Memory

What is memory?
• Memory refers to the psychological processes of acquiring, storing, retaining, and
later retrieving information.

• Memory refers to the process that allows us to record, store, and later retrieve
experiences and information.

• There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage, and
retrieval.

• Memory adds richness and context to our lives

• It allows us to learn from our experiences and thus adapt to changing environments
Memory as information processing
 Memory as information processing
• Encoding- refers to getting information into the system by translating it into
neural code that your brain processes.

• Storage- involves retaining information over time

• Retrieval- refers to processes that access stored information.

• People routinely forget and distort information

• Sometimes “remember” events that never occurred (Laney & Loftus, 2010)
• Human memory is dynamic, and its complexity cannot be fully captured by any
existing information processing model.
The three-stage model of memory (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968)
 The three-stage model of memory
• Developed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968)

• 3 major components
• Sensory memory
• Working memory (short-term memory)
• Long-term memory

• Sensory memory- briefly holds incoming sensory information

• Sensory register
• Iconic store
• Echoic store

• Rapidly fades away

• Through selective attention some info enters STM

• Short-term memory- a memory store that temporarily holds a limited amount

of information

• Memory codes- are mental representations of some type of information or

stimulus and can take various forms.
• Mental images (visual codes)
• Sound (phonological codes)
• Meaning of the stimulus (semantic codes)
• For physical actions (motor codes)

• The form of memory code often doesn’t correspond to the form of the original
stimulus (Lee, 2009)
B I R C D E RYKAE U Q SASAWT I

IT WAS A SQUEAKY RED CRIB

List 1: read, pages, letters, school, study, reading, stories, sheets, cover,
pen, pencil, magazine, paper, words

List 2: house, pencil, apple, shoe, book, flag, rock, train, ocean, hill,
music, water, glass, school

List 1: sheets, pillow, mattress, blanket, comfortable, room, dream, lay,

chair, rest, tired, night, dark, time

List 2: door, tree, eye, song, pillow, juice, orange, radio, rain, car, sleep,
cat, dream, eat
 Duration and Capacity

• Limited
• George Miller (1956)- Magic number 7 +- 2
• Meaningful units
• Chunking
• Life span 20 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959)

• Putting STM to work

• working memory, a limited-capacity system that temporarily stores and
processes information (Baddeley, 2007).
 Long-Term Memory

• Long-term memory is our vast library of more durable stored memories.

• Long-term memory stores large amounts of information for up to a lifetime.

Research on amnesia and on the serial position effect support the distinction
between working and long-term memory.
• This U-shaped pattern is called the serial position effect;

• meaning that the ability to recall an item is influenced by the item’s position
in a series.

• The serial position effect has two components:

• primacy effect, reflecting the superior recall of the earliest items,

• recency effect, representing the superior recall of the most recent items.
 ENCODING: ENTERING INFORMATION
• The more effectively we encode material into long-term
memory, the greater the likelihood of retrieving it.

• 2 basic types :- Effortful and Automatic processing

• Effortful processing- encoding that is initiated intentionally and requires

conscious attention (Adam et al., 2005; Hasher & Zacks, 1979).
• Automatic processing- encoding that occurs without intention and requires
minimal attention.
1. POTATO “Is the word in capital letters?”

2. HORSE “Does the word rhyme with course?”

3. TABLE “Does the word fit in the sentence,

‘The man peeled the ______’?”

 Levels of processing

• structural encoding- as you only have to notice how the word

looks

• Phonological (also called phonemic) encoding- by sounding out

the word to yourself and then judging whether it matches the
sound of another word

• semantic encoding- because you must pay attention to what the

word means
• According to the concept of levels of processing, the more deeply we
process information, the better we will remember it (Craik & Lockhart,
1972).

• Merely perceiving the structural properties of the words (e.g., uppercase

versus lowercase) involves shallow processing, and phonemically encoding
words is intermediate. Semantic encoding, however, involvesś the deepest
processing because it requires us to focus on the meaning of information.
 EXPOSURE AND REHEARSAL
• Unfortunately, mere exposure to a stimulus without focusing on it represents
shallow processing.

• Rehearsal goes beyond mere exposure. When we rehearse information, we are

thinking about it.

