1. Chapter 8 Memory

2. Numbers
How well can you remember these?

3. Quiz

4. Memory: Some Key Terms
Memory: Active system that stores, organizes, alters, and recovers (retrieves) information
Encoding: Converting information into a useable form
Storage: Holding this information in memory for later use
Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage

5. In some ways, a computer acts like a mechanical memory system
In some ways, a computer acts like a mechanical memory system. Both systems process information, and both allow encoding, storage, and retrieval of data.
In some ways, a computer acts like a mechanical memory system. Both systems process information, and both allow encoding, storage, and retrieval of data.
Fig. 8-1, p. 252

6. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory: Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few seconds or less (either what is seen or heard); the first stage of memory
Iconic memory: A mental image or visual representation
Echoic memory: After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of the activity in the auditory system

7. Short-Term Memory (STM)
Storing small amounts of information briefly
Working memory: Part of STM; like a mental “scratchpad”
Selective attention: Focusing (voluntarily) on a selected portion of sensory input (e.g., selective hearing)
Phonetically: Storing information by sound; how most things are stored in STM
Very sensitive to interruption or interference

8. Long-Term Memory (LTM)
Storing meaningful information relatively permanently
Stored on basis of meaning and importance

9. Culture?
Members of cultures that trade beads can remember color patterns of long strands of beads; those who herd cattle can remember and recognize dozens of individual animals. Name some type of information that is easily remembered in our culture, but that might be difficult for a member of another culture to encode? Include subculture

10. The Atkinson-Schiffrin model
The Atkinson-Schiffrin model. Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps. Incoming information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory (STM). If new information is not rapidly encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is transferred to long-term memory (LTM), it becomes relatively permanent, although retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful, but highly simplified, model of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain
Figure 8.2
(Atkinson & Schiffrin, 1968; Goldstein, 2008).
Fig. 8-2, p. 253

11. Short-Term Memory Concepts
Digit span: Test of attention and short-term memory; string of numbers is recalled forward or backward
Magic number 7 (±2): STM is limited to holding seven (plus or minus two) information bits at once
Information bit: Meaningful single piece of information, like numbers or letters

12. More Short-Term Memory Concepts
Recoding: Reorganizing or modifying information to assist storage in memory
Information chunks: Bits of information that are grouped into larger units

13. Chunking Activity

14. Maintenance Rehearsal
Repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM Elaborative Encoding: Links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM
Good way to transfer STM information into LTM
Long-Term Memory Concepts: Constructive processing: Updating memories on basis of logic, reasoning, or adding new information
Pseudo-memories: False memories that a person believes are true or accurate

15. Remember these words:
Ask them to introspect about their initial processing of the words. Are they aware of an echo? Do they silently rehearse the words? Do they attempt to chunk them in some way? Do they try to link them to knowledge in long-term storage?

16. Exposed cerebral cortex of a patient undergoing brain surgery
Exposed cerebral cortex of a patient undergoing brain surgery. Numbers represent points that reportedly produced “memories” when electrically stimulated. A critical evaluation of such reports suggests that they are more like dreams than memories. This fact raises questions about claims that long-term memories are permanent
Figure 8.3
. (From Penfield, Courtesy of the author and Charles C. Thomas, Publisher, Springfield, Illinois.)
Fig. 8-3, p. 256

17. Eyewitness memories are notoriously inaccurate
Eyewitness memories are notoriously inaccurate. By the time witnesses are asked to testify in court, information they learned after an incident may blend into their original memories.
Cognitive interview: Use of various cues and strategies to improve eyewitness memory
p. 257

18. Redintegration
Memories that are reconstructed or expanded by starting with one memory and then following chains of association to related memories

19. Suppose you are shown a series of photographs that depict various scenes related to having lunch at the campus commons. One of the photos shows an unexpected event (the spilled soda). If you were to see all of the photos again a few days later, it’s likely that you would “remember” seeing the image on the right (next slide), even though it wasn’t in the original group of photos. When we see an unexplained event, we are very likely to think about its cause. Later, it is easy to mistake these thoughts for an actual memory
Figure 8.4
(Hannigan & Reinitz, 2001).
Fig. 8-4a, p. 258

20. Figure 8.4
Suppose you are shown a series of photographs that depict various scenes related to having lunch at the campus commons. One of the photos shows an unexpected event (the spilled soda). If you were to see all of the photos again a few days later, it’s likely that you would “remember” seeing the image on the right, even though it wasn’t in the original group of photos. When we see an unexplained event, we are very likely to think about its cause. Later, it is easy to mistake these thoughts for an actual memory (Hannigan & Reinitz, 2001).
Fig. 8-4b, p. 258

