Take out a piece of paper Name the

Take out a piece of paper Name the Seven Dwarves

u Was the exercise easy or difficult? It depends on certain circumstantial factors: • Whether you like Disney movies • How long ago you watched the movie • How loud the people around you when you are trying to remember

Memory The Phenomenon of Memory u u u What is memory? What role does it play in the lives of humans? Luis Bunuel, Spanish filmmaker, said, “Memory is what makes our lives … Without it, we are nothing. ” The Roman statesman Cicero once said: “Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things. ” u To a psychologist, Memory is any indication that learning has persisted over time. Memory is our ability to store and retrieve information. u Our capacity for remembering the many voices, sounds, and songs, flavors, smells, textures, faces, sights, and events, general knowledge, and procedures is amazing!!

Your Memory… Your memory ability is most apparent in your recall of unique and/or highly emotional moments in your past. – For example: a vivid memory of a car accident; your first romantic kiss; your context when you heard some tragic news When forming memories you must select, process, store, and retrieve information. Encoding, storage, and retrieval are three aspects of memory process.

Encoding The processing of information into the memory system (into our brains) Typing info into a computer Getting a girls name at a party

Storage The retention of encoded material over time Pressing Ctrl S and saving the info. Trying to remember her name when you leave the party

Retrieval The process of getting the information out of memory storage Finding your document and opening it up Seeing her the next day and calling her the wrong name (retrieval failure)

Turn your paper over Now pick out the seven dwarves Grouchy Gabby Fearful Sleepy Smiley Jumpy Hopeful Shy Droopy Dopey Sniffy Wishful Puffy Dumpy Sneezy Pop Grumpy Bashful Cheerful Teach Snorty Nifty Happy Doc Wheezy Stubby Poopy

Seven Dwarves Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Doc and Bashful

Did you do better on the first or second dwarf memory exercise? Recall vs. Recognition § With recall- you must retrieve the information from your memory (fill-in-the blank tests). § With recognition- you must identify the target from possible targets (multiplechoice tests). § Which is easier?

Memory … once again … n First: Acquisition (to remember you must acquire) n n n During acquisition, the relevant experience(s) leave some record or mark in the nervous system – called Memory Trace Second: Storage (storing information) Third: Retrieval (“trying to remember” – dredge particular memory trace) Therefore, it is clear that there can not be any remembering without prior acquisition (learning). Memory is the process by which we recollect prior experiences and information and skills learned in the past

Memory … once again … n n There are different types of memory. Memory can be categorized according to kinds of information it stores: n Events (experiences) - Episodic n General Knowledge - Generic n Skills (physical abilities) - Procedural

Episodic Memory n n Memory of specific events Memories of things that happen or experiences n n Example: what you ate for dinner last dinner or taking a quiz last Friday. Some episodic memories are very surprising, significant, or traumatic we tend to recall these events in great details. These are called: Flashbulb memories

Generic Memory n n General knowledge. For example: we “remember” that Thomas Jefferson was the _______ president of the United States. Unlike Episodic memory, with Generic memories we do not usually remember when we acquire that information.

Procedural Memory n It consists of skills or procedures you have learned. n n Example: riding a bike, skipping rope, swimming, etc. Once such a skill has been learned it usually stays with you for many years. Even if you do not use it, you are unlikely to forget the procedure.

How does our brain store longterm memories? n Memories do NOT reside in single specific spots of our brain. • They are not electrical (if the electrical activity were to shut down in your brain, then restartyou would NOT start with a blank slate).

Sensory Memory The immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system Stored just for an instant, and most gets unprocessed Large capacity (can hold many items at once) Iconic Memory & Echoic Memory Examples: • You lose concentration in class during a lecture. Suddenly you hear a significant word and return your focus to the lecture. You should be able to remember what was said just before the key word since it is in your sensory register. • Your ability to see motion can be attributed to sensory memory. An image previously seen must be stored long enough to compare to the new image. Visual processing in the brain works like watching a cartoon -- you see one frame at a time. • If someone is reading to you, you must be able to remember the words at the beginning of a sentence in order to understand the sentence as a whole. These words are held in a relatively unprocessed sensory memory.

Short-Term Memory that holds a few items briefly Capacity: Limited = Seven digits (plus or minus two) The info. will be stored into long-term or forgotten How do you store things from short-term to long-term? Rehearsal You must repeat things over and over to put them into your long-term memory.

Working Memory (Modern day STM) Another way of describing the use of short-term memory is called working memory. Working-Memory has three parts: 1. 2. 3. Audio Visual Integration of audio and visual (controls where you attention lies)

Long-Term Memory The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Final stage in processing memories *Encoding = controls movement from working to long-term memory *Retrieval = controls flow of info. from long-term to working memory

Review the three stage process of Memory

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) The current theory of how our long-term memory works. • Memory has a neural basis. • LTP is an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. In other words, if you are trying to remember a phone number, the neurons are firing neurotransmitter through the synapse. The neuron gets used to firing in that pattern and essentially learns to fire in that distinct way. It is a form of rehearsal (but for our neurons).

