Close your eyes….What is the first memory you can think of?

Introduction to Memory

The Human Brain and the Computer work in three basic steps• Encoding- getting

information into the memory system

• Storage- retaining information over time

• Retrieval- getting information out of storage

Information-Processing Model

Automatic and Effortful Processing

• Automatic Processing- unconscious process of capturing, or encoding, information.

• Ex. (fire, threats)• Effortful Processing-

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

• Ex. (rehearsal)- practice; effective way of mastering information

Herman Ebbinghaus

• Father of memory research; found out that practice indeed makes perfect

• He simply found that as rehearsal increases, relearning time decreases

• Believed in over learning- continuing to rehearse even after something has been committed to memory

Serial Position Effect

• Serial Position Effect- the tendency to recall the first and last items on a list.

• Example- You go out and Friday night and meet 12 people from Niles North. You are much more likely to remember the people you met first and last.

Primacy and Recency Effect

• Primacy Effect- enhances the ability to remember items near the beginning of a list.

• Recency Effect- enhances our ability to recall items near the end of a list.

3 Random memory tips

• The more time you invest in rehearsing, the more effective your memory will be.

• Continue to rehearse academic information even after you think you have mastered it.

• Devote extra rehearsal time to the middle of lists you must memorize

Spacing Effect

• The spacing effect shows that distributed rehearsal or spread out sessions work far more superior than cramming.

Encoding Meaning

• Semantic Encoding- the most effective option to make material meaningful.

• Ebbinghaus concluded it was 10 times harder to learn nonsense syllables than meaningful material.

Advantages of Semantic Encoding

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1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

Semantic

Acoustic

Visual

The Power of Images

Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices- term for memory tricks

Tell me the planets from the sun using this

M, V, E, M, J , S, U, N, P

Two effective ways of Organizing Information

• Chunking- organizing information into meaningful units

• Hierarchy- organizational systems that focus on relationships between pieces of information.

• 17761812186119171941196319862001

• 1776, 1812, 1861, 1917, 1941, 1963, 1986, 2001

4 more Random memory tips

• Benefit from the spacing effect- Study a little bit each day

• Self- reference effect- add meaning to material to relate it to your own life

• Use mnemonic devices- memory tricks create vivid images that are less likely to be forgotten

• Chunk material- Encoding is far easier if the information is organized

What is storage?

• Storage is the retention of information.

• We have three types of permanent memories?

• 1- sensory• 2 STM• 3 LTM

What is sensory memory? • Input that you are being

bombarded with (windows, people, facial features, clothes, jewelry, etc.) That’s just what you see

• Same thing works for what we hear……

• So what is sensory memory? A way of encoding just long enough to determine its importance

• Visual info- less than a half a second

• Auditory info- can be held on for 3 seconds

• Example- What did I just say?

Short Term Memory

• More permanent than sensory memory

• 7 plus or minus two

• Average person can hold between 5-9 pieces of info in STM

• How do we keep it here? Rehearsal

• Example (Name game) Can I have a volunteer please?

Long Term Memory

• LTM- represents the vast, amazing memory storehouse that can hold memories without conscious effort.

• Examples- What your zip code?

• What’s your English teachers name?

• Where were you on New Year’s eve?

• Why do you know them? Meaning to you or rehearsal

• LTM- expansive; can last 100 years

Flashbulb Memories

• Flashbulb memories- a clear vivid memory of a significant, emotional events

• Examples- Challenger disaster, graduating from college, Sept 11th

Memory and the Brain

• Our brain builds our memories, just as you would assemble a jigsaw puzzle. When pieces are missing, we invent new ones. This makes some of our memories accurate while others are way off

Stress and Memory

• Stressful events such as car accidents, stimulate the release of stress hormones that enhance the formation of memories. So, when I got into a car accident in High School, I remember this vividly. These memories make us make better decisions such as defensive driving in the future.

Explicit and Implicit Memories

• Explicit memories- memory of facts and experiences that one must consciously retrieve and declare

• Implicit Memories- memory of skills and procedures, like how to walk or ride a bike

2 Forms of Memory Retrieval

• So how do we get the info back out? Retrieval, Recognition

• Recall- a measure of memory in which you must retrieve the information. Example- fill in the blank test or essay exam

• Recognition- measure of memory in which you must identify items you learned earlier

Context Effect

• Context Effect- enhanced ability to retrieve information more effectively when you are in an environment similar to the one in which you needed the information. Why? Environment provides clues

• Ideally, where should you study for the exam on Friday in this class?

State Dependent Memory

• The enhanced ability to retrieve information where you are in the same physical emotional state you were in when you encoded the information.

• Memories are mood congruent

Examples of Test Questions• Sammy Sosa is the

president of the Spanish club, and he will be introducing the exchange students from Spain at a party tonight. He has been studying the list of names, but he still can’t remember the five names in the middle of the list. Sammy is suffering from

• A. overlearning• B. the self reference effect• C. spacing effect• D. the serial position effect

• Carlton Banks has a midterm math test Monday, and he’s been studying for it all semester. He’s sure he knows all the material that will be on the test, but he’s determined to continue reviewing his math notes and textbooks each day between now and the test. Carlton is using the encoding technique known as

• A. cramming• B. over learning• C. the recency effect• D. automatic processing

Examples of Test Questions

• Russ Feingold has had a me-me-me day. In English, he remembered the meaning of “autobiography” by thinking about what he would say in his own life history. In psychology, he decided he would play the piano better if he rehearsed it daily, instead of only on Saturday mornings before her piano lesson. Russ is using

• A. the self reference effect to remember information from his classes.

• B. the recency effect to prime his memory• C. massed rehearsal to be the most successful student

in school• D. automatic processing so that he won’t have to spend

time doing homework