1. Mr. Leonoff WICHS Psychology
Memory and Thought
Mr. Leonoff
WICHS Psychology

2. What is Memory? Remembering and Forgetting
M.K. = Could not remember anything after the onset of encephalitis
S = Could remember everything, even the most trivial items
Became a nuisance – had to devise ways to forget things
Memory Def: Retention of information over time
Input, storage, and retrieval of what has been learned or experienced

3. Process 1. Encoding 2. Storage 3. Retrieval
Transformation of info so that nervous system can process it
Use senses to encode memories
Acoustic Codes – saying something out loud to self
Visual Codes – keep a mental picture
Semantic Codes – Making sense of information (Mnemonics)
2. Storage
Info that is maintained over time
How much info is stored depends on how much effort was given to store it along with info’s importance
3. Retrieval
Info is brought out of storage into the mind
Depends on how efficiently info was encoded and stored

4. Memory Time Frames
Sensory Memory – stimuli enters but is not processed further
Ex: You see trees, people, vehicles as you drive, but quickly forget them
Short Term Memory (STM) – Retain info for seconds
Recently encountered info OR info retrieved from LTM
Long Term Memory (LTM) – Retain info for an indefinite period of time
Info can be used over and over again

5. Memory Time Frames Sensory Memory
All of the stimuli presented whether it is encoded or not
George Sperling
Visual Sensory Memory (Iconic Memory)
9 letters flashed on a screen for an extremely brief
period
Subjects could only recall 4 or 5 letters
Sounded a tone (echoic memory) to signal which letters to focus on
(Top, Middle, Bottom) = increased performance
Echoic Memory Example

6. Memory Time Frames Short Term Memory
Lasts seconds (General Train of Thought <1 min)
Things that are in conscious mind at any one moment
Enters through Sensory/Perceptual Processes OR pulled from LTM
Processes information
Limited capacity – Magic Number = 7 +/- 2
How do you increase STM?
Chunking = organizing items into manageable units
Ex: Memorizing words – typically more than 5-9 letters. Solution – letters formed into meaningful words.
Maintenance Rehearsal = repeat information already being processed in STM
Serial-Position effect
Primacy effect – recall items better at the beginning of a list
Recency effect – recall items better at the end of a list
Example

7. Memory Time Frames Working Memory Contained within STM
Limited info that humans can keep in STM
Also needs Executive Attention
Determines the type and amount of info that STM can access
“Mental Scratch Pad” where relevant bits of info are stored
No longer needed = erased/replaced

8. Memory Time Frames Long Term Memory
Storage of info over extended periods of time
Stored according to categories/features
Reconstruct what you need to recall when you need it
Could be limitless
Countless facts, experiences, sensations…
Stores most important info, eliminates least important info
Why “stories” are “altered”
What is remembered?
Declarative Knowledge – info verbally communicated (Know What)
Procedural Knowledge – Skills communicated (Know How)
Episodic Memory – Where and When of events
Semantic Memory – Knowledge of language (rules, words, meanings)

9. Memory Time Frames

10. Case Study The Case of H.M. Read and Discuss pg. 277
Answer ?’s as a class

11. Encoding How information is processed
Attention – focusing mental effort on certain stimuli while excluding other stimuli
Selective Attention – ability to focus and concentrate on certain info
Ex: Studying with TV/Music in background…
Can shift focus from one thing to another
Automatic Processing – processing does not require any extra effort
Ex: Spatial aspects of environment
Effortful Processing – processing needs extra effort
Ex: organization, rehearsal, imagery, and elaboration
Studying usually leads to better encoding of information…

12. Encoding
How info is processed, cont.
Levels of Processing (Fig. 6.7)

13. Encoding How info is processed, cont. Organization
Memory organizes information in order to recall quickly
Ex. Months in order vs. Alphabetical
Hierarchy – organized from general to specific

14. Encoding How info is processed, cont.
Elaboration: more extensive processing of info that enters memory
Ex: using examples to elaborate a point
Makes the info more distinct
Imagery: process info using vision
Ex: eidetic imagery – visualize scenes no longer in view

15. Encoding Rote Memorization
Repeating information in order to recall quickly
Effective for quick recall
Not effective for lasting LTM

16. Lesson 1 Review 1. List and Describe the process of memory.
2. Differentiate the 3 stages of memory.
3. How does info transition from STM to LTM?
4. Where in the brain does the process of memory begin?
5. Volunteers: Perform a skit that illustrates how you would perform activities such as swimming/riding a bike/others if you did not have procedural memory.

