STAGES OF INFORMATION STORAGE Sensory Memory Sensory memory

STAGES OF INFORMATION STORAGE

Sensory Memory ■ Sensory memory- the initial recording of sensory info in the memory system (FIRST STAGE of info storage) ■ Iconic memory- the sensory register that briefly holds mental images ■ Eidetic imagery- the maintenance of a very detailed visual memory over long periods of time (photographic memory) ■ Echoic memory- the sensory register that briefly holds traces of sounds

Short Term Memory ■ STM- memory that holds info briefly before it is either stored in long term memory or forgotten (second stage) ■ Also called the working memory ■ Info in short term memory begins to fade after a few seconds ■ Usually helps to have audio codes to help remember (repeat what you’re trying to remember)

Primary and Recency Effects ■ You have 10 seconds to memorize these numbers in order ■ 99, 81, 54, 29, 30, 28, 88 ■ What is the easiest number to remember for you? ■ Primary Effect- the tendency to recall the first item in a series ■ Not been definitively explained. Maybe it is because we’re attracted to what is first? ■ Recency Effect- the tendency to recall the last item in a series ■ Not been explained either. Being last is a distinctive feature. Draws attention as well.

Chunking and Interference ■ Chunking- the mental process of organizing info into meaningful units or “chunks” ■ Remember trying to recall OTTFFSSENT ■ Try to remember each letter = 10 chunks, but if you know what letters stand for = 1 ■ Average person can hold a list of seven items, such as a phone #, after that it gets difficult ■ This is why businesses try to have phone #s with a lot of zeros or that spell a word ■ Remember ZBT and XGV ■ Interference- the process that occurs when new info in short term memory replaces old info

Long Term Memory ■ LTM- the type or stage of memory capable of large and relatively permanent storage (third stage) ■ Maintenance and elaborative rehearsals are both good techniques to LTM ■ Your LTM contains more words, pictures, sounds, smells, and tastes than you could ever possibly count ■ Memory as a reconstruction – We know that memories are not recorded like movies we can play back – They are reconstructed from the bits and pieces of our experience – We shape our memories in which we view and understand the world – We tend to remember things in accordance with our needs and beliefs – You put your own stamp on your memories – That’s why siblings sometimes have differing memories on family events

Schemas and Capacity of Memory ■ Schemas- an idea or mental framework that helps one organize and interpret info ■ This can be effected by the questions people ask you. An experiment was done involving a car crash and vocab greatly effected people’s memory. Capacity of memory ■ Psychologists are yet to discover a limit to how much can be stored in a person’s long term memory ■ There is apparently no limit to how much we can remember, but we do not store all of our experiences permanently ■ We are more likely to remember what captures our attention; the incidents and experiences that have the greatest impact on us.

Contrasting Memories ■ For a little homework (don’t complain) I want you to think of a memory you have of an event. Try to think of something that happened more than a year ago. Make sure it is something that another family member/friend was present for. ■ Now write a paragraph or two about how you remember that event. Try to be specific about details. Where it happened, who was there, what the weather was like, etc. ■ Before next class, ask your family member or friend about the event and ask them what they remember. Ask them to try and be detailed too. Write down the basics of what they say and compare it to how you remember the event. ■ The last thing you have to do is write about how you would explain the differences in the memory you two shared.

Questions 1. How does attention affect w hat goes into short term and long term memory? 2. What experimental evidence supports the existence of interference? 3. Why is short term memory also referred to as working memory? 4. What is chunking? 5. What do scientists mean when they say that memory is reconstructive? 6. Choose a simple fact. Describe how you think it went through the three stages of memory and became something you know.