1. 10
Memory

2. 10 Overview Reconstructing the past The power of suggestion
In pursuit of memory
The three-box model
How we remember
Why we forget
Autobiographical memories

3. The manufacture of memory10
The manufacture of memory
Memory is the capacity to retain and retrieve information.
Memory is a reconstructive process.
Source misattribution
The inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told later about an event

4. 10
The fading flashbulb
Some unusual, shocking, or tragic events hold a special place in memory.
Called flashbulb memories because of their surprise, illumination, and photographic detail
Even flashbulb memories have errors.

5. Conditions of confabulation10
Conditions of confabulation
Confabulation
Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you
A belief that you remember something when it never actually happened
Confabulation is most likely when. . .
you have thought or heard about the event many times.
the image of the event contains many details.
the event is easy to imagine.

6. The eyewitness on trial10
The eyewitness on trial
Eyewitnesses are not always reliable
Factors influencing accuracy
Cross race identification
Question wording (e.g., “crashed” vs “hit”)
Misleading information

7. 10
Children’s testimony
Under what conditions are children more suggestible?
When they are very young
When interviewers’ expectations are clear
When other children’s memories for events are accessible

8. 10
Children’s testimony
When asked if a visitor committed acts that had not occurred, few 4–6 year olds said yes.
100% of 3-year olds said yes.
When investigators used techniques taken from real child-abuse investigations, most children said yes.

9. 10
Explicit memory
Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or item of information.
Recall: The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously learned material
Recognition: The ability to identify previously encountered material

10. 10
Implicit memory
Unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered information on current thoughts or actions.

11. 10
Priming
A person reads or listens to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects performance on another type of task.

12. 10
Relearning
Compares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material.

13. Parallel distributed processing (PDP)10
Parallel distributed processing (PDP)
Model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operating in parallel

14. Three-box model of memory10
Three-box model of memory

15. 10
Sensory memory
A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information
Pattern recognition
The identification of a stimulus on the basis of information already contained in long-term memory
Information that is not quickly passed to short-term memory is gone forever.

16. 10
Short-term memory
A limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief periods
Also used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary use
Working memory
A memory system which includes STM and mental processes that control retrieval of information from LT memory and interpret that information appropriately for a given task
Chunk
Meaningful unit of information which may be composed of smaller units

17. 10
The value of chunking
You have 5 seconds to memorize as much as you can.
Then draw an empty chess boards and reproduce the arrangement of the pieces.

18. 10
Long-term memory
The memory system involved in the long-term storage of information
One way information is organized is in semantic categories (e.g., animals).

19. 10
Conceptual grid

20. Types of long-term memories10
Types of long-term memories

21. 10
Your turn
What kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round?
1. Procedural memory
2. Semantic memory
3. Episodic memory
4. Flashbulb memory

22. 10
Your turn
What kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round?
1. Procedural memory
2. Semantic memory
3. Episodic memory
4. Flashbulb memory

23. Contents of long-term memory10
Contents of long-term memory
Procedural memories
Memories for performance of actions or skills
“Knowing how”
Declarative memories
Memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events; includes semantic and episodic memory
“Knowing that”

24. Contents of long-term memory10
Contents of long-term memory
Semantic memories
General knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositions
Episodic memories
Personally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred

25. Serial-position effect10
Serial-position effect
The tendency for recall of first and last items on a list to surpass recall of items in the middle of the list

26. 10 Your turn You are asked to recall the following list of letters:
Z, S, E, R, F, V, B, H, U, I, K, M, N, G, B, F, O
Which letters are you most likely to remember in long-term memory?
1. Z, S, E, R
2. F, V, B, H
3. U, I, K, M
4. G, B, F, O

27. 10 Your turn You are asked to recall the following list of letters:
Z, S, E, R, F, V, B, H, U, I, K, M, N, G, B, F, O
Which letters are you most likely to remember in long-term memory?
1. Z, S, E, R
2. F, V, B, H
3. U, I, K, M
4. G, B, F, O

28. 10
The biology of memory
Forming a memory involves chemical and structural changes at the level of neurons.
In short-term memory, changes within neurons temporarily alter the neurons’ ability to release neurotransmitters.
In long-term memory, long-term potentiation, a long-lasting increase in the strength of synaptic responsiveness, occurs.
Most researchers believe this is the process underlying learning and memory, yet exact biochemical changes still debated.

29. Brain areas involved in memory10
Brain areas involved in memory

30. 10
Consolidation
The process by which a long-term memory becomes durable and stable

31. 10 Locating memories New brain imaging and testing shows that:
During short-term memory tasks, areas of the frontal lobes show activity.
During long-term memory tasks, the hippocampus shows activity.
During encoding of pictures and words, the prefrontal cortex and areas adjacent to the hippocampus show activity.
Procedural memories involve specific changes to the cerebellum.
The formation of long-term memories involves the cerebral cortex.

32. 10
Hormones and memory
Hormones released by the adrenal glands enhance memory.
One of these, epinephrine, may modulate the level of glucose in the bloodstream.
Memory formation may also be affected by the amount of glucose available in the brain.

33. 10
Rehearsal
Maintenance rehearsal: rote repetition of material in order to maintain its availability in memory
Elaborative rehearsal: association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information to make it memorable

34. 10
Deep processing
In the encoding of information, the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus

35. 10
Mnemonics
Strategies and tricks for improving memory, such as use of a verse or a formula
MDAS
ROYGBIV
Thirty days hath September. . .

36. 10
Decay theory
The theory that information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed
Applies more to short-term than long-term memory

37. 10
Forgetting curve
Herman Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables.
Forgetting was rapid at first and then tapered off.

38. Linton’s forgetting curve10
Linton’s forgetting curve
In contrast to Ebbinghaus, Linton’s memory for personal events was retained over a period of several years and then decreased rapidly.

39. 10
Replacement
The theory that new information entering memory can wipe out old information
In one study, researchers showed subjects slides of a traffic accident.
The experimental group was misled into thinking there was a stop sign instead of a yield sign.
Even after being debriefed on the purpose of the study, subjects insisted that they really saw the stop sign.
The new information which came from the researchers replaced what the subjects saw.

40. 10 Interference Similar items interfere with one another.
Retroactive interference: forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previously
Proactive interference: forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material

41. Cue-dependent forgetting10
Cue-dependent forgetting
The inability to retrieve information stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recall
Physical state can be a memory cue
State-dependent memory: the tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning

42. Mood-congruent memory10
Mood-congruent memory
The tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not.

43. 10
Amnesia
The partial or complete loss of memory of important personal information
Psychogenic amnesia: the causes of forgetting are psychological, such as the need to escape feelings of embarrassment, guilt, shame, disappointment
Traumatic amnesia: the forgetting of specific traumatic events, sometimes for many years

44. The repression controversy10
The repression controversy
Repression: in psychoanalytic theory, the selective, involuntary pushing or threatening of upsetting information into the unconscious
Individuals are more likely to struggle with forgetting traumatic events.
It is hard to distinguish repression from other forms of forgetting.

45. When should we question recovered memories?10
When should we question recovered memories?
If a person claims memories of first year or two of life
If over time the memories become more and more implausible
If therapist used suggestive techniques such as hypnosis, dream analysis, age regression, guided imagery, or leading questions

46. 10
Childhood amnesia
The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two or three years of life
Cognitive explanations:
Lack of sense of self
Impoverished encoding
A focus on the routine
Different ways of thinking about the world