PYC1501 Unit 4 Memory OER
PYC1501 Unit 4 Memory OER
PYC1501 Unit 4 Memory OER
Unit 4: Memory
Learning objectives
This learning unit will help you to:
4.1 Introduction
A multitude of events take place around us, requiring us to remember some of these events due to their
significance in our lives. However, we cannot remember everything happening around us, but we can
select and organise the information we need. Memories can be viewed as the expressions of what people
have acquired or experienced throughout life. Memories may include information related to events such
as your first day at school, the wedding, or visiting another country for the first time. Memories allow us
to form new connections with people, places, to experience continuity over time rather than living life as
a single isolated moment.
In this unit we discuss memory, the three-stage process of memory that explains how information is
encoded, stored and retrieved. We also discuss the three types of memory systems with particular
emphasis on how different information is processed in each memory system. We conclude the section by
discussing the concept of forgetting, and memory enhancing strategies.
Memory refers to the retention of information over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval
(Santrock, 2003). The concept of memory reflects a number of different abilities which encompass holding
information briefly while working with it, remembering episodes of one’s life, and our general knowledge
of the facts of the world, among others (McDermott & Roediger, 2021). Memory is an information
processing system and therefore, we often compare it to a computer; incoming information is first
encoded or changed into usable form. Next, information is stored, or held in the memory system. Lastly,
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information must be retrieved, or taken out of storage, to be useful (Coon & Mitterer, 2012). Therefore,
memory involves a set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods
of time.
Encoding refers to the process of acquiring information from the environment and transferring it into
memory (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013). This is like entering data into a computer. We get information into
our brains through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once we receive
sensory information from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. We organise the information with
other similar information and connect new concepts to existing concepts. Encoding information occurs
through automatic processing and effortful processing.
When you are listening to a lecture or music, or talking to someone, you are encoding information into
memory. Have you ever been introduced to someone and then realised after about 30 seconds that you
have already forgotten his or her name? This familiar kind of forgetting often results from a failure to form
memory code for the name because our attention may have been diverted at the time when someone
was introduced to us. Encoding usually requires attention, this is why you may not be able to recall the
name of the person that you have just been introduced to, if you did not pay attention to it (Weiten &
Hassim, 2016).
When dealing with verbal information, people engage in progressively deeper levels encoding. Some of
the types of encoding include the following:
• Structural encoding - is a relatively shallow processing that emphasises the physical structure of a
stimulus. For example, if words are flashed on the screen, structural encoding registers information
such as whether the words are printed in capital or small letters, or how long the word is (Weiten &
Hassim, 2016).
• Phonemic (acoustic) encoding - the emphasis is on the sound of the word. It involves naming or saying
(probably silently) the word (Weiten & Hassim, 2016). For example, you hear a song on the radio that
you have not heard for many years but you sing along, recalling every word. In kindergarten and early
childhood programmes, children are often taught to remember the vowel letters (A, E, I, O, U) through
a song. This is one of the reasons why much of what we teach young children is done through song,
rhyme, and rhythm.
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• Semantic encoding - it emphasises the meaning of verbal input. It involves thinking about the objects
and the actions the word represents. Therefore, deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting
memory codes (Weiten & Hassim, 2016).
• Visual encoding - is the encoding of images. To see how visual encoding works, read the following
words: car, level, dog, truth, book, value. If you are asked to recall the words, you would probably
easily recall car, dog, and book, and a difficult time recalling level, truth, and value. Remember what
you have learned in unit 3 about mental images? It is easy to remember the words car, dog and book
because when you read these words, you create mental images of the objects they represent. These
are concrete, high-imagery words that are easy to remember than the words that stand alone (thus,
we do not have mental image of what level, truth, and value look like). Therefore, high-imagery words
are encoded both visually and semantically (Paivio, 1986), thus building a stronger memory.
Once the information has been encoded in memory, the next stage is to retain this information for some
period of time in storage. Storage (or retention) encompasses how information is retained over time and
represented in memory (Santrock, 2003). Storage of information can vary in time from very brief traces
to essentially permanent storage (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013; Ciccarelli & White, 2017). We remember
some information for a second, some for hours, years, and even some for a lifetime. Therefore, the brain
takes the encoded information and places it in storage. In order for a memory to go into storage, it has to
pass through three distinct stages of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (to be
discussed in section 4.4 below).
The act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness is known as
retrieval. Our ability to retrieve information from long-term memory is vital to our everyday functioning.
