Memory – Any system – human, animal, or machine – that encodes, stores, and retrieves information
Human memory is good at
- Information on which attention is focused
- Information in which we are interested
- Information that arouses us emotionally
- Information that fits with our previous experiences
- Information that we rehearse
Elaboration: Type of encoding in which meaning is added to information in working memory so that it may be more easily stored and retrieved
Storage: Involves retention of encoded material over time
Access and retrieval: Involves the location and recovery of information from memory
Sensory memory: Preserves brief sensory impressions of stimuli, also called sensory register
Testing sensory (iconic) memory
George Sperling's study
Iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) sensory memory
Chunking: organizing pieces of information into a smaller number of meaningful units (or chunks)
Maintenance rehearsal: Process in which information is repeated or reviewed to keep it from fading while in working memory
Elaborative rehearsal: Process in which information is actively reviewed and related to information already in LTM
Levels-of-processing theory: Explanation for the fact that information that is more thoroughly connected to meaningful terms in LTM will be better remembered
(deeper processing=better memory)
Long term memory - Stores material organized according to meaning, also called LTM
Anterograde amnesia –Inability to form memories for new information
Retrograde amnesia –Inability to remember information previously stored in memory
Flashbulb memory: a clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event
Implicit memory – Memory that was not deliberately learned or of which you have no conscious awareness
Explicit memory – Memory that has been processed with attention and can be consciously recalled
Recall – Technique for retrieving explicit memories in which one must retrieve previously presented information (example: fill in the blank test, seeing a picture of someone and remembering his/her name)
Recognition – Technique for retrieving explicit memories in which one must identify present stimuli as having been previously presented or learned (example: multiple choice test)
Encoding specificity principle –The more closely the retrieval clues match the form in which the information was encoded, the better the information will be remembered
Mood congruent memory: A happy moods is likely to trigger happy memories, depression perpetuates itself through biased retrieval of depressing memories
Forgetting
Transience: long-term memories gradually fade in strength over time
Absent-mindedness: Forgetting caused by lapses in attention
Proactive interference: previously stored information prevents learning and remembering new information
Retroactive interference: newly learned information prevents retrieval of previously stored material
Serial position effect: items in the middle of a sequence are less well remembered than items presented first or last (includes primacy effect and recency effect)
Persistence: difficulty putting unwanted memories out of one’s mind
Mnemonics – Techniques for improving memory, especially by making connections between new material and information already in long-term memory
Natural language mediators: words associated with new information to be remembered
Flash presentation
(on recall, recognition, and relearning)
Links from the Web Resources for this chapter from the Student Companion Site to Psychology in Action
Improving your memory
Tips and techniques for memory enhancement
Using memory principles to enhance your study skills
Elizabeth Loftus Homepage
New links (as of February 14)
Lecture on the classic study of eyewitness testimony by Loftus and Palmer
When Memory Lies (Elizabeth Loftus creates a false memory in Alan Alda)
