CHAPTER 7: MEMORY

Memory

general term for the storage, retention and recall of events, information and procedures.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

• Founder of Memory Studies

• memorized nonsense syllables: studied his own ability to memorize new material

  • Invented over 2300 nonsense syllables and put them into a random list

Von Restorff Effect (MIGHT DELETE)

tendency of people to remember unusual/distinctive items better than more common items is

Recall (free recall)

a memory task in which the individual must reproduce material from memory WITHOUT cue (simple for tester/difficult for person being tested)

Retrieval Cues

Reminders or hints that help us to retrieve information from long-term memory.

Cued Recall

significant hints about the correct answer (exp. fill in the blank test)

Recognition

identify the correct item from a list of choices.
(exp. Multiple-choice tests)

Savings (relearning) method (MIGHT DELETE)

compares the speed which new material is learned to the speed of relearning old material

Explicit Memory

ability to retain info that you’ve put real effort into learning,

Implicit (Indirect) Memory

ability to remember info you did NOT deliberately try to learn

Declarative Memory

ability to state a fact, info, names, dates, faces (Fact memory) It stores why, how, when, where, what, who

Procedural Memory

memory of how to do something (Skills memory)

Semantic

principles of knowledge => stores meaning of words (mental dictionary)

Episodic

Autobio of thoughts => retention of info about what happened to you (events and details of life history)

Sensory Memory

Combination of Memory and Perception; First stage of memory processing

• CAPACITY: see or hear at one moment

• DURATION: Fraction of a second

Short Term Memory (Working memory)

limited capacity memory of info retained for 20 - 30 seconds 

Long Term Memory

relatively permanent storage of mostly meaningful information (exp. birthdays, address, etc)

VULNERABLE: interferences

Chunking

grouping or packing info into units => info more manageable to remember

Mental Operations of Memory

1. Encoding: transfer of info into your memory (put info in)

2. Storage: Holding info for later use (filing it away)

3. Retrieval: Recovering info from storage (finding it)

Primary Effect

Remember the beginning of the list

Recency Effect

remember end of the list

SPAR METHOD

BEST strategy to learn a lot of material: Space out study sessions

• study material

• wait

• return to material and test yourself

Mnemonic Devuces

Short, verbal strategies that improve, and expand our ability to remember new info, a memory aid  (mental pictures, acronyms, short verbal strategies, etc)

• Method of Loci:

  • Learn a list of places (desk, door of room, corridor, etc)

  • Associate names of novel peace prize winner with each place

Reconstruction

remembering an event by starting with details you remember clearly, and fill in gap

Interference

memories block each other

Decay (MIGHT DELETE)

memory is subject to the combined effects of time and

interference

Retroactive Interference

learning new material makes it hard to recall old material

Proactive Interference

learning new material makes it hard to recall old material

Flashbulb Memory

Long lasting deep memories in response to traumatic events

False memory

a report that an individual believes to be a memory but actually never occurred (may/may not be reliable)

Repressed Memory

• a memory of a traumatic event that is made unavailable for recall

Anterograde Amnesia

• disorder that results in the loss of memory after an injury

• Unable to store any new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

disorder that results in the loss of memory prior to an injury

Amnesia

• Memory Disorder

  • brain damage or a traumatic event => severe loss or deterioration of memory

Korsakoff’s syndrome

• dementia brought on by deficiency of vitamin B1

• related to chronic alcoholism => leads to loss and shrinkage of neurons all over the brain. 

Confabulation

• wild guessing mixed in with correct information in an

  effort to hide memory gaps

• similar to a false memory

Dementia

Condition of a slow decline in memory 

Alzheimer’s Disease

degenerative brain disease where the brain starts wearing down => memories become difficult to remember over time

Motivated Forgetting

People

unknowingly revise their memories

Repression

A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings