MEMORY

Memory is one of the most fascinating topics you can ever hope to study in any field. It is a
fundamental component of daily life. We rely on it so heavily, that it is not a stretch to say that
life without memory would be close to impossible. Our very survival depends on our ability to
remember who we are, who others are, our past experiences, what is dangerous, what is safe, etc.
Its importance can't be understated.

In addition, people often believe their memories to be absolute and true. After all, it would be
very disconcerting to think that the things that we remember to be true, are in fact wrong. The
reality is, memory is not complete or absolute. In fact, many of our memories are completely
wrong and yet we hold onto them dearly.

We are sure of our memories...we know what happened to us...where we have been...what we
said...what we did. Or do we?

Although you will not get to witness this, one of my favorite activities to conduct in class is to
create false memories in students. One example that use (I have lots, but this is an easy one to
explain) is to read a list of words that all fit into a certain category (for example, couch, stool,
recliner, etc.) and then ask the students to write down as many word as they can recall
immediately after I finish the list.

The key is that the word "chair" is never included in the list that I read, but it is the target word -
it is a word that fits perfectly into the category I am reading, but it not included in the list.

What I usually find is close to 100% of the students include "chair" on their list and insist that I
said it. In fact, several times I have had to get one of the students who was taping the class to
play back the tape just to prove that I never said the word "chair". Even in this case, students
often leave convinced that they heard "chair"...sure that they "remember" that word being said.

Now think about this - in that example, the students are asked to recall the words immediately
after I read the list; immediately. If their memories are incorrect then, what happens to memories
after a day has passed; a week; a month; years?

In this section, we will discuss how memory occurs - the process of storing and retrieving
information. We will also take a look at some of the ways that this process is limited and the
results of such an imperfect memory system (for example, we will examine false memories). So,
let's get started.
Memory can be defined as the storage of learned information for retrieval and future use.
I. The Key Questions
When psychologists study memory they usually focus on 3 key questions:

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 1) How does information get INTO memory?
2) How is information MAINTAINED in memory?
3) How do we get information BACK OUT of memory?
These 3 questions correspond to the 3 key processes in memory:
ENCODING --> STORAGE --> RETRIEVAL
Memory is the ability to take in information, encode it, store it, and retrieve it at a later time.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Summarize which types of memory are necessary to which stage of the process of memory
storage

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 The three main stages of memory are encoding, storage, and retrieval. Problems can occur
at any of these stages.
 The three main forms of memory storage are sensory memory, short-term memory, and
long-term memory.
 Sensory memory is not consciously controlled; it allows individuals to retain impressions
of sensory information after the original stimulus has ceased.
 Short-term memory lasts for a very brief time and can only hold 7 +/- 2 pieces of
information at once.
 Long-term storage can hold an indefinitely large amount of information and can last for a
very long time.
 Implicit and explicit memories are two different types of long-term memory. Implicit
memories are of sensory and automatized behaviors, and explicit memories are of
information, episodes, or events.

Key Terms
 Memory: The ability of an organism to record information about things or events with the
facility of recalling them later at will.
 Rehearsal: Repetition of an item in short-term memory in order to store it in long-term
memory.

Memory is the ability to take in information, store it, and recall it at a later time. In psychology,
memory is broken into three stages: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

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Stages of memory: The three stages of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Problems can
occur at any stage of the process.

The Memory Process

1. Encoding (or registration): the process of receiving, processing, and combining

information. Encoding allows information from the outside world to reach our senses in
the forms of chemical and physical stimuli. In this first stage we must change the
information so that we may put the memory into the encoding process.
2. Storage: the creation of a permanent record of the encoded information. Storage is the
second memory stage or process in which we maintain information over periods of time.
3. Retrieval (or recall, or recognition): the calling back of stored information in response to
some cue for use in a process or activity. The third process is the retrieval of information
that we have stored. We must locate it and return it to our consciousness. Some retrieval
attempts may be effortless due to the type of information.

