Chapter 6 - Memory

1. Chapter 6 - Memory LO 6.1

2. The Structure of Human Memory:What is Memory? LO 6.1 • Memory • a cognitive process that includes the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

3. Figure 6.1 The Processes Required for RememberingThe act of remembering requires successful completion of all three of these processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

4. Figure 6.2 Characteristics of and Processes involved in the Three Memory Systems Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin The three memory systems differ in what and how much they hold and for how long they store it.

5. The Structure of Human Memory:Sensory Memory LO 6.2 • Briefly holds information from the senses • visual information: for a fraction of a second • auditory information: up to 2 seconds

6. Figure 6.2 Characteristics of and Processes involved in the Three Memory Systems Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin The three memory systems differ in what and how much they hold and for how long they store it.

7. The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory LO 6.3 • Capacity • seven (plus or minus two) items for less than thirty seconds without rehearsal • Also called working memory • STM acts as a workspace for carrying out mental activity

8. The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory (STM) LO 6.3 • Displacement • occurs when STM is full • new incoming item pushes out an existing item • Chunking • grouping bits of information into larger units

9. The Structure of Human Memory:Short-Term Memory (STM) LO 6.3 • Rehearsal • repeating information to maintain it in STM • maintenance rehearsal • repeating information until stored in LTM • elaborative rehearsal • linking new information to that already known

10. Short-Term Memory: Levels of Processing in Working Memory LO 6.3 • Maintenance Rehearsal • "shallow" processing • encoding based on superficial features of information • Elaborative Rehearsal • "deep" processing • encoding based on the meaning of information

11. The Structure of Human Memory:Long-Term Memory (LTM) LO 6.4 • Virtually unlimited capacity • Contains vast stores of a person's permanent or relatively permanent memories • Main Subsystems of LTM • Declarative memory • Non-declarative memory

12. Figure 6.3 Subsystems of Long-Term MemoryDeclarative memory can be divided into two subsystems: episodic memory, which stores memories of personally experienced events, and semantic memory, which stores facts and information. Nondeclarative memory consists of motor skills acquired through repetitive practice and simple classically conditioned responses.

13. Long-Term Memory:Declarative Memory LO 6.4 • Stores facts, information, personal life events • Episodic Memory • records events as they have been subjectively experienced • Semantic Memory • stores general knowledge or objective facts and information

14. Long-Term Memory:Non-Declarative Memory LO 6.4 • Also called implicit memory • Stores motor skills, habits, and simple classically conditioned responses

15. A Closer Look at Retrieval:Measuring Retrieval LO 6.5 • Recall • task in which a person must produce required information by searching memory • Retrieval Cue • any stimulus or bit of information that aids in retrieving particular information from long-term memory

16. A Closer Look at Retrieval:Measuring Retrieval LO 6.5 • Recognition • identify material as familiar or as having been encountered before • Relearning Method • measure of memory • Retention is expressed as the percentage of time saved when material is relearned compared with the time required to learn the material originally.

17. Remembering as Reconstruction: Source Flashbulb and Autobiographical Memories Remembering as Reconstruction: Source, Flashbulb, and Autobiographical Memories LO 6.8 • Source Memory • a recollection of the circumstances in which a memory was formed • Most memories do not include sources. • source monitoring • practice of intentionally keeping track of the sources of incoming information • necessary for encoding

18. Remembering as Reconstruction: Source, Flashbulb, and Autobiographical Memories LO 6.8 • Flashbulb Memories • memories for shocking, emotion-provoking events • include information about the source from which the information was acquired • reconstructive in nature

19. Remembering as Reconstruction: Source, Flashbulb, and Autobiographical Memories LO 6.8 • Autobiographical Memories • recollections that include an account of the events of person's own life • reconstructive in nature and include factual, emotional, and interpretive information

20. Remembering as Reconstruction: Source, Flashbulb, and Autobiographical Memories LO 6.8 • Autobiographical Memories • positive bias • Pleasant autobiographical memories are more easily recalled than unpleasant ones. • Memories of unpleasant events become more emotionally positive over time.

21. Influences on Reconstructive Memory LO 6.9 • Expertise • possessing extensive background knowledge that is relevant to a reconstructive memory task • Culture • may influence ability to remember certain kinds of material

22. Influences on Reconstructive Memory LO 6.9 • Culture • Elders of the Iatmul people of New Guinea exhibit impressive memory for the oral history of their people. • The Asur people of India have exceptional memory for locations.

23. Figure 6.5 Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Forgetting After memorizing lists of nonsense syllables similar to those at left, Ebbinghaus measured his retentionafter varying intervals of time using the relearning method. Forgetting was most rapid at first, as shown by his retention of only 58% after 20 minutes and 44% after 1 hour. Then, the rate of forgetting tapered off, with a retention of 34% after 1 day, 25% after 6 days, and 21% after 31 days. Source: Data from Ebbinghaus (1885/1964, 1913).

