Memory - Part 1

Goals of the day: Overview Encoding Storage

Your memories

Write down your three most vivid memories

Why are they your most vivid?

Related to stress or pleasure, thus adaptive to remember them

What is memory?

The ability to store and recall information

Three basic information processing steps in memory: Input Storage Retrieval

Encoding

Encoding: getting information into the brain Automatic processing: unconscious encoding of

incidental information (space, time, frequency) Effortful processing: encoding that requires

attention and conscious effort (remembering, names, learning school work for a test, memorizing lines for a play)

How can we boost the learning of new information: rehearsal (conscious repetition of novel information to maintain it for use or encode it for storage)

Why does it take so much effort to learn most novel information? Otherwise, be overwhelmed by trivia.

Rehearsal

Ebbinghaus’ retention curves

Overlearning improves retention

Serial Position Effect

How would you report on your first semester in college to your parents A” in Spanish; “C-” in calculus, “B+” in

biology; elected as president of journalism club; 3 traffic tickets

Serial position effect : we remember first and last items in a list better than those in middle; but after a delay, people remember first items best

Spacing Effect

What is the best way to study for exams? The night before or a little bit each day?

Spacing effect: longer the space between practice sessions, the better the recall

Types of encoding

Semantic (meaning)Acoustic (sound)Visual (sight)

Which works best?Imagery and memory

mnemonic devices

Organizing Information

Chunking: organizing information into meaningful units

Hierarchies: organizing information into broad categories, subdivided into smaller ones (20 questions)

Sensory memory storage

Iconic memory: fleeting photographic memory

Echoic memory: fleeing, "photographic" auditory memory

Short and long term memory

Short term memory: activated memory that holds few bits of information (about 7), for a short period of time (about 10 seconds)

Long term memory: relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of information in the memory system How durable are memories? will all this money and effort for

college be worth it? will you remember anything you've learned? forgetting curve

Is memory stored like video tape? No, typically embellished and recreated

Where is memory stored? Not in single spots (Lashley and Gerard experiments); synaptic changes

Emotional Experiences and memory

The stronger the emotional experience, the stronger the memory. Makes sense from an evolutionary point of view: if you forget where you were attacked or by what, not likely to be around to reproduce.

Serotonin (neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable experiences) and stress hormones both facilitate memory formation

Explicit and Implicit LTM

Explicit memory: conscious recall (facts, names) Hippocampus: temporary processing site for explicit

memories

Implicit memory: non-conscious recall (skills, conditioning effects) Cerebellum: seems to be where implicit memory is located

Explicit and implicit memories are not a unified system amnesia victims can still ride a bicycle