You must be able to retrieve information from memory in order to do almost everything; from knowing
how to brush your teeth, to driving, to knowing how to perform any other activity. Figure 4.1 below
depicts the three-stage process of memory.
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https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/1340/fig_8.1.1.png?revision=1
Sometimes retrieving information from our memories can be difficult due to possible interferences.
However, there are some factors that help us to retrieve memories. These are discussed below.
• Recall and recognition - Recall is a memory task in which an individual has to retrieve previously
learned information, such as an essay test. Recognition is a memory task in which an individual has to
recognise (or identify) learned items when they are presented, such as in the multiple-choice
questions (Santrock, 2003). If you study a poem until you recite it without looking at it; you are
recalling it. If you identify the picture of the late President Nelson Mandela in the South African
currency; you recognise him. The order in which information is memorised has an effect on recall. The
serial position effect is the tendency for items at the beginning and at the end of a list to be recalled
more readily than the items in the middle of a list (Santrock, 2003).
Before you continue with this unit, please do the following activity:
A B C
Impala Cucumber Tyres
Bananas Spanner Lightning
Gasoline Shoes Mirror
Spinach Paint Couch
Wood Pencil River
After memorising them, then try to recall all of the items per list without looking at them.
Answer If you remember most of the items on list (A), then you are under the influence of the
primacy effect - the tendency to better recall the items at the beginning of the list. If you remember most
of the items on list (C), then you are under the influence of the recency effect - the tendency to better
recall the items at the end of the list. Most people tend to remember the first and the last items on the
list. Why this is so? The first items are remembered because they entered an almost ‘empty’ memory. The
last items are also remembered because they are still fresh in the memory. The middle items (B) are
neither held in short-term memory, nor moved to the long-term memory. So, they are often lost (Coon &
Mitterer, 2012). Therefore, most people would have a problem remembering the middle items.
• Context and state - in many instances, people remember better when they attempt to recall
information in the same context in which they learned it. This is called context-dependent memory.
This occurs because people have encoded the features of the context in which they learned the
information, along with the information itself. Such features can later act as cues for retrieval.
Similarly, internal state can influence memory. People tend to remember information better when
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their psychological state or mood is similar at encoding and retrieval. This is called state-dependent
memory (Santrock, 2003). For example, when people are in happy moods, they tend to remember
positive experiences, and vice versa.
• Priming - as an aid to retrieve memories, priming refers to the idea that people tend to remember
information better and faster when it is preceded by similar information. It is a form of implicit
memory and it is unconscious in nature. In everyday life, priming is likely to be involved in
unintentional acts of plagiarism (Santrock, 2003). For example, you propose an idea to a friend who
seems uninterested or even rejects your idea outright. Few days later, your friend describes the same
idea to you as if she has just come up with it herself. Her memory of the idea has been primed by
your earlier proposal of the idea. Another example is when you have forgotten to buy oranges whilst
in the fruit shop, then you hear someone mention the word ‘fruits.’ Suddenly, this triggers your
memory to buy oranges.
Before you continue with this unit, please do the following activity:
A. Encoding
B. Storage
C. Recognition
D. Retrieval
People are constantly bombarded with sensory information and most of it has no impact on our lives. The
sensory information enters the nervous system through the necessary sensory systems (vision, auditory,
smell, taste, and touch). You remember this information from unit 2. Information is encoded into sensory
memory as neural messages in the nervous system. This stage holds enormous amount of sensory data
that possibly remain for a very brief period of time, usually a second or less, or as long as the neural activity
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produced by the sensation continues (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013). There are two types of sensory memory
that have been studied extensively. These are:
o Iconic (visual) sensory memory - it involves the recollection of visual information after a short period
of time of its presentation. For example, when you rapidly flap your hand back and forth in front of
your eyes, you can ‘see’ where your fingers were at a previous point in time (Cacioppo & Freberg,
2013).
o Echoing (auditory) sensory memory - the information held in sensory memory has been compared to
a rapidly fading ‘echo’ of the real input (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013). An example of echoing sensory
memory is the ‘what?’ phenomenon. For example, you are watching TV and someone tells you that
supper is ready, and you say, ‘What?’ Immediately after saying ‘what?’ you realise that you actually
heard very well what was said to you. Basically, you hear the echoing statement in your head, and you
respond accordingly by going to the table to eat.
