Ch 7

MemoryProcess by which we recollect prior experiences and information/skills learned in the past

3 Kinds of MemoryWays to classify memoryEpisodic Memory: memory of a specific eventFlashbulb memory: EXTEMELY detailed memory

Reasons for flashbulb memories

Semantic Memory: general knowledge people rememberDon’t usually remember when acquired info

Implicit Memory: skills

3 Processes of MemoryEncoding: translation of info into form that can be storedFirst stage of processing info

Storage: maintenance of encoded information over a period of timeSecond stage of processing info

Maintenance rehearsal: repeating over and over

Elaborative rehearsal: relating to info you already know well

Organizational system Not without errors

Retrieval: locating stored information and returning it to conscious thoughtContext-dependent memory: easier to remember something when back in the same context as when memory was originally created

State-dependent memory: retrieve memories when they are in the same emotional state they were in when first made memory Also better when in same state of consciousness

On-the-tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: come close to retrieving info but can’t seem to verbalize “feeling of knowing”

3 Stages of MemorySensory Memory: immediate, initial recording of information that enters through our senses Memory trace of a visual stimulus held in our sensory memory decays within a second

If want to remember, must do something with it

Sensory registers: all our senses have these

Eidetic Imagery (photographic memory)

Short-Term Memory (AKA: Working Memory)If pay attention to iconic and echoic memories you can transfer them into short-term memory

Whenever you’re thinking of something, it’s in your short-term memory

Info fades rapidly after several seconds To remember it longer, need to keep rehearsing or take steps to prevent it from fading

Usually better to encode info as soundsPrimacy/Recency Effects

Remember things at the start/end of a list better than the middle

Chunking: organize info into familiar/manageable units

Interference: new info appears it takes the place of what’s already there

Bridge between sensory memory and long-term memory

Long-Term MemoryFinal stage of memoryHave to take steps to store into long-term memory Mechanical Repetition: maintenance rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal: relate to prior knowledge

We don’t know the capacity of memory

Memory is ReconstructiveReconstruct our memories and tend to shape them according to the personal and individual ways we view the world

Tend to remember things in accordance with our beliefs and needsPut our own personal stamp on our memories

Schemas: mental representations of the worldOrganized bits of information and knowledge shaped by our outlook on the world

Forgetting and Memory ImprovementForgetting: can occur at any of the 3 stages

Basic Memory Tasks:Recognition: identifying objects/events that have been encountered before Easiest memory task Multiple choice questions on test

Recall: bringing back to the working memory Reconstruct it in your mind

Relearning: sometimes we don’t remember things we once knew but it’s much easier to learn again

Different Kinds of ForgettingDecay: fading away of memoryRepression: forget on purpose without knowing we are doing it to protect ourselves from disturbing memories

Amnesia: severe memory loss Infantile amnesia: forgetting early events in life

Anterograde amnesia: memory loss from trauma that prevents a person from forming new memories

Retrograde amnesia: people forget period leading up to traumatic event

Improving MemoryDrill and Practice: going over info again and again

Relate to Things You Already Know: prior knowledge must be well known to remember new info better

Form Unusual Associations: even humorous so that info stands out from ordinary things and can be recalled easier

Construct Links: another form of elaborative rehearsal

Use Mnemonic Devices: systems for remembering infoEx: HOMES