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Chapter 6: Memory
In this Chapter we consider
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The Nature of Memory
Ways in which information is stored
That there are several separate types of memory
Each type functions in a slightly different manner.
Problems of retrieving information from memory,
the accuracy of memories varies, & the reasons
information is sometimes forgotten.
What are the biological foundations of memory?
How can we increase memory capacity in a
some practical way?
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Memory

The process by which
we encode, store, and
retrieve information
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Encoding
Refers to the
process by
which
information is
initially recorded
in a form usable
to memory
Storage
The maintenance
of material saved
in the memory
system
Retrieval
Material in
memory storage
is located,
brought into
awareness, and
used
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The Three Systems of Memory:
Sensory Memory


The initial, momentary storage of
information, lasting only an instant
Echoic memory
– Stores
auditory
information
coming from
the ears

Iconic memory
– Reflects
information
from our
visual
system
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The Three Systems of Memory:
Short-Term Memory


Memory store in which
information first has
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meaning
May hold approximately
PBS
7 (plus or minus 2)
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chunks of information
CNN
– A chunk is a meaningful
grouping of stimuli that
can be stored as a unit in
short-term memory

Holds information for
approximately 15 to 20
seconds
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CBS
MTV
NBC
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The Three Systems of Memory:
Short-Term Memory

Two kinds of Rehearsal
– Repetition rehearsal
• Occurs when information is
repeated and this keeps it in
short-term memory.
– Elaborative rehearsal

Mnemonics
– Formal techniques for
organizing information
in a way that makes it
more likely to be
remembered
• Occurs when information
is considered and
organized in some fashion
resulting in a greater
likelihood to be
transferred into long-term
memory
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The Three Systems of Memory:
Long-Term Memory

A storehouse of
almost unlimited
capacity
 Information in longterm memory is filed
and coded so that
we can retrieve it
when we need it
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Contemporary Approaches To
Memory

Working memory
– View of short-term
memory as an active
“workspace” in which
information is retrieved
and manipulated, and in
which information is held
through rehearsal
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Working Memory
Central Executive Processor
(reasoning and decision making)
Visual store
Verbal store
(visual & spatial
information)
(speech, words, &
numbers)
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Models of Memory

Associative model
– Memory consists of
mental representations of
clusters of
interconnected
information


Spreading activation
– Activating one memory
triggers the activation of
related memories
Priming
– Phenomenon in which
exposure to a word or
concept later makes it
easier to recall related
information
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Modules of Memory

Explicit memory
– Intentional or conscious
recollection of
information

Implicit memory
– Memories of which
people are not
consciously aware, but
which can affect
subsequent performance
and behaviour
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Biological Bases of Memory

Long-term potentiation
– Certain neural pathways
become easily excited
while a new response is
being learned

Consolidation
– Changes in the number
of synapses between
neurons as the dendrites
branch out to receive
messages and memories
become fixed and stable
in long-term memory
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Recalling Long-Term Memories

Tip-of-the-tongue
phenomenon
– Inability to recall
information that one
realizes one knows

Retrieval cue
– Stimulus that allows
us to recall more
easily information
that is located in
long-term memory
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Recalling Long-Term Memories

Levels-of-processing
theory
– Emphasizes the degree
to which new material is
mentally analyzed

Flashbulb memories
– Memories around a
specific, important, or
surprising event that are
so vivid they represent a
virtual snapshot of the
event
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Constructive Process in Memory

Constructive process
– Processes in which
memories are influenced
by the meaning that we
give to events

Schemas
– Organized bodies of
information stored in
memory that bias the
way new information is
interpreted, stored, and
recalled
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Recalling Long-Term Memories

Memory in the
courtroom
– Repressed memory
– False memory

Autobiographical
memory
– Recollections of
circumstances and
episodes from our
own lives
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Forgetting: Herman Ebbinghaus
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Forgetting: When Memory Fails

Decay
– Loss of information
through nonuse
– Assumes that when new
material is learned a
memory trace appears
(actual physical change
in the brain

Interference
– Information in memory
displaces or blocks out
other information,
preventing its recall
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Proactive Interference

Information learned earlier interferes with recall
of newer material
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Retroactive Interference

Difficulty in recall of information because
of later exposure to different material
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Memory Dysfunctions

Alzheimer’s disease
– An illness that
includes among its
symptoms severe
memory problems

Korsakoff’s
syndrome
– A disease afflicting
long-term alcoholics
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Memory Dysfunctions

Amnesia
– Memory loss that occurs
without other mental
difficulties

Retrograde amnesia
– Memory is lost for
occurrences prior to a
certain event

Anterograde amnesia
– Loss of memory occurs
for events following an
injury
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