PSY190 General Psychology

Introduction
We cannot learn without memory

We cannot communicate without memory

We cannot live without memory

Basic Memory Processes
Encoding: The process of putting information into memory.
Acoustic encoding represents information as sequences of sounds.
Visual encoding represents information in the form of images.
Semantic encoding represents the meaning of information.
Storage: Holding information in memory over time.
Retrieval: Pulling information out of memory and into
consciousness after it has been stored.
Types of Memory
Episodic memory is the memory of a specific event
that happened while you were present.
Ex: what you had for dinner yesterday
Semantic memory contains generalized knowledge
of the world that does not involve memory of a
specific event.
Ex: traffic rules
Procedural memory (skill memory) represents
knowledge of how to perform physical tasks.
Ex: swimming
Explicit and Implicit
Memory
Explicit memory is the process of intentionally
trying to remember something.
Ex: recall where did u go last week
Implicit memory is the unintentional influence
of prior experiences.
Ex: solve a similar question faster
Explicit memory processes are much more
negatively affected by the passing of time than
are implicit memory processes.
Models of Memory
Information processing
Levels of Processing
Transfer-Appropriate Processing
Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP)
Multiple Memory Systems
Information-processing
model
Information need to pass through three
stages, sensory, short-term, and long-term
memory, to be embedded in memory.
Sensory memory- briefly retains the
information from sensory organs
Short-term memory-temporarily holds
information in consciousness
Long-term memory- can retain information for
long periods of time
Ex: see a phone number- use it- memorize it
Levels-of-processing
model
The levels-of-processing model suggests that what
and how well we remember are a function of how
deeply information is processed or rehearsed and
encoded when first experienced.
Maintenance rehearsal is simply repeating an item
over and over.
Elaborative rehearsal is building associations or
linkages between new and old information.
Ex: associates phone number with date of birth
requires a deeper level of processing; hence these
memories are stronger
Transfer-Appropriate Processing
model
The most important memory determinant is
how well the retrieval process matches the
original encoding process.

Ex: Studying for a multiple choice test but

taking an essay test
Parallel Distributed Processing
(PDP)
PDP models suggest that new facts change
our knowledge base by altering
interconnected networks, facts, and
associations.
These networks allow us to quickly and
efficiently draw inferences and generalizations
about new and old information.
Ex: burger king- fast food (McD, KFC)-> food,
environment, services
Multiple Memory Systems
This approach suggests that the brain
contains several separate memory systems,
each of which resides in a different area and
serves a different purpose.

Ex: Damage to hippocampus impairs

performance on test of explicit memory
Storing New Memories
Sensory memory
Information initially acquired from the environment via the sense
organs and placed into a short-lasting memory
Short-term memory (STM) receives the information that was
perceived and selectively attended to in sensory memory or
retrieved from long-term memory.
stores information for a very limited amount of time.
Working memory allows us to mentally work with information
held in short-term memory, making short-term memory a
component of working memory.
Short-Term Memory and
Working Memory (con’t)
Encoding in STM.
tend to use acoustic codes
Visual codes tend to decay faster than acoustic codes.
Storage Capacity of STM.
It is usually seven plus or minus two chunks of
information.
The Power of Chunking.
Duration of STM.
Brown-Peterson procedure: about eighteen seconds.
Long-Term Memory
Encoding in LTM.
the result of a deep level of conscious processing and
usually involves some form of semantic coding.
Visual codes are also used to encode long-term
memories.
Storage Capacity of LTM.
Most theorists believe that there is no limit
long-term memories are likely to be distorted.
 Flashbulb memories-vivid collections of personally significant
events (can be distorted as well)
Retrieving Memories
Retrieval Cues and Encoding Specificity
Retrieval cues help retrieve information from long-
term memory.
Encoding specificity principle: Cues are more efficient
when they match some feature of the information
originally encoded.
Context and State Dependence
context dependence: When people remember more
material while in a physical location that is similar to
the one where the material was originally learned.
state dependence: people remember better when
their psychological state is the same as it was when
the information was encoded.
Retrieving Memories
(con’t)
Retrieval from Semantic Memory
semantic memories are represented in a dense
network of hierarchical associations.
Strong associations and/or those at the top of the
hierarchy are quickly retrieved.
Network theory suggests that information is
retrieved through a spreading activation process;
 Ex: Baskin Robin -> ice cream
Retrieving Incomplete Knowledge.
Ex: the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
retrieve features and attributes of a concept but
cannot access the entire concept.
Constructing Memories
People construct memories from their existing
knowledge to fill in gaps in new information that is
being encoded.
Post-event memory reconstruction
Add new information to a memory that is suggested
to us by others
Change the memory when we revisit it in our minds
Generate interferences and store them as part of
our memory
Strip away information that does not seem to make
sense
 Ex: how fast were the cars going when they
smashed/hit/contacted into each other?
Improving Your Memory
Mnemonics.
strategies for remembering information.
The method of loci associates well-known locations
with information to be remembered.
Guidelines for More Effective Studying.
Organizing information and elaborate the new
information and associate it with related knowledge
you already possess.
Reading a Textbook.
understand and remember (PQ4R- preview, question,
read, reflect, recite, and review).
Tutorial Question 5
You eyewitnessed a robbery. When you are
asked to recall the robber, you tell the police
officers that the robber is a 20s-somehting
young man with tattoos and dyed golden
yellow hair. In fact, the robber is a 40s-
something-man with black hair and has no
tattoos. Explain the reason(s) you distorted
the memory.