Psychology 101
Declarative memory
as the name suggests, consists of facts or information that can be declared; or in other words, talked about. Under ----- there are two sub-types: semantic memory and episodic memory....
Sensory Memory
can hold an exact reproduction of an incoming stimulus but only for a brief period of time (less than a second). If the information is not immediately transferred to short-term memory, it will be lost.
In fact, George Miller (1956)
found through experimentation that short-term memory can hold only about 7 bits of unrelated information, plus or minus 2 bits, for about 20 seconds. So if you look up a new phone number, you can remember it until you get to the phone and dial, but that's about it.
The biggest problem with decay theory
has been that a number of experiments have contradicted its main premise: that the further back in time a memory was formed, the more likely it is to be decayed. This contradictory evidence shows that remembering and forgetting are too complex to be explained by a single factor.
Memories are first processed
in various regions of the cortex, consolidated in the hippocampus, stored as long-term memories in different cortical regions, and later called into working memory for retrieval.
Short-Term Memory Methods: Elaboration: Elaborative rehearsal, also called elaboration
is more effective than simple maintenance rehearsal. As a deeper form of processing, it is more likely to transfer the information to long-term memory.
Long-term memory
is now thought to have three separate modules. These are procedural memory, semantic memory, and episodic memory.
Rehearsal
is one way that we can keep information in short-term memory a little longer. If you think back to the party mentioned in the introduction, you might have remembered those six names for longer than five minutes if you simply had said them over and over again in your mind. But you couldn't, because your other friend happened to walk up at that moment.
Procedural memory
is the kind of knowledge that's in "your bones," such as your hands, feet, arms, and so on. You can remember how to cook, how to skate, or how to ride a bike, although it's not easy to put this kind of knowledge into words. But if anyone asks, you'll be happy to demonstrate!
If a sensory stimulus is attended to
it will be transferred to the next stage: short-term memory.
The three-stage model says
just like in a computer system, information in our memory is encoded, stored and retrieved.
The final stage of memory is
long-term memory, our permanent storehouse of information and memories. Psychologists believe that the capacity of our long-term memory is virtually unlimited. That partially explains our frequent difficulty in recalling information. Because there is such a vast amount of information stored in --------, finding and retrieving a specific piece of information can be difficult.
spreading activation model
proposed by Collins and Loftus (1975) says that each concept is like a node in the network, with links spreading out from the node to concepts that are closely and distantly related.
In a classic 1960 experiment, George Sperling
tested participants to see how many letters they could remember from a matrix like this. It was flashed on the screen for just 1/20th of a second.
schema
theory is concerned not so much with things that are completely forgotten, but things that are remembered inaccurately. This theory was advanced by British psychologist Sir Frederick Bartlett in 1932.
For visual images
there is iconic memory, for sounds there is echoic memory, and so on.
retroactive interference
when new information interferes with the recall of previously learned material.
Proactive interference
when prior memories interfere with the learning of new material
The process by which memories are formed and later retrieved is not completely understood. L.R. Squire and S. Zola-Morgan postulated that:
1. different elements of an experience are first processed in various regions of the cortex, for example, visual elements would be processed in the visual cortex, located at the back of the brain above the cerebellum. 2. over time (days or weeks), these elements are "bound together" or consolidated in the hippocampus. 3. after consolidation, the components are stored across far- reaching networks throughout the cortex. 4. the different elements are latter retrieved as a single, unified memory.
associative networks
A newer model of how our memory is organized is known as ----- These networks are thought to contain clusters of conceptually linked information, which is often accessed by a process known as spreading activation.
----
Although long-term memories are not stored in the hippocampus, this brain area is vital for facilitating their consolidation and storage.
short-term memory
An update on this theory says that ---- is more like working memory, or a mental work-space that coordinates the processing and transmission of information.
Anterograde amnesia:
Anterograde amnesia:
Working memory
(located in the frontal cortex) is thought to play an important role, in the sense that stimuli are first processed there and later brought back to working memory when it's time for retrieval.
Long-term memory
----- is now thought to have three separate modules. These are procedural memory, semantic memory, and episodic memory. Semantic and episodic memory are both part of declarative memory.
Chunking and elaborative or maintenance rehearsal
------ are two methods that can increase the limited capacity of short-term memory.
Memory
------ is one of the most studied topics in psychological research. ----- is important not only for learning, but for functioning in everyday life. Without ------, we couldn't make friends, hold jobs, or perform everyday tasks.
------
If sensory memory is so fleeting, how do scientists even know it exists? How do they know how long an incoming stimulus can be stored there? Much light was shed on this question through an ingenious memory experiment devised by psychologist George Sperling in 1960.
(for 15-25 seconds)
In the three-stage model of memory, the sensory register receives incoming sensory input; short-term memory processes it and holds it briefly------ , and long-term memory stores the information indefinitely.
------
Neither Lashley nor other researchers ever found the engram, but today much more is known about where memories are stored and which parts of the brain play a role in these processes. Lashley was trying to find one specific region where memories are kept, but today, scientists know (as Lashley suspected) that a number of brain regions assist with memory encoding, consolidation, and storage.
