Topic 7.1-Memory

The paradox of memory

Memory serves us well in many situations, but is very mistaken in many others

“Adaptive”

Memory is reconstructive.

Good Aspects of memory

Facial Recognition, Hyperthymesia: Allows individuals to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid, day-by-day detail.

Bad aspects of memory

Mandela Effect:  Collective false memories; a type of memory illusion.

Change Blindness: failure to attend to and encode a relatively dramatic change in an image

Multi-store Model (Atkinson-Shiffrin)

memory is a sequence of three separate stores: the sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information flows from one store to the next through processes like attention, which moves information from the sensory register to STM, and rehearsal, which moves it from STM to LTM. 

Iconic Memory

Located in the iconic store. Sight memories. Delays time by half a second.

Echoic memory

Located in the echoic store. Sound memories. Delay’s time by several seconds.

Short term memory

5-20 seconds, 7±2 ‘chunks’ (Millers Magic Number).

Information Loss: Decay, interference.

Retroactive interference

• Newest learned material overrides access to previously learned content.

Proactive interference

 Previously learned content acts as interference for the newest learned content.

Sensory Input

 All incoming sensory information, such as sounds and sights, enters a short-term sensory buffer.

Selective Filter

 A filter immediately selects which information to process based on its physical properties, like pitch, color, or volume.

Limited Capacity Channel

 Only the information that passes through the filter is allowed to continue for further processing, such as understanding meaning and context.

Higher level processing

Once selected, the information is processed by cognitive systems for memory, decision-making, and response.

Intrinsic motivation

•When the motivation to learn comes from the innate pleasure derived from the learning.

Extrinsic motivation

•When the motivation to learn comes from external benefits that come after learning.

Long term memory

Relatively Permanent.

infinite capacity

information loss: Retrieval failure, brain damage.

Declarative (explicit) memory

Semantic, Episodic

Non-Declarative (implicit) memory

Procedural, priming, habituation, conditioning

Semantic memory

General knowledge, Language-related memory.

Episodic memory

memory for specific events and experiences; time-linked.

Procedural memory

The memory for skilled actions, like riding a bike, swimming, or typing. You don't need to consciously think about the steps to perform these actions after you have learned them.

Priming

 A type of memory where exposure to a stimulus influences the response to a later stimulus, often without conscious awareness.

Classical conditioning

 An unconscious form of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a response

Habits

The gradual learning of behaviors that are performed through trial and error.

Habituation

 A type of non-associative learning — repeated exposure to a stimulus of a moderate intensity decreases our response to it

• Very basic form of learning

Conditioning

 Associative learning

• 2 distinct stimuli, 1 salient and 1 neutral, paired repeatedly so that the neutral

stimulus becomes salient