Long Term Memory
3 rd and final stage of memory of information. Stage of memory capable of large and relatively permanent storage.
Ways to Put Information in LTM Maintenance Rehearsal Elaborative Rehearsal: Relating new information to information you already know. LTM contains more information than a Encyclopedia or a computer’s hard drive.
What’s in our long term memory? Names, Dates, Places The memory of the look on your mother’s face when you graduate high school and college. Words, Pictures, Sounds, Smells, Tastes and touches (Blanket, or stuffed animal) Pictures Apple Butter Memory
Pictures
Capacity of Memory LTM holds the vast array of videos and films of our lifetime of experience. All of them are in color, as long as we can perceive color. These memories come in sound, taste, and touch. There is apparently no limit to how much we can remember.
Memory as Reconstructive Wilder Penfield Brain Surgeon Brain Surgeon Patients experiences images that felt like memories when parts of the brain were stimulated electrically during surgery. Led some to believe that memories become part of the physical part of the brain.
Memory as Reconstructive We now know that memories are not recorded and played back like videos and movies. Reconstructed by bits and pieces from our experiences. Tend to remember things in accordance to our beliefs and needs. We put our own personal stamp on memories.
Schemas The mental representations that we form of the world by organizing bits of information into knowledge. Labels help a person mentally represent an object. Reconstruct them from ideas of what particular items look like in you head.
Forgetting and Memory Improvement Forgetting can occur at any of the 3 stages of memory. (Sensory, Short-term & Long-term) Sensory: Information decays almost immediately. Decays less than a second. Short-term: Info in short term memory will disappear after sec. Long-term: Because there is so much info. In long-term memory, memories can become lost.
3 Basic Memory Tasks 1.) Recognition 2.) Recall 3.) Relearning
Recognition Identifying objects or events that have been encountered before. Easiest of memory tasks. Multiple Choice Tests Only need to recognize the answer.
Recall Bring information back to conscious thought. You try to reconstruct a particular item or event in your mind. Remembering where you parked your car at the mall.
Relearning Sometimes we don’t remember things that we once knew. I.E.: a person who has been out of school for 25 years may not be able to remember algebra. You could probably learn how to do them again if someone showed you how to.
Different Kinds of Forgetting Interference: New information replaces information that we have already learned. Decay: The fading away of memory. Both occur when memory traces fade away from sensory or short-term memory.
Repression Forget things on purpose without even knowing it. Why do we repress memories? Some memories are painful and unpleasant, they make us feel anxiety, guilt or shame.
Amnesia Severe memory loss caused by brain injury, shock, fatigue, illness or repression.
Infantile Amnesia According to Freud, people can’t recall anything that happened before the age of 3. Can anyone remember a event that happened to them before the age of 3? Infantile Amnesia deals with what type of memory? Episodic
Anterograde Amnesia Trauma to the brain caused by a blow to the head, electric shock, or brain surgery. loss of memory of what happens after the event that caused the amnesia. loss of memory of what happens after the event that caused the amnesia. Trauma that prevents people from forming new memories.
Retrograde Amnesia Memories prior to the event are forgotten. Example: People injured in auto accidents don’t remember being in the car before the accident. Athletes that are knocked unconscious have no memory of what happened before the play.
Improve Memory
Drill and Practice Go over information over and over again. Repetition Flashcards: Quiz yourself with a partner. Design your own questions and answer them.
Relating to things you already know Elaborative Rehearsal Requires you to think more deeply about the information. Spelling the word retrieve. –I before e except after c.
Form unusual associations Make an unusual or humorous association between a piece of information and something else. This will help that information stand out and easy to recall. Picture Test Picture Test
Use Mnemonic Devices Systems for remembering information. Such devices usually combine chunks of information into an acronym, phrase or jingle. OTTFFSSENT call us now at Pizza Shuttle. Can anyone think of a jingle that helps them remember something?