• Maintenance rehearsal, involves simple rote repetition.

• Maintenance rehearsal keeps information active in working memory.

• Elaborative rehearsal, which involves focusing on the meaning of information or

expanding (i.e., elaborating) on it in some way.
• If your study habits include (1) organizing and trying to understand the
material rather than just memorizing it, (2) thinking about how it applies to
your own life, and (3) relating it to concepts or examples you already know,
then you are using elaboration.

• According to Craik and Lockhart (1972), elaborative rehearsal involves

deeper processing than maintenance rehearsal, and experiments show that
it is more effective in transferring information into long-term memory
(Benjamin & Bjork, 2000).
 ORGANIZATION AND IMAGERY

Case study-
J. C. works at a restaurant, and he will remember them perfectly without writing them down.
Psychologists K. Anders Ericsson and Peter Polson (1988) studied J. C. and found that he invented an organizational
scheme to aid his memory.
• Organizational schemes are an excellent way to enhance memory.

Hierarchies and Chunking

• Organizing material in a hierarchy takes advantage of the principle that memory is enhanced by associations
between concepts (Herrmann et al., 2002).
• Because hierarchies have a visual organization, imagery can be used as a supplemental memory code.
• Chunking- refers to combining individual items into larger units of meaning.
• Example- I R S Y M C A I B M C I A F B I vs IRS, YMCA, IBM, CIA, and FBI.
Visual Imagery

• Allan Paivio (1969, 2006) proposes that information is stored in long-term memory in two
forms: verbal codes and visual codes.
• According to his dual coding theory, encoding information using both verbal and visual codes enhances
memory because the odds improve that at least one of the codes will be available later to support recall.

• Dual coding, however, is harder to use with some types of stimuli than others.
• Try to construct a mental image of (1) a fire truck and (2) jealousy. You probably found the second task more
difficult because jealousy represents an abstract concept rather than a concrete object (Fliessbach et al.,
2006).

• Memory experts recommend using imagery to dual-code information. The ancient Greeks
developed the method of loci (loci is Latin for “places”), a memory aid that associates
information with mental images of physical locations.
 Other Mnemonic Devices
• Art of improving memory

• Mnemonic device is a memory aid.

• Mnemonic devices reorganize information into more meaningful units and provide extra cues to help
retrieve information from long-term memory.

• Mnemonic devices
• Hierarchies,
• chunking,
• visual imagery, and
• the method of loci are.

• Acronyms, which combine one or more letters (usually the first letter) from each piece of information you
want to remember. (VIBGYOR)

• Even putting information in a rhyme may enhance memory.

• Peg words- a mnemonic strategy used to remember lists whereby each item is
associated in imagination with a number–word pair (the peg).
(The mnemonic peg system, invented by Henry Herdson)
 HOW PRIOR KNOWLEDGE SHAPES ENCODING

Schemas: Our Mental Organizers

• A schema is a mental framework, an organized pattern of thought about some

aspect of the world (Bartlett, 1932; Silva et al., 2006).

• acquiring expertise is a process of developing schemas that help encode

information into meaningful patterns (Boschker et al., 2002).
• A mnemonist (or memorist) is a person who displays extraordinary
memory skills.

• Many create visual images or stories to help them encode

information.
• They often chunk information into larger units, combine smaller
chunks into larger ones, and elaborate on the material by associating
chunks with other meaningful information.
 Explicit and Implicit Memory
Explicit memory involves conscious or intentional memory retrieval, as when you
consciously recognize or recall something.
• Recognition requires us to decide whether a stimulus is familiar.
• Recall involves spontaneous memory retrieval, in the sense that you must retrieve the
target stimuli or information on your own.
• With cued recall, hints are given to stimulate memory.

Implicit memory occurs when memory influences our behavior without conscious
awareness (Mayet al., 2005).

• Riding a bicycle, driving, or performing any well learned skill are common
examples.
• Bicycling to class, you may be consciously thinking about an upcoming exam while your implicit, procedural
memory enables you to keep pedaling and maintain your balance.
 STORAGE: RETAINING INFORMATION
MEMORY AS A NETWORK
• We noted that memory is enhanced by associations between new information and other items already in memory.
• LTM memories can be represented as an associative network, a massive network of associated ideas and concepts
(Collins & Loftus, 1975, Hekkanen & McEvoy, 2005).

