Memory

Types of Information Processing

Automatic Processing Much of the information that we process occurs without conscious awareness Includes information about space, time, and other well learned behaviors is process without conscious awareness Effortful Processing Requires deliberate conscious attention. Includes the "serial position effect" We recall best the last and the first items in a list Two types of serial position effect Recency effect Immediately after learning we recall the last items we learn the best Due to the fact hey are still in our short term memory Primary effect After a delay we tend to recall the first pieces of information the best Due to the fact that the information we learn first receive the most rehearsal and attention over time.

Sensory Memory

Can be broken down into Iconic and Echoic memory Iconic memory A fleeting photographic memory. A mental trace lingers after a stimulus is removed out of view The information is stored in the rods and the cones of the eye Evidence: George Sperling's (1960_ experiment For 1 20th of a second sperling flashed three rows of three letters on a screen The participant were asked how many letters they could recall Participants could only ever recall about half the letters, five bits of information (doesn't matter how many letters you give them.) Two possible explanations why this is: The participants can only register that much information in a glance. All the information registered, but the image faded from memory before it could be recorded due to the fact iconic memory is so short. What sperling found was that the participants were able to see all the letters. The conclusion of the experiment is that visual information registers in our brain, and we can recall that visual information with amazing detail, but the visual information in iconic memory fades very quickly in our minds. Echoic memory A fleeting auditory memory Only holds a few items, and only lasts a few seconds Why do we have sensory memory if it is so quick to fade? What is the main adaptive advantage? Brings continuity to our experiences. Imagine how hard life would be if you lost track of what you were doing after every blink Without echoic memory speech would be very difficult to understand, because you wouldn't be able to use memory to connect the sounds of words together.

Atkinson and Shiffrin's Model

The most important model/theory that explains how memory works Formation of memory occurs in a three stage process Sensory memory We first encode information as a fleeting sensory experience. Pieces of information come through the senses, and for a brief period (up to 3 seconds) of time literal copies of information are held in our mind. Short term memory Once we have encountered new information from the senses that information needs to be encoded/processed through rehearsal. As we rehearse new information that new information gets encoded into our short term memory Short term memory has greater capacity than sensory memory Can hold 7 pieces of information Can hold that information for 20 seconds in length. If the information is not farther rehearsed over time, then it will not transfer to long term memory Long term memory Once the information has proceeded through sensory memory and short term memory the information may be moved to a relatively permanent and limited storehouse for later retrieval. The duration at which we can store information is limitless, and the amount of information is limitless. Our skills, accumulative knowledge, our experiences is all long term memory Facts about the world, how to ride a bike, and tie your shoes is all long term memory.

Long Term Memory

Has a limitless storage capacity How we encode allows us to have this limitless storage capacity Information can be kept in short term memory through rehearsal. For information to go into long term memory there needs to be elaborative rehearsal We think about the information in a more meaningful way that in short term memory or we make associations between the new information, and information that is already in long term memory. Storage of Long term memory There are two formats of long term memory Semantic Coding When we process verbal information, we store the meaning of the information rather than the specific words Visual coding A mental picture is generated of an object or a scene. When we look at a visual information we don't pick up on all the information of all the pieces, we simplify it. Content of long term memory Two types of content Procedural memory Our storage knowledge of learned habits and skills How to drive, swim, tie our shoes is all procedural memory The information of procedural memory is stored without conscious recollection Declarative memory We have memory for facts about the world "The first president was George Washington." We also have episodic memories about ourselves " I am X years old, I was born in X city, and I got to the university X. Knowledge of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare We can make statements about those memories. Retrieval To remember an event requires more than encoding and storage. Memory also involves retrieval. Types of memory: Recall Memory The ability to retrieve information that is not in conscious awareness. Recognition The ability to recognize items that were previously learned. Relearning Spend less time learning second time around If we have learned something once, we should be able to spend less time learning the material. We each review of your notes you should have a better mastery of that material. Memory is both context dependent and state dependent Context dependent memory People find it easier to retrieve information from memory when they are in the same situation/context from when the information was originally learned. Experiment by Godden and Baddeley's (1975) experiment Participants were scuba divers Participants looked at words in one of two settings First group looked at the words under water Second group looked at the words on the beach Participants were tested either in the same place the information was learned, or the opposite place. Results showed that the scuba divers recalled 40% more information when they were tested in the same context in which the information was learned. State Dependent-Memory It is oftentimes easier to recall information when our state of mind is the same at testing as it was when encoding. If you learn information when you are happy, it is easier to retrieve that information when you are in a similar mood.

What is Memory?

Learning that has persisted over time The process at which information is stored and retrieved in our brain for later use. Metaphors for memory Memory is like stamping an impression into a box of wax A storage box A library--a place where information goes to be of use later A tape recorder Memory as information processing In cognitive psychology today the mind is thought of as a computer Memory is the processing system There are three steps to having memories Encoding The process by which we get information into our brain. Storage The process in which we retain information in our brain Retrieval Process by which we get information out of our brain for later use.

Revisions to Atkinson and Shiffrin's Model

Some information bipasses sensory memory, and short term memory and goes directly to long term memory without conscious awareness. Example: A child learning to walk is not consciously aware of what they are doing, but the ability to walk goes straight into long term memory Working Memory Information is actively processed in short term memory Short term memory can be more than rehearsal, information can also be actively processed. New information is associated with knowledge we already have, and is used to solve new problems. The more actively we process this new information, the more likely it is for the information to move to long term memory.

Short Term (Working) Memory

There are deration limits of short term memory Once information comes through the senses it is our task to meaningfully encode that information. If we do not encode the information, that information will be gone forever. Without active processing, short term memories have a limited life It is possible to remember information by rehearsal (repeating the information, and also more elaborate rehearsal (trying to understand the information.) Storage Capacity There are also capacity limits of short term memory. George Miller: The storage capacity is 7+/- 2 bits of information At any given moment we can only process a limited amount of information Once our short term memory is filled to capacity, in order to get new information into short term memory the information that is already there needs to be discarded or replace. Chunking However, we also have the capacity to expand our short term memory. Although short term memory has a limited capacity we can group information into chunks, we can use our storage capacity more efficiently. Example: C, N, N = 3 but CNN = 1

Forgetting

Why do we forget? Forgetting is an adaptive economical aspect of human memory Observation of Solomon Shereshevskii He could memorize dozens of items with ease, and could never forget. However, because he could never forget, trivial bits of information flooded his mind They distracted him, and he was unable to think abstractly. He was unable to generalize his thoughts Unable to evaluate his plans and his ideas. Ultimately he had to quit his job, and took up a job entertaining others with his memory Without the ability to forget we would be filled with out of date information. How do we forget? Some of the information we obtain never gets encoded into long term memory in the first place. This information tends to be trivial or useless. Interference Two types of interference. Proactive Interference Information that we have already queried prohibits our ability to acquire something new. Example: Learning to use I and J hats instead of X and Y components Retroactive Interference New information (new material) disrupts our memory of previously learned information. Example: trying to do simple math