Problems can occur at any stage of the process, leading to anything from forgetfulness to
amnesia. Distraction can prevent us from encoding information initially; information might not
be stored properly, or might not move from short-term to long-term storage; and/or we might not
be able to retrieve the information once it’s stored.

Types of Memory
1. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information after the
original stimulus has ceased. One of the most common examples of sensory memory is
fast-moving lights in darkness: if you’ve ever lit a sparkler on the Fourth of July or
watched traffic rush by at night, the light appears to leave a trail. This is because of
“iconic memory,” the visual sensory store. Two other types of sensory memory have
been extensively studied: echoic memory (the auditory sensory store) and haptic memory
(the tactile sensory store). Sensory memory is not involved in higher cognitive functions
like short- and long-term memory; it is not consciously controlled. The role of sensory
memory is to provide a detailed representation of our entire sensory experience for which

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 relevant pieces of information are extracted by short-term memory and processed by
working memory.

2. Short-Term Memory

Short-term memory is also known as working memory. It holds only a few items
(research shows a range of 7 +/- 2 items) and only lasts for about 20 seconds. However,
items can be moved from short-term memory to long-term memory via

Processes like rehearsal. An example of rehearsal is when someone gives you a phone
number verbally and you say it to yourself repeatedly until you can write it down. If
someone interrupts

Your rehearsal by asking a question, you can easily forget the number, since it is only
being held in your short-term memory.

3. Long-Term Memory
Long-term memories are all the memories we hold for periods of time longer than a few
seconds; long-term memory encompasses everything from what we learned in first grade
to our old addresses to what we wore to work yesterday. Long-term memory has an
incredibly vast storage capacity, and some memories can last from the time they are
created until we die.

There are many types of long-term memory. Explicit or declarative memory requires
conscious recall; it consists of information that is consciously stored or retrieved. Explicit
memory can be further subdivided into semantic memory (facts taken out of context, such
as “Paris is the capital of France”) and episodic memory (personal experiences, such as
“When I was in Paris, I saw the Mona Lisa“).

In contrast to explicit/declarative memory, there is also a system for procedural/implicit

memory. These memories are not based on consciously storing and retrieving
information, but on implicit learning. Often this type of memory is employed in learning
new motor skills. An example of implicit learning is learning to ride a bike: you do not
need to consciously remember how to ride a bike, you simply do. This is because of
implicit memory.

4. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory allows an individual to remember an input in great detail but for only a
few milliseconds.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe the different types of sensory memory

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KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 Sensory memory allows individuals to recall great detail about a complex stimulus
immediately following its presentation.
 There are different types of sensory memory, including iconic memory, echoic memory,
and haptic memory.
 In sensory memory, no manipulation of the incoming information occurs, and the input is
quickly transferred to the working memory.

Key Terms
 Sensory memory: The brief storage (in memory) of information experienced by the
senses; typically only lasts up to a few seconds.
 Iconic: Visually representative.
 Echoic: Imitative of a sound; onomatopoeic.

Sensory memory allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory information for a brief time
after the original stimulus has ceased. It allows individuals to remember great sensory detail
about a complex stimulus immediately following its presentation. Sensory memory is an
automatic response considered to be outside of cognitive control. The information represented in
this type of memory is the “raw data” which provides a snapshot of a person’s overall sensory
experience. Information from sensory memory has the shortest retention time, ranging from mere
milliseconds to five seconds. It is retained just long enough for it to be transferred to short-term
(working) memory.

In sensory memory, no manipulation of the incoming information occurs as it is transferred

quickly to working memory. The amount of information is greatly reduced during this transfer
because the capacity of working memory is not large enough to cope with all the input coming
from our sense organs.

