Memory Chapter 8 PDF

MEMORY Learning Objectives Students will learn: processes of memory and the information processing model. the difference between sensory memory, short-term memory (working memory), and long-term memory. the difference between recognition and recall. how the information is stored in the long-te...

MEMORY Learning Objectives Students will learn: processes of memory and the information processing model. the difference between sensory memory, short-term memory (working memory), and long-term memory. the difference between recognition and recall. how the information is stored in the long-term memory and how we retrieve it. why we forget and different types of amnesia. what a false memory is.  Processes of Memory ENCODING converting sensory information into memories STORAGE “holding on” to the encoded information RETRIEVAL pulling information from storage Information Processing Model  Information Processing Model Sensory memory holds all incoming information for a second or fractions of a second – Iconic – Echoic – Haptic Short-term memory (working memory) holds a limited amount of items for 15-30 seconds Long-term memory holds large amounts of information for years/decades  Capacity The magical number 7 George Miller – memory test called digit-span test Chunking - bits of information are combined into meaningful units, or chunks, so that more information can be held in STM – E.g. language  Recognition vs. Recall RECOGNITION – You must recognize the items you learned (e.g. multiple choice test). RECALL – You must search for the items previously stored (e.g. fill in blank test).  Words by Dr. Jeremy Wolfe Jeremy Wolfe. 9.00 Introduction to Psychology. Fall 2004. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA. Serial Position Effect Figure 6.7 Ciccarelli and White  SERIAL POSITION EFFECT Serial position effect: information at beginning and end of a body of information more accurately remembered than information in middle – Primacy effect: tendency to remember information at beginning of a body of information better than what follows – Recency effect: tendency to remember information at end of a body of information better than the information ahead of it  Rehearsal Maintenance : Repeating over and over in your head to maintain it in STM and eventually transfer it into LTM – Good for simple things – No guarantee that the information transfers into LTM Elaborative : Transferring the information into LTM by making meaningful connections – Connects new stuff with stuff you already know – Good for more complex information  Retrieval from Memory Retrieval cues: cues (hints) that help person remember information stored in LTM – E.g. Remembering word “apple” is retrieval cue for other fruits like grape or plum – Can include returning to location where memories initially formed, hearing songs, smell, etc. Encoding Specificity Context-dependent learning – matching context in which encoding and retrieval occur State-dependent learning – matching the internal mood present during encoding and retrieval  Ebbinghaus and the Forgetting Curve Ebbinghaus found that his recall of words from his memorized word lists was greatest immediately after learning the list but rapidly decreased within the first hour. After the first hour, forgetting leveled off.  Why do we forget? Decay: loss of memory due to the passage of time Encoding failure: failure to process information into memory Interference – Proactive: older information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of newer information – Retroactive : newer information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information  Long-Term Memory Long-term memory Declarative Nondeclarative memory memory (Explicit memory) (Implicit memory) Episodic Semantic memory memory (events) (facts, general knowledge) Episodic Memories Semantic memories Memories of events from a Memories of general knowledge (facts, person’s life definitions, language, etc.)  H.M. - Suffered from epilepsy that demonstrated to be resistant to medication - The neurosurgeon William Beecher Scoville offers to perform an experimental operation at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut - Epileptic seizures were reduced - Size effect: H.M. is unable to form any new memories, a condition known as anterograde amnesia. - This research showed that hippocampus is critical in memory consolidation process.  Types of Amnesia Retrograde amnesia: – memory loss for what has happened prior to a trauma Anterograde amnesia: – memory loss subsequent to a trauma resulting in inability to form new memories  Automatic Encoding: Flashbulb Memories Automatic encoding: tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding Flashbulb memories: automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for person remembering it  How Reliable are Memories We don’t have access to the truth of the memory, we have access to what we manage to reconstruct Constructive processing: memory retrieval process in which memories are “built,” or reconstructed, from information stored during encoding – With each retrieval, memories may be altered, revised, or influenced by newer information Eyewitness testimony