PSY100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Echoic Memory, Sensory Memory, Bodymind
Topic 6 - Memory
Model of Memory
● Memory is about activating areas in the brain that correspond to the information
○ similar to perceiving and imagining, which are both activation in brain areas
○ it also involved top-down and bottom-up processing
● The model is not entirely true but is a good heuristic
● storage functions differently on a time scale
○ Sensory Memory
■ if we can't process sensory memory, there will probably be a gap in
our sensory
■ the system captures movement in time and preserve it for a short
period. -- select certain things you pay attention to.
Sensory Memory
● A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory
information
● It holds on to most of the current reality and interweave past, present, and future.
● e.g., Sperling experiment: a grid of 3x3 letters
○ iconic (lasts about ⅓ of a second)
○ echoic (lasts about 2 seconds) systems
■ e.g. when you're not listening someone but are still able to pick out
when they said.
○ Iconic and echoic memory helps us experience the world as a continuous
stream.
○ Explanation of the effect: the memory operates on a shorter time scale, by the
time the sensory information refer to the bottom, the memory faded
● information that's’ not quickly passed to short-term memory is lost
● as a student, we need to learn how to program the memory system
● Attention and memory
○ Attention is the process that moves information from the sensory store
to short-term memory.
■ takes ever changing reality and solidify them
○ Spotlight metaphor of Attention
Short-term Memory
● A limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief
periods (20 - 30 seconds)
○ Note: working memory models have elaborated on this considerably
● 3 main systems: phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive
● The capacity of STM is 7(+- 2) units
○ A nice example would be the workbench, it can only hold a limited amount of
items.
○ We overcome the limits of short-term memory through chunking -- storing
information in patterns, or units of meaning.
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■ chunking enables STM to work more efficiently.
○ E.g. experiment we did in class
■ for people who know what central intelligence is, it would be a top-
down processing, and for people who don't, it would be bottom-up.
Transfer from STM to LTM
● For information to be remembered, it needs to be transferred from short-term
memory to long-term memory.
● Body-mind experience
Levels of Processing Model
Craik & Lockhart
● The ease with which we can retrieve a memory depends on the number and types of
associations that we form with that memory
○ how many association; how meaningful, well-integrated these are the
connections
● LTM storage is based on meaning: we store memories based, in large part, on
meaningful associations (or the convergence of rich sensory patterning)
○ meaning is the body’s prior experience and knowledge of the world.
● Note: deeper levels of processing = greater amount of neural activity
○ more retrievable neural connections
○ e.g., how to memorize decks of cards with a single exposure
● our mind is especially structured about narratives/stories because they are more vivid
than abstracts.
● information is the activation of biological processes
Encoding strategies: More=Better
● Shallow processing
○ impoverished encoding
■ going over the information(rote), knowing a couple of facts related,
useful as a starting point of remembering
■ not many cues used to activate the memory and therefore poor
retention
● Deep processing
○ elaborate encoding
■ connected to other associations
■ diverse interconnected pathways so can easily get into the information
through any way therefore good retention
Retrieval Cues Provide Access to Long-Term Storage
● Retrieval cues help access information, which is why recognition is easier than
recall
○ retrieval cues can be keywords, piece of information related
○ as you're trying to get into the memory, you're triggering more retrieval cues.
○ recall is more difficult because no cue is given. However, deeper processing
done previously might help with recall.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Memory is about activating areas in the brain that correspond to the information. Similar to perceiving and imagining, which are both activation in brain areas it also involved top-down and bottom-up processing. The model is not entirely true but is a good heuristic. Storage functions differently on a time scale. Sensory memory if we can"t process sensory memory, there will probably be a gap in our sensory the system captures movement in time and preserve it for a short period. - select certain things you pay attention to. A memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information. It holds on to most of the current reality and interweave past, present, and future. E. g. , sperling experiment: a grid of 3x3 letters iconic (lasts about of a second) E. g. when you"re not listening someone but are still able to pick out when they said. Iconic and echoic memory helps us experience the world as a continuous stream.