Types of Sensory Memory

It is assumed that there is a subtype of sensory memory for each of the five major senses (touch,
taste, sight, hearing, and smell); however, only three of these types have been extensively
studied: echoic memory, iconic memory, and haptic memory.
i. Iconic Memory
Sensory input to the visual system goes into iconic memory, so named because
the mental representations of visual stimuli are referred to as icons. Iconic
memory has duration of about 100 ms. One of the times that iconic memory is
noticeable is when we see “light trails.” This is the phenomenon when bright
lights move rapidly at night and you perceive them as forming a trail; this is the
image that is represented in iconic memory.
ii. Echoic Memory
Echoic memory is the branch of sensory memory used by the auditory system.
Echoic memory is capable of holding a large amount of auditory information, but

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 only for 3–4 seconds. This echoic sound is replayed in the mind for this brief
amount of time immediately after the presentation of the auditory stimulus.
iii. Haptic Memory
Haptic memory is the branch of sensory memory used by the sense of touch.
Sensory receptors all over the body detect sensations like pressure, itching, and
pain, which are briefly held in haptic memory before vanishing or being
transported to short-term memory. This type of memory seems to be used when
assessing the necessary forces for gripping and interacting with familiar objects.
Haptic memory seems to decay after about two seconds. Evidence of haptic
memory has only recently been identified and not as much is known about its
characteristics compared to iconic memory.
5. Short-Term and Working Memory
Short-term memory, which includes working memory, stores information for a brief
period of recall for things that happened recently.

Learning Objectives
Compare short-term memory and working memory

Key Takeaways
Key Points
 Short-term memory acts as a scratchpad for temporary recall of information being
processed. It decays rapidly and has a limited capacity.
 Rehearsal and chunking are two ways to make information more likely to be held in short-
term memory.
 Working memory is related to short-term memory. It contains a phonological loop that
preserves verbal and auditory data, a visuospatial scratchpad that preserves visual data, and
a central manager that controls attention to the data.

Key Terms
 Chunking: The splitting of information into smaller pieces to make reading and
understanding faster and easier.
 Encoding: The process of converting information into a construct that can be stored within
the brain.
 Consolidation: A process that stabilizes a memory trace after its initial acquisition.

Short-term memory is the capacity for holding a small amount of information in an active,
readily available state for a brief period of time. It is separate from our long-term memory, where
lots of information is stored for us to recall at a later time. Unlike sensory memory, it is capable
of temporary storage. How long this storage lasts depends on conscious effort from the
individual; without rehearsal or active maintenance, the duration of short-term memory is
believed to be on the order of seconds.

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Capacity of Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory acts as a scratchpad for temporary recall of information. For instance, in
order to understand this sentence you need to hold in your mind the beginning of the sentence as
you read the rest. Short-term memory decays rapidly and has a limited capacity.

The psychologist George Miller suggested that human short-term memory has a forward memory
span of approximately seven items plus or minus two. More recent research has shown that this
number is roughly accurate for college students recalling lists of digits, but memory span varies
widely with populations tested and with material used.

For example, the ability to recall words in order depends on a number of characteristics of these
words: fewer words can be recalled when the words have longer spoken duration (this is known
as the word-length effect) or when their speech sounds are similar to each other (this is called
the phonological similarity effect). More words can be recalled when the words are highly
familiar or occur frequently in the language. Chunking of information can also lead to an
increase in short-term memory capacity. For example, it is easier to remember a hyphenated
phone number than a single long number because it is broken into three chunks instead of
existing as ten digits.

Rehearsal is the process in which information is kept in short-term memory by mentally

repeating it. When the information is repeated each time, that information is re-entered into the
short-term memory, thus keeping that information for another 10 to 20 seconds, the average
storage time for short-term memory. Distractions from rehearsal often cause disturbances in
short-term memory retention. This accounts for the desire to complete a task held in short-term
memory as soon as possible.

Working Memory
Though the term “working memory” is often used synonymously with “short-term memory,”
working memory is related to but actually distinct from short-term memory. It holds temporary
data in the mind where it can be manipulated. Baddeley and Hitch’s 1974 model of working
memory is the most commonly accepted theory of working memory today. According to
Baddeley, working memory has a phonological loop to preserve verbal data, a visuospatial
scratchpad to control visual data, and a central executive to disperse attention between them.

