Introduction to human memory

1. Chapter 7
Introduction to Human Memory

2. Ever felt like this?
3. Want to transform your memory into a super memory?
4. Open up the potential of the human mind?
5. Here is the answer
6. Learn everything in this chapter,
and practice it, a lot
7. Sorry, there is no shortcut or magic pill, yet.
8. So how does memory work?
More to the point, why does it fail sometimes?
9. Human memory does not work like a tape recorder or video camera.
10. A better analogy is that memory is like a net,
and attention is like a rake.
11. Think about a sticky net.
The more it collects, the more it can collect because there is more stuck to it.
12. The weft of the net can also get tighter or looser depending on things like your attention, interest, prior knowledge, repeated experience
13. Attention is important.
Part of attention is like the tines on a rake.
If you put them all on the ground and they catch a few leaves, the other leaves are easier to catch.
14. But this metaphor only applies to intense attention, when you really focus on what youre studying.
Otherwise, your memory rakes may be closer to these
15. Like all metaphors, these do not quite match what we know about memory.
16. Process Models
How Psychologists Think About Memory
17. First, memory is not just one topic.
As researchers investigated memory phenomena, the picture continued to get more and more complicated.
Your text breaks down the topic in a couple ways.
Ebbinghaus
Elizabeth Loftus
George Miller
Michael Posner
Alan Baddeley
18. Breaking Memory into a Series of Steps in a Process
We are going to break up memory a couple times.This is the most basic version, to get you started exploring how memory really works.
Think about memory as several steps in a process.For everything to work well, they all have to happen.
This is more complex than just thinking that you either remember or dont remember.
Three steps, or stages.
You put stuff in.(encoding)
It stays there.(storage)
You get it out.(retrieval)
22. Notice that any of these could lead toNot Remembering
Problems leading you to not remember for each step:
You never get information into memory.
The memory fades, decays, is pushed out, is altered
The memory is there, but you cant get to it.
23. or How to Study
Encoding
24. Attention
That is the first topic, not a warning.
The first part of encoding is paying attention.
25. Attention is Complex
Sometimes
Attention is automatic.
If a window shatters behind you, you react fast.
Sometimes
Attention is controlled.
You can focus your attention, like directing a spotlight.
Sometimes
Attention is controlled.
Example: Think of trying to locate a lost contact lens on shaggy carpet.That is focused, controlled attention.
28. Believe it or not, researchers have worked for years to figure out just how you do what you do.
Computers and robots still cannot match you.
29. Your attention can easily be strained beyond your limits.
Are these color changes annoying?
Distracting?
Attention is a Limited Resource
30. Attention is a Limited Resource
Better?
To focus on the ideas that you are reading,
boring screens are probably better.
Unfortunately (from my perspective as your instructor),
you probably grew up watching media designed to keep your attention.
Shows and commercials offer an unending stream of slick, flashy, animated graphics and sound effects.
They are designed to keep your attention.
One limit of attention is that it can be fleeting.
Moment to moment, new things compete for your attention.
33. Even news programs use these techniques to keep your attention.
34. Seriously, do theme songs and swooshy graphics really improve the quality of news reporting?
35. No.They keep you from switching channels
36. This brings us to a problem with attention.
More specifically, it is a problem of confusing one type of attention with another.
37. Being Stimulated is not the same asBeing Focused
Flashy media techniques primarily capture automatic attention processes, which involve minimal effort.
They do stimulate your senses, however.They keep you interested.They essentially keep a steady stream of activity pumping into your cortex.
Focusing attention involves more effort.You have to train your spotlight onto a target, hold it there, and investigate what the light reveals.
This requires control, effort, dedication, and perseverance.
Few TV shows or commercials require this.
41. Review
The first step of encoding (putting information into memory) is Attention.
Attention comes in different forms, some are automatic and some are controlled or effortful.
Attention is a limited resource.
You may not like the next way that Attention is limited.
This is the reason that texting and driving is stupid, or that web-surfing while studying is a bad idea.
Humans are horrible at multitasking.
Remember the distinction between
Being Stimulated and Being Focused.
Multitasking is Highly Stimulating
Focus and performance are sacrificed.
There is no way around this.
Research has repeatedly found that people are not as good as they think they are at multitasking.It feels effective, but if you make a person do the tasks separately, one at a time, they do better at each task.
47. How you Focus Attention Matters.
Lets move on.
You begin by focusing your attention.
This is controlled attention, and you are not multitasking.
What do you do next?
More is better.
In your textbook, this is where the Depth of Processing topic fits.See your text and the resources on Blackboard for more details.
The basic idea is that the more focused the attention, the better.
Again, this is where TV shows, Facebook statuses, and Tweets do not serve you well.
Deep processing involves a conscious and effortful focus on information.
50. Example
Have you ever studied for an exam and then been blindsided by a low grade?You know you studied You spent time reading You felt like you got it while you read.How could this happen!!
