Psy 191 Memory Notes

Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi

Memory Chapter Notes Definition of Memory There are two different ways to define memory, both of which are separate thought processes: A.) Remembering – Ability to recall B.) Forgetting – Inability to recall ** The lost memory: Different from forgetting – A memory you once had, but you lost it; never to get it back or retrieve it. This almost always happens after some sort of physical brain tissue loss. **

Remembering The process of remembering is a three stage process: 1.) Encoding: Encode experience (transform event into some sort of storable form in the brain). ♦ Engram: Any memory trace encoded, in any way in the brain ♦ Auditory Engram: Also known as echo (a memory connection with some sort of sound) ♦ Visual Code: Also known as icon (a memory connection with some sort of imagery) ** The strongest of memories, are the ones where you, or your subconscious mind, put the most importance on (ex: mother’s death; first girlfriend). ** 2.) Storage: Occurs in the outer brain: the cerebral cortex (in the FULL cerebral cortex, all over it ♦ The storage of memories in the brain is systematized (to aid stage three). 3.) Retrieval: Finding information that has been stored, and making them of use ** Views of Memory * *  How long does memory last? Types of Memory Registers: 1.) Sensory Register: Memories in this register tend to last 3-5 seconds

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Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi 2.) Short Term Memory [STM]: Memories in this register can last up to 30

seconds Also known as working memory Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating a STM over and over again by “juggling” it to remember it for a longer amount of time, not necessarily turning it into a LTM 3.) Long Term Memory [LTM]: Memories that can last up to a lifetime, (if

necessary); depending on importance put on memories upon you and your mind Elaborate Rehearsal – The process of adding “significance” or “importance” to STMs in order to turn them into LTMs

Long Term Memory Skill Memory:

 Also known as Procedural Memory  All skill memories are implicit (automatic, or automatically retrieved)  Memories for: o

Conditioned Responses

o

Learned Skills

Declarative Memory:

 Memories for facts or factual information o

Dates

o

Names

o

Ideas

o

Places

o

Other things of this nature

A. Semantic Memory: 2

Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi a. Memories that are hard to forget b. Must develop a strategy to forget B. Episodic Memory: a. Memories for events or experiences in your life that can be tied to places and/or times Explicit Memory:

 Memories that might difficult to recall  A person must work to retrieve them Flash Bulb Memory:

 Very specific memory image with details intact, tied to a specific event or place Relearning:

 The time it will take to relearn a skill or ability after one has forgotten, will be less, and/or shorter the second or third time around Iedetic Imagery:

 Also known as photographic memory  20% of all preschool children are believed to exhibit this ability  Theory on why this ability is lost later on in life: information interference

Strategies for Remembering

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Using mnemonics: Associating images or other things with certain memories to increase the ability to recall them **EBINGHOUSE** → He completed his research in 1885 → Followed learning to a 100% criterion; then study the rate 3

Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi of forgetting over a 30 day period. → Most of (a very high percentage) the forgetting of one’s memories happens within the FIRST HOUR; then ending gradually at about 30 days (forgetting after this time is insignificant)

Forgetting

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The explanation or discussion of how memories are forgotten, is almost always a elaboration on THEORIES of how memories are forgotten

1.) Encoding Failure: The original experience was never originally “encoded” or stored 2.) Decay Theory: (intuitively appealing theory) Time, and time alone, will be the end of all your memories a. Very effective at explaining the cause of forgetting for sensory and STM memories b. Also, highly ineffective at explain forgetting for LTMs 3.) Disuse Theory: Similar to the “Use it or lose it” term; Not recalling on memories will eventually lead the mind to forget them 4.) Interference/Inhibition Theory: The inability to recall or difficulty to remember, is derived from too many other memories interfering the retrieval process a. Proactive Interference/Inhibition*PAST* – Another, older memory is messing up the remembering process b. Retroactive Interference/Inhibition*PRESENT* – A recent memory is interfering with the remembering process 5.) Amnesia: Loss of memories as a result of some sort of psychological trauma 6.) Retrograde Amnesia*SHORT TERM*: Loss of memory and events leading UP TO a trauma

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Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi 7.) Anterograde Amnesia*SHORT TERM*: Inability to form and make new memories after a trauma 8.) State Dependent Learning: The process of learning and recalling based on a physical or mental state (ex: Drunks remember events when they were drunk, but can’t when they are sober) 9.) Cue Dependent Forgetting: Something, a cue, or stimuli that unleash a slew of memories or emotions. This is due to the fact that the cue was present at the time of encoding, and without it, retrieval is highly unlikely. Also known as “retrieval failure”.

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Ali Kilinc 11/8/2007 Scribd.com/people/view/6555-Ali-TekBoi

Tips on how to IMPROVE MEMORY A. Anytime you can retrieve your “knowledge of results” [KR]: get them as soon as possible B. Recite Recitation and Retrieval – Increasing the amount of times you recall a memory, will increase your ability to recall this memory later on in the future C. Whole/Part learning – Breaking up things into smaller pieces to learn remember them easier D. Serial Position Effect – When one forgets items in a list of things, the possibility to forget items in the middle, are higher than forgetting items in the top/beginning and bottom/end E. Over-learning: a. Learning a newly acquired skill well beyond initial mastery b. Study the material until you can confidently say to yourself “I kno dis shit” F. Space/Mass Practice – Spacing out the learning process into intervals (ex: over time) G. Sleeping – Getting adequate sleep is essential; retrieval is much easier on the rested mind H. Eating – Eating healthy foods and eating often

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