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Psych 101
Dr. Harvey
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:
• any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;
• preparation of any derivative work, including extraction, in whole or in part, of any images;
• any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
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Memory: Living with Yesterday
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Fundamental Memory Processes
EncodingOrganizing and transforming incoming
information to be entered into memory Storage
Retaining information in memoryRetrieval
Accessing information previously stored in memoryRehearsal
The continued activation of information to retain it in short-term memory
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Different Memory Stores
We have three different memory stores, or sets of neurons that maintain information
Each memory store has a different…Duration: the length of time information is
maintainedCapacity: the amount of information that is
maintained
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Different Memory Stores
Fundamental distinctions among memory stores
SensoryMemory
Short-TermMemory
Long-TermMemory
Rehearsal
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Sensory Memory
Very short memory store arising from the temporary activation of perceptual areas of the brain
CharacteristicsDuration: Very short, typically less than 1 secondCapacity: Large
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Sensory MemorySperling’s partial
report technique: a tone indicated which row to report after the stimuli disappearedHigh tone = TopMedium tone =
MiddleLow tone= Bottom
Z R A TB S L DQ E K R
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Sensory MemorySperling’s partial report technique
ConclusionsLarge-capacity memory store that fades very
quickly Information must be accessed before it fades or it
is lostAttention is necessary to move information from
SM to STM
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Short-Term MemoryShort-term memory store is the only memory
store whose contents you are aware of
CharacteristicsDuration: Several seconds without rehearsal, typically
30 seconds with rehearsalCapacity: Small, typically 5-9 items
Processes in STMChunkingRehearsal
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Working Memory (WM)
WM was proposed to address the limitations of the original STM model
Three components of WMCentral executive Articulatory loopVisuospatial sketch pad (VSSP)
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Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory store containing the accumulated knowledge base, gives meaning
CharacteristicsDuration: Hours to yearsCapacity: Huge-possibly limitless
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Serial Position EffectP
erce
nta
ge R
ecal
led
100
0
50
Serial Position
Early Middle Late
PrimacyEffect
RecencyEffect
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Serial Position EffectBased on what you now know about the different
memory stores, how would you explain…The primacy effect?The recency effect?The poor recall for words in the middle of the list?
How would the results change if…The words were presented at a very fast rate?After hearing the list of words, you had to count
backward from 431 before writing down your answers?
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Making Memories: Code
A code is a type of mental representation, an internal “re-presentation” of a stimulus or event
You can store information in a visual or verbal code
vs. “Coffee and a muffin”
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Making Memories: Code
Information stored as one type of code does not need to match the original input Visual stimuli can be coded verballyVerbal stimuli can be coded visually
Information stored and accessed as visual code will activate the visual processing areas of the brain (occipital lobe)
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Consolidation
The process of forming a relatively permanent memory trace in LTM may take several years!Patients who receive electroconvulsive
therapy experience disruption of memory for recent events, even those that are no longer in STM. Older memories are unaffected.
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Reconsolidation
The simple act of recalling information can change the information. These changes are reconsolidated, restabilized as a stored structure.Different proteins undergo consolidation
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Depth of Processing
The success of learning new information depends upon the depth at which it is processed
Organization and integration is the key to learningIntentional learningIncidental learning
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Flashbulb Memories
Highly emotional and detailed memories of personal experiencesWhere were you on September 11,
2001?Who were you with?What were you doing?How did you feel when you heard the
news?Sugar pill vs. Noradrenaline blocker
experimentVon Restorf effect
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Types of LTM
Long-Term Memory
Implicit Memory
Explicit Memory
Semantic Memory
Episodic Memory
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Implicit vs. Explicit Memories
Implicit memoriesCannot be voluntarily called to mind and verbalizedInclude motor skills
Explicit memoriesCan be voluntarily called to mind and verbalizedConsist of both factual knowledge (semantic) and
memory for personal experiences (episodic)
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Implicit Memories: Skills
Skills are sets of behaviors that can be applied to a variety of stimuli within a domain, such as riding a bike
Initially, skills rely on controlled processing and given enough practice shift to rely on automatic processing
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Biological Foundations of Memory
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the strengthening of the connections between the sending and receiving neurons that underlies memory storage
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Retrieval: More Than the Past
False memoriesLoftus and colleagues (1978)
People watched a series of slides that showed a red Datsun stopping at a stop sign and then proceeding into an accident
Participants were asked “Did another car pass the red Datsun while it was
stopped at the stop sign?” OR “Did another car pass the red Datsun while it was
stopped at the yield sign?”
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What Causes Forgetting? Decay
Theory that memories fade over time because relevant connections between neurons are lost
InterferencesTheory that the disruption of the ability to remember
one piece of information is caused by the presence of other information
Retroactive: New information interferes with oldProactive: Old information interferes with new
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Amnesia
Retrograde amnesia disrupts previous memories Infantile amnesia
Anterograde amnesia leaves already consolidated memories intact but prevents the learning of new facts Patient H.M.
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The Repressed Memory Debate
Are they real memories that are forced out of consciousness and then later emerge, as hypothesized by Freud, or are they false memories?
Evidence is mixed