If sensory message is important enough to enter consciousness, then it will move to the short-term
memory (also called working memory). Therefore, selective attention allows information to enter the STM
(Ciccarelli & White, 2017). Sometimes, the STM takes information from sensory memory and connects it
to information already stored in long-term memory. Information stored in STM usually lasts for about 30
seconds at the most (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013). Miller’s (1956) research found that most people can
retain about 7 items in STM. Some remember 5, some 9, so he called the capacity of STM 7 plus or minus
2.
The long-term memory is the continuous, more or less permanent storage of information with unlimited
capacity. It encompasses all the events that people can remember that happened just a few minutes ago,
to events that happened days, weeks, and even years ago. Using the computer analogy, the information
in the LTM would be like the information saved on the computer hard drive; it is not there on the desktop
but, it can be pulled out whenever it is needed, at least most of the time. The LTM includes general facts
and knowledge, personal information, and skills. Information rehearsed long enough may actually find its
way to the LTM. Most people tend to learn poems and the multiplication tables by rehearsal, as known as
rote learning (Ciccarelli & White, 2017). Furthermore, the LTM is divided into two types. These are:
• declarative (explicit) memory - this type of memory is typically accessed in a conscious, direct, and
effortful manner (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013). It stores specific information such as names, words,
dates, and ideas (Coon & Mitterer, 2012). It also involves knowledge, information and facts that
people know (Ciccarelli & White, 2017). For example, the fact that the sun rises from the east and sets
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to the west, is stored in declarative memory. This information is readily available. This memory type
is also divided into two memory types: (i) semantic memory involves the meaning of words, concepts,
and the facts about the world. For example, the fact that Nelson Mandela was the first democratically
elected president of the Republic of South Africa in 1994, and (ii) episodic memory which refers to the
first-hand experiences that people have, such as the recollection of your high school matric farewell
dance.
Before you continue with this unit, please do the following activity:
Activity 3 Try to complete the following words, but work on each word for only three or four
seconds.
_ib_a_y
_h_s__i_n
_o_k
_h_is_
Now read the following sentence carefully: ‘He got his materials from the shelves, checked them, and then
left the building.’
Then try again to fill in the words out of the word fragments.
Answer You might find it easier to complete fragments 1 and 3 as ‘library’ and ‘book’ respectively,
after you read the sentence. However, reading the sentence did not really help you to complete fragments
2 and 4 as ‘physician’ and ‘chaise’. This difference in implicit memory probably occurred because as you
read the sentence, the concept of library (and perhaps, book) was primed, even though they are not
mentioned explicitly. Once a concept is primed, it influences our behaviours. Figure 4.2 below depicts the
three types of memory systems.
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Figure 4.2: Types of memory systems. (Adapted from Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
It is important to note that these memory systems work hand-in-hand. If you are going to remember
almost all of the concepts on your next psychology exam, you must successfully encode them in sensory
memory, move them through short-term memory, and eventually retrieve them from long-term memory.
4.5 Forgetting
Forgetting refers to the process of being unable to retrieve information stored in memory (Van Deventer
& Mojapelo-Batka, 2013). Although some people may view forgetting as a failure or a weakness in
cognitive processing, forgetting is actually adaptive (Weiten & Hassim, 2016). Imagine how clustered your
memory would be if you do not forget some things. Therefore, you need to forget the information that is
no longer relevant, such as the PIN of the cancelled bank card, or the birthdays of your ex-partners that
have dumped you. However, a number of factors may contribute to forgetting. These factors include the
following:
Sometimes memory loss happens before the actual memory process begins, which is ineffective encoding
or encoding failure. This is a failure to store sufficient information to form useful memory. We cannot
remember something if we never stored it in our memory in the first place. This would be like trying to
find a book on your e-reader that you never actually purchased and downloaded. Often, in order to
remember something, we must pay attention to the details and actively work to process the information
(effortful encoding).
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Another possible reason for forgetting is the decay of memory traces due to the passage of time. Decay
involves the disintegration of neurochemical memory traces that were formed when something new was
learned (Santrock, 2003). Essentially, decay of memory traces occurs when our ability to retrieve
information fades over time (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2013; Weiten & Hassim, 2016). Therefore, transience
relates to the passage of time. Memories often fade away with the passage of time but under the right
retrieval conditions, information can be remembered (Santrock, 2003). You might forget the face of
someone in your high school class, but when you return to the setting in which you knew the person, you
may remember the face.
