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Ciccarelli Notes – Memory – Edited and Compiled by Psychethan

WHAT IS MEMORY?

Memory an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that
information into a usable form, and organizes it as it stores it away, and then
retrieves the information from storage.

THREE PROCESSES OF MEMORY

Encoding the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory

information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s
storage systems.
Storage holding on to information for some period of time. three stages.
Retrieval getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used.
information-processing model model of memory that assumes the processing of
information for memory storage is similar to the way a computer processes
memory in a series of

MODELS OF MEMORY

parallel distributed processing (PDP) model a model of memory in which memory

processes are proposed to take place at the same time over a large network of
neural connections.
levels-of-processing model model of memory that assumes information that is
more “deeply processed,” or processed according to its meaning rather than just
the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words, will be remembered
more efficiently and for a longer period of time.

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THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING MODEL:

THREE MEMORY SYSTEMS

SENSORY MEMORY: WHEY DO PEOPLE DO DOUBLE TAKES?

sensory memory the very first stage of memory, where raw information from
the senses is held for a very brief period
iconic memory visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second
eidetic imagery the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more.
echoic memory auditory sensory memory, lasting only 2–4 seconds.

SHORT-TERM MEMORY

short-term memory (STM) the memory system in which information is held for
brief periods of time while being used.
selective attention the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all
sensory input.

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working memory an active system that processes the information in short-term

memory.
maintenance rehearsal practice of saying some information to be remembered
over and over in one’s head in order to maintain it in shorttermmemory.

LONG-TERM MEMORY

long-term memory (LTM) the system of memory into which all the information
is placed to be kept more or less permanently
elaborative rehearsal a method of transferring information from STM into LTM
by making that information meaningful in some way.
nondeclarative (implicit) memory type of long-term memory including memory
for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses. These memories are
not conscious but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior.
anterograde amnesia loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward,
or the inability to form new long-term memories.
declarative (explicit) memory type of long-term memory containing information
that is conscious and known.
semantic memory type of declarative memory containing general knowledge, such
as knowledge of language and information learned in formal education.

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episodic memory type of declarative memory containing personal information not

readily available to others, such as daily activities and events.

semantic network model - model of memory organization that assumes

information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, with concepts that are
related stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not highly
related

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GETTING IT OUT: RETRIEVAL OF LONG-TERM MEMORIES

RETRIEVAL CUES
encoding specificity the tendency for memory of information to be improved if
related information (such as surroundings or physiological state) that is available
when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being
retrieved.

RECALL AND RECOGNITION

Recall type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved must

be “pulled” from memory with very few external cues.
Recognition the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored
image or fact.
serial position effect tendency of information at the beginning and end of a body
of information to be remembered more accurately than information in the middle
of the body of information.
primacy effect tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of
information better than the information that follows.
recency effect tendency to remember information at the end of a body of
information better than the information that precedes it.

AUTOMATIC ENCODING: FLASHBULB MEMORIES

automatic encoding tendency of certain kinds of information to enter longterm

memory with little or no effortful encoding.
flashbulb memories type of automatic encoding that occurs because an
unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering
it.

THE RECONSTRUCTIVE NATURE OF LONG-TERM MEMORY RETRIEVAL:

HOW RELIABLE ARE MEMORIES?
constructive processing referring to the retrieval of memories in which those
memories are altered, revised, or influenced by newer information.

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hindsight bias the tendency to falsely believe, through revision of older

memories to include newer information, that one could have correctly predicted
the outcome of an event.
misinformation effect the tendency of misleading information presented after
an event to alter the memories of the event itself.

What Were We Talking About? Forgetting

EBBINGHAUS AND THE FORGETTING CURVE

curve of forgetting a graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is

very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually
distributed practice spacing the study of material to be remembered by
including breaks between study periods.

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REASONS WE FORGET

encoding failure failure to process information into memory.

memory trace physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed.
Decay loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace
is not used.
Disuse another name for decay, assuming that memories that are not used will
eventually decay and disappear
proactive interference memory problem that occurs when older information
prevents or interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer information.
retroactive interference memory problem that occurs when newer information
prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information.

NEUROSCIENCE OF MEMORY

THE BIOLOGICAL BASES OF MEMORY

Consolidation the changes that take place in the structure and functioning of
neurons when a memory is formed.

WHEN MEMORY FAILS: ORGANIC AMNESIA

retrograde amnesia loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma
backwards, or loss of memory for the past.
infantile amnesia the inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.
autobiographical memory the memory for events and facts related to one’s
personal life story.

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CHAPTER SUMMARY
What Is Memory?
6.1 Identify the three processes of memory.
• Memory can be defined as an active system that receives information from the
senses, organizes and alters it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the
information from storage.
• The three processes are encoding, storage, and retrieval.
6.2 Explain how the different models of memory work.
• In the levels-of-processing model of memory, information that gets more deeply
processed is more likely to be remembered.
• In the parallel distributed processing model of memory, information is
simultaneously stored across an interconnected neural network that stretches
across the brain.

