By

Mehwish Yaseen
 In the mid-1960s, based on the data available at the time,
researchers proposed a model of memory distinguishing
two structures of memory first proposed by
 William James (1890, 1970): primary memory, which holds
temporary information currently in use, and
 secondary memory, which holds information permanently
or at least for a very long time (Waugh & Norman, 1965).
 Three years later, Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin
(1968) proposed an alternative model that conceptualized
memory in terms of three memory stores.

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 Sensory Store, capable of storing relatively limited
amounts of information for very brief periods;
 Short-term Store, capable of storing information for
somewhat longer periods but of relatively limited capacity
as well; and
 Long-term Store, of very large capacity, capable of storing
information for very long periods, perhaps even
indefinitely (Richardson-Klavehn & Bjork, 2003).
 Sensory memory preserves information in its
original sensory form for a very brief time i.e.
fraction of a second. Sensory memory allows
the sensation of a visual pattern, sound or touch
to linger for a brief moment after the sensory
stimulation is over.

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1) Iconic
The storage of visual information
2) Echoic
The storage of information obtained from the sense of
hearing.
3) Haptic
The storage of information obtained from the sense of
touch.

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 STM is traditionally thought of as the
intermediate stage between sensory
memory and long term memory. In it all
those information are held about which
the person is currently thinking or
consciously aware of. Most of the
information stored in working memory
will be stored for approximately15 to 25
Working memory:
sec. A set of active, temporary
 Baddeley called short term memory as memory stores that actively
manipulate and rehearse
working memory. information.

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 Storage capacity:
Is almost always between 6 items. The capacity of short term
memory can be increased through chunks and rehearsals.
 Chunks:
It is the process of grouping information into units in order to
be able to store more information in STM. (e.g, Phone Number)
 Rehearsal:
Repeating information verbally or thinking about it. The
repetition of information that has entered short-term memory.

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 It holds information that is transformed from STM
through rehearsal or some other process.
 Storage capacity:
Unlimited storage capacity and information is
stored for lengthy period of time.

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 Organization:
Organization is an important feature of LTM. In the
beginning, there is no organization but as information moves to
LTM storage it is organized.
 Clues to organization:
Following are the clues through which organization takes
place in LTM.
 clustering
Associations

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 Memory theorists distinguish • Implicit Memory, in which we
between explicit memory and use information from memory
implicit memory(Mulligan, 2003)
but are not consciously aware
• Explicit Memory, in which that we are doing so.
participants engage in  You can read the word in the
conscious recollection. photo on the left without
• For example, problems although a letter is
they might recall or recognize missing.
words,
facts, or pictures from a
particular prior set of item
 Memories related to a specific, important, or surprising event that are
so vivid they represent a virtual snapshot of the event. Several types
of flashbulb memories are common among college students.
 For example, involvement in a car accident, meeting one’s
roommate for the first time, and the night of high school graduation
are all typical flashbulb memories
 Flashbulb memories do not contain every detail of an original scene.

Schemas:
 Organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the
way new information is interpreted, stored, and recalled.

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Hippocampus:
 A primitive structure deep in the brain, plays the single largest
role in processing information as memory.
Amygdala:
 an almond-shaped area near the hippocampus, processes emotion
and helps imprint memories that involve emotion.
Cerebral Cortex:
 the outer layer of the brain, stores most long-term memory in
different zones, depending on what kind of processing the
information involves: language, sensory input, problem-solving,
and so forth. In addition, memory involves communication
among the brain’s network of neurons , millions of cells
activated by brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.
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 Forgetting refers to apparent loss of information
already encoded and stored in an individual's long
term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process
in which old memories are unable to be recalled from
memory storage.
Theories of forgetting
There are different theories of forgetting.
1. Decay or trace theory.
2. Interference theory.
3. Motivated forgetting theory.

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 This theory of forgetting, based on the assumption that
memory deteriorates as time passes (The loss of
information in memory through its nonuse).
Example:
The memory of a movie seen last week, is usually
stronger and more detailed than that of a movie seen last
year.

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 People forget information because of
competition from other material.
(Information in memory disrupts the recall
of other information)

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1. Pro-Active interference
2. Retro-Active interference

Pro-Active Interference:
It is the interference in which previously learned information
interferes with the ability to remember new information.
Retro-Active Interference:
In retro-active interference, the new information placed in
memory interferes with the ability to recall information already
in memory.

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 It focuses on the fact that we sometimes unconsciously
wish to forget something unpleasant. The idea that people
forget things they don’t want to remember is also
called motivated forgetting.
 According to motivated forgetting theory, people are
blocked from remembering something that would cause
pain, threat or embarrassment.

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 These memory problems are
symptomatic of Alzheimer’s
disease, an illness characterized
in part by severe memory
problems.