Memory Mechanisms and Models Explained

Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Memory
Chapter 7
Memory: Some Key Terms

• Memory: Active system that receives, stores, organizes,
alters, and recovers (retrieves) information
• Encoding: Converting information into a useable form
• Storage: Holding this information in memory for later use
• Retrieval: Taking memories out of storage
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Sensory Memory
• Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few
seconds; the first stage of memory
– Icon: A fleeting mental image or visual representation
– Echo: After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of
the sound in the auditory system
Chapter 7
Partial Report Technique
Figure 7.7
George Sperling (1960) flashed arrays like this on a screen for 50
milliseconds. After the display went off, a signal told the viewer which row to
recite.
Chapter 7
Short-Term Memory (STM)

• Most of the information that gets into sensory memory is
forgotten, but information that we turn our attention to,
with the goal of remembering it, may pass into short-term
memory. Short-term memory (STM) is the place where
small amounts of information can be temporarily kept for
more than a few seconds but usually for less than one
minute (Baddeley, Vallar, & Shallice, 1990). Information
in short-term memory is not stored permanently but
rather becomes available for us to process, and the
processes that we use to make sense of, modify,
interpret, and store information in STM are known
as working memory.
Chapter 7
More Short-Term Memory Concepts

• Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their
short-term memory. Miller (1956) put this idea forward
and he called it the magic number 7. He though that
short-term memory capacity was 7 (plus or minus 2)
items because it only had a certain number of “slots” in
which items could be stored.
• Information can only be stored for a brief duration in
STM (0-30 seconds), but LTM can last a lifetime.
Chapter 7
Long-Term Memory (LTM)

• Storing information relatively permanently
• Stored on basis of meaning and importance
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Read these words

• Bed • Clock
• Dream • Rest
• Blanket • Slumber
• Doze • Nod
• Pillow • Sheet
• Nap • Bunk
• Snore • Cot
• Mattress • Cradle
• Alarm • Groggy
Chapter 7
• Were these words on the list?

– Write yes or no
1. Sofa
2. Sleep
3. Lamp
4. Kitchen
Chapter 7
Long-Term Memory Concepts

• Constructive Processing: Re-organizing or
updating long-term memories on basis of logic,
reasoning, or adding new information
• Pseudo-Memory: False memories that a person
believes are true or accurate
• Network Model: Memory model that views the
structure of long-term memory as an
organizational system of linked information
Figure 7.4 Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.4 A hypothetical network of facts about animals shows what is meant by the
structure of memory. Small networks of ideas such as this are probably organized into larger
and larger units and higher levels of meaning.
Chapter 7
Implicit Vs Explicit
• Implicit memories are usually non-conscious and not
verbally articulated. Implicit memories are often
procedural and focused on the step-by-step processes
that must be performed in order to complete a task.
• Examples of Implicit Memory
Some examples of implicit memory include singing a
familiar song, typing on your computer keyboard, and
brushing your teeth. Riding a bike is another example.
Even after going years without riding one, most people
are able to hop on a bike and ride it effortlessly.
Chapter 7
Explicit Memory
• When you're trying to intentionally remember
something (like a formula for your statistics class
or a list of dates for your history class), this
information is stored in your explicit memory.
People use these memories every day, from
remembering information for a test to recalling
the date and time of a doctor's appointment.
• Explicit memory is also known as declarative
memory since you can consciously recall and
explain the information.
Chapter 7
DECLARATIVE (EXPLICIT) &

PROCEDURAL (IMPLICIT) MEMORY
• Declarative memory (“knowing what”) is the memory of

facts and events and refers to those memories that can
be consciously recalled (or “declared”).
• Procedural memory is a part of the long-term memory that

is responsible for knowing how to do things, also known as
motor skills. As the name implies, procedural
memory stores information on how to perform certain
procedures, such as walking, talking and riding a bike.
Chapter 7
Semantic Vs Episodic Memory

