apsych c9--memory

first part of the three box/information processing model/multi-store model (pg 72 for pic)

• first, external events get held in the “sensory memory” area for a very short period of time (less than a second for visual info, aka iconic memory, and a few seconds for auditory info, or echoic memory)

• small amount goes to short term memory as visual codes, acoustic/sound codes, or semantic codes (a sense of meaning of the event)

inattentional blindness

• we may have inattentional blindness when we don’t see something that was in front of us because we focused on something else

change blindness

• we do not observe an obvious change in our visual world because we are not paying attention

working memory and its parts (pg 72)

• we use our working memory to do something with information in our short-term memory (like seeing two numbers, but then trying to divide them), otherwise it usually does not move any farther in the process

  • working memory system involves:

    • central executive: monitors incoming info and determines what other systems need to process it

    • visuospatial sketchpad: looks at visual info

    • auditory loop: for words/numbers

how do we retain information

• information can be retained through repetition (maintenance rehearsal) or effortful processing (putting effort into encoding the meaning of a term)

long term memory (pg 74)

• long term memory is our storage and usually stays forever

explicit/declarative memories

• those of facts we try to remember and implicit memories are unintentional memories we forget we have

prospective memory

• remembering to do things later, like take acne meds every morning

levels of processing model

• we remember things based on how much time we spend processing it, shallowly encoded vs deeply encoded

• long term potentiation is the idea that neurons can strengthen connections between each other as they fire again and again

how do we encode memories

• we encode memories, or put information into memories, typically by when hearing the first part of a list (primacy effect) or last part (recency effect) which together create the serial position effect (the recall of something is affected by the order

different ways to memorize things

• can use method of loci to associate places with items on a list, spacing effect as well (opposed to mass practicing, aka cramming) and chunking, or grouping items into lil groups

storing memories/amnesia

• some people have anterograde amnesia so they can recall old memories but not make new ones, whereas others have retrograde amnesia which is the opposite

retrieval cues

• stimuli that help us retrieve memories

• two types: recognition and recall

recognition vs. recall

• recognition—process of matching a current event or fact with one already in memory, like asking yourself if you’ve tasted a coffee brand before

• recall—retrieving memory because of something external

context-dependent memory

• remembering the context of an event because it was significant (remembering the temperature during graduation)

mood-congruent

• we remember things when we are in a similar mood as we were during the previous time

state dependent

• we remember things in a state of consciousness like the one we had in the previous time

constructive memory

• sometimes people remember things they have suppressed like trauma that can become constructed memories—they don’t have 100% accuracy

two types of interference pg. 77—retroactive vs proactive

• we sometimes have information in our memory competing with what we are trying to recall

• retroactive: learning new information is easier to recall than old information

• proactive: older information is easier to recall