PSYCHOLOGY

(8th Edition)
David Myers Memory
PowerPoint Slides
Aneeq Ahmad Chapter 9
Henderson State University

Worth Publishers, © 2006 1 2

Memory Memory
The Phenomenon of Storage: Retaining
Memory Information

Information Processing
Sensory Memory

Working/Short-term Memory
Encoding: Getting
Long-Term Memory
Information in
Storing Memories in the Brain

How We Encode

What We Encode
3 4

Memory Memory

Retrieval: Getting Memory Construction

Information Out
Misinformation and Imagination

Retrieval Cues Effect

Source Amnesia
Forgetting
Discerning True and False

Encoding Failure Memories

Storage Decay
Children’s Eyewitness Recall

Retrieval Failure
Repressed or Constructed
5 Memories of Abuse? 6
 Memory Memory

Improving Memory Memory is the basis for knowing your friends,

your neighbors, the English language, the
national anthem, and yourself.

If memory was nonexistent, everyone would be

a stranger to you; every language foreign; every
task new; and even you yourself would be a
stranger.

7 8

The Phenomenon of Memory Flashbulb Memory

Memory is any indication that learning has A unique and highly emotional moment may
persisted over time. It is our ability to store and give rise to a clear, strong, and persistent
retrieve information. memory called flashbulb memory. However,
this memory is not free from errors.

Ruters/ Corbis
9 10
President Bush being told of 9/11 attack.

Stages of Memory Information Processing

The Atkinson-Schiffrin (1968) three-stage model
of memory includes a) sensory memory, b)
short-term memory, and c) long-term memory.
Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works
Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works

Frank Wartenberg/ Picture Press/

Corbis

Keyboard Disk Monitor

(Encoding) (Storage) (Retrieval)
Sequential Process 11 12
 Problems with the Model
Bell Ringer Exercise
1. Some information skips the first two stages
and enters long-term memory automatically.
2. Since we cannot focus all the sensory • Please pair up with someone in the class
information in the environment, we select and sit near each other or across from each
information (through attention) that is other
important to us.
• Take out the Information Processing
3. The nature of short-term memory is more
complex. Activity
• Compare Notes and come to agreement on
the answers.
13 14

Working Memory Encoding: Getting Information In

Alan Baddeley (2002) proposes that working memory How We Encode
contains auditory and visual processing controlled by the
central executive through an episodic buffer.
1. Some information (route to your school) is
automatically processed.

2. However, new or unusual information

(friend’s new cell-phone number) requires
attention and effort.

15 16

Automatic Processing Effortful Processing

We process an enormous amount of
information effortlessly, such as the
following:
Committing novel
1. Space: While reading a textbook, you information to memory
automatically encode the place of a picture requires effort just like
on a page. learning a concept from
2. Time: We unintentionally note the events a textbook. Such
Spencer Grant/ Photo Edit

processing leads to
© Bananastock/ Alamy

that take place in a day.

durable and accessible
3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of
memories.
things that happen to you.
17 18
 Rehearsal Rehearsal
Effortful learning
usually requires
rehearsal or conscious The more times the
repetition. nonsense syllables were
practiced on Day 1,

http://www.isbn3-540-21358-9.de
Ebbinghaus studied the fewer repetitions
rehearsal by using were required to
nonsense syllables: remember them on Day
TUV YOF GEK XOZ 2.
Hermann Ebbinghaus
(1850-1909) 19 20

Memory Effects Spacing Effect

1. Next-in-line-Effect: When you are so
anxious about being next that you cannot
remember what the person just before you
in line says, but you can recall what other
people around you say.
2. Spacing Effect: We retain information better
when we rehearse over time.
1. Serial Position Effect: When your recall is
better for first and last items on a list, but
poor for middle items.
Distributing rehearsal (spacing effect) is better
than practicing all at once. Robert Frost’s poem
could be memorized with fair ease if spread over
time.
ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT
Robert Frost
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain — and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.
……
21 22

Serial Position Effect What We Encode

1. TUV 1. Encoding by meaning

2. ZOF Better recall
3. GEK 2. Encoding by images
4. WAV
1. XOZ 3. Encoding by organization
2. TIK Poor recall
3. FUT
4. WIB
1. SAR
2. POZ Better recall
3. REY
4. GIJ

23 24
 Encoding Meaning Results
“Whale”
Q: Did the word begin Structural
Shallow
with a capital letter? Encoding

Q: Did the word rhyme

with the word Phonemic Intermediate
Encoding
“weight”?
Q: Would the word fit
in the sentence? Semantic
He met a __________ Encoding Deep
in the street.
Craik and Lockhart (1972) 25 26

Visual Encoding Mnemonics

Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to Imagery is at the heart of many memory aids.
effortful processing, especially when combined Mnemonic techniques use vivid imagery in
with semantic encoding. aiding memory.