The Information-Processing Model: Three Memory Systems

6.3 Describe the process of sensory memory.
• Iconic memory is the visual sensory memory, in which an afterimage or icon will
be held in neural form for about one fourth to one half second.
• Echoic memory is the auditory form of sensory memory and takes the form of
an echo that lasts for up to 4 seconds.
6.4 Describe short-term memory and differentiate it from working memory.
• Short-term memory is where information is held while it is conscious and being
used. It holds about three to five items of information and lasts about 30 seconds
without rehearsal.
• STM can be lost through failure to rehearse, decay, interference by similar
information, and the intrusion of new information into the STM system, which
pushes older information out.
6.5 Explain the process of long-term memory, including
nondeclarative and declarative forms.
• Long-term memory is the system in which memories that are to be kept more or
less permanently are stored and is unlimited in capacity and relatively permanent
in duration.
• Information that is more deeply processed, or processed according to meaning,
will be retained and retrieved more efficiently.

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• Nondeclarative, or implicit, memories are memories for skills, habits, and

conditioned responses. Declarative, or explicit, memories are memories for
general facts and personal experiences and include both semantic memories and
episodic memories.
• Implicit memories are difficult to bring into conscious awareness, whereas
explicit memories are those that a person is aware of possessing.
• LTM is organized in the form of semantic networks, or nodes of related
information spreading out from a central piece of knowledge.

Getting It Out: Retrieval of Long-Term Memories

6.6 Identify the effects of cues on memory retrieval.
• Retrieval cues are words, meanings, sounds, and other stimuli that are encoded
at the same time as a new memory.
• Encoding specificity occurs when context-dependent information becomes
encoded as retrieval cues for specific memories.
• State-dependent learning occurs when physiological or psychological states
become encoded as retrieval cues for memories formed while in those states.
6.7 Differentiate the retrieval processes of recall and recognition.
• Recall is a type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved
must be “pulled” out of memory with few or no cues, whereas recognition involves
matching information with stored images or facts.
• The serial position effect, or primacy or recency effect, occurs when the first
items and the last items in a list of information are recalled more efficiently than
items in the middle of the list.
• Loftus and others have found that people constantly update and revise their
memories of events. Part of this revision may include adding information acquired
later to a previous memory. That later information may also be in error, further
contaminating the earlier memory.
6.8 Describe how some memories are automatically encoded into long-term
memory.
• Automatic encoding of some kinds of information requires very little effort to
place information in long-term memory.
• Memory for particularly emotional or traumatic events can lead to the formation
of flashbulb memories, memories that seem as vivid and detailed as if the person
were looking at a snapshot of the event but that are no more accurate than any
other memories.

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The Reconstructive Nature of Long-Term Memory

Retrieval: How Reliable Are Memories?

6.9 Explain how the constructive processing view of memory retrieval accounts
for forgetting and inaccuracies in memory.
• Memories are reconstructed from the various bits and pieces of information
that have been stored away in different places at the time of encoding in a
process called constructive processing.
• Hindsight bias occurs when people falsely believe that they knew the outcome
of some event because they have included knowledge of the event’s true outcome
in their memories of the event itself.
• The misinformation effect refers to the tendency of people who are asked
misleading questions or given misleading information to incorporate that
information into their memories for a particular event.
• Rather than improving memory retrieval, hypnosis makes the creation of false
memories more likely.
• False-memory syndrome is the creation of false or inaccurate memories through
suggestion, especially while hypnotized.
• Pezdek and colleagues assert that false memories are more likely to be formed
for plausible false events than for implausible ones.

What Were We Talking About? Forgetting

6.10 Describe the “curve of forgetting.”
• Ebbinghaus found that information is mostly lost within 1 hour after learning
and then gradually fades away. This is known as the curve of forgetting.
6.11 Identify some common reasons people forget things.
• Some “forgetting” is actually a failure to encode information. • Memory trace
decay theory assumes the presence of a physical memory trace that decays with
disuse over time.
• Forgetting in LTM is most likely due to proactive or retroactive interference.
Neuroscience of Memory
6.12 Explain the biological bases of memory in the brain.
• Evidence suggests that nondeclarative memories are stored in the cerebellum,
whereas short-term memories are stored in the prefrontal and temporal lobes of
the cortex.

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• Semantic and episodic memories may be stored in the frontal and temporal lobes
as well but in different locations than short-term memory, whereas memory for
fear of objects is most likely stored in the amygdala.
• Consolidation consists of the physical changes in neurons that take place during
the formation of a memory.
• The hippocampus appears to be responsible for the formation of new long-term
declarative memories. If it is removed, the ability to store anything new is
completely lost.
6.13 Identify the biological causes of amnesia.
• In retrograde amnesia, memory for the past (prior to the injury) is lost, which
can be a loss of only minutes or a loss of several years.
• ECT, or electroconvulsive therapy, can disrupt consolidation and cause
retrograde amnesia.
• In anterograde amnesia, memory for anything new becomes impossible, although
old memories may still be retrievable.
• The primary memory difficulty in Alzheimer’s disease is anterograde
amnesia, although retrograde amnesia can also occur as the disease progresses.
• Alzheimer’s disease has multiple causes, many of which are not yet identified.
• There are various drugs in use or in development for use, with the hopes of
slowing, or possibly in the future halting, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Most people cannot remember events that occurred before age 2 or 3. This is
called infantile amnesia and is most likely due to the implicit nature of infant
memory.

Applying Psychology to Everyday Life: Health and Memory

6.14 Explain how sleep, exercise, and diet affect memory.
• Good nutrition, physical exercise, and adequate sleep contribute to memory
functions.
• Research results suggest diets high in omega-3s, and especially DHA, may help
hippocampal cells communicate better, whereas norepinephrine release during
physical exercise appears to strengthen memories. Sleep is a critical component,
both in the consolidation of memories and normal functioning of the
hippocampus.

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