Introduction to Psychology Memory
System for receiving, encoding, storing, organizing, altering, and receiving information
Memory Encoding: converting information into a form in which it can be retained Storage: holding information for later use Retrieval: recovering information from storage in memory
Sensory Memory 1 st stage of memory Exact record: a few seconds or less Icon: exact mental picture for.5 seconds Echo: exact continuation of what you heard; 2 seconds
Short Term Memory Holds small amounts of information for a brief time Through images or by sound Temporary storehouse Sensitive to interference/interruption
Information “Bits” STM: We can remember 7 “bits” on average
Working Memory: in STM Briefly holds information while other mental processes happen Mental “scratchpad”
Chunking Easier to remember information in meaningful “chunks” IBMNYCPSU vs. IBM NYC PSU
Rehearsal STM lasts a very short time, unless rehearsed Maintenance rehearsal: repeating Elaborative rehearsal: linking new info with preexisting knowledge
Long Term Memory Meaningful information Nearly limitless Research: the more info in LTM, the easier it is to add new info
Long Term Memory Stored by meaning, not sound To answer questions, info is transferred from LTM to STM
Types of LTM Procedural Memory Declarative Memory Semantic Memory Episodic Memory
Procedural Memory Memory for how to perform skills Actions/conditioned responses Driving; riding a bike
Declarative Memory Stores factual information Names, faces, words, dates, ideas People with amnesia may lose this type of memory
Semantic Memory Basic factual information Resistant to forgetting Days of the week Names of the months
Episodic Memory Autobiographical memory Our personal stories Allows us to revisit these memories
Memory Tasks Recall: direct retrieval of facts/info Essay test Recognition: correctly identifying information Multiple choice test
Relearning Relearning information you previously knew We pick it up faster
Exceptional Memory Due to training/practice: remembering long numbers Born with the skill, or developed through strategies Specialized interests/natural ability: Zip code man
Why do we forget? Encoding failure: never learned the details in the first place Decay: over time, we lose information; “use or lose”
State dependent hypothesis “Same state” learning Some support in the research Environmental “triggers”
Repression vs. Suppression Repression: motivated forgetting; unconscious Suppression: consciously avoiding a memory
Dissociative Fugue Following a trauma Amnesia regarding our identity Assuming a new identity
Bartlett: Constructivist View Memories are not a mirror of reality We reconstruct information Radical transformation Schema theory We condense/add/integrate information
Memory reconstruction Revising memory to enhance self- image: Remember good grades, not bad ones “Memories are colored by emotions, judgments, and what is personally meaningful” (Schacter, 1996).
False Memories Source memory Development of “false memories” or “pseudo memories”
Loftus: False Memory Research “Misinformation Effect”: when we witness an event and are later exposed to new/misleading information about it, our recollections become distorted
Loftus: False Memory Research “Lost in the Mall” study Imagination Inflation
How do false memories form? Another corroborates your account Applying pressure Encouraging imagination/uncritical acceptance
Implications Avoid powerful suggestions/applying pressure Avoiding leading questions Warn people about misinformation effects Avoid aggressive interrogation efforts