1. Memory Chapter 6

2. Memory
Memory is the ability to recall past learning, events, images, and ideas
It is also the storage system that allows a person to retain and retrieve information

3. Brain as Information Processor
Information processing refers to organizing, interpreting, and responding to information from the environment
The first process is encoding
The second process is placing information in storage
The third is making the information available through retrieval

4. Encoding Encoding is the first step in establishing a memory
Encoding involves organizing sensory information so the nervous system can process it
Attention, the processing of directing mental effort to some feature of the environment, is important for encoding

5. Levels of Processing
Craik and Lockhart argued that the brain can encode and process information several different ways
Levels of processing is equated with how deeply information is analyzed

6. Levels of Processing
The encoding specificity principle states that the effectiveness of a retrieval cue depends on how well it matches the originally encoded information
A related idea is transfer appropriate processing that occurs when the initial processing of information is similar to the process of retrieval

7. Storage
Storage is the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available

8. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is a very brief storage area based on the sensory system

9. Sensory Memory
Sperling presented research participants with a display consisting of three rows of letters for a fraction of a second
They typically could report only three to four letters total
When cued, however, they could report three or four letters from any given row

10. Sensory Memory Visual sensory memory is called iconic memory
The images in iconic memory are called icons
The storage mechanism for the auditory system is called echoic storage
Echoic storage lasts only about three seconds

11. Short-Term Storage
Information in sensory memory fades rapidly unless transferred to short-term storage
This area was originally called short-term memory (storage) to highlight its brief duration
However, after its active nature was recognized, some researchers started calling it working memory

12. Early Research on Short-Term Memory
Peterson and Peterson asked participants to recall three consonant sequences
Recall was either immediate or after 1 to 18 seconds
Accuracy of recall decreased as the length of the interval increased

13. Early Research on Short-Term Memory
Miller argued humans can retain about seven (plus or minus two) items in short-term memory
This is referred to as the memory span
People can group information in ways that expand short-term memory
These groups are called chunks

14. Early Research on Short-Term Memory
Rehearsal is especially important in memory
It is the process of acting on or transforming information to keep it active in memory

15. Early Research on Short-Term Memory
Maintenance rehearsal is the repetitive review of information with little or no interpretation
Elaborative rehearsal involves repetition plus analysis

16. Working Memory
Working memory is a storage mechanism that temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use
In working memory, information is encoded and then maintained for 20 to 30 seconds while processing takes place

17. Figure 6.5 Short-Term Working Memory

18. Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory is a relatively permanent storage area of unlimited capacity
Procedural memory is memory for skills
Declarative memory is memory for specific items of information

19. Figure 6.6 Procedural and Declarative Long-Term Memory

20. Episodic and Semantic Memory
Episodic memory is memory for specific, personal events and situations
Episodic memory about ourselves can be termed autobiographic memory
Semantic memory is memory for ideas, rules, words, and general concepts about the world

21. Explicit and Implicit Memory
Explicit memory is memory that a person is conscious or aware of
Implicit memory is memory a person is not aware she or he possesses