2 10 Overview Reconstructing the past The power of suggestion In pursuit of memoryThe three-box modelHow we rememberWhy we forgetAutobiographical memories
3 The manufacture of memory 10The manufacture of memoryMemory is the capacity to retain and retrieve information.Memory is a reconstructive process.Source misattributionThe inability to distinguish what you originally experienced from what you heard or were told later about an event
4 10The fading flashbulbSome unusual, shocking, or tragic events hold a special place in memory.Called flashbulb memories because of their surprise, illumination, and photographic detailEven flashbulb memories have errors.
5 Conditions of confabulation 10Conditions of confabulationConfabulationConfusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to youA belief that you remember something when it never actually happenedConfabulation is most likely when. . .you have thought or heard about the event many times.the image of the event contains many details.the event is easy to imagine.
6 The eyewitness on trial 10The eyewitness on trialEyewitnesses are not always reliableFactors influencing accuracyCross race identificationQuestion wording (e.g., “crashed” vs “hit”)Misleading information
7 10Children’s testimonyUnder what conditions are children more suggestible?When they are very youngWhen interviewers’ expectations are clearWhen other children’s memories for events are accessible
8 10Children’s testimonyWhen asked if a visitor committed acts that had not occurred, few 4–6 year olds said yes.100% of 3-year olds said yes.When investigators used techniques taken from real child-abuse investigations, most children said yes.
9 10Explicit memoryConscious, intentional recollection of an event or item of information.Recall: The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously learned materialRecognition: The ability to identify previously encountered material
10 10Implicit memoryUnconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered information on current thoughts or actions.
11 10PrimingA person reads or listens to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects performance on another type of task.
12 10RelearningCompares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material.
13 Parallel distributed processing (PDP) 10Parallel distributed processing (PDP)Model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operating in parallel
14 Three-box model of memory 10Three-box model of memory
15 10Sensory memoryA memory system that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory informationPattern recognitionThe identification of a stimulus on the basis of information already contained in long-term memoryInformation that is not quickly passed to short-term memory is gone forever.
16 10Short-term memoryA limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief periodsAlso used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary useWorking memoryA memory system which includes STM and mental processes that control retrieval of information from LT memory and interpret that information appropriately for a given taskChunkMeaningful unit of information which may be composed of smaller units
17 10The value of chunkingYou have 5 seconds to memorize as much as you can.Then draw an empty chess boards and reproduce the arrangement of the pieces.
18 10Long-term memoryThe memory system involved in the long-term storage of informationOne way information is organized is in semantic categories (e.g., animals).
20 Types of long-term memories 10Types of long-term memories
21 10Your turnWhat kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round?1. Procedural memory2. Semantic memory3. Episodic memory4. Flashbulb memory
22 10Your turnWhat kind of memory is your memory for the fact that the earth is round?1. Procedural memory2. Semantic memory3. Episodic memory4. Flashbulb memory
23 Contents of long-term memory 10Contents of long-term memoryProcedural memoriesMemories for performance of actions or skills“Knowing how”Declarative memoriesMemories of facts, rules, concepts, and events; includes semantic and episodic memory“Knowing that”
24 Contents of long-term memory 10Contents of long-term memorySemantic memoriesGeneral knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositionsEpisodic memoriesPersonally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred
25 Serial-position effect 10Serial-position effectThe tendency for recall of first and last items on a list to surpass recall of items in the middle of the list
26 10 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, OWhich letters are you most likely to remember in long-term memory?1. Z, S, E, R2. F, V, B, H3. U, I, K, M4. G, B, F, O
27 10 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, OWhich letters are you most likely to remember in long-term memory?1. Z, S, E, R2. F, V, B, H3. U, I, K, M4. G, B, F, O
28 10The biology of memoryForming a memory involves chemical and structural changes at the level of neurons.In short-term memory, changes within neurons temporarily alter the neurons’ ability to release neurotransmitters.In long-term memory, long-term potentiation, a long-lasting increase in the strength of synaptic responsiveness, occurs.Most researchers believe this is the process underlying learning and memory, yet exact biochemical changes still debated.
29 Brain areas involved in memory 10Brain areas involved in memory
30 10ConsolidationThe process by which a long-term memory becomes durable and stable
31 10 Locating memories New brain imaging and testing shows that: During short-term memory tasks, areas of the frontal lobes show activity.During long-term memory tasks, the hippocampus shows activity.During encoding of pictures and words, the prefrontal cortex and areas adjacent to the hippocampus show activity.Procedural memories involve specific changes to the cerebellum.The formation of long-term memories involves the cerebral cortex.
32 10Hormones and memoryHormones released by the adrenal glands enhance memory.One of these, epinephrine, may modulate the level of glucose in the bloodstream.Memory formation may also be affected by the amount of glucose available in the brain.
33 10RehearsalMaintenance rehearsal: rote repetition of material in order to maintain its availability in memoryElaborative rehearsal: association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information to make it memorable
34 10Deep processingIn the encoding of information, the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus
35 10MnemonicsStrategies and tricks for improving memory, such as use of a verse or a formulaMDASROYGBIVThirty days hath September. . .
36 10Decay theoryThe theory that information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessedApplies more to short-term than long-term memory
37 10Forgetting curveHerman Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables.Forgetting was rapid at first and then tapered off.
38 Linton’s forgetting curve 10Linton’s forgetting curveIn contrast to Ebbinghaus, Linton’s memory for personal events was retained over a period of several years and then decreased rapidly.
39 10ReplacementThe theory that new information entering memory can wipe out old informationIn one study, researchers showed subjects slides of a traffic accident.The experimental group was misled into thinking there was a stop sign instead of a yield sign.Even after being debriefed on the purpose of the study, subjects insisted that they really saw the stop sign.The new information which came from the researchers replaced what the subjects saw.
40 10 Interference Similar items interfere with one another. Retroactive interference: forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previouslyProactive interference: forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar, more recently learned material
41 Cue-dependent forgetting 10Cue-dependent forgettingThe inability to retrieve information stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recallPhysical state can be a memory cueState-dependent memory: the tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning
42 Mood-congruent memory 10Mood-congruent memoryThe tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not.
43 10AmnesiaThe partial or complete loss of memory of important personal informationPsychogenic amnesia: the causes of forgetting are psychological, such as the need to escape feelings of embarrassment, guilt, shame, disappointmentTraumatic amnesia: the forgetting of specific traumatic events, sometimes for many years
44 The repression controversy 10The repression controversyRepression: in psychoanalytic theory, the selective, involuntary pushing or threatening of upsetting information into the unconsciousIndividuals are more likely to struggle with forgetting traumatic events.It is hard to distinguish repression from other forms of forgetting.
45 When should we question recovered memories? 10When should we question recovered memories?If a person claims memories of first year or two of lifeIf over time the memories become more and more implausibleIf therapist used suggestive techniques such as hypnosis, dream analysis, age regression, guided imagery, or leading questions
46 10Childhood amnesiaThe inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two or three years of lifeCognitive explanations:Lack of sense of selfImpoverished encodingA focus on the routineDifferent ways of thinking about the world