1. : WHEN MEMORY LAPSES
HUH?

2. EBBINGHAUS’S FORGETTING CURVE
Hermann Ebbinghaus tested memory
Created Forgetting Curve: graphs retention and forgetting over time
Showed steep drop in retention within hours of learning

3. MEASURING FORGETTINGFORGETTING
Retention: proportion of material retained
3 principle methods for measuring forgetting: recall, recognition, and relearning

4. RECALL
DEF: requires subjects to reproduce info on their own w/o any cues

5. RECOGNITION
DEF: requires subjects to select previously learned info from any array of options
Yield higher scores than recall

6. RELEARNING
DEF: requires a subject to memorize info a 2nd time to determine how much time or effort is saved by having learned it before
Compare time spent learning the 1st time with time spent learning same material a 2nd time

7. WHY WE FORGET
Pseudoforgetting—due to ineffective encoding (penny test)
Decay theory: forgetting occurs b/c memory traces fade with time
Interference theory: people forget info b/c of competition from other material
2 types of interference:
1) retroactive interference: when new info impairs the retention of previously learned info
2) proactive interference: when previously learned info interferes w/retention of new info

8. WHY WE FORGET CONTINUED
Retrieval failure
Encoding specificity principle: our ability to remember a stimulus depends on the similarity between the way the stimulus is processed at encoding and the way it is processed at retrieval
Transfer appropriate processing: processing at encoding is most effective to the extent that that processing overlaps with the processing to be performed at retrieval
Motivated forgetting: tendency to forget things one doesn’t want to think about
Freud called this Repression: keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

9. IN SEARCH OF THE MEMORY TRACE: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF MEMORY

10. BIOCHEMISTRY OF MEMORY
Specific memories may depend on biochemical changes at specific synapses (alterations in synaptic transmission)
Neurotransmitters may help with storage of new info

11. NEURAL CIRCUITRY OF MEMORY
Memories may create unique, reusable neural pathways
Long-term potentiation: a long lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses along a specific neural pathway

12. ANATOMY OF MEMORY Studies in organic amnesia give clues
2 basic types of amnesia:
1)Retrograde: loss of memories for events that occurred prior to the onset of amnesia
2)Anterograde: loss of memories for events that occur after the onset of amnesia
Studies in amnesia have shown the hippocampal region is critical for LTM and Consolidation: a hypothetical process involving the gradual conversion of info into durable memory codes stored in LTM

13. ARE THERE MULTIPLE MEMORY SYSTEMS?

14. IMPLICIT VS. EXPLICIT MEMORY
Implicit memory: type of memory apparent when retention is exhibited on a task that does not require intentional remembering
Explicit memory: intentional recollection of previous experiences

15. DECLARATIVE VS. PROCEDURAL MEMORY
Declarative memory system: handles factual information
Procedural memory system: houses memory for actions, skills, operations, and conditioned responses

16. SEMANTIC VS. EPISODIC MEMORY
Episodic memory system: made up of chronological, or temporally dated, recollections of personal experiences
Semantic memory system: contains general knowledge that is not tied to the time when the info was learned

17. PROSPECTIVE VS. RETROSPECTIVE MEMORY
Prospective memory: involves remembering to perform actions in the future
Retrospective memory: remembering events from the past or previously learned info