51. Example
This can happen for many reasons.One applies to this topic:Many students do not know how to tell when they gave material enough attention, or more specifically, if they have encoded the information into memory.
52. Example
What sign do you use to indicate that you have studied enough?
53. Feeling of Knowing
Many students read until they get a feeling of knowing.
You read; it makes sense.Is that a good sign that you get it?Are you done?
54. Feeling of Knowing
This happens a lot in math classes.You read how to do a problem.It makes sense, and each step is clear.You see a teacher work the problem; it all makes sense.Then when it is time to do the problem on your own, ummhow did that go again?
55. Feeling of Knowing Encoding
Researchers have asked students to rate their feeling of knowing on topics and then compared these to their scores on those exam items.
The correlation is low.Feeling of knowing does not predict exam scores very well.
56. Feeling of Knowing Encoding
Reading how to do something, and feeling that you get it, can be very passive.You arent really participating.Youre along for the ride.You may, or may not, be focusing attention deeply.
57. Example
Have you ever ridden to a friends place with someone else driving, and then not been able to find the place later when you are driving on your own?
58. Example
Feeling of knowing when reading or studying is about as informative as riding in a car is for learning directions.
59. Example
If you were carefully noting each turn along the way, rehearsing them, and really tryingyou may remember the directions from the ride.However, you could have been riding along carefree, paying little attention.
60. Example
Being in a car that is moving is not what matters.Learning the directions depends on what you do while you ride.Similarly, scanning your eyes over words isnt what matters.Your memory depends on what you do while you read.
61. An important part of learning to study is learning how to tell when you are paying attention and when you are doing enough work with information to encode it.
62. The best method to improve your skills at this is to quiz yourself as you read.Quizzing, asking questions, and working to figure out the correct answers is very active.It can lead to richer encoding of memories.
63. Review
The first step of Encoding is Attention.
Attention can be automatic or effortful.
Effortful Attention is better for studying
Deeper processing while paying attention leads to better encoding.
Dont be satisfied with feeling that you know something when you read, quiz yourself to make sure.
64. More Tools to Enrich Encoding
Quizzing is not your only tool.
Your textbook has an entire section on ways to enrich your encoding.These are excellent strategies to use as you prepare for your exams.Practice each technique as you prepare for the next exam.
65. Storage
66. The Standard Model
Your book offers you this new model diagram
67. Unfortunately, the boxes do not line up with our first model.This is because you are incredibly complex.
68. On the next three slides, I try to draw you a map to understand how the new model is built off of your first, simple model below.
69. Both of these boxes apply to encoding
70. Your main memory storage is here.
71. 72. As you read in your textbook, I recommend referring back to the standard model to help you picture how the topics fit together.
73. Did you notice that we can talk about encoding in far more precise terms?
74. Our first model was a metaphor from computer science, and here is where it breaks down.The line between encoding and storage is not as clear cut as the diagram below suggests.
75. There are two phenomena that appear to be limited storage devices in your brain, although very brief types of storage.
76. Sensory Memory is the first.This is a fleeting echo from your senses.As you read about it, notice that it is technically a type of storage, but a really brief one.
77. The next is short-term memory. This is a type of storage because it involves the ability to hold information. As you read, learn about the capacity and limits of short-term memory.
78. Our computer metaphor (encoding storage retrieval) doesnt fit at this point.Most people do not think about sensory or short-term memory as storage.
79. Most people think about storage as their long-term memory.When you say that you know something, you typically mean that you have a long-term memory of it.
80. As you read this section, focus on expanding how you think about storing memories in long-term memory.We need to include some ideas from encoding and some ideas from storage from our computer metaphor.
81. The key question is how do you put information into long-term memory.
In the last section, we talked about depth of processing, quizzing yourself, and enriching encoding.
82. Each of these helps create long-term memories.
83. Working Memory
This brings us to yet another, newer model of how memory works.This is an expansion of the more simple idea of short-term memory.
On the next slide, notice how the working memory model on the bottom is more detailed than the short-term memory model, above it.
84. 85. What many people mean when they say pay attention or study harder is actually an order to do more with your working memory.
86. Working Memory
87. When we talked about focusing attention, we actually started talking about the abilities of your central executive.
Your ability to quiz yourself, stop reading, think of examples, make a summary, etcis your central executive taking charge.
88. Central Executive

Not a memory store

89. Deploys Attention 90. Focuses Attention 91. Switches Tasks 92. Coordinates

Introduction to human memory

Education

controlled attention

type of attention

intense attention

limit of attention

breaking memory

human memory

memory work

memory phenomena