 = any indication that learning has persisted over time  We do not know exactly how memory happens  Use models to help us understand 1. Three Box (Information Processing) Model 2. Levels of Processing Model  Neither model is perfect!

Information Processing Model:  3 stages information must pass through to become a memory 1. Sensory Memory ▪ Split-second in time, not much passes through 2. Short-Term Memory ▪ Information we are working on 3. Long-Term Memory a)Declarative (semantic, episodic) b)Non-Declarative (procedural)

CharacteristicShort-Term MemoryLong-Term Memory InputVery FastRelatively Slow CapacityLimitedPractically Unlimited DurationVery Brief: secondsPractically Unlimited Contents Words, ideas, short sentences Schemata, images

 How many items can you memorize?  How can we explain the increased ability to remember?  Discuss

 By creating more associations between the information we are attempting to recall, and the information already stored, we increase the likelihood that something will cue that memory  Link the new information to existing schemas

 Remember: the capacity of the long-term memory is unlimited  However, we often have difficulty remembering information we need  Result of failure at one or more of the following stages: 1.Encoding 2.Storage 3.Retrieval

 Information does not enter into our memory properly  We are simply unable to encode all of the information our senses are bombarded with  Somewhat dependent on age  As we get older, the areas of the brain that active during encoding become less responsive

 Much of what we learn we quickly forget, but this levels off in time  Example: the ability to remember Spanish  Compared those who learned it recently, and those who had studies Spanish 50 years earlier  Those who learned recently (<3 years ago) remembered much more then the others  Those who studied 50 years ago forgot most of what they knew, but anything remembered after 3 years was remembered for life

 graph

 Even if a memory is encoded, stored, and available, it may be inaccessible to us.  “on the tip of my tongue”  Often, a simple cue is all that is needed to remember something  Example: It starts with the letter ‘M’

Interference:  Learning some information may get in the way of retrieving other information  Example: the first week of school  when one friend gives you a phone number you can easily recall it.  As you make more friends, it becomes difficult to recall everyone's individual phone number

Motivated Forgetting  We sometimes unconsciously revise our memories in order to protect or enhance our self-concept  Example: all of the cookies from the jar were eaten, but each family member reported taking fewer then they actually ate  Freud’s repression: we censor painful information in order to decrease the anxiety we feel  BUT the memory still exists, and can be retrieved by cues later (free association)

 Read over the assigned pages from the section of the textbook on Memory Construction  Design and perform a short 2 minute skit that embodies the main ideas in your reading  Will be assessed!

Craik and Lockhart (‘72)  Rejects the information processing/3-box model = Memory is a function of the depth to which we process information  Memory recall falls on a continuum from shallow to deep  Which will be easier to recall: information we process shallowly or deeply at the time of encoding?

 Shallow processing  Fragile memory  Susceptible to decay  Examples:  Processing the letters contained in a word  Processing the shape of something  Processing how something sounds

 Deep Processing  Durable memory  More likely to last  Examples:  Processing the relationships between information  Processing the meaning of something  Processing the importance of something

 How did Craik and Lockhart arrive at this theory? Incidental Learning Paradigm:  Investigated learning without intent  i.e. learning by accident  Present different groups of participants with the same list of items  Each group performs a different task related to the words  Count the number of letters (shallow)  Form an image of each word, and rate the vividness (deep)  NOT told there will be a memory test  Later asked to recall as many words as possible

 Which condition resulted in greater recall?  Deep processing (form image)

 Consider the memory activity we completed at the beginning of class.  How would you explain the improvement in memory according to the principles of each model?

 What are the main differences between the two models we have looked at?  Information Processing vs Levels of Processing

Information Processing  Focused on the storage of memories  Structured into distinct stages  Distinguishes between STM and LTM  Rehearsal of any kind will improve memory Levels of Processing  Focused on the process of creating memories  A continuum  Does NOT distinguish between STM and LTM  Only deep/elaborate rehearsal will improve memory