1. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Memory Chapter 7A Psych Files: How to study effectively: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FEZ6568 KdQ&feature=plcp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FEZ6568 KdQ&feature=plcp

2. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Ch. 7A - Memory Memory is the ability to remember things we have experienced, imagined, or learned. Memory is often seen as steps in an information-processing model Encoding – getting information into our brain Storage – retaining information Retrieval – getting information out

3. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall 3 Stage Processing Model: Richard Atkinson & Richard Schiffrin (1968) 1. Sensory memory – we first record to-be- remembered information as fleeting sensory memory. 2. Short-term memory – we process information into a short-term memory bin, where we encode it through rehearsal. 3. Long-term memory – information is stored for later retrieval.

4. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall The Sensory Registers Sensory registers are the first stop for all sensory information. It is raw information from your senses. The sensory registers are very large, but information stays for only a very short time

5. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Visual and Auditory Registers - Visual & auditory registers have been studied the most. Visual register holds images, or icons, that represent all aspects of a visual image Icons normally last about ¼ second in the visual register Auditory register holds echoes of sound Echoes can last up to several seconds in the auditory register Masking – when new information replaces old information almost immediately.

6. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Attention Attention is when we select certain information for further processing; it is the process of selectively looking, listening, smelling, tasting and feeling. At the same time, we give meaning to incoming information. We normally pay attention to only a small portion of incoming information. Cocktail Party Phenomenon – is the ability to filter out all other conversations going on around you to concentrate on one specific conversation.

7. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Short-Term Memory (clip)

8. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Short-Term Memory (STM) Short-term memory holds information we are aware of or thinking about at any given moment (or information that we do attend to enters our STM). It is sometimes referred to as working memory. STM was originally called primary memory by William James. STM has two tasks: To store new information To work on that new information

9. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Capacity of Short-Term Memory Current research has demonstrated that STM can hold whatever is rehearsed in 1.5 to 2 seconds. Chunking is the process of organizing information into meaningful units (or chunks) for easier handling by short-term memory. Domain specific (visual / auditory) working memory systems can operate at the same time with little interference. For example, many people can study or do a memory related task while listening to music with ease but counting backwards from 100 while trying to learn rows of letters is much more difficult.

10. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Encoding in Short-Term Memory Much information is stored in STM phonologically (according to how it sounds) Some information is stored visually, and some information is stored based on its meaning. Research has shown that memory for visually encoded information is better than phonologically encoded information because we tend to store images phonologically AND as images (called dual coding). Dual coding of images accounts for why it is sometimes helpful to form a mental picture of something you are trying to learn. (Vocabulary Picture Squares/Notecards?????)

11. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Encoding in Short-Term Memory Parallel processing – our brain engages in doing many things at once. Automatic vs. Effortful processing – remembering some things such as what you wore yesterday is considered automatic processing. Remembering other things, such as vocabulary for this unit requires effort, called effortful processing, and memory can be boosted through rehearsal, conscious repetition. We remember things better when rehearsal of the information is distributed over time, rather than cramming it in all at once (remember this especially when you get to college!!), this is called the spacing effect.

12. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Maintaining Short-Term Memory Information can be held in STM by using rote rehearsal, also called maintenance rehearsal. Rote rehearsal involves repeating information over and over. This technique is not very effective in creating long term memories, but can be effective for a short time.

13. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Clive Wearing (clip)

14. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Long-Term Memory (LTM) Everything that is learned is stored in long- term memory. Capacity of long-term memory: Vast amounts of information may be stored for many years. There are no known limits to its capacity.

15. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Encoding in Long-Term Memory Most information is encoded in terms of meaning (Semantic encoding). For example, if a friend tells you a story, you won’t remember it word-for-word (verbatim) but you will remember it by taking away the main points of the story’s meaning. Some information is stored verbatim, or acoustic encoding, such as the national anthem or a favorite song. Some information is coded in terms of nonverbal images: shapes, pictures (visual encoding), sounds, smells, tastes, etc.

16. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Serial Position Effect Activity

17. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Serial Position Effect People tend to recall the first items (primacy effect) and last items (recency effect) in a list. It demonstrates how short- and long-term memory work together. The last items on the list are still in STM, while the items at the beginning of the list had an opportunity to be processed and transferred to LTM. Primacy effect reflects long-term memory. Recency effect reflects short-term memory.

18. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Serial Position Effect

19. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Maintaining Long-Term Memory Rote rehearsal Main tool for holding information in STM, is also useful for holding information in LTM. Repetition can result in long-term memory. Repetition is only effective if there is intent to learn material. Repeating something over and over will NOT be learned if intent is not there. Example: What does a penny look like?

20. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Maintaining Long-Term Memory Elaborative rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal is a more effective process of relating new information to information that we already know. It is the linking of new information in STM to familiar material stored in LTM. The more links or associations you can make, the more likely you are to remember the new information.

21. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Schemata A schema (schemata – plural) is a set of beliefs or expectations about something based on past experience (the way in which you approach a situation, process, event, object, etc.). Incoming information is fit with existing schemata. Schemata can also influence the amount of attention paid to a given event.

22. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Types of Long-Term Memory Episodic memories Memories for personal events in a specific time and place, like a diary or journal. Semantic memories Memory for general facts and concepts not linked to a specific time, like a dictionary or encyclopedia. **Episodic and Semantic memories are also sometimes called declarative memory because we can declare (put into words) what we know.

23. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Types of Long-Term Memory Procedural memories Motor skills and habits (they are NOT memories about skills and habits, they ARE skills and habits). Emotional memories Learned emotional responses to various stimuli, our loves, hates, fears, feelings, etc.

24. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Explicit and Implicit Memory Explicit memory Explicit memory - things we are aware we know and can be intentionally retrieved and described. Episodic and semantic memory are examples of explicit memory. Implicit memory Implicit memory – things we are not aware that we know and cannot easily describe. Cannot be intentionally retrieved. Procedural and emotional memories are examples of implicit memory.

25. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Memory Phenomenon Tip-of-the-tongue Phenomenon – knowing a word, but not being able to immediately recall it. Priming – setting up a situation so that a particular outcome is expected. For example, you are given a list of words and one of them is “pool”. Then you are asked to fill in the blanks of _ o o _. You would probably write pool instead of cool, fool, hoop, loot, etc.

26. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Sequence of Information Processing

27. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall The Biology of Memory How are memories formed? When we learn new things, new connections are formed in the brain; when we review or practice previously learned things, old connections are strengthened. Long-term potentiation (LTP) – a long lasting change in the structure or function of a synapse that increases the effiency of neural tranmission, and is thought to be related to how information is stored by neurons. Two hormones affect long-term retention: epinephrine and cortisol. Where are memories stored? There is no one place. Different parts of the brain are specialized for different types of information.

28. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Where Are Memories Stored?

29. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall The Biology of Forgetting Decay theory - Memories deteriorate because of the passage of time. Amnesia - Memory loss caused by accidents, surgery, poor diet, or disease. Retrograde amnesia - Loss of memory from prior to an accident or injury. Neurotransmitters (or lack of) - Acetylcholine seems to significant in memory. Alzheimer’s patients commonly have below-normal levels of acetylcholine.

30. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Experience and Forgetting Retroactive interference - Occurs when new information interferes with information already in memory. (NEW interferes with old) Proactive interference - Occurs when information already in memory interferes with new information. (OLD interferes with new)

31. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Interference

32. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Experience and Forgetting Situational factors Recall of information is better if environment is the same as when information was learned. Cue-dependent forgetting – when environmental cues that were present during learning are absent during recall leads to not being able to remember. State-dependent memory Recall of information is better if person is in the same physiological state as when information was learned; internal cues. Reconstruction When an experience doesn’t fit what we expect we tend to change it or block it.

33. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall How to Reduce Forgetting 1. Develop motivation 2. Practice memory skills 3. Be confident in your ability to remember 4. Minimize distractions 5. Stay focused 6. Make meaningful connections to what is in long-term memory 7. Use mental imagery 8. Use retrieval cues 9. Rely on more than memory alone 10. Be aware of possible distortion due to schemata

34. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Special Topics in Memory Autobiographical memory Recollection of events in our life More recent events are easier to recall A form of episodic memory Childhood Amnesia Generally poor memory for events prior to age two May occur because brain in not fully developed at birth Another theory is that it may be due to lack of clear sense of self in young children Others theorize that memories are lost because of lack of language skills.

35. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Special Topics in Memory Extraordinary memory Includes eidetic imagery (photographic memory) Usually due to well developed memory techniques. Mnemonists – people who are highly skilled at using memory techniques. Flashbulb memories Vivid memories of dramatic event. May occur because of strong emotional content. May undergo reconstruction and become less accurate.

36. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Special Topics in Memory Eyewitness testimony Shown to be unreliable People’s recall for events may be influenced by what they heard or imagined Recovered memories Involved the recall of long-forgotten dramatic event May be the result of suggestion. Some evidence that memories can be repressed and recalled later. Some question the validity of recovered memories. There is currently no way to tell real memories from false ones.

37. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Cultural Influences on Memory Cultural values and practices influence what kinds of things we remember and how easily we recall them.

38. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Eyewitness – part 1

39. Psychology: An Introduction Charles A. Morris & Albert A. Maisto © 2005 Prentice Hall Eyewitness – part 2