CHAPTER 6: Memory Essentials of Psychology, by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing.

CHAPTER 6:

Memory

Essentials of Psychology,by Saul Kassin

©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing

MemoryMemory

An Information-Processing Model

The Sensory Register

Short-Term Memory

Long-Term Memory

Autobiographical Memory

Kassin, Essentials of Psychology - ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing

Information-Processing ModelInformation-Processing Model of Memory of Memory

– A model of memory in which information must pass through discrete stages via the processes of attention, encoding, storage, and retrieval.


MemoryMemoryTypes of MemoryTypes of Memory• Sensory Memory

– Records information from the senses for up to three seconds

– Examples are Iconic (Visual) Memory and Echoic (Auditory) Memory

• Short-Term Memory– Holds about seven items for up to twenty seconds before the

material is forgotten or transferred to long-term memory

• Long-Term Memory– Relatively permanent, can hold vast amounts of information


The Sensory Register The Sensory Register Testing for Iconic MemoryTesting for Iconic Memory

• Invented by George Sperling

• A letter array is shown briefly

• After array is gone, tone signals which row to report

• Subjects recalled more letters when signaled to recall only one row compared to trying to recall all the letters


The Sensory Register The Sensory Register Duration of Iconic MemoryDuration of Iconic Memory

• Sperling (1960) found that an iconic image began to fade after one-third of a second and completely disappeared after one full second.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryCapacityCapacity

Memory-Span TestMemory-Span Test• Read the top row of digits, then look away and repeat them

back in order. Continue until a mistake is made. The average capacity is seven items of information.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryCapacityCapacity

Increased Memory SpanIncreased Memory Span

• Two students practiced memory span tasks for an hour 3-4 days/week.

• After six months, digit span had increased from 7 to 80 items.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryCapacityCapacity ChunkingChunking

– Process of grouping distinct bits of information into larger wholes to increase short-term memory capacity.

• Take 5 seconds to memorize as much as possible on the next slide.

• Then, try to reproduce the arrangement of pieces.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryCapacityCapacity The Value of ChunkingThe Value of Chunking

• Was the number correct around seven pieces? Or, was the information chunked?


Short-Term Memory Short-Term Memory Duration of Short-Term MemoryDuration of Short-Term Memory

• Subjects memorized nonsense syllables, (e.g., MJK, ZRW).

• To prevent rehearsal, they were given a distractor task during the waiting period.

• When a cue was given, subjects tried to recall the letters.

• Short-term memories vanish within twenty seconds.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryFunctions of Short-Term MemoryFunctions of Short-Term Memory

Working MemoryWorking Memory– Term used to describe short-term memory as an active workspace where information is accessible for current use.

• Baddeley’s model of working memory contains three elements:– A “central executive”– Auditory working memory– Visuo-spatial working memory

• Material can enter conscious workspace from senses or from long-term memory.


Short-Term MemoryShort-Term MemoryFunctions of Short-Term MemoryFunctions of Short-Term Memory

The Serial-Position EffectThe Serial-Position Effect• Serial-Position Curve

– Indicates the tendency to recall more items from the beginning and end of a list than from the middle.

• Both groups of subjects showed primacy effects, good recall of first items on list.

• Only the no-delay group showed recency effects, good recall for last items.


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term MemoryEncodingEncoding

Elaborative RehearsalElaborative Rehearsal• Subjects were shown lists of

words and asked to use one of three strategies:– Visual: Is the word printed in

capital letters?

– Acoustic: Does the word rhyme with _____?

– Semantic: Does the word fit the sentence _________?

• The more thought involved (elaborative rehearsal), the better was their memory.


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term MemoryStorageStorage• Procedural Memory

– Stored long-term knowledge of learned habits and skills.

– Examples are how to drive, ride a bike, tie one’s shoes, etc.

• Declarative Memory– Stored long-term knowledge of facts about

ourselves and the world. – Includes both semantic (nonpersonal) and episodic

(personal) memories


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term Memory StorageStorage

Semantic NetworksSemantic Networks Semantic Network A complex web of semantic associations that link items in memory such that retrieving one item triggers the retrieval of others as well Supported by research using the lexical decision making task


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term MemoryStorageStorage The Hippocampal RegionThe Hippocampal Region

• Hippocampus: Part of the limbic system that plays a key role in encoding and transferring new information into long-term memory.

• Anterograde amnesia– Inability to store new

information

• Retrograde amnesia– Inability to retrieve

memories from the past


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory RetrievalRetrieval

• Explicit Memory– The types of memory elicited through the conscious

retrieval of recollections in response to direct questions. – Conscious retention, direct tests, disrupted by amnesia,

encoded in the hippocampus

• Implicit Memory– A nonconscious recollection of a prior experience that is

revealed indirectly, by its effects on performance.

– Nonconscious retention, indirect tests, intact with amnesia, encoded elsewhere


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term MemoryRetrieval Retrieval Context-Dependent MemoryContext-Dependent Memory• Russian-English bilinguals were prompted in

English and in Russian to recall stories.

• They recalled more Russian-experienced events when interviewed in Russian and more English-experienced events when interviewed in English.


Long-Term MemoryLong-Term MemoryRetrieval Retrieval Retention Without AwarenessRetention Without Awareness

• Amnesic patients and normal controls were tested for memory of words learned previously.

• Amnesics performed poorly on explicit memory tasks.

• However, performance on implicit memory tasks was similar to control subjects.


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory RetrievalRetrievalImplicit Memory in Everyday LifeImplicit Memory in Everyday Life

• Déjà vu– A sense of familiarity but no real memory

• Eyewitness transference– Face is familiar, but situation in which they

remembering seeing face is incorrect

• Unintentional plagiarism– Take credit for someone else’s ideas without awareness


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ForgettingForgetting TheThe Ebbinghaus Forgetting CurveEbbinghaus Forgetting Curve


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ForgettingForgetting

Long-Term Forgetting CurveLong-Term Forgetting Curve• How much Spanish

vocabulary is remembered over time?

• Most forgetting occurs within the first three years.

• After that, memory remains stable.


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ForgettingForgetting Can You Recognize a Penny?Can You Recognize a Penny?

One reason people forget is due to lack of encoding.


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ForgettingForgetting

• Proactive Interference– The tendency for previously learned

material to disrupt the recall of new information

• Retroactive Interference– The tendency for new information to disrupt

the memory of previously learned material


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ForgettingForgetting Interference and ForgettingInterference and Forgetting


Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory ReconstructionReconstruction

“Office” Schema“Office” Schema

• Study this picture for 30 seconds.


List as many objects as you can recall from the photograph you just saw.


How to Improve MemoryHow to Improve Memory

• MnemonicsMnemonics– Memory aids designed to facilitate the recall of new

information.

• Increase Practice Time

• Increase the Depth of Processing

• Hierarchical Organization

• Verbal Mnemonics

• Method of Loci

• Peg-Word Method

• Minimize Interference

• Utilize Context Effects


Autobiographical Memory Autobiographical Memory

• Autobiographical Memory– The recollections people

have of their own personal experiences and observations.

• People’s memories are most vivid for times of transition.

• In college, these are memories from the beginning of the first year and end of the last year.

Memorable TransitionsMemorable Transitions


Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Memory

• Flashbulb Memories– Highly vivid and enduring memories,

typically for events that are dramatic and emotional

• Childhood Amnesia– The inability of most people to recall events

from before the age of three or four


CHAPTER 6: Memory Essentials of Psychology, by Saul Kassin ©2004 Prentice Hall Publishing.

Documents

iconic visual memory

memory span tasks

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short term memory

letters kassin

shortterm memories

items of information

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