Psych Chap 7 Memory Memory and Its Processes 07 31 2012 Memory active mental system that senses associates organizes alters stores and retrieves information 3 Memory processes o Encoding Converting environmental stimuli into a usable form type in the info Sensory store o Storage Holding on to encoded information for some period of time a word processing document Short term store temporary an open document Long term store permanent a saved document o Retrieval Pulling information from storage read info from disk Grab info from long term store and bring it up to short term store to work on it open the file Information Processing Model Sensory memory Main function pattern recognition an immediate and brief replica of sensory information o Iconic memory visual sensory memory lasts a fraction of a second Eidetic imagery o Echoic memory auditory sensory memory lasts 2 4 seconds Short Term Memory STM aka consciousness also called working memory activated memory system that holds onto information while you are using it o mental desktop duration 12 to 30 seconds magical number 7 or 2 o Digit span word span Elaborative encoding moving from STM to LTM STM Serial Position Effect Tendency to recall the first and last few items best o cramming effect o primacy and recency the better performance for the first and last items o interference mixing information up Tip of the tongue state Encoding STM Maintenance rehearsal encoding by rote repetition o saying something over and over in one s head in order to maintain it in STM STMs tend to be encoded in auditory form Effective but not efficient STM is highly susceptible to interference o e g if counting is interrupted you have to start over Long term memory LTM the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system e g remembering your first kiss first bike the house where you lived in junior high Made more likely through elaborative encoding Encoding Long Term Memory LTM Elaborative rehearsal encoding method for transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way Piggybacking new info onto existing mental codes instead of creating completely new ones Improving LTM Encoding Mnemonics memory aids o form durable and distinctive memory traces mental code by linking information to visual images rhymes acronyms etc ex King Philip came over for great sex kingdom breakdown the omigod mnemonic o Improve memory by providing effective cues for retrieving stored information Chunking encoding by combining items into meaningful manageable units or chunks to increase STM capacity o occurs automatically with reading o We chunk letters into words Acronyms o What are the great lakes Homes each letter is first letter in name of lake Meaningful sentences o Mary Very Easily Makes John Spit Up Nasty Paste order of planets Super simple to remember o complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories Hierarchies Types of LTM Explicit declarative memory that is conscious and known memory for facts type of LTM containing information o refers to knowledge that can be retrieved and then reflected on consciously discussed etc o hippocampus neural structure in limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage late maturation Childhood amnesia None of us can remember before 2 or 3 Patient HM no new memories Anterograde amnesia injury forward in time loss of memory from the point of Retrograde amnesia injury backward in time Cant remember who they are loss of memory from the point of Types of Explicit LTM Types of LTM Semantic memory type of explicit declarative memory containing general information such as language and formal coursework material Episodic memory type of explicit declarative memory containing personal episodes or information not readily available to others such as daily activities and events Implicit procedural memory o type of LTM including memory for skills procedures habits and conditioned responses o Non conscious but known to exist because it affects conscious behavior Walking in conscious awareness o Also includes emotional associations that may or may not be Natural feelings around people like vibes o Hippocampal patients can remember how to do new things they don t remember learning procedural Hm patient learning tetris thinks its new everytime he sees it but after a month he can play the shit out of it and still claim first time to see it Where s Waldo classical conditioning Tetris dreams o Cerebellum little brain at the top of the brain stem early maturation congruent with early motor learning Organization of LTM Semantic network model assumes information is stored in a connected fashion with related concepts stored physically close to each other in the brain o Spreading activation among connections explains semantic interference Encoding Specificity Retrieval cue interference from related information a stimulus for remembering that helps minimize Encoding specificity the tendency for memory of information to be improved if related information such as surroundings or physiological state that is available when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved o Context dependent memory surroundings are easier to recall when in those same surroundings memories formed in certain When you forget what you were about to do until you return to the place you thought of it o State dependent memory particular physiological or psychological state will be easier to recall while in a similar state memories formed during a But drunkenness actually inhibits encoding in the first place Memory Failures 7 sins of memory Schacter Absent mindedness lapses in attention that lead to encoding failure o Information never enters LTM because it is never properly attended and orencoded Transience Storage decay over time when information isn t used Blocking temporary inability to retrieve information usually because of interference from other information Misattribution confusing the source of a memory Suggestibility incorporating misleading or primed information into Bias influencing memories by present knowledge beliefs and a memory feelings Persistence inability to prevent unwanted memories Forgetting as Encoding Failure Sin of absentmindedness Forgetting as Decay Forgetting as Retrieval Failure Sin of blocking o Information never enters LTM because it is never properly attended and or encoded Sin of transience unused