Chapter 7 Memory Memory the process of retaining retrieving and using information about stimuli events ideas and skills after the original information is no longer present AKA the retention of information over time Paradox of Memory the same memory mechanisms that serve us well in most circumstances can sometimes cause us problems in other circumstances Extraordinary Memory amazing feats of memory These people have more connections efficient connections in the brain Hyperthymesia extreme autobiographical memory Can be bad because some memories you would rather forget Example rain man memorized 12000 books word for word Memory Illusion a false but subjectively compelling memory Generally adaptive but makes us prone to errors Memory is reconstructive we feel like it s a video but really we have more of a framework and we fill in the blanks Example Nadean Cool was convinced her terrifying memories of being raped and killed were true 3 Systems of Memory the what of memory 1 Sensory Memory brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short term a Each sense has its own form of memory b Iconic applies to vision lasts for only about a second and then is gone forever c Echoic sound memory that usually last 5 10 seconds 2 Short Term Memory STM Retains information for limited durations a Related to working memory our ability to hold on to information we re currently thinking about b Lasts about 5 20 seconds c We lose information in our STM due to i Decay fading over time ii Interference loss of information due to competition of new incoming information or other memories 1 Retroactive happens when learning new information overwrites earlier learning The new interferes with the old 2 Proactive happens when earlier learning gets in the way of new learning The old interferes with the new 1 Magic Number 7 2 pieces of information can be iii Capacity is limited remembered d Improving STM i Chunking organizing information into meaningful groupings extends the SPAN of STM ii Rehearsal repeating information in order to extend the duration of the STM 1 Maintenance Rehearsal repeating the information in its original form over and over again 2 Elaborative rehearsal linking stimuli to each other in a meaningful way e Levels of processing the more deeply we process information the better we tend to remember it i Visual ii Phonological sound iii Semantic meaning 3 Long Term Memory LTM 2 a Enduring retention of information regarding facts experiences and skills b Can last minutes to years c The span is near infinite d Primacy Effect the tendency to remember stimuli like words early in a list Tends to reflect the workings of long term memory e Recency Effect the tendency to remember stimuli later in a list Tends to reflect the workings of short term memory f Types of long term memory i Explicit Memory the process of recalling information intentionally 1 Semantic memory our knowledge of the world 2 Episodic memory our recollection of events in our own personal lives ii Implicit Memory the process of recalling information we don t remember deliberately 1 Ex unlocking your front door you don t have to consciously remember how to do it it happens naturally 2 Procedural Memory memory for motor skills and habits ex riding a bike 3 Priming our ability to identify a stimulus more easily or more quickly when we ve previously encountered similar stimuli 3 Serial Position Curve We tend to remember stimuli that are distinctive in some way Most psychologists believe that the primacy and recency effects in this curve are the telltale signs of two different memory systems long term and short term memory The 3 Processes of Memory the how of memory 1 Encoding the process of getting information into our memory banks a To encode something you must first attend to it b Most of what we experience is not encoded therefore it is not c Mnemonics help us encode memories in a way that makes them documented easier to recall PEMDAS rhyming is a big part of it d Pegword Method used to recall ordered lists of words e Method of Loci relies on imagery of places f Keyword Method your ability to think of an English word that reminds you of the word you re trying to remember 4 2 Storage the process of keeping information in memory a Schema an organized knowledge structure or mental model that we ve stored in our memory They are helpful because they equip us with frames of reference for interpreting new situations i Issues with schemas they can lead us to remember things that never happened ii They sometimes oversimplify which can produce memory 3 Retrieval fetching memory from our long term memory a Many types of forgetting result from failures of retrieval b Recall generating previously remembered information on our illusions own c Recognition selecting previously remembered information from an array of options d Relearning how much more quickly we learn information when we study something we ve already studied relative to when we studied it for the first time i Ex if you know how to play a guitar but haven t played in years you can still pick it up and play again because you have the memory of how to play e Distributed Versus Massed Practice we tend to remember things better in the long run when we spread our learning over long intervals than when we pack it into short intervals f Tip of the tongue phenomenon when you know the answer to something but cannot come up with it Encoding Specificity We re more likely to remember something when the conditions present at the time we encoded it are also present at retrieval Context Dependent Learning refers to superior retrieval when the external context of the original memories matches the retrieval context o Ex Doing better on a test because you re taking a test in the same room you learned the material in 5 State Dependent Learning refers to superior retrieval of memories when the organism is in the same physiological or psychological state as it was during encoding o Ex Alcoholics that say they need to be drunk to locate items o This is sometimes dependent on mood which is known as mood dependent learning This can result in a retrospective bias our current psychological state can distort memories of our past The Biology of Memory Karl Lashley searched for the engram the physical trace of each memory in the brain He was unsuccessful but did discover o The more brain he removed the worse the rats performed o No matter where he removed brain tissue the rats retained at least
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