Memory Encoding and Short-Term Memory

Memory Encoding

• Encoding is the process of forming a memory.
• Storage involves maintaining encoded information over time.
• Retrieval is the process of recovering information from memory stores.
• Attention filters sensory information, allowing focus on specific stimuli.
• Cocktail party phenomenon: ability to hear one’s name despite focusing on other conversations.
• Multitasking involves rapidly switching attention between tasks.

Memory Encoding

• Structural encoding focuses on physical features (shape, color, size).
• Phonemic encoding emphasizes the sounds of words.
• Semantic encoding focuses on the meaning of words and associated concepts.

Elaboration & Imagery

• Elaboration links new information to existing knowledge or personal experiences.
• Visual imagery creates mental images to represent information.
• Self-referent encoding links information to personal experiences.

Short-Term Memory

• Sensory memory briefly stores sensory information—a fraction of a second.
• Short-term memory temporarily stores and processes information.
• Capacity is limited; rehearsal and chunking improve retention (e.g., phone number).
• Information is lost in about 20 seconds without rehearsal.

Long-Term Memory

• Long-term memory has unlimited capacity and stores information for extended periods.
• Flashbulb memories are highly vivid and detailed recollections of significant events.
• Clustering groups similar information together.
• Schemas are organized knowledge structures for specific events or objects.
• Conceptual hierarchies represent concepts in a hierarchical structure.
• Semantic networks connect related concepts.
• Parallel distributed processing involves simultaneous processing across neural networks.

Retrieval of Memories

• Accessibility means successfully retrieving information from memory.
• Availability means information exists in memory.
• Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: feeling of knowing information without being able to access it immediately.
• Retrieval cues help trigger memories (e.g., context, emotion).
• Retroactive and proactive interference occur when new or old information disrupts memory retrieval.
• State-dependent learning: memory is better retrieved if the learner is in the same mental state when they learned it.
• Motivated forgetting: conscious or unconscious suppression of certain memories.
• Memory is a complex system of neural pathways, and memories can change over time.

Types of Memory

• Implicit memory (unintentional): remembering something without consciously knowing
• Explicit memory (intentional): remembering something with conscious effort (declarative and nondeclarative)
• Episodic memory: recollection of personal events
• Semantic memory: general knowledge and facts
• Retrospective memory: remembering past events
• Prospective memory: remembering to do something in the future

Forgetting

• Forgetting curve: graph showing memory decay over time
• Retention interval: time between learning and retrieval
• Retention: proportion of information retained
• Recall requires reproducing information without cues.
• Recognition involves selecting previously learned information from an array.
• Relearning assesses how much time is saved when information is relearned.
• Ineffective coding: never really learning the material
• Pseudoforgetting: never properly learning the material leading to no memory
• Decay: memories fade over time
• Interference: information competes with other information.

Memory Processes

• Context cues are environmental factors that can trigger memories
• Misinformation effect: inaccuracies in memory due to misinformation
• Source monitoring error occurs when a memory is attributed to the wrong source.

This quiz covers the concepts of memory encoding, storage, and retrieval processes. It delves into attention mechanisms, types of encoding such as structural, phonemic, and semantic, as well as elaboration and imagery techniques. Test your understanding of how these principles apply to short-term memory.