Psychology: Memory

mnemonic:

A device for improving memory.

acronym: A word composed of the first letters of a series of words.

acrostic: A verse or saying in which the first or last letter of each word stands for something else.

Sayings & Rhymes can be used as a mnemonic for remembering specific information.

Memory

 Memory is the system by which we retain information and bring it to mind. 

Many psychologists conceptualize human memory as a type of information processing system that has three basic processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Encoding: The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory.

• We encode information acoustically by converting auditory signals into strings of recognizable sounds. 
• Encoding information semantically—by meaning—involves transforming sounds and visual images into meaningful words
• Encoding visually involves picturing a mental image of the information to be obtained. 

Memory storage: the process of retaining information in memory.

• Maintenance rehearsal: mental repetition of information to keep it in memory
• Elaborative rehearsal: the kind of coding in which new information is related to information that is already known
• automatic processing: the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words.
• effortful processing is just as the name implies; learning or storing or encoding that requires attention and effort.

Memory retrieval: the process of accessing stored information to make it available to consciousness.

Explicit memory: the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts. 

Episodic memory: is a person's unique memory of a specific event, so it will be different from someone else's recollection of the same experience

Implicit memory: uses past experiences to remember things without thinking about them.

Retrospective memory: is the memory of people, words, and events encountered or experienced in the past

Prospective memory: is a form of memory that involves remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time.

Semantic memory: refers to general world knowledge that we have accumulated throughout our lives. 

Memory Stages

The three-stage model of memory proposes three stages of memory organized around the length of time that information is held in memory: sensory memory, shortterm memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

The storage system that holds memory of sensory impressions for a very short time. 

memory trace: a theoretical means by which memories are physically stored in the brain

sensory register: A temporary storage device for holding sensory memories. 

icons:

iconic memory: A sensory store for holding a mental representation of a visual image for a fraction of a second.

eidetic imagery:  A lingering mental representation of a visual image commonly called photographic memory. 

echoic memory:  A sensory store for holding a mental representation of a sound for a few seconds after it registers in the ears. 

Short-Term memory

 The memory subsystem that allows for retention and processing of newly acquired information for a maximum of about 30 seconds also called working memory. It relies on both visual and acoustic coding, but mostly on acoustic coding.

Serial-position effect:

chunking: The process of enhancing retention of a large amount of information by breaking it down into smaller, more easily recalled chunks.

Interference:

Long-Term Memory

The memory subsystem responsible for long-term storage of information. Long-term memory depends more on semantic coding, or coding by meaning

Consolidation: is the process by which the brain converts unstable, fresh memories into stable, long-term memories. 

Elaborative rehearsal: The process of strengthening new memories by forming meaningful associations between the information and existing memories or knowledge. 

Semantic network model: A representation of the organizational structure of long-term memory in terms of a network of associated concepts. 

levels-of-processing theory: The belief that how well or how long information is remembered depends on the depth of encoding or processing.

Flashbulb memories:  Enduring memories of emotionally charged events that seem permanently seared into the brain. 

Types of Long term memory

declarative memory: Memory of facts and personal information that requires a conscious effort to bring to mind (also called explicit memory).

semantic memory: Memory of facts and general information about the world.

episodic memory: Memory of personal experiences.

retrospective memory: Memory of past experiences or events and previously acquired information.

prospective memory: Memory of things one plans to do in the future.

procedural memory: Memory of how to do things that require motor or performance skills.

implicit memory: Memory accessed without conscious effort.

explicit memory: Memory accessed through conscious effort. 

Theory of memory

constructionist theory: A theory that holds that memory is not a replica of the past but a representation, or reconstruction, of the past.

memories can be distorted

misinformation effect: A form of memory distortion that affects eyewitness testimony and that is caused by misinformation provided during the retention interval.
 

Forgetting

decay theory: A theory of forgetting that posits that memories consist of traces laid down in the brain that gradually deteriorate and fade away over time (also called trace theory).

•  bolstered by early experimental studies conducted by one of the founders of experimental psychology, Hermann Ebbinghaus. He tested himself to see if he could remember nonsense syllables which are a combination of letters that don’t spell out anything.
•  Ebbinghaus forgetting Curve: Ebbinghaus showed that forgetting occurs most rapidly shortly after learning and then gradually declines over time.
   

savings method: A method of testing memory retention by comparing the numbers of trials needed to learn material with the number of trials needed to relearn the material at a later time.

massed versus spaced practice effect: The tendency for retention of learned material to be greater with spaced practice than with massed practice.

interference theory: The belief that forgetting is the result of the interference of memories with each other.

Two forms of interference

• retroactive interference: A form of interference in which newly acquired information interferes with retention of material learned earlier.
• proactive interference: A form of interference in which material learned earlier interferes with retention of newly acquired information. 

overlearning: Practice repeated beyond the point necessary to reproduce material without error.

serial position effect: The tendency to recall items at the start or end of a list better than items in the middle of a list.

primacy effect: The tendency to recall items better when they are learned first.

recency effect: The tendency to recall items better when they are learned last. 

Retrieval theory: The belief that forgetting is the result of a failure to access stored memories.

•  We tend to encode only as much information as we need to know
• Events that stand out tend to be better remembered as well as events that occur irregularly.

tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon:  An experience in which people are sure they know something but cannot seem to bring it to mind.

repression: In Freudian theory, a type of defense mechanism involving motivated forgetting of anxiety-evoking material.

Recall Tasks

• free recall: A type of recall task in which individuals are asked to recall as much information as they can about a particular topic in any order.
• serial recall task: asked to recall a series of items or numbers in a particular order.
• paired-associates recall: asked to memorize pairs of items, such as pairs of unrelated words. You are then presented with one item in each pair, and asked to recall the item with which it was paired with. 

recognition task: A method of measuring memory retention that assesses the ability to select the correct answer from among a range of alternative answers. 

Motivated Forgetting: Memories hidden from awareness

Memory Construction and Reconstruction

construction: The formulation of new memories  

reconstruction: the process of bringing up old memories

Suggestibility describes the effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories

misinformation effect paradigm holds that after exposure to incorrect information, a person may misremember the original event.

false memory syndrome: Recall of false autobiographical memories

Forgetting: refers to loss of information from long-term memory

• Psychologist Daniel Schacter, a well-known memory researcher, offers seven ways our memories fail us. He calls them the seven sins of memory and categorizes them into three groups: forgetting, distortion, and intrusion

Loss of Memory Disorders

Amnesia: the loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma

Retrograde amnesia: Loss of memory of past events.

Anterograde amnesia: Loss or impairment of the ability to form or store new memories.

dissociative amnesia: A psychologically based form of amnesia involving the “splitting off” from memory of traumatic or troubling experiences.
 

Biology of Memory

neuronal networks: Memory circuits in the brain that consist of complicated networks of nerve cells.

The hippocampus; a seahorse-shaped structure in the forebrain, is essential to forming memories of facts and general information and life experiences

• temporary storage bin for holding new memories

The amygdala plays an important part in encoding emotional experiences, such as fear and anger

Eric Kandel

• a molecular biologist and Nobel Prize winner,
• Research performed on Aplysia represented a major step forward in unraveling the biological bases of memory

long-term potentiation (LTP): The longterm strengthening of neural connections as the result of repeated stimulation.

Genetic Bases of Memory 

Conversion of short-term memory to long-term memory depends on brain proteins whose production is regulated by certain genes. Advances in genetic engineering show that it is possible to enhance learning and memory ability in nonhuman organisms by genetic manipulation.