4.5.3 Interference
People forget some information not because memories are actually lost from storage, but because other
information gets in the way of (or interfere with) what they want to remember. Therefore, interference
refers to the tendency for new memories (or information) to impair the retrieval of old memories (Coon
& Mitterer, 2012). Proactive interference occurs when the materials that were learned earlier disrupt the
recall of the materials learned recently (Santrock, 2003). For example, when the new year starts, do you
find that you accidentally write the previous year? This is because the old information hinders the recall
of newly learned information. Conversely, retroactive interference occurs when information learned
more recently hinders the recall of information learned earlier. For example, suppose you are fascinated
by someone called Charles. You might find yourself unintentionally calling your old friend Carl as Charles
because the new information (Charles) is now interfering with the old information (Carl). However, it is
not clear whether new memories alter the existing memory traces or if they make it harder to retrieve (or
locate) earlier memories. In any case, there is no doubt that interference is a major cause of forgetting
(Coon & Mitterer, 2012).
Sometimes people intentionally try to forget some memories because they are associated with traumatic,
and painful experiences. This is called motivated forgetting. This may be the consequence of traumatic
event such as rape, surviving the air crash or earthquake (Santrock, 2003). These traumatic events may
haunt people for many years unless they can block them from their minds. One form of motivated
forgetting is repression. In the psychoanalytic perspective, this is a defence mechanism whereby
unpleasant memories are repressed into the unconscious mind, and we are no longer aware of them
(Santrock, 2003). A simple example can be seen in war soldiers who have repressed some of the horrible
events they witnessed during the combat. People prone to repression tend to be extremely sensitive to
emotional events. As a result, they use repression to protect themselves from the threatening thoughts
(Coon & Mitterer, 2012). To understand the concept of memory and forgetfulness, watch the video at.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVWbrNls-Kw (Note: Video not for assessment purposes).
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Before you continue with this unit, please do the following activity:
Activity 4 Last year Charlene failed the module PYC1501 while all her friend passed it. This has
caused Charlene a great deal of anxiety and embarrassment and she is trying to put this experience
behind her. This is an example of . . .
Answer Option A is incorrect because decay and transience involve the disintegration of
neurochemical memory traces that were formed when something new was learned, and it occurs with
the passage of time. Ineffective encoding (option B) is also incorrect because the scenario does not
indicate that Charlene ineffectively encoded any information in memory. Option C is also incorrect
because interference simply involves any form of disturbance that may lead to forgetting. Therefore,
option D is the correct answer because the experience of failing PYC1501 is traumatic to Charlene and she
consciously tries to repress it from her consciousness.
4.6.1 Rehearsal: practice makes perfect, so you have heard. In reality, practice simply leads to
increased retention of information. This improvement occurs because rehearsal helps to transfer
information into long-term memory (Weiten & Hassim, 2016). Elaborative rehearsal involves thinking
about the meaning of new information in relation to the information already stored in memory and
making it meaningful in some way (Ciccarelli & White, 2017). For example, if you learned that the word
‘man’ also means ‘husband’ in Afrikaans language, you could relate the word back to man, meaning a
‘male’ in English language. In other words, a ‘man’ can be a husband. Overlearning refers to the continued
rehearsal of material after being mastered (Weiten & Hassim, 2016). Overlearning is therefore, the best
insurance against going ‘blank’ on the exam or test because of being nervous (Coon & Mitterer, 2012).
4.6.2 Chunking: this strategy involves the process of organising information into manageable bits or
chunks (Bodie et al., 2006). It is often used when people want to recall information such as cell phone
number. Instead of trying to remember a 10-digit number such as 2377624851, you would group the
numbers into the chunks of 3/3/4. Thus, 237 762 4851.
4.6.3 Mnemonic device: it helps to remember certain facts or large amount of information. It can come
in the form of a song, rhyme, acronym, image, phrase, or sentence. Mnemonic devices make abstract
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material more meaningful (Weiten & Hassim, 2016). They are useful when people want to recall larger
bits of information like steps, stages, phases, or parts. For example, to remember the number of days in
each month, some people use the knuckle of their hands. (see figure 4.3 below).
4.6.4 Whole vs part learning: if you have to memorise a speech, it is better to practice the whole package
of information rather than smaller parts. This is true for fairly short, organised information. Learning parts
may be better for extremely long, complicated information (Coon & Mitterer, 2012).
