Memory Three processes of memory Memory systems Memory tasks Terms The Brain Forgetting Improving memory We all wish we had a better one!

The Three Processes of Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval (TOT) The three processes of memory: Encoding involves transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory…like writing info down on a file card. Storage involves keeping or maintaining information in memory…like filing the card in a drawer. Retrieval occurs when information stored in memory is brought to mind…like finding the card when you need it! Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (TOT) is a type of “effortful retrieval” (you have to work hard to retrieve it) that occurs when people are confident they know something but just can’t quite seem to pull it out from memory…like knowing the card is in the drawer, but you can’t find it.

The Three Memory Systems 1.Sensory memory Visual sensory memory Auditory sensory memory 2.Short term memory 3.Long term memory Declaritive Nondeclaritive The three memory systems: SENSORY MEMORY holds information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer that the brief time for which one is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses. This is different from the visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning that you learned about in the last lesson. These sensory memories take place in your sensory organs (eyes and ears), not in your brain. Visual (iconic) sensory memory lasts only for a fraction of a second. Auditory (echoic) last about 2 seconds. SHORT TERM MEMORY is also called the “working” memory. Has a capacity of 5 to 9 bits of information (also called “memory span”). This may be one of the reasons that telephone numbers only have seven digits…they are easy to remember long enough to dial a phone! Bits of information can be made larger by a process called chunking, which is the grouping or “packing” of information into higher-order units that can be remembered as single units. Short term memory last less than 30 seconds.

How Memory Systems Work Rehearsal Short-Term Memory Input Long-Term Memory How memory systems work… Sensory input is detected by your sensory organs (eyes or ears, usually). You lose this data very quickly (information loss), or… The data is transferred to your short term memory. You lose this data within a minute (decay or forgetting) unless you rehearse to keep it in your short-term memory. Or… You work to memorize it by transferring it to your long-term memory. You may eventually forget it, or you may periodically retrieve it into your conscious short-term memory system. The levels-of-processing model of memory is described as an alternative to the three-memory systems approach. It proposes that information processed according to meaning (deep processing) is more likely to be retained than information processed according to surface characteristics, such as spelling or sound (shallow processing). If it’s important to you, you’ll remember it; if it’s not, you won’t. Decay

Kinds of Memory Tasks Recognition – producing memory with retrieval cues. Recall – producing information from memory without retrieval cues. Relearning – measuring learning by using the time it takes to relearn forgotten facts. Researchers measure different types of memory tasks: recognition, recall, and relearning. Recognition is the easiest task, with a prompt or cue. You only have to identify something, not actively remember anything about it (recognize the file card when you see it). “Do you see the perpetrator in the room?” the lawyer asked. Recall involves remember information without cues. You have to retrieve the previously learned information (find the file card). “Tell us what happened,” he asked. Relearning is one in which research participants are exposed to information, tested on their memory of it, and then allowed to restudy the information. Relearning is often measures in terms of a "savings score," or the difference between the amount of time devoted to study the first and second times information is presented. Do you remember it better when you practice?

Terms Reconstruction Schema Flashbulb memory Eidetic memory Chunking Attention Effortful processing Automatic processing Th era inhe lpsf arm ersgr owcro ps. ----------------------------------------- The rain helps farmers grow crops. Terms to know… Reconstruction. Piecing together a memory with several bits of information, including info from other sources. Because of reconstruction, eyewitnesses often make mistakes. Moreover, the testimony of two or more eyewitnesses to the same event is often in conflict. When we remember something, we often use bits and pieces of an experience to construct a meaningful whole. As a result, we often mistakenly believe that we remember something when we actually have inferred it. If you’ve told enough times about an event from your childhood, you may believe that you remember it, when in fact, you may not have even been there! Schema. A schema is the sum of the concepts, events, and knowledge on a certain event that already exists in a person’s mind. Schemas are expectations based on prior knowledge. Stereotypes are one familiar kind of schema: An eyewitness may report that the perpetrator of a crime was of a certain race because s/he expects that kind of crime to have been committed by a person of the reported race. Flashbulb memory. A traumatic memory – complete with the sights and sounds -- that is triggered by a similar tragic event. Where were you and what were you doing when you learned of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001? Such recollections are known as flashbulb memories. (By the way, the standard illustration prior to 9/11 was, “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?”) Research shows that flashbulb memories can contain inaccuracies brought about

