in the middle of a series because it is no longer in short-term memory Serial position effect supports notion of separate systems for shortand long-term memory
Copyright 2011 Memory Construction and Distortion Memories are not passive, complete records like photographs or video recordings; they are constructed and reconstructed. Schemas, which represent our general knowledge and beliefs, can affect memory at both encoding and retrieval, assisting
memory but sometimes distorting it. Reconstruction When people recall an event, such as a car accident, they are actually reconstructing it from memory by piecing together bits of information that may or
may not be totally accurate. Copyright 2011 Flashbulb Memory The recall of very specific images or details surrounding a vivid, rare, or significant personal event; details may or may not be accurate (e.g., 9/11, wedding day, high school graduation)
Retrieval: Getting Information Out of Memory The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon a failure in retrieval Retrieval cues Reinstating the context Context cues Reconstructing memories Misinformation effect
Source monitoring The Forgetting Curve Hermann Ebbinghaus first began to study forgetting by using nonsense syllables Nonsense syllables are three-letter combinations that
look like words but are meaningless (ROH, KUF) Why We Forget Ineffective Encoding Decay Interference Proactive Retroactive
Retrieval failure Repression Authenticity of repressed memories? Memory illusions Controversy Motivated Forgetting Undesired memory is held back from awareness Suppressionconscious forgetting
Repressionunconscious forgetting (Freudian) Figure 7.11 Effects of interference Figure 7.12 Retroactive and proactive interference Retrieval Failure Encoding Specificity
Transfer-Appropriate Processing Repression Authenticity of repressed memories? Memory illusions Controversy Figure 7.14 The prevalence of false memories observed by Roediger and McDermott (1995) The Physiology of Memory Anatomy
Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia Hippocampus Medial temporal lobe memory system Neural circuitry Localized neural circuits Biochemistry Hormones modulating neurotransmitter systems Protein synthesis
Figure 7.16 The anatomy of memory How does the brain store our memories? Experience modifies the brains neural network; increase activity in a particular neural pathway strengthens the interconnections. Long-term potentiation-prolonged strengthening of neural firing. Provides the
neural basis for learning and memory. Creating New Synaptic Connections Forming new memories involves strengthening existing synaptic connections and creating new synaptic connections between neurons in the brain. Neuroscientist Michael Colicos and his colleagues at the University of California San Diego (2001) photographed structural changes in a single hippocampus neuron that occurred in response to repeated electrical stimulation. The spidery blue lines in the photo are physical changesin the neurons structure that represent the first steps toward the formation of new synaptic connections with other neurons.
The posterior (rear) hippocampus of an experienced London taxi driver, shown in red in the MRI scan on the left, is significantly larger than the posterior hippocampus of a research participant who was not a taxi driver, shown in red in the scan on the right. Copyright 2011 Systems and Types of Memory
Declarative vs. Procedural Semantic vs. Episodic Prospective vs. Retrospective Gradually Losing the Ability to Remember Dementia: Progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions occurring as the result of a disease or a condition
Alzheimers disease (AD): A progressive disease that destroys the brains neurons, gradually impairing memory, thinking, language, and other cognitive functions, resulting in the complete inability to care for oneself; the most common form of dementia Figure 7.18 Retrospective versus prospective memory Strategies for Boosting Memory
Explainattention Focus it to a friend
Commit the Reduce interference time within a topic Space studythe Counteract sessions serial position effect Organize
Use contextual the information clues Elaborate Sleep on iton the material Use visual Forget the ginkgo
imagerybiloba Use a mnemonic device Improve Your Memory Study repeatedly to boost recall Spend more time rehearsing or actively pondering material Make material personally meaningful Use mnemonic devices associate with peg words- something
already stored make up story chunk-acronyms Improve Your Memory Activate retrieval cues- mentally recreate situation and mood Recall events while they are fresh- write down before interference Minimize interference
Test your own knowledge rehearse determine what you do not yet know
