Do you have a good memory?

Do you have a good memory?

Process of memory • Encoding – must be able to encode info properly – otherwise – why bother? • You must store it correctly – or – why bother? • You can develop better ways to retrieve what is already there

Encoding • Role of attention – obviously important if we want to actively encode and store info • Sometimes we don’t realize what we are attending to, which is why we can’t recall it (although, interestingly, it does tend to show up in dreams)

Levels of Processing • Shallow vs. Deep Processing • Shallow – maintenance rehearsal • Deep – elaborative rehearsal

Levels of processing • structural encoding (emphasis on something looks) is a shallow level • phonemic encoding (emphasis on the sounds of the words) is an intermediate level • semantic encoding (emphasis on the meaning) is considered deep processing

How to encode better…. • elaboration=associating with other information • visual imagery • Mnemonic devices • self-referent: make the material personally relevant • Method of Loci - pegword

Types of memory • Sensory – lasts less than 1 second – you take in so much stimuli that it is virtually impossible to process it all

Sensory Memory • Iconic vs. Echoic • Iconic - holds image of what we see for less than a second • Echoic – holds image of what we hear for 3 to 4 seconds

Short-term memory • The capacity of short-term memory depends upon chunks of info – that is we can hold 7 +2 chunks of info • Information is held for about 20 seconds • What is a chunk?

Short-term memory cont’d • Serial position effect – the tendency to remember the first and last part of list but forget the middle part • Primacy effect – tendency to recall only 1st part of list • Recency effect – tendency to recall only last part of list

Working Memory • Part of short-term memory • Works to actively move information from short-term to long-term memory • Rehearsal loop, elaboration

Long-term memory Permanent or not? May be poor retrieval skills Flashbulb memories – accurate or not?

Long-term memory • Types of memories – • Episodic – personal memories • Semantic – facts/knowledge • Procedural – how to do things

Long-term memory • Explicit vs. Implicit • Explicit – memory that we are consciously aware of – can describe the memory • Implicit – memory which not conscious and have difficulty describing because we do it so frequently

Context-dependent vs. State Dependent • Context-dependent – remembering best in similar situations • State-dependent – remember best in the same mood as when you learned material

Ahhh – the repressed memory • No one knows for sure how accurate they are • It appears that there are many things that may be added in that may have actually happened, but not at that time • Questions about sexual abuse allegations

Witnesses who truly believe that they are correct may appear convincing, but they appear to be as accurate as someone who is not sure of themselves • Juries like witnesses who appear to be sure of themselves • Often, the witness may have the general context right, but the details are often wrong

Freud and forgetting • Freud discussed the concept of motivated forgetting • that is, a person will forget what has happened to them because they don’t want to think about what has happened to them

Elizabeth Loftus and Memory • Has demonstrated that eyewitness memory may be more distorted than we would like to think • Studies have revealed that subjects can be lead to an answer • Some say this new info may replace old info, others say it simply interferes with recall of old info – either way, there are certainly implications for our judicial system

Types of questions – problems for some • 1st two questions – first recall, then recognition • Pros and cons to both • How to answer your multiple-choice questions – first recall, then recognition

So…Why do we forget? • Ineffective encoding • Decay • Interference – 2 types • Retroactive – can’t get the old because of the new • Proactive – can’t get new because of old info

Amnesia – organic amnesia is when there is actually a head injury – chap 14 will discuss amnesia due to psychological events • Retrograde amnesia – can’t remember before the injury • Anterograde amnesia – can’t form new memories – can’t process from short-term to long-term

Do you have a good memory?