• priming refers to the activation of one concept (or one unit of information) by another.

• Neural networks which enhance the comprehension of the transmission and the reception of various messages to
and from the body, comprise interconnected structures or neurons which harmoniously produce different intra-
brain cognitions (Henderson, 2012).

• Additionally, these networks can contract or expand based on the type of information being processed at a given
time (Nestor, Kubicki, Gurrera, Niznikiewicz, Frumin, McCarley & Shenton, 2004).
• Neural Networks

• In neural network (connectionist) models, each memory is represented by a unique pattern of

interconnected and simultaneously activated nodes.

• Neural network models take a different approach to explain why spreading activation and priming
occur (Chappell & Humphreys, 1994; Herd et al., 2006)

• A neural network has nodes (often called units) that are linked to each other.

• Recall that in the brain, neurons have synaptic connections with many other neurons, receive and
send signals that can be excitatory (increasing the likelihood that a neuron will fire) or inhibitory
(decreasing the likelihood of firing), and will fire if the overall input they receive moves their
electrical potential to a certain threshold point.

• neural network (connectionist) models are often called parallel distributed processing (PDP) models
(Rumelhart et al., 1986).
 Parallel Distributed Processing Model
• Parallel Processing- The brain’s ability to make sense of several different incoming
stimuli at the same time.
• Example- when you are driving, you are looking, seeing different things, listening, thinking,
smelling, other background information, etc.

• PDP models assume that information processing takes place through the
interactions of a large number of simple processing elements called units, each
sending excitatory and inhibitory signals to other units” (McClelland, Rumelhart,
& Hinton, 1986)

• Proponents suggest that PDP models are concerned with the description of the
internal structure of larger units of cognitive activity, such as reading, perceiving,
processing sentences, and so on.
Improving memory
• Focus Your Attention
• In order for information to move from your short-term memory into your long-term
memory, you need to actively attend to this information.

• Structure and Organize

• Researchers have found that information is organized in memory in related clusters. Try
grouping similar concepts and terms together, or make an outline of your notes and textbook
readings to help group related concepts.

• Elaborate and Rehearse

• Visualize Concepts
• Utilize Mnemonic Devices
• Avoid Cramming
• Studying materials over a number of sessions gives you the time you need to adequately process
information. Research has continuously shown that students who study regularly remember the
material far better than those who do all of their studying in one marathon session.

• Relate New Information to Things You Already Know

• Get Some Sleep- one study published in 2014 found that sleeping after learning
something new actually leads to physical changes in the brain. 

• Vary Your Study Routine- By adding an element of novelty to your study sessions, you
can increase the effectiveness of your efforts and significantly improve your long-term
recall

• Read Out Loud- Research published in 2017 suggests that reading materials out loud
significantly improves​your memory of the material.(Forrin & Macleod, 2018)
RETRIEVAL: ACCESSING INFORMATION
• A retrieval cue is a stimulus, whether internal or external, that activates information stored
in long-term memory.

• THE VALUE OF MULTIPLE CUES

• Experiments by Timo Mäntylä (1986) vividly show the value of having multiple retrieval
cues.

• THE VALUE OF DISTINCTIVENESS

sparrow, eagle, nest, owl, feather, goose, crow, artichoke, rooster, fly, robin, parrot,
chirp, hawk, pigeon, WRITE

In general, distinctive stimuli are better remembered than nondistinctive ones (Ghetti et al.,
2002).
AROUSAL, EMOTION, AND MEMORY

• Many experiences in our lives, such as romantic encounters, deaths, graduations, accidents,
and local or world events may be better remembered not only because they were distinctive,
but also because they stirred up our emotions and aroused us.

• In experiments, people shown arousing and neutral stimuli (e.g., pictures of happy, fearful, or
neutral faces; violent or neutral film scenes) typically remember the arousing stimuli best, even
when tested several weeks later (Matlin & Stang, 1978; Putman et al., 2004).