1. Method of Loci
Both photos: Ho/AP Photo

2. Link Method

Showing adverse effects of tanning and smoking

in a picture may be more powerful than simply talking about it. 27 28

Method of Loci Link Method

List of Items Imagined Locations List of Items

Charcoal Backyard Newspaper

Pens Shaving cream
Study
Bed Sheets Pen
Bedroom
Hammer Garage Umbrella
. . .
. .
.
. .
.
Rug Lamp
Living Room
Involves forming a mental image of items to be
29 remembered in a way that links them together. 30
 Organizing Information for
Chunking
Encoding
Organizing items into a familiar, manageable
Break down complex information into broad unit. Try to remember the numbers below.
concepts and further subdivide them into
categories and subcategories. 1-7-7-6-1-4-9-2-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1

1. Chunking If you are well versed with American history,

2. Hierarchy chunk the numbers together and see if you
can recall them better. 1776 1492 1812 1941.

31 32

Chunking Hierarchy
Acronyms are another way of chunking Complex information broken down into broad
information to remember it. concepts and further subdivided into categories
and subcategories.

HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

PEMDAS = Parentheses, Exponent, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract

ROY G. BIV = Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

33 34

Encoding Summarized in a
Hierarchy
Storage: Retaining Information
Storage is at the heart of memory. Three
stores of memory are shown below:

Sensory Working Long-term

Memory Memory Memory

Encoding

Events
Encoding Retrieval

35
Retrieval 36
 Sensory Memory Whole Report
Sperling (1960)
Sensory Working Long-term
Memory Memory Memory
R G T “Recall”
Encoding

Events
F M Q RTMZ
(44% recall)
Encoding Retrieval L Z S
50 ms (1/20 second)

Retrieval
The exposure time for the stimulus is so small
that items cannot be rehearsed.
37 38

Partial Report Time Delay

S X T Low Tone
“Recall” A D I Low Tone
“Recall”
Time
J R S Medium Tone JRS N L V Delay
Medium Tone N__
(100% recall) (33% recall)
P K Y High Tone O G H High Tone
50 ms (1/20 second)
50 ms (1/20 second)

Sperling (1960) argued that sensory memory capacity

was larger than what was originally thought.
39 40

Sensory Memory Sensory Memories

The longer the delay, the greater the memory loss. The duration of sensory memory varies for the
different senses.
Percent Recognized

80

Iconic
60
0.5 sec. long

40 Echoic
3-4 sec. long
20
Hepatic
< 1 sec. long
0.15 0.30 0.50 1.00

Time (Seconds) 41 42
 Working Memory Working Memory
Working memory, the new name for short-term
Sensory Working Long-term memory, has a limited capacity (7±2) and a short
Memory Memory Memory
duration (20 seconds).
Encoding

Events
Encoding Retrieval

Retrieval
Sir George Hamilton observed that he could accurately remember up
to 7 beans thrown on the floor. If there were more beans, he guessed.
43 44

Capacity Chunking
The Magical Number Seven, Plus or The capacity of the working memory may be
Minus Two: Some Limits on Our increased by “Chunking.”
Capacity for Processing Information
(1956).
F-B-I-T-W-A-C-I-A-I-B-M
Ready?

MUTGIKTLRSYP FBI TWA CIA IBM

You should be able to 4 chunks
recall 7±2 letters.
George Miller
45 46

Duration Working Memory Duration

Brown/Peterson and Peterson (1958/1959)
measured the duration of working memory by
manipulating rehearsal.
CHJ 547
MKT 544
HIJ CH??
541
547 …

The duration of the working memory is about

20 sec. 47 48
 Long-Term Memory Long-Term Memory
Unlimited capacity store. Estimates on capacity
Sensory Working Long-term range from 1000 billion to 1,000,000 billion bits of
Memory Memory Memory
information (Landauer, 1986).
Encoding

Events
Encoding Retrieval

R.J. Erwin/ Photo Researchers

Retrieval

The Clark’s nutcracker can locate 6,000 caches of

49 buried pine seeds during winter and spring. 50

Memory Feats Memory Stores

Feature Sensory Working LTM

Memory Memory

Encoding Copy Phonemic Semantic

Capacity Unlimited 7±2 Chunks Very Large

Duration 0.25 sec. 20 sec. Years

51 52

Storing Memories in the Brain Synaptic Changes

1. Through electrical stimulation of the brain, In Aplysia, Kandel and Schwartz (1982) showed
Wilder Penfield (1967) concluded that old that serotonin release from neurons increased
memories were etched into the brain. after conditioning.
2. Loftus and Loftus (1980) reviewed
Penfield's data and showed that only a
handful of brain stimulated patients
reported flashbacks.
Photo: Scientific American

3. Using rats, Lashley (1950) suggested that

even after removing parts of the brain, the
animals retain partial memory of the maze.
53 54
 Synaptic Changes Stress Hormones & Memory
Long-Term Potentiation Heightened emotions (stress-related or

Both Photos: From N. Toni et al., Nature, 402, Nov. 25 1999. Courtesy of Dominique Muller
(LTP) refers to synaptic otherwise) make for stronger memories.
enhancement after Continued stress may disrupt memory.
learning (Lynch, 2002).
An increase in
neurotransmitter release
or receptors on the
receiving neuron

Scott Barbour/ Getty Images

indicates strengthening
of synapses.
55 56

Storing Implicit & Explicit Memories Hippocampus

Explicit Memory refers to facts and experiences that one Hippocampus – a neural center in the limbic
can consciously know and declare. Implicit memory system that processes explicit memories.
involves learning an action while the individual does not
know or declare what she knows.

