Encoding

Encoding: 

Semantic Encoding/Deep processing: Processing a word deeply by its meaning

Visual Encoding: The process of remembering visual images

Acoustic Encoding: 

Automatic vs Effortful Processing

Automatic Processing: Unconscious encoding of information. Not much attention required, muscle memory.

 Ex: What did you eat for lunch today? Was the last time you studied during the day or night?

Effortful Processing: Requires attention and conscious effort. Used consciously to process new info

Ex: 

-Memorizing your notes for your upcoming Introduction to Psychology exams.

-Repeating a phone number in your head until you can write it down

Types of Effortful Processing:

-Maintenance Rehearsal – go over something repeatedly till it is encoded in LTM

-Elaborative Rehearsal – relate the info to info you already know.

-Self-reference effect – applies info to yourself.

-Visual imagery – vivid images you can remember.

Levels of Processing framework – info encoded at a deeper level will be more easily remembered than info encoded at a shallow level.  How can you do this? 

Selective vs. Divided Attention

Selective attention: the ability to focus your conscious awareness on a particular stimulus while blocking out other stimuli.

• Ex: The cocktail party effect: the ability to focus on a single speaker in a noisy environment. If you are at a party, you can listen to your friend speaking while ignoring everyone speaking around you, despite their volume.  

Divided Attention: the ability to focus on multiple stimuli simultaneously (aka multitasking). decreases the amount of attention placed on one task if there is more than one.

Deep vs. Shallow Processing

Deep processing: processing info with consideration to its meaning. Creates stronger memories because it involves elaborative rehearsal, creating a more meaningful analysis

-Leads to better recall       -Considers the meaning of info     -Involves elaborative rehearsal

Shallow Processing: It uses surface characteristics to process info. The encoding aspect is relatively simple or straightforward. It results in fairly immediate forgetting rather than long-term memorization.

-Two types are Structural & Phonemic            -Surface characteristics to process info

-Structural: encoding information with the use of visual and physical characteristics

-Phonemic: encoding information using auditory characteristics

Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart's levels of processing framework

- Information that is processed at a “deep” level is more likely to be encoded into long-term memory than information processed at a “shallow” level.

- When studying for classes, actively question new information, think about its implications, and try to generate your own examples based on your experiences

The Human Brain is good at:

-Information on which attention is focused -Information in which we are interested

 -Information that arouses us emotional   -Information that fits with our previous experiences    -Information that we rehearse