Psychology

3 Memory Systems

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Sensory memory ÐŽV brief lasting of the sensory image in our sensory register

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Short-term or working memory (STM)-holds information we are actively thinking about; limited in capacity (~ 7 items) & duration

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Long-term memory (LTM) ÐŽV items encoded into LTM are held almost permanently; virtually unlimited capacity

3 Memory Processes

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Encoding (mentally processing information so it can be placed into memory).

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Storage (holding that information for a period of time)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Retrieval (accessing or recalling stored memories when needed)

Encoding

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Sensory input is not sufficient ÐŽV must attend to & process that input

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Some encoding occurs automatically-

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Personal experiences

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Information of high interest

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Some types of learning (conditioning, motor learning)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Much encoding, however, is effortful; it requires special thought and practice

3 Primary Types of Long-Term Memories

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Episodic Memories (life experiences)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Semantic Memories (information/knowledge)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Procedural Memories (how to do things)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю The Network Theory of Memory

Most Common Amnesia:

Retrograde Amnesia

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Head trauma or other temporary disruption of normal brain functioning blocks memories that are in the process of being transferred to LTM (typically memories for events immediately PRECEDING the trauma/disruption

Retrograde vs. Anterograde Loss

Anterograde Amnesia:

The Case of H.M.

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю H.M. suffered uncontrolled seizures in his hippocampus/temporal lobe cortex

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю This region was removed in the 60ÐŽ¦s to try to control his seizures (and it did)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Since the removal, H.M. has been unable to store new declarative (episodic and semantic memories)

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю But he has learned new motor skills (procedural memories)

Memory Areas of Brain

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Hippocampus ÐŽV transferring episodic & semantic memories into LTM

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Cerebral cortex ÐŽV STM and also final storage place for visual, auditory, tactile memories

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Amygdala ÐŽV emotional aspects of memory

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Cerebellum ÐŽV nondeclarative memories (procedural memories, conditioning memories)

Rehearsal

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю We usually use maintenance rehearsal (repeating things over & over) to hold information in STM

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Maintenance rehearsal is not terribly effective for encoding LTMs however.

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Elaborative rehearsal (organizing, thinking about, practicing, and linking new material to existing memories). The more associations we build, the more cues weÐŽ¦ll have for retrieval.

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю The more deeply you process info, the better your recall

Serial Position Effect

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю All items in a list are not equally easy to recall. Its easier to remember the beginning (ÐŽ§primacy effectЎЁ) & the end (ÐŽ§recency effectЎЁ). The middle is most likely to give us difficulty.

Levels of Processing Model

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Depth of processing is key to how effectively a memory is stored and retrieved

Other Factors Affecting Recall

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Order of Material to be Recalled

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю How the Memories are Elicited

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Emotionality of Memories

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Most often emotion & the hormones produced strengthen memories

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Example: flashbulb memories

Recall vs Recognition Tests

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Recall tests (e.g. essays) demand that you retrieve the memories without many external cues

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю Recognition tests (e.g. multiple choice) ÐŽV alternatives provide some cues

Influences on Cues & Recall

Ñ"Ю Ñ"Ю