March 25, 2015  Objective:  Differentiate between stages of memory  Explain how a memory moves from sensory memory to long term memory  Figure out ways to improve memory  Journal:  If I gave you a list of 15 things to get from the grocery store, how many of them do you think you could remember without writing them down?

MEMORY

Memory: Active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves) information Encoding: Converting information into a useable form Storage: Holding this information in memory Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage Memory: Key Terms

Stages of Memory 1.Sensory Memory 2.Short-Term Memory 3.Long-Term Memory

Sensory Memory: Storing an exact copy of incoming information for less than a second; the first stage of memory Sensory Memory

Short-Term Memory (STM): second stage of memory; stores small amounts of information briefly; very sensitive to interruption or interference Memory Span: STM is limited to holding information bits at once Short-Term Memory (STM)

Recoding: Reorganizing or modifying information in STM Maintenance Rehearsal: Repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM Elaborative Rehearsal: Links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM; Good way to transfer STM information into LTM Storing Info in STM

Long-Term Memory (LTM) Storing information relatively permanently Stored on basis of meaning and importance Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Explicit (declarative) memory (facts): factual knowledge & personal experiences Semantic Memory: Impersonal facts and everyday knowledge Episodic Memory: Personal experiences linked with specific times and places Implicit (procedural) Memory (skills): Long-term memories of conditioned responses and learned skills, e.g., driving Types of Long-Term Memory

Example: Skill vs. Fact Memory Amnesiac patient was able to solve tower puzzle in 31 moves (minimum possible), but each time he began, he swore he couldn’t solve the puzzle. Evidence that skill memory and fact memory are separate and distinct.

Memory Organizational Chart

Loss of Memory  Anterograde amnesia: the inability to form new explicit long-term memories for events following brain trauma or surgery. Explicit memories formed before are left intact. Cause possibly is damage to hippocampus  Retrograde amnesia: the disruption of memory for the past, especially espisodic memory. After brain trauma or surgery, there often is retrograde amnesia for events occurring just before.  Infantile/child amnesia: the inability as adults to remember events that occurred in our lives before about 3 years of age. Due possibly to fact that hippocampus is not fully developed.

Recall: Direct retrieval of facts or information Serial Position Effect: Hardest to recall items in the middle of a list Primacy effect: easier to remember items first in a list than items in the middle, because first items are studied the most Recency effect: easier to remember items last in a list than items in the middle, because the last items were last studied Serial Position Effect

Graphic: Serial Position Effect

Serial Position Effect  HorseCatDog  RabbitPenguinPig  BearDeerCow  Gorilla

Graphic: Stages of Memory

Comparison of Three Stages of Memory Sensory 1. Large capacity 2. Contains sensory information 3. Very brief retention (1/2 sec for visual; 2 secs for auditory) Short Term 1. Limited capacity 2. Brief storage (up to 30 seconds w/o rehearsal) 3. Conscious processing of information Long Term 1.Unlimited capacity 2.Storage presumed permanent 3.Information highly organized