GROUP ACTIVITY
In a discussion forum on myUnisa with your e-tutor and peers, reflect on each type of memory
systems, and discuss why people forget information in the memory.
NB: Please note that it is compulsory for you to have this discussion on myUnisa.
4.7 Summary
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4.8 Glossary
Chunking: The process of grouping similar or meaningful information together so that it becomes easy
to manage it.
Context-dependent memory: the retrieval of memory that is dependent on the context in which the
learning of information occurred.
Decay and transience: a cause of forgetting that involves the disintegration of neurochemical memory
trace that was formed when something new was learned, and it occurs overtime.
Declarative (explicit) memory: the memory system that stores specific factual information such as
names, words, dates, and ideas.
Echoic memory: a brief continuation of sensory activity in the auditory system after a sound is heard.
Elaborative rehearsal: a type of rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of new information
in relation to the information already stored in memory and making it meaningful in some way.
Encoding: the process of converting information into a form in which it will be retained in memory.
Episodic memory: a part of declarative memory that records personal experiences that are linked with
specific times and places.
Explicit memory: a memory that a person is aware of having, a memory that is consciously retrieved.
Implicit memory: a memory that a person does not know it exists, a memory that is retrieved
unconsciously.
Interference: the tendency for new memories to impair the retrieval of older memories, and vice versa.
Long-term memory (LTM): the memory system in which huge amounts of meaningful information are
held relatively permanently.
Memory: the mental system for receiving, encoding, storing, organising, altering, and retrieving
information.
Mnemonic device: a memory aid that links new information with well-known information and making it
more meaningful.
Non-declarative(implicit) memory: unconsciously and effortlessly retrieved memories that are difficult
to verbalise.
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Phonemic (acoustic) encoding - is emphasizes the sound of the word. It involves naming or saying
(probably silently) the word.
Primacy effect: the tendency to remember most of the first items on the list or information presented
first.
Priming: a form of implicit memory that facilitates the retrieval of hidden memories by using cues.
Proactive interference: a tendency for old memories to interfere with retrieval of newer information.
Procedural memory: a form of implicit memory that contains memories for actions, skills, conditioned
responses, and emotional responses.
Recall: is a memory task in which an individual has to retrieve previously learned information with
minimal cues.
Recency effect: the tendency to better recall the items at the end of the list, or information presented
recently (or last).
Repression. A defence mechanism whereby unpleasant memories are unconsciously pushed away from
consciousness.
Retrieval: is the process of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious
awareness.
Retroactive interference: the tendency for new memories to interfere with the retrieval of old
memories.
Semantic encoding - it emphasises the meaning of verbal input. It involves thinking about the objects
and actions the word represents.
Semantic memory: a part of declarative memory that records impersonal knowledge about the world
Sensory memory (SM): The sensory system that processes incoming neural or environmental
information through senses (vision, auditory, taste, touch and smell).
Serial position effect: the tendency for items at the beginning and at the end of a list to be recalled
more readily than the items in the middle of a list.
Short Term Memory (STM): the memory system used to hold small amounts of information in our
conscious awareness for very few seconds.
Structural encoding: is a relatively shallow processing that emphasises the physical structure of a
stimulus.
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Whole/part learning: the tendency to learn the whole package of information or parts thereof for easy
remembering.
Working memory: another name for short-term memory, especially when it is used for thinking and
problem-solving.
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4.9 References
Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In
K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Volume 2 (pp. 89–
195). Academic Press.
Bodie, G. D., Powers, W. G., & Fitch-Hauser, M. (2006). Chunking, priming, and active learning: Toward
an innovative approach to teaching communication-related skills. Interactive Learning
Environment, 14(2), 119–135.
Cacioppo, J.T. & Freberg, L.A. (2013). Discovering psychology: The science of mind. Wadsworth.
Ciccarelli, S.K. & White, J.N. (2017). Psychology - An exploration: Global and Southern African
Perspectives. Pearson.
Coon, D. & Mitterer, J.O. (2012). Introduction to psychology: Active learning through models (12th ed.)
Wadsworth.
McDermott, K. B. & Roediger, H. L. (2021). Memory (encoding, storage, retrieval). In R. Biswas-Diener &
E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from
http://noba.to/bdc4uger
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for
processing information. Psychological Review, 68, 81–87.
Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford University Press.
Weiten, W. & Hassim, J. (2016). Variations in psychology (2nd South African edition). Cengage learning.
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