21. Types of Long-Term Memories
Procedural (skilled): Long-term memories of conditioned responses and learned skills (e.g., driving)
Declarative (fact): Part of LTM that contains factual information

22. Subparts of Declarative Memory
Semantic memory: Includes impersonal facts and everyday knowledge
Episodic: Includes personal experiences linked with specific times and places

23. A hypothetical network of facts about animals shows what is meant by the structure of memory. Small networks of ideas such as this are probably organized into larger and larger units and higher levels of meaning.
Fig. 8-5, p. 259

24. The tower puzzle. In this puzzle, all the colored disks must be moved to another post without ever placing a larger disk on a smaller one. Only one disk may be moved at a time, and a disk must always be moved from one post to another (it cannot be held aside). An amnesic patient learned to solve the puzzle in 31 moves, the minimum possible. Even so, each time he began, he protested that he did not remember ever solving the puzzle before and that he did not know how to begin. Evidence like this suggests that memories for skills are distinct from memories for facts.
Fig. 8-6, p. 260

25. In the model shown here, long-term memory is divided into procedural memory (learned actions and skills) and declarative memory (stored facts). Declarative memories can be either semantic (impersonal knowledge) or episodic (personal experiences associated with specific times and places).
Figure 8.7
Fig. 8-7, p. 260

26. Measuring Memory
Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state: Feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable
Feeling of knowing: Feeling that allows people to predict beforehand whether they’ll be able to remember something

27. Recall Direct retrieval of facts or information
Hardest to recall items in the middle of an ordered list; known as the serial position effect
Easier to remember first and last items in a list

28. Figure 8.8
The serial position effect. The graph shows the percentage of subjects correctly recalling each item in a 15-item list. Recall is best for the first and last items. (Data from Craik, 1970.)
Fig. 8-8, p. 262

29. Measuring Memory Continued
Recognition memory: Previously learned material is correctly identified
Usually superior to recall
Distractors: False items included with a correct item
Wrong choices on multiple-choice tests
False positive: False sense of recognition

30. More on Measuring Memory
Relearning: Learning again something that was previously learned
Used to measure memory of prior learning
Savings score: Amount of time saved when relearning information

31. Measuring Memory Concluded
Explicit memory: Past experiences that are consciously brought to mind
Implicit memory: A memory not known to exist; memory that is unconsciously retrieved
Priming: When cues are used to activate hidden memories

32. External cues like those found in a photograph, in a scrapbook, or during a walk through an old neighborhood often aid recall of seemingly lost memories. For many veterans, finding a familiar name engraved in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial unleashes a flood of memories.
p. 266

33. Curve of Forgetting
Graph that shows the amount of memory information remembered after varying lengths of time
Nonsense syllables: Meaningless three-letter words (fej, quf) that test learning and forgetting
Encoding failure: When a memory was never formed in the first place

34. Don’t Forget These Terms!
Memory traces: Physical changes in nerve cells or brain activity that occur when memories are stored
Memory decay: When memory traces become weaker; fading or weakening of memories
Disuse: Theory that memory traces weaken when memories are not periodically used or retrieved

35. Handout 8.1
When I say “GO”, you have 45 seconds to try and remember and learn as many words as you can from your list

36. Forgetting
A. What is the difference between the two lists? You should project the two lists together on an overhead projector so the students can compare them.
B. Why is there a difference in performance on the two lists?
C. Some students who had the second list, the one lacking organization, will still do as well as or better than those in the other group. Identify those persons and try to find out what they did to recall so much. This could lead to some interesting discussion of memory techniques.
D. Can what has been found in this exercise apply to the study habits of the students? Discuss ways to make it work for them.

37. Figure 8.9
The curve of forgetting. This graph shows the amount remembered (measured by relearning) after varying lengths of time. Notice how rapidly forgetting occurs. The material learned was nonsense syllables. Forgetting curves for meaningful information also show early losses followed by a long, gradual decline, but overall, forgetting occurs much more slowly. (After Ebbinghaus, 1885.)
Fig. 8-9, p. 264

38. Some More Theories of Forgetting
Memory cue: Any stimulus associated with a memory; usually enhances retrieval of a memory
A person will forget if cues are missing at retrieval time

39. The amount of forgetting after a period of sleep or of being awake
The amount of forgetting after a period of sleep or of being awake. Notice that sleep causes less memory loss than activity that occurs while one is awake.
Figure 8.14
(After Jenkins & Dallenbach, 1924.)
Fig. 8-14, p. 268

