Chapter 8

Memory
 Numbers

How well can you remember these?

Quiz
 Memory: Some Key Terms

• Memory: Active system that 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
In some ways, a computer acts like a
mechanical memory system. Both systems
process information, and both allow
encoding, storage, and retrieval of data.

Fig. 8-1, p. 252

 Sensory Memory

• Sensory memory: Storing an exact copy of

incoming information for a few seconds or less
(either what is seen or heard); the first stage
of memory
• Iconic memory: A mental image or visual
representation
• Echoic memory: After a sound is heard, a brief
continuation of the activity in the auditory
system
 Short-Term Memory (STM)

• Storing small amounts of information briefly

– Working memory: Part of STM; like a
mental “scratchpad”
– Selective attention: Focusing (voluntarily)
on a selected portion of sensory input (e.g.,
selective hearing)
– Phonetically: Storing information by sound;
how most things are stored in STM
• Very sensitive to interruption or interference
 Long-Term Memory (LTM)

• Storing meaningful information relatively

permanently
• Stored on basis of meaning and importance
 Culture?

• Members of cultures that trade beads can remember

color patterns of long strands of beads; those who herd
cattle can remember and recognize dozens of individual
animals. Name some type of information that is easily
remembered in our culture, but that might be difficult for
a member of another culture to encode? Include
subculture
The Atkinson-Schiffrin model. Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps.
Incoming information is first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information
selected by attention is then transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory
(STM). If new information is not rapidly encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is
transferred to long-term memory (LTM), it becomes relatively permanent, although
retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful, but highly simplified, model
of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain

Fig. 8-2, p. 253

 Short-Term Memory Concepts

• Digit span: Test of attention and short-term

memory; string of numbers is recalled forward
or backward
• Magic number 7 (±2): STM is limited to
holding seven (plus or minus two) information
bits at once
– Information bit: Meaningful single piece of
information, like numbers or letters
 More Short-Term Memory Concepts

• Recoding: Reorganizing or modifying

information to assist storage in memory
– Information chunks: Bits of information that
are grouped into larger units
Chunking Activity
 Maintenance Rehearsal
• Repeating information silently to prolong its presence in STM
Elaborative Encoding: Links new information with existing memories and knowledge in LTM
– Good way to transfer STM information into LTM
• Long-Term Memory Concepts: Constructive processing: Updating memories on basis of logic, reasoning, or adding new information
• Pseudo-memories: False memories that a person believes are true or accurate
 Remember these words:

• Ask them to introspect about their initial

processing of the words. Are they aware of an
echo? Do they silently rehearse the words? Do
they attempt to chunk them in some way? Do
they try to link them to knowledge in long-term
storage?
Exposed cerebral
cortex of a patient
undergoing brain
surgery. Numbers
represent points
that reportedly
produced
“memories” when
electrically
stimulated. A
critical evaluation of
such reports
suggests that they
are more like
dreams than
memories. This fact
raises questions
about claims that
long-term memories
are permanent

Fig. 8-3, p. 256

Eyewitness memories
are notoriously Cognitive interview: Use of various cues
inaccurate. By the time and strategies to improve eyewitness
witnesses are asked to memory
testify in court,
information they
learned after an
incident may blend into
their original memories.

p. 257
 Redintegration

• Memories that are reconstructed or

expanded by starting with one memory
and then following chains of association to
related memories
Suppose you are shown a
series of photographs that
depict various scenes
related to having lunch at
the campus commons. One
of the photos shows an
unexpected event (the
spilled soda). If you were to
see all of the photos again
a few days later, it’s likely
that you would “remember”
seeing the image on the
right (next slide), even
though it wasn’t in the
original group of photos.
When we see an
unexplained event, we are
very likely to think about its
cause. Later, it is easy to
mistake these thoughts for
an actual memory

Fig. 8-4a, p. 258

Fig. 8-4b, p. 258
 Types of Long-Term Memories

• Procedural (skilled): Long-term memories of

conditioned responses and learned skills
(e.g., driving)
• Declarative (fact): Part of LTM that contains
factual information
 Subparts of Declarative Memory

• Semantic memory: Includes impersonal

facts and everyday knowledge
• Episodic: Includes personal experiences
linked with specific times and places
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.

Fig. 8-5, p. 259

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 memories for skills are distinct from memories for facts.

Fig. 8-6, p. 260

In the model shown here, long-term
memory is divided into procedural memory
(learned actions and skills) and declarative
memory (stored facts). Declarative
memories can be either semantic
(impersonal knowledge) or episodic
(personal experiences associated with
specific times and places).

Fig. 8-7, p. 260

 Measuring Memory

• Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state: Feeling that a

memory is available but not quite retrievable
• Feeling of knowing: Feeling that allows
people to predict beforehand whether they’ll
be able to remember something
 Recall

• Direct retrieval of facts or information

– Hardest to recall items in the middle of an
ordered list; known as the serial position effect
– Easier to remember first and last items in a list
Fig. 8-8, p. 262
 Measuring Memory Continued

• Recognition memory: Previously learned

material is correctly identified
– Usually superior to recall
• Distractors: False items included with a
correct item
– Wrong choices on multiple-choice tests
• False positive: False sense of recognition
 More on Measuring Memory

• Relearning: Learning again something that

was previously learned
– Used to measure memory of prior learning
• Savings score: Amount of time saved when
relearning information
 Measuring Memory Concluded

• Explicit memory: Past experiences that are

consciously brought to mind
• Implicit memory: A memory not known to
exist; memory that is unconsciously retrieved
• Priming: When cues are used to activate
hidden memories
External cues like those
found in a photograph, in a
scrapbook, or during a walk
through an old neighborhood
often aid recall of seemingly
lost memories. For many
veterans, finding a familiar
name engraved in the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
unleashes a flood of
memories.

p. 266
 Curve of Forgetting

• Graph that shows the amount of memory

information remembered after varying lengths of
time
• Nonsense syllables: Meaningless three-letter
words (fej, quf) that test learning and forgetting
• Encoding failure: When a memory was never
formed in the first place
 Don’t Forget These Terms!

