Memory: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

• Encoding, storage, and retrieval are critical processes in memory formation.
• Encoding refers to how information is initially learned and processed.
• Storage pertains to maintaining encoded information over time.
• Retrieval involves accessing and bringing stored information back into conscious awareness.

Strategies to Improve Encoding

• Elaborative rehearsal connects new information to existing knowledge.
• Mnemonic devices create associations to aid recall.
• Chunking organizes information into manageable units.
• Spacing effect distributes learning over time to improve retention.
• Self-testing enhances encoding through active recall.

HM and Clive Wearing

• HM (Henry Molaison) and Clive Wearing are famous case studies of individuals with severe amnesia due to brain damage.
• HM had his hippocampus removed, resulting in the inability to form new long-term memories (anterograde amnesia).
• Clive Wearing suffered damage to his hippocampus and frontal lobes, leading to both anterograde and retrograde amnesia (loss of past memories).
• These cases highlight the critical role of specific brain regions in memory formation and recall.

Multi-Store Model of Memory

• The Multi-Store Model proposes three separate memory stores: sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).
• Sensory register briefly holds sensory information.
• STM has limited capacity and duration.
• LTM has unlimited capacity and can hold information indefinitely.

Types of Memory

• Procedural memory involves skills and habits.
• Episodic memory contains personal experiences and events.
• Semantic memory stores general knowledge and facts.

Serial Position Effect

• The serial position effect is the tendency to remember items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list better than items in the middle.
• The primacy effect is attributed to rehearsal and storage in LTM.
• The recency effect is attributed to items still being in STM.

Experimental Designs

• Strengths of experimental designs include the ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships through manipulation of variables, and high levels of control.
• Weaknesses include artificiality, ethical concerns, and potential for experimenter bias.

Objective and Quantitative Data

• Strengths of using objective and quantitative data include increased reliability, validity, and ease of analysis.
• Weaknesses include oversimplification, lack of context, and potential for misinterpretation.

Explicit and Implicit Memory

• Explicit memory (declarative memory) involves conscious recall of facts and events.
• Implicit memory (nondeclarative memory) involves unconscious influence of past experiences on behavior.

Methods for Improving Memory

• Strategies include elaborative rehearsal, mnemonic devices, chunking, and spaced repetition.
• Lifestyle factors include adequate sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet.

Shallow vs. Deep Processing

• Shallow processing involves encoding information based on surface features.
• Deep processing involves encoding information based on meaning and connections.
• Deep processing leads to better retention.

Displacement Theory

• The theory suggests that new information entering STM pushes out old information due to limited capacity.
• The serial position effect may be used as evidence for the displacement theory of forgetting because the recency effect is dependent on the items still being in short term memory, not having been displaced yet.

Theories of Forgetting

• Interference theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to competition between memories.
• Retrieval failure theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to lack of appropriate retrieval cues.

Alzheimer's Disease

• Memory problems in people with Alzheimer's Disease typically begin with difficulty remembering recent events.
• Over time, memory problems worsen, affecting both short-term and long-term memory.
• Eventually, individuals may experience disorientation, confusion, and loss of recognition.
• Memory difficulties progressively affect all cognitive functions.

Factors of Psychological Phenomena

• Biological factors include genetics, brain structure, and neurochemistry.
• Psychological factors include cognitive processes, emotions, and personality traits.
• Social factors include cultural norms, social support, and environmental stressors.
• These factors can influence the cause, expression, and solutions of psychological phenomena.

Types of Data

• Qualitative data is descriptive and non-numerical.
• Subjective quantitative data is numerical but based on personal opinions.
• Objective quantitative data is numerical and based on objective measurements.

Research Design Types

• Experimental designs involve manipulating variables to determine cause-and-effect relationships.
• Observational designs involve observing and recording behavior in natural or controlled settings.
• Qualitative designs such as focus groups and the Delphi technique involve collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand experiences and perspectives.

Science as a Human Endeavour (SHE)

• Communication and Collaboration: Involves sharing research findings and ideas within the scientific community and beyond.
• Development and Application: Focuses on how scientific knowledge is used to develop new technologies, treatments, and solutions to real-world problems.
• Influence: Examines how social, economic, and ethical factors impact scientific research and how scientific discoveries can influence society.