Phonological Loop

The phonological loop is responsible for dealing with auditory and verbal information, such as
phone numbers, people’s names, or general understanding of what other people are talking about.
We could roughly say that it is a system specialized for language. It consists of two parts: a
short-term phonological store with auditory memory traces that are subject to rapid decay, and
an articulatory loop that can revive these memory traces. The phonological store can only store

sounds for about two seconds without rehearsal, but the auditory loop can “replay them”

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 internally to keep them in working memory. The repetition of information deepens the memory.

Visuospatial Sketchpad
Visual and spatial information is handled in the visuospatial sketchpad. This means that
information about the position and properties of objects can be stored. The phonological loop
and visuospatial sketchpad are semi-independent systems; because of this, you can increase the
amount you can remember by engaging both systems at once. For instance, you might be better
able to remember an entire phone number if you visualize part of it (using the visuospatial
sketchpad) and then say the rest of it out loud (using the phonological loop).

Central Executive
The central executive connects the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad and
coordinates their activities. It also links the working memory to the long-term memory, controls
the storage of long-term memory, and manages memory retrieval from storage. The process of
storage is influenced by the duration in which information is held in working memory and the
amount that the information is manipulated. Information is stored for a longer time if it is
semantically interpreted and viewed with relation to other information already stored in long-
term memory.

Transport to Long-Term Memory

The process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory involves encoding
and consolidation of information. This is a function of time; that is, the longer the memory stays
in the short-term memory the more likely it is to be placed in the long-term memory. In this
process, the meaningfulness or emotional content of an item may play a greater role in its
retention in the long-term memory.

This greater retention is owed to an enhanced synaptic response within the hippocampus, which
is essential for memory storage. The limbic system of the brain (including the hippocampus and
amygdala) is not necessarily directly involved in long-term memory, but it selects particular
information from short-term memory and consolidates these memories by playing them like a
continuous tape.

Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory is used for the storage of information over long periods of time, ranging
from a few hours to a lifetime.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Contrast the different ways memories can be stored in long-term memory

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 Long-term memory is the final, semi-permanent stage of memory; it has a theoretically
infinite capacity, and information can remain there indefinitely.
 Long-term memories can be categorized as either explicit or implicit memories.

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  Explicit memories involve facts, concepts, and events, and must be recalled consciously.
 Explicit memories can be either semantic (abstract, fact-based) or episodic (based on a
specific event).
 Implicit memories are procedures for completing motor actions.

Key Terms
 Long-term memory: Memory in which associations among items are stored indefinitely;
part of the theory of a dual-store memory model.
 Script: A “blueprint” or routine for dealing with a specific situation.

If we want to remember something tomorrow, we have to consolidate it into long-term memory

today. Long-term memory is the final, semi-permanent stage of memory. Unlike sensory and
short-term memory, long-term memory has a theoretically infinite capacity, and information can
remain there indefinitely. Long-term memory has also been called reference memory, because an
individual must refer to the information in long-term memory when performing almost any task.
Long-term memory can be broken down into two categories: explicit and implicit memory.

Explicit Memory

Explicit memory, also known as conscious or declarative memory, involves memory of facts,
concepts, and events that require conscious recall of the information. In other words, the
individual must actively think about retrieving the information from memory. This type of
information is explicitly stored and retrieved—hence its name. Explicit memory can be further
subdivided into semantic memory, which concerns facts, and episodic memory, which concerns
primarily personal or autobiographical information.

Semantic Memory
Semantic memory involves abstract factual knowledge, such as “Albany is the capital of New
York.” It is for the type of information that we learn from books and school: faces, places, facts,
and concepts. You use semantic memory when you take a test. Another type of semantic
memory is called a script. Scripts are like blueprints of what tends to happen in certain situations.
For example, what usually happens if you visit a restaurant? You get the menu, you order your
meal, you eat it, and then you pay the bill. Through practice, you learn these scripts and encode
them into semantic memory.

