chapter 6 - memory

Mastering the World of Psychology, Fifth EditionSamuel Wood | Ellen Green Wood | Denise Boyd

Chapter 6 - MemoryLO 6.1


The Structure of Human Memory:What is Memory?

• Memory – a cognitive process that includes the

encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

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Figure 6.1 The Processes Required for RememberingThe act of remembering requires successful completion of all three of these processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.


Figure 6.2 Characteristics of and Processes involved in the Three Memory Systems Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin The three memory systems differ in what and how much they hold and for how long they store it.


The Structure of Human Memory:Sensory Memory

• Briefly holds information from the senses– visual information: for a fraction of a

second– auditory information: up to 2 seconds

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Figure 6.2 Characteristics of and Processes involved in the Three Memory Systems Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin The three memory systems differ in what and how much they hold and for how long they store it.


The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory

• Capacity– seven (plus or minus two) items for less

than thirty seconds without rehearsal• Also called working memory

– STM acts as a workspace for carrying out mental activity

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The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory (STM)

• Displacement– occurs when STM is full– new incoming item pushes out an

existing item• Chunking

– grouping bits of information into larger units

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The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory (STM)

• Rehearsal– repeating information to maintain it in

STM maintenance rehearsal

– repeating information until stored in LTM elaborative rehearsal

– linking new information to that already known

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Short-Term Memory: Levels of Processing in Working Memory• Maintenance Rehearsal

– "shallow" processing– encoding based on superficial features

of information• Elaborative Rehearsal

– "deep" processing– encoding based on the meaning of

information

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The Structure of Human Memory:Long-Term Memory (LTM)

• Virtually unlimited capacity • Contains vast stores of a person's

permanent or relatively permanent memories

• Main Subsystems of LTM– Declarative memory– Non-declarative memory

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Figure 6.3 Subsystems of Long-Term MemoryDeclarative memory can be divided into two subsystems: episodic memory, which stores memories of personally experienced events, and semantic memory, which stores facts and information. Nondeclarative memory consists of motor skills acquired through repetitive practice and simple classically conditioned responses.


Long-Term Memory:Declarative Memory

• Stores facts, information, personal life events – Episodic Memory

records events as they have been subjectively experienced

– Semantic Memory stores general knowledge or objective

facts and information

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Long-Term Memory:Non-Declarative Memory

• Also called implicit memory• Stores motor skills, habits, and simple

classically conditioned responses

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A Closer Look at Retrieval:Measuring Retrieval

• Recall– task in which a person must produce

required information by searching memory

• Retrieval Cue– any stimulus or bit of information that

aids in retrieving particular information from long-term memory

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A Closer Look at Retrieval:Measuring Retrieval

• Recognition– identify material as familiar or as having

been encountered before• Relearning Method

– measure of memory – Retention is expressed as the

percentage of time saved when material is relearned compared with the time required to learn the material originally.

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Remembering as Reconstruction: Source Flashbulb and Autobiographical Memories

• Source Memory – a recollection of the circumstances in

which a memory was formed– Most memories do not include sources.– source monitoring

practice of intentionally keeping track of the sources of incoming information

necessary for encoding

Remembering as Reconstruction: Source, Flashbulb, and Autobiographical Memories

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• Flashbulb Memories – memories for shocking, emotion-

provoking events – include information about the source

from which the information was acquired– reconstructive in nature

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• Autobiographical Memories– recollections that include an account of

the events of person's own life– reconstructive in nature and include

factual, emotional, and interpretive information

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• Autobiographical Memories– positive bias

Pleasant autobiographical memories are more easily recalled than unpleasant ones.

Memories of unpleasant events become more emotionally positive over time.

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Influences on Reconstructive Memory

• Expertise – possessing extensive background

knowledge that is relevant to a reconstructive memory task

• Culture – may influence ability to remember

certain kinds of material

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Influences on Reconstructive Memory

• Culture – Elders of the Iatmul people of New

Guinea exhibit impressive memory for the oral history of their people.

– The Asur people of India have exceptional memory for locations.

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Figure 6.5 Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Forgetting After memorizing lists of nonsense syllables similar to those at left, Ebbinghaus measured his retentionafter varying intervals of time using the relearning method. Forgetting was most rapid at first, as shown by his retention of only 58% after 20 minutes and 44% after 1 hour. Then, the rate of forgetting tapered off, with a retention of 34% after 1 day, 25% after 6 days, and 21% after 31 days. Source: Data from Ebbinghaus (1885/1964, 1913).


Forgetting: Ebbinghaus and the Curve of Forgetting

• Learned and relearned more than 1,200 lists of nonsense syllables to discover how rapidly forgetting occurs

• Curve of Forgetting – Forgetting tapers off after a period of

rapid information loss immediately following learning.