1.Sensory memory 2.Short-term memory 3.Long-term memory
One of the longest running theories about how our memory works is the three-stage model. With this theory, the three systems of memory (or information processing) are the encoding function, storage, and retrieval. The three stages are:
There are two types of interference that can make you forget:
Proactive interference and
Decay theory Interference theory Reconstruction (schema) theory Motivated forgetting (or repression)
Psychologists also like to study why we forget. There are four main theories of forgetting:
There are three main ways of testing memory retrieval:
Recall; recognition;relearning
------
Recent research (Nyberg et al., 2002; Tulving, 2002) has provided some evidence that our long-term memory is made up of several separate but interacting systems or modules, each containing different types of memory. The diagram that follows shows the basic structure of these memory modules.
What is the biological basis of memory? What happens when a memory is made? Where in the brain are memories located?
Scientists have been trying to answer these questions for a long time. Karl Lashley, an early memory researcher, spent decades trying to find what he called the engram-the physical record of memory in the brain.
Most people have experienced what is called the "tip-of-the-tongue" phenomenon
That's when you know that a specific piece of information—such as someone's name or a vocabulary word—is "in there," but you can't access it.
various parts of the cortex as well as the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the cerebellum. The thalamus also has an as yet unknown role.
The biological basis of memory is another focus of research. A number of brain regions play a part in encoding, consolidating, and storing long-term memories. These include:--------
Brain Regions Involved in Memory
The encoding and storage of memories is complex. While the process is still not fully understood, scientists know that several regions of the brain play important roles in memory formation and consolidation. The most important areas are the cortex (various regions) and the hippocampus, with supporting roles played by the thalamus, amygdala, and cerebellum
----
The level at which information is initially processed can make a difference in how well it is remembered. Deeper processing, which involves thinking about the meaning of information, helps to retain information better than shallow processing.
Sensory memory (or sensory register) Short-term (or working) memory Long-term memory
The three stages of memory under this model can be thought of as subsystems, registers, or levels. These are not necessarily physical places, but simply terms for the working parts of memory. The three stages are:
long-term memory
The vast store of information in------ often makes retrieval difficult. School exams are often essentially memory tests that come in two basic forms: recall or recognition. Recall is more difficult than recognition, and is therefore a stricter test of memory.
Motivated Forgetting (Repression)
This goes back to Freud's observation that patients would suddenly remember traumatic events that had appeared to be long forgotten. His theory was that these events were too upsetting (or guilt-inducing) to bear thinking about, and so they would be pushed into the unconscious mind.
Importance of the Hippocampus
This is known through studies of people who have suffered damage in this area. Particularly famous is the case of H.M., whose hippocampus and surrounding tissue was surgically removed in a last-ditch attempt to reduce his severe epileptic seizures. As a result, H.M. completely lost the ability to form new long-term memories, a condition known as anterograde amnesia. H.M. still had the use of his short-term memory, and could retrieve long-term memories formed before his surgery. But he could not remember what he had learned the day before, or a person he had met that morning. Anterograde amnesia: Anterograde amnesia: Anterograde amnesia: A memory disorder that prevents a person from forming new long-term memories.
Decay Theory
This is one of the earliest theories of forgetting. This theory states that if new memories create physical traces in the brain, then those traces can fade with time and lack of use.
short-term memory
This model again relies on information-processing concepts, viewing working memory as having a central executive that coordinates transmissions to and from three distinct systems.
Craik & Lockhart (1972)
This theory takes a new slant on the three-stage model of memory, asserting that short-term and long-term memory are not really separate stages, but different levels of the same system. In this view, the more deeply new information is processed, the more easily it will be recalled later.
Decay Theory
This theory was discredited for a long time due to the inability of researchers to identify, locate, or measure physical memory traces. Recently, however, there has been some renewed interest in this theory, due to rapid advances in brain imaging and research.
maintenance rehearsal, or simple rote repetition
Through this method, your memory can hold onto the information a little longer, so long as you continue to repeat it. If something distracts you, however, the information will usually be lost.
-------
We mentioned George Miller's "magic number" (as he called it) of 7 + unrelated bits of information that can be retained in short-term memory. The word unrelated is an important one here. The information capacity of short-term memory can be increased by breaking it into chunks.
three-stage model
We mentioned that the------of memory is based on an information-processing metaphor. The model was developed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968) and later modified. According to this model, memory works like this: Storage: information is saved here for future use, like the stuff save of a computer; Retrieval: this information can be accessed for reuse, like pulling up a file. Encoding function: this represents input into the system such as typing and entering information by keyboard.
short-term memory
When the three-stage model of memory was originally proposed,----- was thought of as simply a way station, or temporary holding area, between sensory memory and long-term memory. The new concept of working memory gives this memory stage a more active role.
Alzheimer's disease is
a tragic memory disorder that affects one-fifth of those between the ages of 75 and 84, and nearly half of those 85 and older in the United States. It is characterized by progressive memory loss that starts with minor matters and can end up with loss of ability to do routine tasks, and sometimes even loss of language comprehension and ability to speak.
Sensory memory
actually contains subsystems for the different senses. For visual images, there is iconic memory, for sounds there is echoic memory, and so on.
Memory devices called mnemonics (pronounced neh-MON-ix)
are one type of elaborative rehearsal. They often involve silly tricks, such as making up little poems or acronyms, but it is often worth the effort, because they work.