Sensory Memory Store

Sensory

Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

memory
forms automatically,
without attention or
interpretation

Attention

is needed
to transfer
information to
working memory

Sensory Memory Store

Divided

Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

into two
subtypes:
iconic memory visual information
echoic memory auditory information
Iconic memory was
investigated by
Sperling in 1960

Maintenance Rehearsal
Mental

or verbal repetition of information

Allows information to remain in working

memory longer than the usual 30 seconds
Maintenance rehearsal

Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

Attention

Working or
Short-term
Memory

Long-Term Memory Store

Once

information passes from sensory

to working memory, it can be encoded
into long-term memory
Maintenance Rehearsal

Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

Attention

Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval

Long-Term Memory Store

Function

- organizes and stores information

more passive form of storage than working memory

Unlimited

capacity
Duration - thought by some to be permanent
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

Attention

Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval

Long-Term Memory Store

Encoding

- process that controls movement from

working to long-term memory store
Retrieval - process that controls flow of
information from long-term to working memory
store
Maintenance Rehearsal
Sensory
Input

Sensory
Memory

Attention

Encoding
Working or
Long-term
Short-term
memory
Memory Retrieval

Effective Ways to Encode

Actively

question new information

Think about implications
Relate information to things you
already know
Generate your own examples of
concepts
Dont highlight passage as you read
focus instead on the ideas in the text

Explicit memory Systems

Declarative

memories (events)

The

hippocampus is the equivalent of a

save button

Explicit memories of names, images, and

events are laid down by the hippocampus
(Schachter, 1996)

Hippocampus and
frontal lobes
Memories

are not permanently

stored in the hippocampus but
it holds the information to
register the elements of
memory

The feel, smell, sound, location,

etc. before storing elsewhere
(cortex)

Implicit memory Systems

Include

both procedural memory and

conditioned associations

Procedural memory is used for automatic

skills
Associations link stimuli

Basal Ganglia and

Cerebellum
Cerebellum

is important for forming and

storing memories created through classical
conditioning

The

basal ganglia facilitate procedural memory

formation

Emotions and memories

Emotions

persist without conscious

awareness

You may not remember the film that made

you sad but you retain the sadness
(hippocampal damage)

Emotions and memories

LTP Long Term Potentiation

An

increase in a cells firing potential

after brief, rapid stimulation

Thought

to be the neural basis for

learning and memory

LTP Long Term Potentiation

An

increase in a cells firing potential after

brief, rapid stimulation
Sea slug experimentation researchers
examined neural connections before
and after conditioning (gill retraction in
response to water squirt)

Increased serotonin in certain synapses

when learning occurs
These synapses become more efficient

Mutant Mice
Mutant

mice without an
enzyme needed for LTP cant
learn their way out
of a maze
Rats given a drug that
enhances LTP learned a maze
with half the usual number of
mistakes
Injection of a chemical blocking
LTP erased recent learning

Retrieval cues
Priming

The activation of particular associations in

memory
More likely to perceive a man talking to a
child as a threat

Context

dependent memory
State-dependent memory

Retrieval cues
Priming
Context

dependent memory

Memory retrieval can be primed by the

context in which the memory was created

State-dependent

memory

Retrieval cues
Priming
Context

dependent memory
State-dependent memory
What we learn in one state is more easily
learned or recalled in that state

Forgetting Theories
Encoding

failure
Role of time (decay)
Interference theories

Forgetting as Encoding Failure

Information

never encoded into LTM

Encoding Failure Demonstrations

What

is on the front of a
penny?

According

to this theory, objects

are seen frequently, but
information is never encoded into
LTM
Selective

attention

Encoding Failure Demonstrations

What

is on the front of a penny?

According

to this theory, objects

are seen frequently, but
information is never encoded into
LTM
Selective

attention

Role of Time : Decay Theory

Memories

fade
away or decay
gradually if unused
Time plays critical
role
Ability to retrieve
info declines with
time after original
encoding

Forgetting as Retrieval Failure

Sometimes

information IS encoded into LTM,

but we cant retrieve it

Interference Theories
Memories

interfering with memories

Forgetting

is NOT caused by the mere

passage of time but caused by one
memory competing with or replacing
another memory

There

are two types of interference

Two Types of Interference

T y p e s o f in t e r f e r e n c e
R e t r o a c t iv e
In te rfe re n c e

P r o a c t iv e
In te rfe re n c e

Retroactive Interference
When

a NEW memory interferes with

remembering OLD information
Example:

When new phone number

interferes with ability to remember old
phone number

Retroactive Interference
Example:

Learning a new language interferes

with ability to remember old language

Proactive Interference
When

an old memory interferes with

acquiring new information
Example:

When an old password

competes with your memory of a new
password

Proactive Interference
Opposite of retroactive
interference
When an OLD memory
interferes with
remembering NEW
information
Example: Memories of
where you parked your
car at the mall last week
interferes with ability find
car today

? ? ?
?

? ? ?

Proactive Interference
Example:

Previously learned language

interferes with ability to remember newly
learned language

Review of Interference Theory

Retroactive

Interference
Learn A Learn B Recall A,
interferes
Interference
Learn A Learn B
Recall B,
interferes

Proactive

Interference

responses.

reflects competition between

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination
Source Amnesia
True and False memories
Childrens eye-witness recall
Repressed or constructed memories of
abuse

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination

Elizabeth Loftus demonstrated the

misinformation effect

Exposure

to misleading information
leads to misremembering

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination

Imagination inflation we often have high

confidence in false memories
Repeatedly imagining nonexistent actions
and events create false memories

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination
Source Amnesia

Attributing the wrong source of an event,

heard about, read about or imagined

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination
Source Amnesia
True and False memories

Both the misinformation effect and source

amnesia happen outside of our awareness
which makes it nearly impossible to
separate suggested ideas from real
memories
Huge impact on eyewitness testimony!!!!!

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation

and Imagination
Source Amnesia
True and False memories
Childrens eye-witness recall
Interviewing

techniques have a
impact on childrens memories

HUGE

 Repeated

questioning: Think real hard, and

tell me if this ever happened to you. Can
you remember going to the hospital with a
mousetrap on your finger?
Then had children think about several real
and fictional events
Ten weeks later

 Research

with 3year old children

Where did the
doctor touch you?

55% of those who

did not have genital
exams reported
genital or anal
touching

Memory construction
errors
Misinformation and Imagination
Source Amnesia
True and False memories
Childrens eye-witness recall
Repressed or constructed memories of
abuse

Abuse happens but memories are so fragile that

it is imperative to remember that injustice also
happens

Know page 379

Investigating memory
construction errors

Essay Assignment
500-750

word essay investigating the

legal implications of memory errors

Formulate a thesis/research question

Use your textbook and at least 2 outside
sources
APA format
Use Purdues OWL as a resource
Due November 19th