– Meaningful material is forgotten more slowly, encoded more deeply.

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Forgetting:Why Do We Forget?

• Encoding Failure – occurs when information was never put

into long-term memory – Can you recognize the real penny?

Few people can recognize the accurate drawing of the penny.

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Forgetting:Why Do We Forget?

• Decay Theory– Memories, if not used, fade with time

and eventually disappear.– Decay does not appear in long-term

memories.

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Figure 6.7 Retroactive and Proactive interference As shown in Example 1, retroactive interference occurs when new learning hinders the ability to recall information learned previously. As shown in Example 2, proactive interference occurs when prior learning hinders new learning.


Forgetting:Interference

• Proactive Interference– Information already stored in memory

interferes with remembering newer information.

• Retroactive Interference– New learning interferes with

remembering previously learned information.

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Why Do We Forget?

• Consolidation Failure – disruption in the consolidation process

that prevents long-term memory from forming

• Motivated Forgetting– suppression or repression in an effort to

protect oneself from material that is painful, frightening, or otherwise unpleasant

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Why Do We Forget?

• Prospective Forgetting – not remembering to carry out some

intended action– most likely to forget action perceived as

unpleasant

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Why Do We Forget?

• Retrieval Failure – not remembering something one is

certain of knowing– tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

knowing information has been learned but being unable to retrieve it

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Forgetting


Biology and Memory: The Hippocampus and Hippocampal

Region• Hippocampus

– plays an important role in forming episodic memories

– Formation of semantic memories involves the hippocampus and parts of the hippocampal region.

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Biology and Memory: The Hippocampus and Hippocampal

Region• Hippocampus

– The hippocampus is also involved in navigational skills. The posterior of hippocampus is larger in

taxi drivers than in the general population.

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Biology and Memory:Neuronal Changes and Memory

• Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)– an increase in the efficiency of neural

transmission at the synapse that lasts for hours or longer

– does not take place unless both sending and receiving neurons are activated at the same time

– Blocking LTP interferes with learning. long-term memories not formed

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Hormones and Memory

• Our strongest and most lasting memories are usually fueled by emotion.

• Epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin) activate the amygdala.– help imprint powerful, enduring

memories for threatening events– "fight-or-flight response"

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Hormones and Memory

• Excessive levels of cortisol can interfere with memory.

• Estrogen appears to improve working memory efficiency in pre-menopausal women.– Post-menopausal estrogen replacement

may increase the risk of dementia.– More research concerning the treatment

of age-related memory loss is needed.

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Memory Loss

• Amnesia– partial or complete loss of memory – due to loss of consciousness, brain

damage, or some psychological cause• Anterograde Amnesia

– inability to form new long-term memories

– case of H. M.

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Memory Loss

• Retrograde Amnesia– loss of memory for experiences that

occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness

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Memory Loss

• Dementia– mental deterioration characterized by

impaired memory and intellect – altered personality and behavior– Individuals with dementia can lose

episodic and semantic memories.– can result from cerebral arteriosclerosis,

chronic alcoholism, strokes

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Memory Loss

• Alzheimer's Disease– a form of dementia caused by

degeneration of brain cells– High IQ plus lifelong intellectual activity

may delay or lessen Alzheimer symptoms.

– A new drug, bapineuzumab, prevents the development of neurofibrillary tangles and shows promise for the treatment of Alzheimer's.

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Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: Eyewitness Testimony

• Human memory is reconstructive. – Eyewitness testimony is highly subject

to error. – should always be viewed with caution

(Loftus, 1979)• The physiological stress of being a

crime victim creates memory gaps.

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• Misinformation Effect– erroneous recollections of witnessed

events – results from information learned after

the fact

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• Factors Affecting Testimony Reliability– Viewing a photograph of a suspect

before seeing a lineup– Viewing members of lineup all at the

same time, rather than one at a time– The perpetrator's race is different from

that of the witness.– Weapon used in the crime– Leading questions used

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Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: The Repressed Memory Controversy

• Repression– process by which traumatic memories

are buried in the unconscious– Hypnosis and guided imagery are often

used to help clients recover repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse.

– Critics argue that therapists sometimes implant false memories in clients.

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Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: The Repressed Memory Controversy

• Repression– Imagining a fictitious event can lead to a

false memory of the event.• Infantile Amnesia

– relative inability of older children and adults to recall events from the first few years of life

– hippocampus in brain not fully developed

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chapter 6 - memory

Documents

memory systems

world of psychology

sensesvisual information

secondauditory information

shortterm memorycapacityseven

retrieval of informationlo

levels of processing

sensory memorybriefly