Episodic Memory
Episodic memory is used for more contextualized memories. They are generally memories of
specific moments, or episodes, in one’s life. As such, they include sensations and emotions
associated with the event, in addition to the who, what, where, and when of what happened. An
example of an episodic memory would be recalling your family’s trip to the beach.
Autobiographical memory (memory for particular events in one’s own life) is generally viewed

as either equivalent to, or a subset of, episodic memory. One specific type of autobiographical
memory is a flashbulb memory, which is a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid “snapshot” of the
moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally

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 arousing) news was heard. For example, many people remember exactly where they were and
what they were doing when they heard of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This is
because it is a flashbulb memory.

Semantic and episodic memory is closely related; memory for facts can be enhanced with
episodic memories associated with the fact, and vice versa. For example, the answer to the
factual question “Are all apples red?” might be recalled by remembering the time you saw
someone eating a green apple. Likewise, semantic memories about certain topics, such as
football, can contribute to more detailed episodic memories of a particular personal event, like
watching a football game. A person that barely knows the rules of football will remember the
various plays and outcomes of the game in much less detail than a football expert.

Implicit Memory
In contrast to explicit (conscious) memory, implicit (also called “unconscious” or “procedural”)
memory involves procedures for completing actions. These actions develop with practice over
time. Athletic skills are one example of implicit memory. You learn the fundamentals of a sport,
practice them over and over, and then they flow naturally during a game. Rehearsing for a dance
or musical performance is another example of implicit memory. Everyday examples include
remembering how to tie your shoes, drive a car, or ride a bicycle. These memories are accessed
without conscious awareness—they are automatically translated into actions without us even
realizing it. As such, they can often be difficult to teach or explain to other people. Implicit
memories differ from the semantic scripts described above in that they are usually actions that
involve movement and motor coordination, whereas scripts tend to emphasize social norms or
behaviors.

Step 1: Memory Encoding

Introduction to Memory Encoding
Memory encoding allows an item of interest to be converted into a construct that is stored in the
brain, which can later be recalled.

Learning Objectives
Give examples of how to optimize the different processes of memory encoding and consolidation

Key Takeaways
Key Points
 Memory encoding allows information to be converted into a construct that is stored in the
brain indefinitely; once it is encoded, it can be recalled from either short- or long-term
memory.
 The four primary types of encoding are visual, acoustic, elaborative, and semantic.
 Encoding of memories in the brain can be optimized in a variety of ways, including
mnemonics, chunking, and state-dependent learning.
 Research indicates that sleep is of paramount importance for the brain to encode
information into accessible memories; it is posited that during sleep, our working memory
is encoded into long-term memory.
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Key Terms
 Semantic: Reflecting the intended structure and meaning.
 Echoic: Imitative of a sound; onomatopoeic.
 Mnemonic: Anything (especially something in verbal form) used to help remember
something.

Memory encoding allows information to be converted into a construct that is stored in the brain
indefinitely. Once it is encoded, it can be recalled from either short- or long-term memory. At a
very basic level, memory encoding is like hitting “Save” on a computer file. Once a file is saved,
it can be retrieved as long as the hard drive is undamaged. “Recall” refers to retrieving
previously encoded information.

The process of encoding begins with perception, which is the identification, organization, and
interpretation of any sensory information in order to understand it within the context of a
particular environment. Stimuli are perceived by the senses, and related signals travel to the
thalamus of the human brain, where they are synthesized into one experience. The hippocampus
then analyzes this experience and decides if it is worth committing to long-term memory.

Encoding is achieved using chemicals and electric impulses within the brain. Neural pathways,
or connections between neurons (brain cells), are actually formed or strengthened through a
process called long-term potentiation, which alters the flow of information within the brain. In
other words, as a person experiences novel events or sensations, the brain “rewires” itself in
order to store those new experiences in memory.