24. Forgetting: Ebbinghaus and the Curve of Forgetting LO 6.10 • Learned and relearned more than 1,200 lists of nonsense syllables to discover how rapidly forgetting occurs • Curve of Forgetting • Forgetting tapers off after a period of rapid information loss immediately following learning. • Meaningful material is forgotten more slowly, encoded more deeply.

25. Forgetting:Why Do We Forget? LO 6.11 • Encoding Failure • occurs when information was never put into long-term memory • Can you recognize the real penny? • Few people can recognize the accurate drawing of the penny.

26. Forgetting:Why Do We Forget? LO 6.11 • Decay Theory • Memories, if not used, fade with time and eventually disappear. • Decay does not appear in long-term memories.

27. Figure 6.7 Retroactive and Proactive interference As shown in Example 1, retroactive interference occurs when new learning hinders the ability to recall information learned previously. As shown in Example 2, proactive interference occurs when prior learning hinders new learning.

28. Forgetting:Interference LO 6.11 • Proactive Interference • Information already stored in memory interferes with remembering newer information. • Retroactive Interference • New learning interferes with remembering previously learned information.

29. Why Do We Forget? LO 6.11 • Consolidation Failure • disruption in the consolidation process that prevents long-term memory from forming • Motivated Forgetting • suppression or repression in an effort to protect oneself from material that is painful, frightening, or otherwise unpleasant

30. Why Do We Forget? LO 6.11 • Prospective Forgetting • not remembering to carry out some intended action • most likely to forget action perceived as unpleasant

31. Why Do We Forget? LO 6.11 • Retrieval Failure • not remembering something one is certain of knowing • tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon • knowing information has been learned but being unable to retrieve it

32. Forgetting

33. Biology and Memory: The Hippocampus and Hippocampal Region LO 6.12 • Hippocampus • plays an important role in forming episodic memories • Formation of semantic memories involves the hippocampus and parts of the hippocampal region.

34. Biology and Memory: The Hippocampus and Hippocampal Region LO 6.12 • Hippocampus • The hippocampus is also involved in navigational skills. • The posterior of hippocampus is larger in taxi drivers than in the general population.

35. Biology and Memory:Neuronal Changes and Memory LO 6.13 • Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) • an increase in the efficiency of neural transmission at the synapse that lasts for hours or longer • does not take place unless both sending and receiving neurons are activated at the same time • Blocking LTP interferes with learning. • long-term memories not formed

36. Hormones and Memory LO 6.14 • Our strongest and most lasting memories are usually fueled by emotion. • Epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin) activate the amygdala. • help imprint powerful, enduring memories for threatening events • "fight-or-flight response"

37. Hormones and Memory LO 6.14 • Excessive levels of cortisol can interfere with memory. • Estrogen appears to improve working memory efficiency in pre-menopausal women. • Post-menopausal estrogen replacement may increase the risk of dementia. • More research concerning the treatment of age-related memory loss is needed.

38. Memory Loss LO 6.15 • Amnesia • partial or complete loss of memory • due to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or some psychological cause • Anterograde Amnesia • inability to form new long-term memories • case of H. M.

39. Memory Loss LO 6.15 • Retrograde Amnesia • loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness

40. Memory Loss LO 6.15 • Dementia • mental deterioration characterized by impaired memory and intellect • altered personality and behavior • Individuals with dementia can lose episodic and semantic memories. • can result from cerebral arteriosclerosis, chronic alcoholism, strokes

41. Memory Loss LO 6.15 • Alzheimer's Disease • a form of dementia caused by degeneration of brain cells • High IQ plus lifelong intellectual activity may delay or lessen Alzheimer symptoms. • A new drug, bapineuzumab, prevents the development of neurofibrillary tangles and shows promise for the treatment of Alzheimer's.

42. Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: Eyewitness Testimony LO 6.16 • Human memory is reconstructive. • Eyewitness testimony is highly subject to error. • should always be viewed with caution (Loftus, 1979) • The physiological stress of being a crime victim creates memory gaps.

43. Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: Eyewitness Testimony LO 6.16 • Misinformation Effect • erroneous recollections of witnessed events • results from information learned after the fact

44. Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: Eyewitness Testimony LO 6.16 • Factors Affecting Testimony Reliability • Viewing a photograph of a suspect before seeing a lineup • Viewing members of lineup all at the same time, rather than one at a time • The perpetrator's race is different from that of the witness. • Weapon used in the crime • Leading questions used

45. Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: The Repressed Memory Controversy LO 6.17 • Repression • process by which traumatic memories are buried in the unconscious • Hypnosis and guided imagery are often used to help clients recover repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse. • Critics argue that therapists sometimes implant false memories in clients.

46. Memory in Legal and Therapeutic Settings: The Repressed Memory Controversy LO 6.17 • Repression • Imagining a fictitious event can lead to a false memory of the event. • Infantile Amnesia • relative inability of older children and adults to recall events from the first few years of life • hippocampus in brain not fully developed