40. What is your earliest memory and how old were you?
Psychology Today has surveyed its readers regarding their earliest memories. Ninety-six percent of the respondents reported having memories prior to the age of six, with sixty-eight percent reporting recall for events occurring when they were two or three. Furthermore, a surprising seven percent said they had memories prior to age one, and a few even claimed to have prenatal recollections as well as memories of their own birth! While some of the early memories were of traumatic experiences (such as the birth of a sibling, being injured, or the death of relatives or pets), the majority of recollections were of more mundane things (like being given a bath, having a picture taken, or being pushed in a swing). Interestingly, most of the memories involved images rather than events. People remembered things like curtains blowing in the breeze, a light shining on someone’s face, and a mobile hanging in the air. This is probably because small children generally lack the language skills necessary to encode a complicated series of events. Many psychologists, in fact, believe that it is rare for people to remember things that occurred before they were able to talk.

41. State-Dependent Learning
When memory retrieval is influenced by bodily state at time of learning; if your body state is the same at the time of learning AND the time of retrieval, retrievals will be improved
If Robert is drunk and forgets where his car is parked, it may be easier to recall the location if he gets drunk again!
Can include moods also

42. Figure 8.13
The effect of mood on memory. Subjects best remembered a list of words when their mood during testing was the same as their mood was when they learned the list. (Adapted from Bower, 1981.)
Fig. 8-13, p. 267

43. Interference
Tendency for new memories to impair retrieval of older memories, and the reverse
Retroactive interference: Tendency for new memories to interfere with retrieval of old memories
Proactive interference: Prior learning inhibits (interferes with) recall of later learning

44. Retroactive and proactive interference
Retroactive and proactive interference. The order of learning and testing shows whether interference is retroactive (backward) or proactive (forward).
Figure 8.16
Fig. 8-16, p. 268

45. Transfer of Training
Positive transfer: Mastery of one task aids learning or performing another
Negative transfer: Mastery of one task conflicts with learning or performing another

46. Repression and Suppression
Repression: Unconsciously pushing painful, embarrassing, or threatening memories out of awareness/consciousness
Motivated forgetting
Suppression: Consciously putting something painful or threatening out of mind or trying to keep it from entering awareness

47. Memory Formation
Retrograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that occurred before an injury or trauma
Anterograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that follow an injury or trauma
Consolidation: Forming a long-term memory in the brain

48. Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS)
Mild electrical shock passed through the brain produces a convulsion, destroys any memory that is being formed
One way to prevent consolidation

49. Memory Structures
Hippocampus: Brain structure associated with emotion and transfer of information passing from short-term memory into long-term memory
If damaged, person can no longer “create” long-term memories and thus will always live in the present
Memories prior to damage will remain intact

50. Flashbulb Memories
Memories created during times of personal tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant events
Where were you when you heard that terrorists had attacked the USA on September 11th, 2001?
Includes both positive and negative events
Not always accurate
Great confidence is placed in them even though they may be inaccurate

51. Your own Bulbs
Ask students to report a “flashbulb” memory that is especially vivid for them. What role did emotion play in the formation of the memory? Have they rehearsed and retold the memory unusually often? How can flashbulb memories be explained?

52. Ways to Improve Memory
Spaced practice: Alternating short study sessions with brief rest periods
Massed practice: Studying for long periods without rest periods
Lack of sleep decreases retention; sleep aids consolidation
Hunger decreases retention

53. Ways to Improve Memory (Cont)
Selection: Selecting most important concepts to memorize
Organization: Organizing difficult items into chunks; a type of reordering

54. Ways to Improve Memory Concluded
Whole Learning: Studying an entire package of information at once, like a poem
Part Learning: Studying subparts of a larger body of information (like text chapters)
Progressive Part Learning: Breaking learning task into a series of short sections
Serial Position Effect: Making most errors while remembering the middle of the list
Overlearning: Studying is continued beyond bare mastery

55. Retrieval Strategies
Knowledge of Results: Feedback allowing you to check your progress
Recitation: Summarizing aloud while you are learning
Rehearsal: Reviewing information mentally (silently)

56. Mnemonics: Memory “Tricks”
Any kind of memory system or aid
Use mental pictures
Make things meaningful
Make information familiar
Form bizarre, unusual, or exaggerated mental associations

57. Mneunomic Activity

58. Keyword Method
Aid to memory; using a familiar word or image to link two items

59. Using Mnemonics to Remember Things in Order
Form a chain or story: Remember lists in order, forming an exaggerated association connecting item one to two, and so on
Take a mental walk: Mentally walk along a familiar path, placing objects or ideas along the path
Use a system