PSYC 2000 Chapter : Memory Ch 6 Pt B
Memory – Ch. 6 part B 10/14/2012 10:42:00 PM
Retrieval
• Retrieval refers to getting information out of the memory store
o 1. Recognize
o 2. Recall
• Recognition vs. Recall
o In recognition the person has to identify an item amongst others (e.g. a
multiple-choice test requires recognition)
o In recall the person must retrieve information using effort (e.g. a fill-in-
the blank test requires recall)
• Cues
o Retrieval cues are bits of related information we encode while encoding
a target piece of information (they become part of the web)
o Memories are held in storage by a web of associations. These associations
are like anchors that help retrieve memory
• Priming
o To retrieve a specific memory from the web of associations, you first need
to activate one of the strands that lead to it, a process called priming
• Context Effects
o Context effects or encoding specificity
▪ the tendency for memory to be improved if related information
(surroundings or physiological state) that is available when the
memory if formed is also available when the memory is retrieved
o Retrieval is sometimes aided by returning to the original context in which
we experienced an event or encoded a thought
o It can flood our memories with retrieval cues that lead to the target
memory
Forgetting
• Inability to retrieve information, due to:
o 1. Poor encoding
o 2. Storage decay
o 3. Retrieval failure
• Encoding Failure
o We cannot remember what we did not encode
• Storage Decay
o Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay
• Retrieval Failure
o Although the information is retained in the memory store it cannot be
accessed from LTM
o Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon
• Interference
o Learning some information may disrupt retrieval of other information
o Proactive interference – previously learned information interferes with
new information
o retroactive interference – new information interferes with old
information
o Sleep avoids retroactive interference thus leading to better recall
• Forgetting can occur at any memory stage; we filer, alter, or lose much
information during these stages
Memory Construction
• Misinformation Effect
o While tapping our memories, we filter or fill in missing pieces of
information to make our recall more coherent
o Def: incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event
• Source Amnesia
o Attributing to an event to the wrong source we have experienced, heard,
read, or imagined (misattribution)
• False Memories
o A condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a
false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience sometimes
induced by well-meaning therapists
• Memories of Abuse
o Many psychotherapists believe that early childhood sexual abuse results in
repressed memories
o However other psychologists question such beliefs and think that such
memories may be constructed
• Hindsight Bias
o Def. – the tendency to falsely believe, through revision of older memories
to include newer information, that one could have correctly predicted the
outcome of an event
Improving Memory
• 1. Study repeatedly to boost recall long-term recall
• 2. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material.