Types of Encoding
The four primary types of encoding are visual, acoustic, elaborative, and semantic.
Visual
Visual encoding is the process of encoding images and visual sensory information. The creation
of mental pictures is one way people use visual encoding. This type of information is temporarily
stored in iconic memory, and then is moved to long-term memory for storage. The amygdala
plays a large role in the visual encoding of memories.

Acoustic
Acoustic encoding is the use of auditory stimuli or hearing to implant memories. This is aided by
what is known as the phonological loop. The phonological loop is a process by which sounds are
sub-vocally rehearsed (or “said in your mind over and over”) in order to be remembered.

Elaborative
Elaborative encoding uses information that is already known and relates it to the new
information being experienced. The nature of a new memory becomes dependent as much on
previous information as it does on the new information. Studies have shown that the long-term
retention of information is greatly improved through the use of elaborative encoding.

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Semantic
Semantic encoding involves the use of sensory input that has a specific meaning or can be
applied to a context. Chunking and mnemonics (discussed below) aid in semantic encoding;
sometimes, deep processing and optimal retrieval occurs. For example, you might remember a
particular phone number based on a person’s name or a particular food by its color.

Optimizing Encoding through Organization

Not all information is encoded equally well. Think again about hitting “Save” on a computer file.
Did you save it into the right folder? Was the file complete when you saved it? Will you be able
to find it later? At a basic level, the process of encoding faces similar challenges: if information
is improperly coded, recall will later be more challenging. The process of encoding memories in
the brain can be optimized in a variety of ways, including mnemonics, chunking, and state-
dependent learning.

Mnemonics

Mnemonic devices, sometimes simply called mnemonics, are one way to help encode simple
material into memory. A mnemonic is any organization technique that can be used to help
remember something. One example is a peg-word system, in which the person “pegs” or
associates the items to be remembered with other easy-to-remember items. An example of this is
“King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup,” a peg-word sentence for remembering the order of
taxonomic categories in biology that uses the same initial letters as the words to be
remembered: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Another type of mnemonic
is an acronym, in which a person shortens a list of words to their initial letters to reduce their
memory load.

Chunking
Chunking is the process of organizing parts of objects into meaningful wholes. The whole is then
remembered as a unit instead of individual parts. Examples of chunking include remembering
phone numbers (a series of individual numbers separated by dashes) or words (a series of
individual letters).

State-Dependent Learning
State-dependent learning is when a person remembers information based on the state of mind (or
mood) they are in when they learn it. Retrieval cues are a large part of state-dependent learning.
For example, if a person listened to a particular song while learning certain concepts, playing
that song is likely to cue up the concepts learned. Smells, sounds, or place of learning can also be
part of state-dependent learning.

Memory Consolidation

Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after its initial
acquisition. Like encoding, consolidation influences whether the memory of an event is
accessible after the fact. However, encoding is more influenced by attention and conscious effort

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 to remember things, while the processes involved in consolidation tend to be unconscious and
happen at the cellular or neurological level. Generally, encoding takes focus, while consolidation
is more of a biological process. Consolidation even happens while we sleep.

Sleep and Memory

Research indicates that sleep is of paramount importance for the brain to consolidate information
into accessible memories. While we sleep, the brain analyzes, categorizes, and discards recent
memories. One useful memory-enhancement technique is to use an audio recording of the
information you want to remember and play it while you are trying to go to sleep. Once you are
actually in the first stage of sleep, there is no learning occurring because it is hard to consolidate
memories during sleep (which is one reason why we tend to forget most of our dreams).
However, the things you hear on the recording just before you fall asleep are more likely to be
retained because of your relaxed and focused state of mind.