• Memory traces: Physical changes in nerve

cells or brain activity that occur when
memories are stored
• Memory decay: When memory traces become
weaker; fading or weakening of memories
• Disuse: Theory that memory traces weaken
when memories are not periodically used or
retrieved
 Handout 8.1

• When I say “GO”, you have 45 seconds to try

and remember and learn as many words as you
can from your list
 Forgetting

• A. What is the difference between the two lists? You should

project the two lists together on an overhead projector so the
students can compare them.
• B. Why is there a difference in performance on the two lists?
• C. Some students who had the second list, the one lacking
organization, will still do as well as or better than those in the
other group. Identify those persons and try to find out what
they did to recall so much. This could lead to some interesting
discussion of memory techniques.
• D. Can what has been found in this exercise apply to the
study habits of the students? Discuss ways to make it work for
them.
Fig. 8-9, p. 264
 Some More Theories of Forgetting

• Memory cue: Any stimulus associated with a

memory; usually enhances retrieval of a
memory
– A person will forget if cues are missing at
retrieval time
The amount of forgetting after a period of
sleep or of being awake. Notice that sleep
causes less memory loss than activity that
occurs while one is awake.

Fig. 8-14, p. 268

 What is your earliest memory
and how old were you?
Psychology Today has surveyed its readers regarding their earliest
memories. Ninety-six percent of the respondents reported having memories
prior to the age of six, with sixty-eight percent reporting recall for events
occurring when they were two or three. Furthermore, a surprising seven
percent said they had memories prior to age one, and a few even claimed to
have prenatal recollections as well as memories of their own birth! While
some of the early memories were of traumatic experiences (such as the birth
of a sibling, being injured, or the death of relatives or pets), the majority of
recollections were of more mundane things (like being given a bath, having
a picture taken, or being pushed in a swing). Interestingly, most of the
memories involved images rather than events. People remembered things
like curtains blowing in the breeze, a light shining on someone’s face, and a
mobile hanging in the air. This is probably because small children generally
lack the language skills necessary to encode a complicated series of events.
Many psychologists, in fact, believe that it is rare for people to remember
things that occurred before they were able to talk.
 State-Dependent Learning

• When memory retrieval is influenced by bodily

state at time of learning; if your body state is the
same at the time of learning AND the time of
retrieval, retrievals will be improved
– If Robert is drunk and forgets where his car is
parked, it may be easier to recall the location if
he gets drunk again!
– Can include moods also
Fig. 8-13, p. 267
 Interference

• Tendency for new memories to impair retrieval of

older memories, and the reverse
• Retroactive interference: Tendency for new
memories to interfere with retrieval of old
memories
• Proactive interference: Prior learning inhibits
(interferes with) recall of later learning
Retroactive and proactive interference. The
order of learning and testing shows
whether interference is retroactive
(backward) or proactive (forward).

Fig. 8-16, p. 268

 Transfer of Training

• Positive transfer: Mastery of one task aids

learning or performing another
• Negative transfer: Mastery of one task
conflicts with learning or performing another
 Repression and Suppression

• Repression: Unconsciously pushing painful,

embarrassing, or threatening memories out of
awareness/consciousness
– Motivated forgetting
• Suppression: Consciously putting something
painful or threatening out of mind or trying to
keep it from entering awareness
 Memory Formation

• Retrograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that occurred

before an injury or trauma
• Anterograde Amnesia: Forgetting events that follow an
injury or trauma
• Consolidation: Forming a long-term memory in the
brain
 Electroconvulsive Shock (ECS)

• Mild electrical shock passed through the brain

produces a convulsion, destroys any memory
that is being formed
• One way to prevent consolidation
 Memory Structures

• Hippocampus: Brain structure associated with

emotion and transfer of information passing
from short-term memory into long-term
memory
– If damaged, person can no longer “create”
long-term memories and thus will always
live in the present
– Memories prior to damage will remain
intact
 Flashbulb Memories

• Memories created during times of personal

tragedy, accident, or other emotionally
significant events
– Where were you when you heard that
terrorists had attacked the USA on September
11th, 2001?
• Includes both positive and negative events
• Not always accurate
• Great confidence is placed in them even though
they may be inaccurate
 Your own Bulbs

• Ask students to report a “flashbulb” memory that

is especially vivid for them. What role did
emotion play in the formation of the memory?
Have they rehearsed and retold the memory
unusually often? How can flashbulb memories
be explained?
 Ways to Improve Memory

• Spaced practice: Alternating short 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
 Ways to Improve Memory (Cont)

• Selection: Selecting most important concepts

to memorize
• Organization: Organizing difficult items into
chunks; a type of reordering
 Ways to Improve Memory Concluded

• 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
 Retrieval Strategies

• Knowledge of Results: Feedback allowing you to

check your progress
• Recitation: Summarizing aloud while you are
learning
• Rehearsal: Reviewing information mentally
(silently)
 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
Mneunomic Activity
 Keyword Method

• Aid to memory; using a familiar word or image

to link two items
Using Mnemonics to Remember Things
in Order

• Form a chain or story: Remember lists in

order, forming an exaggerated association
connecting item one to two, and so on
• Take a mental walk: Mentally walk along a
familiar path, placing objects or ideas along
the path
• Use a system