Memory: Encoding and Storage Flashcards
Memory
the retention of information or experiences over time; Remembering something, even if not in view; Something that can last a lifetime (like a childhood story); Something that you do not realize is even there until something related to it was seen or heard
Three Key Memory Processes
Encoding, Storage and Retrieval
Encoding
“writing it down”; the process of taking information in through your senses and translating it into a form that your brain can “write down” and store for later use; 1st step in memory; (also in learning and plasticity); Sometimes it happens automatically, while sometimes it takes effort
Encoding processes
Selective Attention, Levels of Processing, Elaboration, and mental imagery
Selective Attention
focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others; constantly working; stimuli compete for our attention
Trying to choose what to focus on in that moment; “paying attention” since brain focused on that stimuli
Characteristics of Selective Attention
We can only FULLY attend to ONE THING AT A TIME; Only little/little habitual things can be multitasked
Items compete for our attention(cocktail party effect); Only most vivid, loud, high intensity, highly meaningful will win; surprising things over dull/mundane things
Inattention leads to encoding failure; Memory more like photographs that are not great at all
Levels of Processing
a continuum of memory processing ranging from shallow processing to deep processing; deep processing leads to better memory
Shallow processing
“physical features are analyzed”
Example: remembering its in your notes, but cannot recall for test
Intermediate Processing
“recognition and labeling”
Deep Processing
“meaningful characteristics”
Elaboration
the “web” of connections, associations and relevant meanings given to a stimulus
Example: word connections like “maison” in French (mason relation to house in English language)
Mental Imagery
creating a mental “story” or scene around stimuli that we would like to remember
Example: List of words made into a fun story to remember them(Rabbit, sky, nut mother, bed, bake, fresh, miracle, dance)
Dual-code Hypothesis
Memory stored in two ways: verbal code and picture code; Mental images are remembered better because it contains both picture and verbal codes; Helps with classes like chemistry and physics
Storage
“filing it away”; how is information retained over time and represented in memory; How can we store it to use again? Many theories; 2nd step in memory
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory(BOX MODEL)
proposes there are three stages memory has to go through to become long term memory; sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
sensory memory
first step of memory storage process that last not even a full second; holds information in your mind for a very brief period of time
Example: brain looking over chart of letters and numbers very brief and trying to recall them after taken away(less than a second)
Iconic sensory memory
visual memory that lasts about a quarter of a second
Echoic sensory memory
auditory memory that lasts up to several seconds
Example: question asked while watching tv when asked what they want for dinner; once attention was pulled away could review question and answer without them asking again
Short-term memory
limited capacity memory system which stores information for approximately 30 seconds without effort, also called working memory
Saying something over and over again to remember in short term memory, Like phone number or grocery list; We retain 7 +/- 2 items of information
Memory from the last 30 seconds-2 minutes; VERY BRIEF; only held there if continuously keep thinking about it; Old stuff constantly be replaced by new stuff
Short-term memory effects on items in short term memory
Chunking, Rehearsal and distractors
Effects of Chunking
way to group items together to hold more numbers/letters in short term memory longer
Effects of Rehearsal
repetitive thinking/thought to hold in memory
Effects of Distractors
Interference/distraction shifts attention away to lose items in short term memory
Long-term memory
last step in the memory storage process, in which we can store unlimited amounts of information for a long time; IMPORTANT; Believed to be permanent unless of a disease/development issue; Like filing cabinets; Sometimes things get lost, in long term memory but retrieval from long-term memory fails
Two Types of Long-Term memory
Declarative/explicit memory and nondeclarative/implicit memory
Declarative/explicit memory
conscious memories for people, places, events, facts, dates, feelings, and explanations; memory of who, what, where, when, and why; Aware that we have these certain memories, conscious memories; episodic and sematic memory
Episodic
memory for events in your life; autobiographical memory
Sematic
memory about the world; general common knowledge
Do Sematic and Episodic memory affect the same thing or different things?
Different things
Non-declarative/implicit memory
non-concious memories for skills, procedures, subliminal information, and classically conditioned responses; memory for the “how””; For memories we don’t necessarily know why they are there, but for how we do things
Examples: riding a bike, swimming
How do we know there are two types of Long-term memory?
Case Studies of Henry M and Clive Wearing
Had part of brain dealing with memory- the hippocampus- damaged; Conversation with them would be forgotten after leaving them for a brief period of time; Has non-declarative memories that work(muscle memories) but not declarative long term memories(Clive had encephalitis, that affected brain; No longer forms memories for future, cannot remember the past; Has momentous sensations about feeling conscious that repeats for his life)
Henry had severe epilepsy; 1950s; Hippocampus removed to stop the severe seizures; Had long term memories still, but could not create more after the surgery
Alternative way of explaining short term memory by Alan Baddeley
Three parts of working memory:
central executive(attention planning and organizing), phonological loop(sounds and speech patterns), and visuospatial working memory(mental images and spatial locations)
