Memory Chapter 7 09 26 2013 Extra credit question about Cuba and America s relationship they have a contract that only America can change America has a military base at Guantanamo Bay What is memory The process by which we encode store and retrieve information Three memory processes o Encoding transforming information into a form memory can use o Storage filing information in memory o Retrieval bringing information out of memory for use Most memory failures are due to poor encoding or retrieval Three System Approach to Memory Sensory Memory o Stores sensory information for a few seconds o Iconic memory o Echoic memory Short Term Memory STM store visual information 1 second stores auditory information 2 seconds o Capacity of 7 plus or minus things at a time o STM holds information that we re currently attending to Whatever you re thinking about right now is your STM Lasts about 200 seconds o Chunking is the process of grouping information in STM to increase its capacity Easier to remember a phone number because it is grouped up and not just a long string of numbers o Contains a central executive processor responsible for reasoning and decision making 3 storage and rehearsal systems controlled by the central executive visual store verbal store episodic buffer Long Term Memory o LTM can hold an infinite amount of information for an indefinite period of time o Two LTM components Procedural Memory do Declarative memory Skills and habits Can t really recall exactly how you do it you just Memory for factual information Two types Semantic memory is memory for facts Episodic memory is memory for events o Information Storage in LTM Information is stored in information clusters called semantic networks Thinking of one piece of information activates other pieces in the same network and connected network STM How does information move through the three systems Information we re sensing does to sensory memory If information in sensory memory grabs our attention it moves to Info in STM is encoded into LTM by repeating it called rehearsal o Two kinds of rehearsal Maintenance rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal repeating info over and over applying some meaning to it Analyzing linking to existing memories Where are LT memories stored in the brain transforming it The hippocampus helps encode information and sends it to the cerebral cortex o The hippocampus encodes special memories The amygdala is involved in emotional memories Remembering Retrieval Cues o Helps us recall information Can be sights sounds or smells Smells are particularly powerful retrieval cues o Retrieval cues are less useful for recognizing information Recall vs Recognition o Recalling information involves retrieving specific information o Recognizing information involves identifying information as old or as correct o Recall is more difficult than recognition because it includes more steps and less cues Levels of Processing Levels of processing theory says the extent to which new information is processed influenced memory for it o Processing information in terms of Physical properties reduces memory for it Its meaning improves memory for it Explicit and Implicit Memory Explicit memory can be consciously reported Implicit memory can not be consciously reported because we aren t aware of them o They still affect mental processes and behaviors o Priming makes use of implicit memories Priming is exposure to stimuli that influences subsequent behavior Seeing words like success achievement before doing a task you will do better on the task Related to a specific important or surprising event that easily and o Flashbulb memories are less accurate for highly emotional Flashbulb Memory vividly recalled memories Constructive processes in memory Memories are influences by the meaning we give to events o Memories are influenced by schemas which are mental concepts that guide interpretation and organization of information Because schemas include our subjective understanding expectations and awareness memories may not be accurate Eyewitness memory errors o Eyewitnesses commit significant memory errors Memory confidence is a poor indicator of accuracy o Why Weapons distracts us from other details like faces A question s wording influences our responses o Children s reliability Children s memories can be less reliable than adults because they re more susceptible to other people s influence Children erroneously reported being molested by physicians during interviews Autobiographical memory o Recollections of circumstances and episodes from our lives o Autobiographical memories can be flawed We tend to forget information incompatible with our Elderly people tend to remember periods of change self concept better o Some people have virtually flawless autobiographical memories called hyperthymestic syndrome