• researchers have found that arousing stimuli trigger the release of stress hormones. This
causes neurotransmitters to increase activation of the amygdala, a brain structure that helps
encode the emotional aspects of experiences into longer-term memories (Wilensky et al.,
2006).

• emotional arousal enhances autobiographical memories, recollections of personally

experienced events that make up the stories of our lives (Schaefer & Philippot, 2005).
THE EFFECTS OF CONTEXT, STATE, AND MOOD ON MEMORY

• Our ability to retrieve a memory is influenced, not only by the nature of the original stimulus
(such as its distinctiveness) but also by environmental, physiological, and psychological factors.

• Encoding specificity principle- states that memory is enhanced when conditions present during
retrieval match those that were present during encoding (Tulving & Thomson, 1973).

• Applying the encoding specificity principle to external cues leads us to context-dependent

memory: It typically is easier to remember something in the same environment in which it was
originally encoded.

• State-dependent memory proposes that our ability to retrieve information is greater when our
internal state at the time of retrieval matches our original state during learning.

• Mood-congruent recall: We tend to recall information or events that are congruent with our
current mood (Fiedler et al., 2001).
Forgetting
• German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885/1964) pioneered the study of
forgetting by testing only one person—himself
• He created more than 2,000 nonsense syllables, and meaningless letter
combinations (e.g., biv, zaj, xew), to study memory with minimal influence from
prior learning, as would happen if he used actual words.
Forgetting over time
• Hermann Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve shows a rapid loss of memory for
nonsense syllables at first and then a more gradual decline. The rapid decline is
probably due to the meaningless nature of the nonsense syllables.

• If you learned just a few lists, the shape of your forgetting curve might resemble
Ebbinghaus’s, but the amount you forgot would likely be less. Moreover, when
material is meaningful (unlike nonsense syllables), we are likely to retain more of
it over time (Bahrick, 2005).
WHY DO WE FORGET?
1. Encoding Failure Theory
2. Decay of the Memory Trace Theory
3. Interference Theory
4. Motivated Forgetting

• Encoding Failure
• Many memory failures result not from forgetting information that we once knew, but from failing to
encode the information into long-term memory in the first place.

• Much of what we sense simply is not processed deeply enough to commit to memory.

• Even when we notice information, we may fail to encode it deeply because we turn our attention to
something else.
• Decay of the Memory Trace

• Information in sensory memory and short-term memory decays quickly as time

passes.
• Decay theory proposed that with time and disuse the long-term physical
memory trace in the nervous system fades away.

• Decay theory soon fell into disfavor because scientists could not locate physical
memory traces nor measure physical decay. In recent decades, however,
scientists have begun to unravel how neural circuits change when a long-term
memory is formed.
• Reminiscence- seems inconsistent with the concept that a memory trace
decays over time (Greene, 1992).
• Interference

• According to interference theory, we forget information because other items in

long-term memory impair our ability to retrieve it (Postman & Underwood,
1973; Feredoes et al., 2006).

• Two major types of interference-

• Proactive interference occurs when material learned in the past interferes

with recall of newer material.

• Retroactive interference occurs when newly acquired information interferes

with the ability to recall information learned at an earlier time.
• It takes time for the brain to convert short-term memories into long-term
memories, and some researchers propose that when new information is entered
into the system, it can disrupt (i.e., retroactively interfere with) the conversion of
older information into long-term memories (Wixted, 2005).

• Others believe that once long-term memories are formed, retroactive and
proactive interference are caused by competition among retrieval cues
(Anderson & Neely, 1996).

• When different memories become associated with similar or identical retrieval

cues, confusion can result and accessing a cue may call up the wrong memory.

• Retrieval failure also can occur because we have too few retrieval cues or the
cues may be too weak.
• Almost all of us have experienced a retrieval problem called the tip-of-the-
tongue (TOT) state, in which we cannot recall something but feel that we are on
the verge of remembering it.

• In contrast to retrospective memory, which refers to memory for past events,

prospective memory concerns remembering to perform an activity in the
future.
• Motivated Forgetting

• Psychodynamic and other psychologists propose that, at times, people are consciously or
unconsciously motivated to forget.

• Repression is a motivational process that protects us by blocking the conscious recall of

anxiety-arousing memories.