Psychology of Memory

How Memory Functions

• Memory is a system or process that stores what we learn for future use.

• Our memory has three basic functions: encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

Multiple Choice

A system or process that stores what we learn for future use.

• intelligence

• cognition

• learning

• memory

3 Basic Functions

• Encoding is the act of getting information into our memory system through automatic or effortful processing.

• Storage is retention of the information.

• Retrieval is the act of getting information out of storage and into conscious awareness through recall, recognition, and relearning.

Multiple Select

We retrieve information through which process?

• recall

• recognition

• relearning

• retention

Locating Memory

• Beginning with Karl Lashley, researchers and psychologists have been searching for the engram, which is the physical trace of memory.

• Lashley did not find the engram, but he did suggest that memories are distributed throughout the entire brain rather than stored in one specific area.

• Now we know that three brain areas do play significant roles in the processing and storage of different types of memories: cerebellum, hippocampus, and amygdala.

Multiple Choice

Memory is stored in 1 area of the brain.

• True

• False

Areas of the brain

• The cerebellum’s job is to process procedural memories.

• The hippocampus is where new memories are encoded.

• The amygdala helps determine what memories to store, and it plays a part in determining where the memories are stored based on whether we have a strong or weak emotional response to the event.

Multiple Choice

This part of the brain processes procedural memories

• hippocampus

• cerebellum

• amygdala

• brain stem

Emotions and memory

• Strong emotional experiences can trigger the release of neurotransmitters, as well as hormones, which strengthen memory, so that memory for an emotional event is usually stronger than memory for a non-emotional event.

• This is shown by what is known as the flashbulb memory phenomenon: our ability to remember significant life events.

• Our memory for life events (autobiographical memory) is not always accurate.

Poll

Emotions impact memories.

• Sure do.

• Not in the least.

Problems with memory

• Our memory is flexible and prone to many errors, which is why eyewitness testimony has been found to be largely unreliable.

• There are several reasons why forgetting occurs. In cases of brain trauma or disease, forgetting may be due to amnesia.

• Another reason we forget is due to encoding failure.

• We can’t remember something if we never stored it in our memory in the first place.

Problems with Memory

• Schacter presents seven memory errors that also contribute to forgetting.

• Information is actually stored in our memory, but we cannot access it due to interference.

• Proactive interference happens when old information hinders the recall of newly learned information.

• Retroactive interference happens when information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information.

Multiple Select

Problems with memory can include

• trauma

• encoding failure

• interference

• disease

Ways to enhance memory

• There are many ways to combat the inevitable failures of our memory system.

• Some common strategies that can be used in everyday situations include mnemonic devices, rehearsal, self-referencing, and adequate sleep.

• These same strategies also can help you to study more effectively.

Multiple Select

Strategies that help your memory include

• sleep

• mnemonic devices

• rehearsal

• self-referencing

Models of Memory

• The idea that information is processed through three memory systems is called the Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory.

• First, environmental stimuli enter our sensory memory for a period of less than a second to a few seconds.

• Those stimuli that we notice and pay attention to then move into short-term memory.

• According to the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, if we rehearse this information, then it moves into long-term memory for permanent storage.

Other Models

• Baddeley and Hitch suggest there is more of a feedback loop between short-term memory and long-term memory.

• Long-term memory has a practically limitless storage capacity and is divided into implicit and explicit memory.

Psychology - 3 Kinds of Memory

​

Open Ended

Is there a memory that you have, that you can recall at any moment with great detail. If so, describe the memory.

Fill in the Blank

I am the process by which a person recollects prior experiences, information, and skills learned in the past.

Fill in the Blank

___________________ memories include practiced skills and learned habits.

Fill in the Blank

_________________ memories recall events that happened in our own lives.

Fill in the Blank

______________________ memories recall specific information, either from our own experiences or from knowledge we have acquired.

Fill in the Blank

The knowledge that Ottawa is the capital of Canada is an example of _________________ memory.

Multiple Choice

Which of the four terms does NOT relate to the others?

• episodic memory

• implicit memory

• personal experience

• key events

Open Ended

A goaltender coach has a goaltender who wants to improve their shooting and passing. The goaltender has been playing goal for 7 years but still struggles with these skills.

Based on what you've just read about memory, why do you think this athlete is having trouble learning this skill? What instructional tips would you give the goaltender coach?

Psychology - Sensory and STM/Working Memory

Fill in the Blank

A mental register of traces of sound

Multiple Choice

The immediate recording of data that enters through our senses.

• Sensory

• STM

• Working Memory

• LTM

• Echoic

Fill in the Blank

Memory that holds information briefly before it is either stored in LTM or forgotten

Multiple Choice

Brief memories of mental pictures formed of visual stimuli.

• Sensory Memory

• Echoic Memory

• Working Memory

• Long Term Memory

• Iconic Memory

Fill in the Blank

Our tendency to recall the first items in a series.

Fill in the Blank

The organization of items into familiar or manageable units.

Fill in the Blank

People often remember the items at the end of a list better than those in the middle, a phenomenon called _________________.

Open Ended

What tole does short term memories play in people's lives?

Open Ended

How does iconic memory differ from eidetic memory?

Multiple Choice

_________ memories are said to linger in the mind for a few seconds, allowing people the chance to keep up with the flow of conversations and remember what was just said.

• Iconic

• Short-term

• Echoic

• Long-term

​Recognition refers to our ability to “recognize” an event or piece of information as being familiar, while recall designates the retrieval of related details from memory.

​model of memory organization that assumes information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, with concepts that are related stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not highly related.

​*hierarchy: a ranked and ordered list or series. cepts that are not highly related

Multiple Choice

Information enters into short-term memory through a process known as ______________. a. recency effect c. selective attention b. primacy effect d. repetition

• recency effect

• selective attention

• primacy effect

• repetition

Multiple Choice

Of the following, which is the most similar to the concept of longterm memory?

• a computer keyboard

• a computer monitor

• a computer mouse

• a computer hard drive

Multiple Choice

Amber meets a cute guy named Carson at a party. She wants to make sure she remembers his name, so she reminds herself that he has the same name as the capital of Nevada (Carson City). This transferring of information from short-term memory to long-term memory is an example of what type of rehearsal?

• repetitive

• elaborative

• imagery

• maintenance

Multiple Choice

Brenda has been able to tie her shoes since she was 4 but now finds it difficult to explain to her baby brother how to tie his shoes, but she can easily demonstrate it for him. Brenda’s memory for shoe tying is best characterized as a __________ memory.

• nondeclarative (implicit)

• semantic

• episodic

• declarative (explicit)

Multiple Choice

When you take your final exam in your psychology class, what type of memory will you most certainly need to access to answer each question?

• nondeclarative

• episodic

• semantic

• working