Chapter 7: Memory
memory = the ability to store and retrieve information
→ our memories are influenced by the situation or context and the way we process, interpret
and use information.
7.1
You express your memories through your thoughts, words and actions.
amnesia = a deficit in long-term memory in which the individual loses the ability to retrieve
vast quantities of information. Resulting from disease, brain injury or psychological trauma.
- retrograde amnesia = a condition in which people lose past memories, such as
memories for events, facts, people or even personal information
- anterograde amnesia = a condition in which people lose the ability to form new
memories.
Each memory system is specialized for
specific types of information and/or
memory expression.
implicit memory (unconscious) =
memory that is expressed through
responses, actions or reactions; can’t be
put into words
explicit memory (declarative) = memory
that is consciously retrieved
7.2
procedural memory = a type of implicit memory that involves skills and habits.
→ so unconscious that sometimes being conscious of these memories can interfere with
the smooth production of those behaviors.
Priming:
- perceptual → a response to the same stimulus is facilitated
- conceptual → a response to a conceptually related stimulus is facilitated
7.3
episodic memory = memory for one’s past experiences that are identified by a time and
place
semantic memory = memory for facts independent of personal experience.
The hippocampus forms links between the different storage sites and then directs the
gradual strengthening of the connections between these links. Once the connections are
strengthened sufficiently, the hippocampus becomes less important for the retrieval of the
episodic memory.
Stages of memory: Encoding, Storage and Retrieval
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, 7.4
Encoding = the process by which the perception of a stimulus or event gets transformed into
a memory.
dual-coding hypothesis → information that can be coded verbally and visually will be
remembered more easily than information that can be coded only verbally.
7.5
levels of processing model → the more deeply an item is encoded and the more meaning
it has, the better it is remembered.
maintenance rehearsal → repeating the item over and over
elaborative rehearsal → encodes the information in more meaningful ways
schemas = cognitive structures in long-term memory that helps us perceive, organize and
understand information.
7.6
Chunking = organizing information into meaningful units to make it easier to remember
mnemonics = learning aids or strategies that improve recall through the use of retrieval
cues.
method of loci → associating items you want to remember with physical locations
7.7
sensory memory = a memory system that very briefly stores sensory information in close to
its original sensory form.
iconic memory = visual sensory memory
echoic memory = auditory sensory memory
7.8
When we pay attention to something, the information passes from sensory stores to short-
term memory.
Information enters and is held in working memory via attention, actively thinking about it or
rehearsing it.
working memory = a limited-capacity cognitive system that temporarily stores and
manipulates information for current use.
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