PSY 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Richard Shiffrin, Long-Term Memory, Explicit Memory
21 Jun 2018
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CHAPTER 8: MEMORY
8.1 STUDYING AND ENCODING MEMORY
STUDYING MEMORY
Memory: the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval
of information
We often recognize songs as quickly as we recognize faces
oListening to a song for 4/10ths of a second, 25% of the time we could recognize it
MEASURING RETENTION
Recall: retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was
learned at an earlier time
Recognition: identifying items previously learned
Relearning: learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time
Overlearning: additional rehearsal
oIncreases retention, especially when practice is overtime
We remember more than we can recall
Ebbinghaus (1850–1909)
Recalling information is harder than recognizing it
MEMORY MODELS
Encoding: the processing of information into the memory system
Storage: the process of retaining that information over time
Retrieval: the process of getting information out of the memory storage
Parallel processing: the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the
brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions
Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968) proposed a three-stage model:
oSensory memory: the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the
memory system
oShort-term memory: activated memory that holds a few items briefly, before the
information is stored or forgotten
oLong-term memory: the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the
memory system, includes knowledge, skills, and experience
WORKING MEMORY
Active desktop where your brain processes information by making sense of new input and
linking it with long-term memories
Working memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious,
active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information
retrieved from long term memory
We form some memories through automatic processing, without our awareness.
oThe Atkinson-Shiffrin model focused only on conscious memories.
The newer concept of a working memory emphasizes the active processing that we now
know takes place in Atkinson-Shiffrin’s short-term memory stage.
Basic functions of working memory:
oActive processing of incoming visual-spatial and auditory information
oFocusing our spotlight of attention.
ENCODING MEMORIES
DUAL-TRACK MEMORY: EFFORTFUL VERSUS AUTOMATIC PROCESSING
Explicit memories: the facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare
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oAlso called declarative memories
Effortful processing: encode explicit memories through our consciousness
oRequires attention and conscious effort
Automatic processing: information skips the conscious encoding track and barges directly
into our storage
oUnconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency,
and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
Implicit memories: retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations
independent of conscious recollection
oAlso called nondeclarative memories
AUTOMATIC PROCESSING AND IMPLICIT MEMORIES:
Implicit memories include procedural memory for automatic skills (how to ride a bike) and
classically conditioned associations among stimuli
Automatically process information about:
oSpaces
oTime
oFrequency
EFFORTFUL PROCESSING AND EXPLICIT MEMORIES
Something at first may require effort but it will eventually become automatic
SENSORY MEMORY
George Sperling (1960) flashed letters for a 20th of a second
oPeople could only recall about half the letters
oSignaled to recall a particular row immediately after the letters had disappeared, they
could do so with near-perfect accuracy
oAfter immediately sounding a high, medium, or low tone, individuals could recall the
letters of top, middle, or low rows, respectively
Iconic memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photogenic or picture
image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
Echoic memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere,
sounds and words can still be recalled in 3-4 seconds
CAPACITY OF SHORT-TERM AND WORKING MEMORY
George Miller (1956) proposed that we can store about 7 bits of information in short-term
memory
o7 digits, 6 letters, or 5 words
Working memory capacity varies, depending on age and other factors
oYoung adults have more working memory capacity over children and older adults
Working memory capacity appears to reflect intelligence level
EFFORTFUL PROCESSING STRATEGIES
Chunking: organizing items into familiar manageable units
oOften occurs automatically
Mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and
organizational devices
oOne is a bun; two is a shoe; three is a tree; four is a door; five is a hive; six is sticks;
seven is heaven; eight is a gate; nine is swine; ten is a hen.
oCarrots? Stick them into the imaginary bun. Milk? Fill the shoe with it. Paper towels?
Drape them over the tree branch. Think bun, shoe, tree and you see their associated
images: carrots, milk, paper towels.
Organizing knowledge into hierarchies helps us retrieve information efficiently
DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE
Spacing effect: the tendency for distributed study or practice ti yield better long-term
retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
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Testing effect: enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading
information
oAlso referred to as retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning
LEVELS OF PROCESSING
Shallow processing: encodes on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of
words
osuch as a word’s letters or a word’s sound
Deep processing: encodes semantically, based on the meaning of words; tends to yield
the best retention
MAKING MATERIAL PERSONALLY MEANINGFUL
William Brewer
Self-reference effect: information deemed relevant to me is processed more deeply and
remains more accessible
8.2 STORING AND RETRIEVING MEMORIES
MEMORY STORAGE
RETAINING INFORMATION IN THE BRAIN
Memories are brain-based, but the brain distributes the components of a memory
flashbacks appeared to have been invented, not a vivid reliving of long-forgotten
experiences
Despite the brain’s vast storage capacity, we do not store information as libraries store their
books, in single, precise locations.
EXPLICIT MEMORY SYSTEM: THE FRONTAL LOBES AND HIPPOCAMPUS
Hippocampus: a temporal-lobe- neural center located in the limbic system; helps
process explicit memories for storage
oDamage to hippocampus can disrupts the recall of explicit memories
With left-hippocampus damage, people have trouble remembering verbal information, but
they have no trouble recalling visual designs and locations
With right-hippocampus damage, the problem is reversed
Hippocampus functions:
oActive as people learn to associate names with faces
oActive as memory champions engage in spatial mnemonics
Memory consolidation: neural storage of a long-term memory
Act as a loading dock where the brain registers and temporarily holds the elements of a
remembered episode
Sleep supports memory consolidation
oProcesses memories for later retrieval
hippocampus and brain cortex displaying simultaneous activity rhythms during sleep
oSuspect the brain is replaying the day’s experience as it transfers them to the cortex
for long-term storage
IMPLICIT MEMORY SYSTEM: THE CEREBELLUM AND BASAL GANGLIA
Joseph LeDoux (1996)
oShook his patient’s hand everyday, as she had amnesia and did not recognize
anybody
oOne day he pricked her with a tack in his palm
oNext time he introduced himself, she didn’t remember him but wouldn’t shake his
hand and was unsure why
oHer implicit memory was still working
cerebellum plays a key role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical
conditioning
Implicit memory formation needs the cerebellum
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Document Summary
Memory: the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. We often recognize songs as quickly as we recognize faces o. Listening to a song for 4/10ths of a second, 25% of the time we could recognize it. Recall: retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time. Relearning: learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time. We remember more than we can recall. Recalling information is harder than recognizing it. Encoding: the processing of information into the memory system. Storage: the process of retaining that information over time. Retrieval: the process of getting information out of the memory storage. Parallel processing: the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain"s natural mode of information processing for many functions. Active desktop where your brain processes information by making sense of new input and linking it with long-term memories.