Stress and Memory Stress can lead to the release of hormones that have been shown to assist in LTM. Similar to the idea of Flashbulb Memory.

Types of LTM

The Hippocampus Neural center located in limbic system that helps process explicit memories The hippocampus is like the librarian for the library which is our brain. The librarian assigns diff. info to diff. regions (frontal lobes & temporal lobes) Damage to the hippocampus disrupts our memory. Left = Verbal Right = Visual and Locations *Implicit memories processed by Cerebellum (back of our head) & Amygdala (emotional memories)

Encoding : Getting the information in our heads!!!! Two ways to encode information Automatic Processing Effortful Processing

Automatic Processing Unconscious encoding of incidental information. You encode space, time and word meaning without effort. Things can become automatic with practice. For example, if I tell you that you are a jerk, you will encode the meaning of what I am saying to you without any effort.

Effortful Processing Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. Rehearsal is the most common effortful processing technique. Through enough rehearsal, what was effortful becomes automatic.

Things to remember about Encoding 1. The Next-In-Line Effect: we seldom remember what the person has just said or done if we are next. 2. Information minutes before sleep is seldom remembered; in the hour before sleep, well remembered. 3. Taped info played while asleep is registered by ears, but we do not remember it.

Spacing Effect We encode better when we study or practice over time. DO NOT CRAM!!!!!

Take out a piece of paper and…. List the U. S. Presidents

The Presidents Washington J. Adams Jefferson Madison Taylor Fillmore Pierce Buchanan Harrison Cleveland Mc. Kinley T. Roosevelt Eisenhower Kennedy L. Johnson Nixon Monroe JQ Adams Jackson Van Buren Harrison Tyler Polk Lincoln A. Johnson Grant Hayes Garfield Arthur Cleveland Taft Wilson Harding Coolidge Hoover FD. Roosevelt Truman Ford Carter Reagan Bush Clinton Bush Jr. Hargrave

Serial Positioning Effect Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list. Presidents Recalled If we graph an average person remembers presidential list- it would probably look something like this.

Primacy and Recency Effects Primacy and Recency effects: when we try to remember a series of information, our memories of the first and last bits of info. tends to be sharpest. This primacy (first) and recency (last) effects.

Types of Encoding Semantic Encoding: the encoding of meaning, like the meaning of words • Acoustic Encoding: the encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words. • Visual Encoding: the encoding of picture images.

Which type works best?

Self-Reference Effect An example of how we encode meaning very well. The idea that we remember things (like adjectives) when they are used to describe ourselves.

Tricks to Encode Use imagery: mental pictures Mnemonic Devices - Memory aids using imagery and organizational devices. "Mary Very Easily Makes Jam Saturday Unless No Plums. " Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. *** Peg-word System *** Method of Loci Give me some more examples….

Chunking Organizing items into familiar, manageable units Often it will occur automatically 1 -4 -9 -2 -1 -7 -7 -6 -1 -8 -1 -2 -1 -9 -4 -1 Do these numbers mean anything to you? 1492, 1776, 1812, 1941 how about now? Chunk- from Goonies

Retrieval How do we recall the information we thought we remembered? Let’s Jog Our Memory!!!!!!!

Recall versus Recognition I probably cannot recall the Smurfs, but can I recognize them? Lazy Smurf or Lethargic Smurf Papa Smurf or Daddy Smurf Handy Smurf or Practical Smurf Brainy Smurf or Intellectual Smurf Clumsy Smurf or Inept Smurf

Retrieval Cues Ø Things that help us remember • We often use a process called priming (the activation of associations in our memory) to help us retrieve information.

PRIMING EFFECT Ø Priming effect occurs when people respond faster or better to an item if a similar item preceded it. • For the most part, the priming effect is considered involuntary and is most likely an unconscious phenomenon.

Repetition Priming Repetition priming refers to the fact that it is easier (quicker) to recognize a face or word if you have recently seen that same face or word. Semantic Priming Semantic priming refers to the fact that it is easier (quicker) to recognize someone or word if you have just seen someone or a word closely associated.

Context Effects Ø It helps to put yourself back in the same context you experienced (encoded) something. Ø If you study on your favorite chair at home, you will probably score higher if you also take the test on the chair.

Déjà Vu Ø That eerie sense that you have experienced something before Ø What is occurring is that the current situation cues past experiences that are Is déjà vu really a glitch in the Matrix? very similar to the present one- your mind gets confused.

Mood-Congruent Memory Ø The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood. Ø If you are depressed, you will more likely recall sad memories from you past. Ø Moods also effect that way you interpret other peoples’ behavior