Memory Chapter 6 Memory Memory is the ability

Memory Chapter 6

Memory ® Memory is the ability to recall past learning, events, images, and ideas ® It is also the storage system that allows a person to retain and retrieve information

Brain as Information Processor ® Information processing refers to organizing, interpreting, and responding to information from the environment ® The first process is encoding ® The second process is placing information in storage ® The third is making the information available through retrieval

Encoding ® Encoding is the first step in establishing a memory ® Encoding involves organizing sensory information so the nervous system can process it ® Attention, the processing of directing mental effort to some feature of the environment, is important for encoding

Levels of Processing ® Craik and Lockhart argued that the brain can encode and process information several different ways ® Levels of processing is equated with how deeply information is analyzed

Levels of Processing ® The encoding specificity principle states that the effectiveness of a retrieval cue depends on how well it matches the originally encoded information ® A related idea is transfer appropriate processing that occurs when the initial processing of information is similar to the process of retrieval

Storage ® Storage is the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available

Sensory Memory ® Sensory memory is a very brief storage area based on the sensory system

Sensory Memory ® Sperling presented research participants with a display consisting of three rows of letters for a fraction of a second ® They typically could report only three to four letters total ® When cued, however, they could report three or four letters from any given row

Sensory Memory ® Visual sensory memory is called iconic memory ® The images in iconic memory are called icons storage mechanism for the auditory system is called echoic storage ® Echoic storage lasts only about three seconds

Short-Term Storage ® Information in sensory memory fades rapidly unless transferred to short-term storage ® This area was originally called short-term memory (storage) to highlight its brief duration ® However, after its active nature was recognized, some researchers started calling it working memory

Early Research on Short-Term Memory ® Peterson and Peterson asked participants to recall three consonant sequences ® Recall was either immediate or after 1 to 18 seconds ® Accuracy of recall decreased as the length of the interval increased

Early Research on Short-Term Memory ® Miller argued humans can retain about seven (plus or minus two) items in shortterm memory ® This is referred to as the memory span ® People can group information in ways that expand short-term memory ® These groups are called chunks

Early Research on Short-Term Memory ® Rehearsal is especially important in memory ® It is the process of acting on or transforming information to keep it active in memory

Early Research on Short-Term Memory ®Maintenance rehearsal is the repetitive review of information with little or no interpretation ®Elaborative rehearsal involves repetition plus analysis

Working Memory ® Working memory is a storage mechanism that temporarily holds current or recent information for immediate or short-term use ® In working memory, information is encoded and then maintained for 20 to 30 seconds while processing takes place

Figure 6. 5 Short-Term Working Memory

Long-Term Memory ® Long-term memory is a relatively permanent storage area of unlimited capacity ® Procedural memory is memory for skills ® Declarative memory is memory for specific items of information

Figure 6. 6 Procedural and Declarative Long-Term Memory

Episodic and Semantic Memory ® Episodic memory is memory for specific, personal events and situations ® Episodic memory about ourselves can be termed autobiographic memory ® Semantic memory is memory for ideas, rules, words, and general concepts about the world

Explicit and Implicit Memory ® Explicit memory is memory that a person is conscious or aware of ® Implicit memory is memory a person is not aware she or he possesses