More Terms and Concepts 1.Serial Position Effect Primacy effect Recency effect 2.Environmental and State Dependent Memories Context dependent memory State dependent memory 3.Repressed memory controversy 4.Culture and Memory More terms and concepts… Serial Position Effect The position of an item plays an important role in how well it is remembered. Primacy effect. We have better recall for items at the beginning of a list because it has already been placed in long-term memory. This is why some people like to be first in a job interview, so they’ll be remembered long-term. Recency effect. We have better recall for items at the end of a list because it is still in short-term memory. This is why some people like to go last in a job interview, so they’ll be remembered immediately. Environmental and State Dependent Memories. Context dependent memory. Information is easier to recall when a person is in the same environmental context they were in when they learned it. State dependent memory. Information is easier to recall when a person is in the same emotional state they were in when they learned it. Repressed Memory Controversy. Research shows that, again due to reconstruction, patients can be led to believe that they recall events that have been hidden from conscious memory for many years. For example, a patient who remembers her parent coming into her room at night on a particular occasion

The Brain and Memories Hippocampus Cerebrum Anterograde amnesia Retrograde amnesia The brain and memory… Hippocampus. Researchers believe that memory processing (not the memories themselves) takes place in the hippocampus at the center of the brain. A study of licensed taxi drivers in London revealed that their posterior (rear) hippocampus was significantly larger than the same part of the hippocampus of control subjects who did not have extensive navigation experience (Maguire et al., 2000). This study shows that the posterior hippocampus is important for navigation ability. The study indicated that the more experience the taxi drivers had, the more the hippocampal region had expanded. The authors indicated that the study reveals a plastic capability in the structure of the adult human brain that responds to environmental demands (Maguire et al., 2000). It is known that one important role of the hippocampus is to handle spatial memory for navigation. In many small mammals, as well as birds, the hippocampal volume increases seasonally when the need for navigational skills and for spatial maps of where food is hidden are most critical for survival (Clayton, 1998; Colombo & Broadbent, 2000). Cerebral cortex. Memories are stored in the neurons throughout the cerebral cortex, in the “grey matter” (cells in the outer layer of the brain). Physiological

Ebbinghaus’ Curve of Forgetting 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Ebbinghaus’ Curve of Forgetting… Herman Ebbinghaus is known for devising a clever technique, memorization of nonsense syllables, for studying the phenomenon of forgetting. Using these syllables, he discovered the rate at which items stored in memory are forgotten. Basically, the longer it’s been since you’ve learned something, the less you remember. 1 day 2 days 6 days 31 days

Cause of Forgetting 1. Encoding failure 2. Decay theory and Alzheimer’s disease 3. Interference Proactive Interference Retroactive Interference 4. Consolidation failure 5. Motivated forgetting Repression Amnesia Causes of Forgetting… The ability to forget information is crucial to keeping memory from being cluttered with unneeded details. Your brain can’t remember everything it’s been exposed to – it needs to make room for new data. Forgetting can be caused by encoding failure or the failure to enter long-term memory in the first place; by the decay of the memory; by interference of one memory with another and by consolidation failure, or by the failure to form a permanent memory. Forgetting may also be motivated as a means of protecting oneself from painful or unpleasant memories. Forgetting may also result from errors in how the memory was framed or how it was recalled (retrieval failure). Encoding failure. Information is not properly encoded by the hippocampus. Decay theory and Alzheimer’s disease. We all know that some memories seem to fade over time; this may be literally true as the gene products mentioned on the previous slide break down, memories are lost (especially those that are never or rarely retrieved). Patients with Alzheimer’s disease notice the loss of memory first. In fact these patients are experiencing a breakdown of ALL types of neurons, not just those that have memories. The breakdown of these neurons is the eventual cause of death. Interference. We forget not because memories are actually lost from storage; but because other information gets in the way of retrieving what we want to remember.

Improving Memory Overlearning Massed practice vs. Spaced practice Mnemonic devices Right brain/left brain (music) Brain exercises Gingko biloba? Read more General tips Can you improve your memory? Yes…but it may have to work at it! Overlearning. People remember material better and longer if they overlearn it. If you work at learning something more than seems necessary, you’re more likely to retain it. Massed practice vs. Spaced practice. Studying over several different sessions (spaced practice) is generally more effective than cramming (massed practice). Massed practicing may work for the short-term – long enough to take a test! – but you won’t remember it long-term. Mnemonic devices. These are little word or number tricks used to help with memorization. Many children learn how to read music by remembering FACE and Every Good Boy Does Fine. EGBDF represents the notes on the music staff; FACE represents the notes in the spaces. You can remember numbers the same way, by associating the number with a significant date or place. Right brain/left brain (music). If language is located in your left brain, and music in the right, employing both sides of your brain to memorize something seems to help retention. Try to SAY the words to a song from 30 years ago (the theme to the Brady Bunch)…every time you get stuck, what do you do? You have to SING to recall the words! Teaching small children to memorize their phone number can be hard, until you put it to music. Brain exercises. The elderly who work out their grey matter stay sharper longer.