1. HUH? : WHEN MEMORY LAPSES

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

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

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

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

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

7.  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 WHY WE FORGET

8.  Retrieval failure  Encoding specificity principle: the value of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code  Transfer appropriate processing: occurs when the initial processing of info is similar to the type of processing required by the subsequent measure of retention  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 WHY WE FORGET CONTINUED

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

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

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

12.  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 ANATOMY OF MEMORY

13. ARE THERE MULTIPLE MEMORY SYSTEMS?

14.  Implicity 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 IMPLICIT VS. EXPLICIT MEMORY

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

16.  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 SEMANTIC VS. EPISODIC MEMORY

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