17. Recognition, Recall, and Relearning
Can understand a single “item” in memory and connect it to the big picture
Helps us understand that memories are “indexed” under several headings/categories
More categories memory if filed under = more likely to recognize
Recall
Active reconstruction of info
Involves knowledge, attitudes, and expectations
Remembering is an active process guided by experience, knowledge and cues we receive from environment
Reconstructive Processes – alteration of a recalled memory
Confabulation – filling in memory gaps (not always accurate)
Schemas – conceptual frameworks to make sense of world
Sets of expectations based on past experiences

18. Recognition, Recall, and Relearning
State-Dependent Learning
Recall info easily when in the same physiological or emotional state or setting as when you originally encoded the information
What do you remember when you are excited?
Is it better to study in the classroom you will take an exam?
Other examples???
Memory can be distorted by emotional events such as violence
Relearning
Ability to relearn info that has been “lost” quicker than before
Based on time

19. Forgetting Decay – fading away of memory over time
Sensory and STM – Quick decay
LTM – No evidence that decay occurs
Head Injury can cause loss of memory
Recent memories seem to decay before older memories
Interference – memory being blocked or erased by previous or subsequent memories
Proactive interference: earlier memory blocks new memory from forming
Retroactive interference: later memory/new info blocks you from remembering an older memory

20. Forgetting
Amnesia - loss of memory due to head injury, brain damage, drug use, or psychological stress
Anterograde Amnesia – memory disorder that affects our memory of NEW info or events
Retrograde Amnesia – memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events
Usually occurs with severe blows to the head

21. Forgetting Motivation
Suggests that we forget the annoying, tension-filled experiences
Remember the more joyous, rewarding experiences
Freud: we forget what threatens us
Repress what becomes too stressful
Pushed into our unconscious mind (below awareness)

22. Forgetting Implicit Memory
Failure to consciously recollect an event but have an unconscious memory
Performance on a task is facilitated without deliberate recollection from a specific learning episode
Ex: Infantile Amnesia – inability to remember anything before about 3 years old
Ex: Ability to fill in a complete word while only seeing select letters (easier if recently seen a word that would fit)

23. Memory Strategies Meaningfulness and Association
Elaborative Rehearsal – relate new info to what you already know
More meaningful it is, the easier it is to remember
Ex: DFIRNE = FRIEND
Associate with strong emotional experience
Overlearn info to protect from interference
Rehearse after you already know it
Distributed Practice (Spacing Effect) – spread out learning over time instead of lots of info at once
Result: stronger memories that are easier to retrieve

24. Memory Strategies
Mnemonics – strategies designed to make memory more efficient
FOIL = First, Outside, Inside, Last
BEEF = Balance, Eyes, Elbow, Follow Through
Imagery – association between info and objects
Method of Loci – associate a task with a concrete object
Ex: Trip to the store = Dollar Bill
Peg Method – set of mental “pegs” (ex: numbers) have items associated
Ex: One is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree…
Notice the rhyme

25. Memory Strategies Other strategies Add personal meaning
Chunk into smaller parts
Put info in sequence (alphabetical/numerical)
Create a summary
Review

26. Lesson 2 Review
1. What is the difference between proactive and retroactive interference? Between maintenance and elaborative rehearsal?
2. Describe 5 techniques you can use to improve your memory.
3. Why is eyewitness testimony prone to distortion?
4. Why do people forget?
5. What are the benefits of rehearsal?
6. Examples of mnemonic devices you’ve used?