Memory

Memory: The Big Picture

• Memory: The ability to store
and retrieve information over
time.

• Three Key Functions of Memory:

• Encoding
• Storage This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

• Retrieval
Blast from the Past
Encoding: Moving Information to
Memory
• Encoding is the act of transforming what we perceive,
think, or feel into an enduring memory.

Automatic Processing Effortful Processing

Types of Encoding

Semantic Visual Acoustic

Encoding Encoding Encoding
Depth of Processing
• The strength of the information being
encoded depends on how deeply it is
processed.

• Engaging in deeper processing can look

like:
• Organizational Encoding
• The Self-Reference Effect
• The Generation Effect
• Survival Encoding This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-NC-ND
Organizational Encoding
• Organizational Encoding: The process of categorizing
information according to its relationships.

Please Try To Memorize the Following Words:

Blue
Sunday
Apple
Saturday
Mango
Red
The Self-Reference Effect
• Self-Reference Effect: Relating information to
ourselves helps us remember information more
effectively.
The Generation Effect
• Generation Effect: Information that you generated
yourself is encoded more effectively than information
generated by someone else.

Try to Generate the Following Words:

ACADEMIC SCH_L_R
QUESTION - ________
IT’S RAINING CATS AND _______
Survival Encoding You are stranded on a
desert island and have to
survive for two months.
How relevant would each
• Our memories are built to help
of these items be to your
us survive survival? Rate them on a
scale of 1-5, with 5 being
the most relevant.
• Survival Encoding: It is
easier to memorize (and Hunt
Chair
learn) information that is Meadow
relevant to our survival Rope
Computer
Magazine
Retrieval
• Retrieval: The process of bringing to mind information
that has previously been encoded and stored.

Type of Example
Retrieval
Recall

Recognition

Relearning
Retrieval Cues
• Retrieval Cue: External
information that is associated
with stored information and
helps bring it to mind.

• Can be used deliberately or This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

spontaneously
 Consider: How

Encoding might this

information apply to

Specificity individuals who are

struggling with
alcohol abuse?
Principle
• A retrieval cue can serve
as an effective reminder
when it helps to
recreate the specific
way in which the
information was
originally encoded.
 Consider: How
State-Dependent might this
information apply to
Retrieval major depressive
disorder?

• The process whereby

information tends to be
better recalled when the
individual is in the same
state during encoding
and at retrieval
Retrieval Strengthens Memories
• The act of retrieval can
strengthen the retrieved
memory, making it easier to
recall that information later
(keep in mind “Long-Term
Potentiation”)
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

• Retrieval is distinct from re-

studying
Retrieval Impairs Memories
• Retrieval-Induced
Forgetting: The
process of retrieving
an item from long-
term memory
impairs subsequent
recall of related
items.
Retrieval Changes Memories
• The act of retrieval can change
what we remember from an
experience and may lead to the
formation of false memories.

• Reactivating a memory makes it

vulnerable to disruption and
change.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
Storage
• Storage: The process of maintaining information in
memory over time.

Storage

Sensory Short-Term Long-Term

The Process of
Storage
Sensory Memory
• Sensory Memory: A type of storage that holds sensory
information for a few seconds or less.

Type of Sensory Example

Memory
Iconic

Echoic

Haptic
Short-Term/Working Memory
• Short-Term/Working Memory: A temporary storage
system that process incoming information.
Short-Term
Memory
Rehearsal
• Rehearsal: The process of
maintaining information in our
working memory.

• The Serial Position Effect

(Primacy and Recency)
• Chunking
 Consider: How
does the technology
A Model of Working Memory we have today stop
us from having to
(Baddeley & Hitch, 1974) use our working
memory?
Long-Term Memory

• Long-Term Memory: A
store that can hold
information for hours,
days, weeks, or years
without a known capacity
limit.
Implicit Memory
• Implicit Memory:
• Procedural: Things that you know how to do without
being able to describe how to do them.
• Priming: An enhanced ability to think of a stimulus as a result of
prior exposure.
 Episodic Memory
• Episodic Memory: Information about recent or past
personal events and experiences.
• Often referred to as Autobiographical Memory

Your trip to Hawaii The capital of France

A conversation with your

The parts of the brain
parents

[Link]
Amnesia
Anterograde Retrograde
Cause
Issue
Brain Region
Affected
 What H.M. Taught Us
Memory as a distinct function

Amnesia spares short-term memory

Amnesia impairs episodic memory

The hippocampus is a core brain structure

for memory
The hippocampus plays a role in
permanent consolidation
[Link]
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The Hippocampus
• The responsibilities of the
hippocampus include:

• Moving memories into long-term storage

• Acting as a memory index
• Contributing to short-term storage
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
 The Amygdala
• The amygdala is responsible for
emotion regulation and influences
memory storage for emotionally
arousing events.
• Emotional events trigger the
release of neurotransmitters and
hormones that strengthen
memory. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

[Link]
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Consolidation
• Consolidation: The act of
stabilizing a memory in your brain.
• Long-Term Potentiation: A
process where repeated
communication between neurons
makes their connection stronger
and makes further communication
easier.
Reconsolidation
• Memories are reconsolidated when they are recalled.
• The process of reconsolidation of traumatic memories is
used in some treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD)
• The client talks about their trauma
• After they do so, they complete exercises that are intended to de-
reify the trauma
• Then, the trauma becomes available to declarative memory
without evoking strong emotions
The Supporters of Repressed
Memories
• False Memory Syndrome: Recall
of false autobiographical
memories

• Individuals advocating for the idea

of repressed memories argue that
some experiences are so
traumatic that they must be
repressed
The Argument Against Repressed
Memories
• Memories that are repressed and then
recovered may be false due to
misinformation and suggestion

• Memories of traumatic events are, on

average, remembered quite well

• The repressed memory controversy of

the 1980s and 1990s
The Principles of False Memory

Suggestibility Describes the effects of misinformation from

external sources that leads to the creation of
false memories
Misattribution Memory error in which you confuse the source
of your information
Overconfidence When we are more certain that our memories
and judgments are accurate than we should be
Forgetting: Absentmindedness

Absentmindedness: A lapse in attention or focus results

in a failure to encode information
Forgetting: Transience
• Transience: Memories fade over time.
• Occurs during the storage phase of memory
Forgetting: Blocking
• Blocking: A failure to retrieve
information that is available in
memory, even though you are trying
to produce it

• More common with:

• Names of people and
places This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-SA
• Age