Memory

Chapter 7

S
Reconstructing the Past

S
 Reconstructing the
past

Memory

The capacity to retain and retrieve information, and also the

structures that account for this capacity
 The manufacture of
memory

Memory is a reconstructive process.

We alter memories so that they make sense of the material,

based on what we already know.
This can lead to memory errors.
 Flashbulb memories

Some exhilarating, shocking, or

tragic events hold a special
place in memory.

Called flashbulb memories

because of their surprise,
illumination, and photographic
detail

Even flashbulb memories have

errors.
 Explicit memory

Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or item

of information

Recall: The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory

previously encountered material

Recognition: The ability to identify previously encountered

material
 What do you know?

When you take a multiple-choice exam,

which type of explicit memory do you use?
A. Recall

B. Recognition
 Implicit memory

S Unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced

by the effect of a previous experience or
previously encountered information on current
thoughts or actions
How Memory Works

S
Three-box model of
memory
 Sensory register

A memory system that momentarily preserves

extremely accurate images of sensory information
Information that is not quickly passed to short-term
memory is gone forever.
 Short-term memory

A limited capacity memory system involved in

the retention of information for brief periods
Also used to hold information retrieved from
long-term memory for temporary use
Working memory
A complex form of short-term memory that involves active
mental processes that control retrieval of information from
long-term memory and interpret that information
appropriately for a given task
 Short-term memory

Chunk
Meaningful unit of information that may be composed of
smaller units
PBSFOXCNNABCCBSMTVNBC
The prior example in chunks:

PBS FOX CNN ABC CBS MTV NBC

 Long-term memory

The memory system involved in the long-term storage

of information

One way information is organized is in semantic

categories (e.g., animals).
Types of long-term
memories
 Your turn

What kind of memory is your memory for

the fact that the earth is round?
1. Procedural memory

2. Semantic memory

3. Episodic memory

4. Flashbulb memory
Contents of long-term
memory

Procedural memories
Memories for performance of actions or skills
“Knowing how”
Declarative memories
Memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events
“Knowing that”
Include semantic and episodic memories
Contents of long-term
memory

Semantic memories

Memories of general knowledge, including facts, rules,

concepts, and propositions

Episodic memories

Memories of personally experienced events and the

contexts in which they occurred
 Serial-position effect

S The tendency for recall of first and last items on

a list to surpass recall of items in the middle of
the list
• The primacy effect – improved recall for items at the
beginning of a list
• The recency effect – improved recall for items at the end of
a list
 Your turn

You are asked to recall the following list of letters:

Z, S, E, R, F, V, B, H, U, I, K, M, N, G, B, F, O
Which letters are you most likely to remember in long-term
memory?
1. Z, S, E, R

2. F, V, B, H

3. U, I, K, M

4. K, M, N, O
How we Remember

S
 Rehearsal

Maintenance rehearsal
Rote repetition of material in order
to maintain its availability in
memory

Elaborative rehearsal
Association of new information with
already stored knowledge and
analysis of the new information to
make it memorable
 Which is correct?

Andrea needs to learn the material for her next

Introductory Psychology test. As she reads the
concepts in the book, she associates them with
the knowledge she has accrued from listening
to her professor’s lectures. This describes:
A. Maintenance rehearsal

B. Elaborative rehearsal
 Deep processing

In the encoding of information, the processing of

meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory
features of a stimulus

Read, Recite, Review

An active process that has been shown to enhance
study efforts and help with longer-term retention of
material
How to remember
better
 Mnemonics

Strategies and tricks for improving memory, such

as use of a verse or a formula
Why we Forget

S
 Why we forget

Forgetting is adaptive.

We need to forget some things if we wish to

remember efficiently. Other information, we may
actively wish to forget!
 Decay theory

The theory that information in

memory eventually disappears if
it is not accessed

Applies more to short-term than

long-term memory
 Replacement

The theory that new information

entering memory can wipe out old
information
 Interference

S Similar items interfere

with one another.
S Retroactive interference: forgetting
that occurs when recently learned
material interferes with the ability
to remember similar material
stored previously
S Proactive interference: forgetting that
occurs when previously stored
material interferes with the ability
to remember similar, more recently
learned material
 What do you think?

There is no such thing as a repressed

memory. Recovered memories of traumatic
events are the result of therapeutic
manipulation.
A. True

B. False
 The repression
controversy

Repression
In psychoanalytic theory, the selective, involuntary pushing of threatening
or upsetting information into the unconscious

Individuals are more likely to struggle with

forgetting traumatic events.
It is hard to distinguish repression from other
forms of forgetting.
 When should we
question recovered
memories?

If a person claims to have memories from the first year or

two of life

If over time the memories become more and more implausible

If memories recovered seem to coincide with cases of

recovered memories in the news

If therapist used suggestive techniques such as hypnosis,

dream analysis, age regression, guided imagery, or leading
questions
Autobiographical
Memory

S
 What do you think?

Jonathan tells you that he distinctly

remembers his parents reading to him when
he was six months old. Do you think this is
an accurate memory?
A. Yes

B. No
 Childhood amnesia

The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first
two or three years of life

Brain development

Certain parts of the brain associated with memory may not be adequately developed in young children.

Cognitive development

Absence of an adequate self-concept and underdeveloped cognitive schemas

Social development

Preschoolers do not understand the conventions of reporting experiences or focusing on details important to others.