M 23-25 Memory PowerPoint - student copy
Memory Overview
Memory: The persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
Students will not need to know specific brain structures associated with memory.
Types of Memory Measurement
Recall
The retrieval of information not currently in conscious awareness but learned earlier.
Example: Write down the names of the 7 dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Recognition
The identification of previously learned items.
Example: Identify names from a provided list of the 7 dwarfs: Grouchy, Droopy, Sleepy, Gabby, Dopey, Jumpy, Sniffy, Grumpy, Lazy, Sneezy, Shorty, Happy, Wheezy, Fearful, Doc, Wishful, Cheerful, Shy, Bashful.
Memory Models
A. The Information Processing Model
Encoding: The process of getting information into memory system.
Storage: The process of retaining encoded information over time.
Retrieval: The process of accessing information from memory storage.
B. The Three Stage Model of Memory (Atkinson and Shiffrin)
Stages:
Sensory Memory
Initial sensory experience (iconic and echoic memory).
Short-Term/Working Memory
Active thinking and manipulation of information; holds 7 +/- 2 items.
Long-Term Memory
Almost unlimited capacity, ranging from minutes to a lifetime.
Information loss can occur via:
Decay
Displacement
Interference
Encoding failure
Types of Memory Explained
1. Sensory Memory
Lasts a few seconds for visual stimuli (4 seconds) and auditory stimuli (3-4 seconds).
2. Short-Term/Working Memory
Holds meaningful information; can decay quickly without rehearsal.
3. Long-Term Memory
Includes explicit (declarative) and implicit (non-declarative) memories:
Explicit: Facts and events, requires conscious recall, processed in hippocampus.
Implicit: Skills and conditioning, without conscious recall, processed in cerebellum.
Levels of Processing Model
Cognitive Processing affects memory retention:
Shallow Processing: Basic encoding with poor retention.
Deep Processing: Encoding based on meaning, enhances retention.
Memory Retrieval
Priming
Unconscious activation of related associations in memory.
Retrieval Cues: Stimuli that help recover memory; can be conscious or unconscious.
Context-Dependent Memory
Recall improved when external environment matches where encoding occurred.
State-Dependent Memory
Recall better when internal state matches during encoding (mood-congruent).
Serial Position Effect
Tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list.
Forgetting Mechanisms
A. Encoding Failure
Information was never encoded into long-term memory (e.g., common details like the number of eyelets on shoes).
B. Storage Decay
Gradual memory decay if not used; rapid forgetting in the first 48 hours.
C. Retrieval Failure
Interference can prevent successful retrieval of stored information.
Types of Interference
1. Proactive Interference
Prior learning disrupts recall of new information.
2. Retroactive Interference
New learning disrupts recall of old information.
Motivated Forgetting
Repression: An unconscious defense mechanism to forget anxiety-producing memories.
Memory Construction Errors
A. Reconsolidation
Recalled memories can be altered each time they are retrieved.
B. Misinformation Effect
Post-event information can change the original memory.
C. Imagination Effect
Imagining events can create false memories; susceptibility varies.
D. Source Amnesia
Retaining a memory without recalling the context; confusion about sources.
Further Reading on Memory Errors
Innocence Project and related resources for false eyewitness identification related to memory errors.