The Role of Attention in Memory

In order to encode information into memory, we must first pay attention, a process known as
attentional capture.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Discuss the link between attentional capture and working memory

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 Research suggests a close link between working memory and what is known as attentional
capture, the process in which a person pays attention to specific information.
 Attentional capture can happen either explicitly or implicitly.
 Explicit attentional capture is when a stimulus that a person has not been attending to
becomes salient enough that the person begins to attend to it and becomes cognizant of its
existence.
 Implicit attentional capture is when a stimulus that a person has not been attending to has
an impact on the person’s behavior, whether or not they’re cognizant of that impact or the
stimulus.
 Working memory actively holds many pieces of information and manipulates them.

Key Terms
 Implicit: Implied indirectly, without being directly expressed.
 Explicit: Very specific, clear, or detailed.
 Working memory: The system that actively holds multiple pieces of information in the
mind for execution of verbal and nonverbal tasks and makes them available for further
information processing.

Attentional Capture
In order for information to be encoded into memory, we must first pay attention to it. When a
person pays attention to a particular piece of information, this process is called attentional

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capture. By paying attention to particular information (and not other information), a person
creates memories that could be (and probably are) different from someone else in the same
situation. This is why two people can see the same situation but create different memories about
it—each person performs attentional capture differently. There are two main types of attentional
capture: explicit and implicit.

Explicit Attentional Capture

Explicit attentional capture is when a stimulus that a person has not been attending to becomes
salient enough that the person begins to attend to it and becomes cognizant of its existence. Very
simply, it’s when something new catches your focus and you become aware of and focused on
that new stimulus. This is what happens when you are working on your homework and someone
calls your name, drawing your complete attention.

Implicit Attentional Capture

Implicit attentional capture is when a stimulus that a person has not been attending to has an
impact on the person’s behavior, whether or not they’re cognizant of that impact or the stimulus.
If you are working on your homework and there is quiet but annoying music in the background,
you may not be aware of it, but your overall focus and performance on your homework might be
affected. Implicit attentional capture is important to understand when driving, because while you
might not be aware of the effect a stimulus like loud music or an uncomfortable temperature is
having on your driving, your performance will nevertheless be affected.

Working Memory and Attentional Capture

Working memory is the part of the memory that actively holds many pieces of information for
short amounts of time and manipulates them. The working memory has sub-systems that
manipulate visual and verbal information, and it has limited capacity. We take in thousands of
pieces of information every second; this is stored in our working memory. The working memory
decides (based on past experiences, current thoughts, or information in long-term memory) if any
particular piece of information is important or relevant. In other words, if the information is not
used or deemed important, it will be forgotten. Otherwise, it is moved from the short-term
memory and committed to long-term memory.

One famous example of attentional capture is the cocktail party effect, which is the phenomenon
of being able to focus one’s auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range
of other stimuli, much the same way that a partygoer can focus on a single conversation in a
noisy room. This effect is what allows most people to tune into a single voice and tune out all
others.

Research suggests a close link between working memory and attentional capture, or the process
of paying attention to particular information. A person pays attention to a given stimulus, either
consciously (explicitly, with awareness) or unconsciously. This stimulus is then encoded into
working memory, at which point the memory is manipulated either to associate it with another
familiar concept or with another stimulus within the current situation. If the information is
deemed important enough to store indefinitely, the experience will be encoded into long-term
memory. If not, it will be forgotten with other unimportant information. There are several

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 theories to explain how certain information is selected to be encoded while other information is
discarded.

The Filter Model

The formerly accepted filter model proposes that this filtering of information from sensory to
working memory is based on specific physical properties of stimuli. For every frequency there
exists a distinct nerve pathway; our attention selects which pathway is active and can thereby
control which information is passed to the working memory. This way it is possible to follow the
words of one person with a certain vocal frequency even though there are many other sounds in
the surrounding area.

Attenuation Theory
The filter model is not fully adequate. Attenuation theory, a revision of the filter model, proposes
that we attenuate (i.e., reduce) information that is less relevant but do not filter it out completely.
According to this theory, information with ignored frequencies can still be analyzed, but not as
efficiently as information with relevant frequencies.