Declarative Memory can be categorized into
two types;
Semantic Memory: is recall of general facts
Example; Remembering the capital name of
country of average batting score of any
sports man.
Episodic Memory: is recall of personal
experiences. For example what happened
in last birthday party etc.
FIGURE 7.5 The tower puzzle. In this puzzle, all the colored disks must be moved to another
post, without ever placing a larger disk on a smaller one. Only one disk may be moved at a time,
and a disk must always be moved from one post to another (it cannot be held aside). An amnesic
patient learned to solve the puzzle in 31 moves, the minimum possible. Even so, each time he
began, he protested that he did not remember ever solving the puzzle before and that he did not
know how to begin. Evidence like this suggests that skill memory is distinct from fact memory.
LINK
Chapter 7
Measuring Memory
• Tip-of-the Tongue (TOT): Feeling that a memory is
available but not quite retrievable
• Feeling of Knowing: Feeling that allows people to predict
beforehand if they will be able to remember something
(typically seen on game shows like Jeopardy)
• Recall: Supply or reproduce facts or information with
some external cues; direct retrieval of facts or
information
– Hardest to recall items in the middle of a list; known
as Serial Position Effect
– Easiest to remember last items in a list because they
are still in STM
FIGURE 7.7 The serial position effect. The graph shows the percentage of subjects correctly
recalling each item in a 15-item list. Recall is best for the first and last items.
Chapter 7
Measuring Memory (cont'd)

• Recognition Memory: Identifies correctly previously
learned material
– Usually superior to recall
• Distractors: False items included with a correct item
– Wrong choices on multiple-choice tests
• False Positive: False sense of recognition
Chapter 7
Additional Memory Concepts

• Explicit Memory: Past experiences that are consciously
brought to mind
• Implicit Memory: A memory not known to exist; memory
that is unconsciously retrieved
Chapter 7
Ways to Improve Memory

• Knowledge of Results: Feedback allowing you to check
your progress
• Recitation: Summarizing aloud while you are rehearsing
material
• Rehearsal: Reviewing information mentally (silently)
• Elaborative Rehearsal: Look for connections to existing
knowledge
• Selection: Selecting most important concepts to
memorize
• Organization: Organizing difficult items into chunks; a
type of reordering
Chapter 7
Ways to Improve Memory (cont'd)

• Whole Learning: Studying an entire package of
information at once, like a poem
• Part Learning: Studying subparts of a larger body of
information (like text chapters)
• Progressive Part Learning: Breaking learning task into a
series of short sections
• Serial Position Effect: Making most errors while
remembering the middle of the list
• Overlearning: Studying is continued beyond bare
mastery
Chapter 7
Ways to Improve Memory Concluded

• Spaced Practice: Alternating study sessions with brief
rest periods
• Massed Practice: Studying for long periods without rest
periods
• Lack of sleep decreases retention; sleep aids
consolidation
• Hunger decreases retention
• Cognitive Interview: Technique used to improve
memories of eyewitnesses
Chapter 7
Mnemonics: Memory “Tricks”

• Any kind of memory system or aid
– Use mental pictures
– Make things meaningful
– Make information familiar
– Form bizarre, unusual or exaggerated mental
associations
• Keyword Method: Memory aid; using a familiar word or
image to link two items

Memory Mechanisms and Models Explained

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Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon

Memory: Some Key Terms

Partial Report Technique

Short-Term Memory (STM)

More Short-Term Memory Concepts

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Read these words

• Were these words on the list?

Long-Term Memory Concepts

DECLARATIVE (EXPLICIT) &

• Declarative memory (“knowing what”) is the memory of

• Procedural memory is a part of the long-term memory that

Semantic Vs Episodic Memory

Measuring Memory (cont'd)

Additional Memory Concepts

Ways to Improve Memory

Ways to Improve Memory (cont'd)

Ways to Improve Memory Concluded

Mnemonics: Memory “Tricks”

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