Late-Selection Theory
Attenuation theory differs from late-selection theory, which proposes that all information is
analyzed first and judged important or unimportant later; however, this theory is less supported
by research.

Levels of Processing

Levels-of-processing theory looks at not only how a person receives information, but also what
they do with that information.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Differentiate among the different levels of processing

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
 There are three levels of processing for verbal data: structural, phonetic, and semantic.
 Structural processing examines the structure of a word; phonetic processing examines how
a word sounds; and semantic processing examines the meaning of a word.
 As a word passes through the levels of processing, we relate it to other knowledge we may
have. This determines whether the word will move from short-term memory to long-term
memory.

Key Terms
 Semantic: Reflecting intended structure and meaning.
 Phonetic: Relating to the sounds of spoken language.
 Structure: The overall form or organization of something.

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Levels-of-processing theory looks at not only how a person receives information, but what the
person does with the information after it is received and how that affects overall retention.

Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart determined that memory does not have fixed stores of space;

rather, there are several different ways a person can encode and retain data in his or her memory.
The consensus was that information is easier to transfer to long-term memory when it can be
related to other memories or information the person is familiar with.

There are three levels of processing for verbal data: structural, phonetic, and semantic. These
levels progress from the most shallow (structural) to the deepest (semantic). Each level allows a
person to make sense of the information and relate it to past memories, determining if the
information should be transferred from the short-term memory to the long-term memory. The
deeper the processing of information, the easier it is to retrieve later.

Structural Processing
Structural processing examines the structure of a word—for example, the font of the typed word
or the letters within in it. It is how we assess the appearance of the words to make sense of them
and provide some type of simple meaning.

Letters: Processing how a word looks is known as structural processing.

Structural processing is the shallowest level of processing: If you see a sign for a restaurant but
only engage in structural processing, you might remember that the sign was purple with a cursive
font, but not actually remember the name of the restaurant.

Phonetic Processing
Phonetic processing is how we hear the word—the sounds it makes when the letters are read
together. We compare the sound of the word to other words we have heard in order to retain
some level of meaning in our memory. Phonetic processing is deeper than structural processing;
that is, we are more likely to remember verbal information if we process it phonetically.

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To return to the example of trying to remember the name of a restaurant: if the name of the
restaurant has no semantic meaning to you (for instance, if it’s a word in another language, like
“Vermicelli”), you might still be able to remember the name if you have processed it
phonetically and can think, “It started with a V sound and it rhymed with belly.”

Semantic Processing
Semantic processing is when we apply meaning to words and compare or relate it to words with
similar meanings. This deeper level of processing involves elaborative rehearsal, which is a more
meaningful way to analyze information. This makes it more likely that the information will be
stored in long-term memory, as it is associated with previously learned concepts.

Method of Loci
One example of taking advantage of deeper semantic processing to improve retention is using the
method of loci. This is when you associate non-visual material with something that can be
visualized. Creating additional links between one memory and another, more familiar memory
works as a cue for the new information being learned.

Imagine walking through a familiar area, such as your apartment. As you come to familiar sites,
imagine that you can see the things you need to remember. Suppose you have to remember the
first four presidents of the United States: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. Your
apartment also has four rooms: living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Associate the first
president, Washington, with the first room (the living room). Imagine him standing on your sofa
as if it were the boat on which he crossed the Delaware River. Now, the second room is the
kitchen, and so you imagine John Adams there. Think about him going over to the refrigerator,
opening up and taking out a beer and remarking that his brother Samuel had brewed it. And so
on for the rest of the presidents…
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/step-2-memory-storage/

E Tivity

Videos

1. The science od Memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHPJp_wK67g

2. How does human memory work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tfh7vs0MIc

3. How memories form and how we lose them -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOgAbKJGrTA
4. Forgetting and remembering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVWbrNls-Kw

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