Weidenfield & Nicolson archives

57 58

Anterograde Amnesia Implicit Memory

After losing his hippocampus in surgery, patient HM is unable to make new memories that are
Henry M. (HM) remembered everything before the declarative (explicit), but he can form new
operation but cannot make new memories. We call memories that are procedural (implicit).
this anterograde amnesia.

Anterograde
Amnesia Memory Intact No New Memories
(HM)
Surgery A B C

HM learned the Tower of Hanoi (game) after his surgery. Each time
he plays it, he is unable to remember the fact that he has already
59 played the game. 60
 Cerebellum Retrieval: Getting Information Out
Cerebellum – a neural center in the hindbrain Retrieval refers to getting information out of
that processes implicit memories. the memory store.

Spanky’s Yearbook Archive

Spanky’s Yearbook Archive

61 62

Measures of Memory Measures of Memory

In recognition, the person must identify an item In recall, the person must retrieve information
amongst other choices. (A multiple-choice test using effort. (A fill-in-the blank test requires
requires recognition.) recall.)

1. Name the capital of France. 1. The capital of France is ______.

a. Brussels
b. Rome
c. London
d. Paris
63 64

Measures of Memory Retrieval Cues

In relearning, the individual shows how much Memories are held in storage by a web of
time (or effort) is saved when learning material associations. These associations are like anchors
for the second time. that help retrieve memory.
List List water
Jet Jet smell
Original Relearning
Dagger Dagger Trials Trials hose
Tree Tree Saving X 100 Fire Truck
1 day later Relearning fire
Kite Kite
… … Trials
Silk Silk 10 5
X 100
smoke truck
heat
Frog Frog 10
Ring Ring red
It took 10 trials It took 5 trials 50%
to learn this list to learn the list 65 66
 Priming Context Effects
To retrieve a specific memory from the web of Scuba divers recall more words underwater if they
associations, you must first activate one of the learned the list underwater, while they recall more
strands that leads to it. This process is called words on land if they learned that list on land
priming. (Godden & Baddeley, 1975).

Fred McConnaughey/ Photo Researchers

67 68

Déja Vu Context Effects

Déja Vu means “I've experienced this before.” After learning to move a mobile by kicking,
Cues from the current situation may infants most strongly respond when retested in
unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier the same context rather than in a different
similar experience. context (Butler & Rovee-Collier, 1989).
cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved
© The New Yorker Collection, 1990. Leo Cullum from

Rutgers University
Courtesy of Carolyn Rovee-Collier,
69 70

Moods and Memories Forgetting

We usually recall experiences that are consistent An inability to retrieve information due to
with our current mood. Emotions, or moods, poor encoding, storage, or retrieval.
serve as retrieval cues.
Jorgen Schytte/ Still Pictures

71 72
 Encoding Failure Which penny is real?
We cannot remember what we do not
encode.

73 74

Storage Decay Retaining Spanish

Poor durability of stored memories leads to Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of
their decay. Ebbinghaus showed this with forgetting and retaining over 50 years.
his forgetting curve.

Andrew Holbrooke/ Corbis

75 76

Retrieval Failure Interference

Although the information is retained in the Learning some new information may disrupt
memory store, it cannot be accessed. retrieval of other information.

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure

phenomenon. Given a cue (What makes blood cells
red?) the subject says the word begins with an H
(hemoglobin). 77 78
 Retroactive Interference Motivated Forgetting
Sleep prevents retroactive interference. Therefore, it Motivated Forgetting:
leads to better recall. People unknowingly
revise their memories.

Repression: A defense
mechanism that banishes
anxiety-arousing
thoughts, feelings, and
memories from

Culver Pictures
consciousness.
Sigmund Freud
79 80

Why do we forget? Memory Construction

While tapping our memories, we filter or fill in

missing pieces of information to make our
Forgetting can occur at recall more coherent.
any memory stage. We
filter, alter, or lose
much information Misinformation Effect: Incorporating
during these stages. misleading information into one's memory of
an event.

81 82

Misinformation and Imagination

Effects
Misinformation
Eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories when Group A: How fast were the cars going
questioned about the event. when they hit each other?

Group B: How fast were the cars going

when they smashed into each
other?

Depiction of the actual accident. 83 84

 Source Amnesia
Source Amnesia: Attributing an event to the
wrong source that we experienced, heard, read,
or imagined (misattribution).

86

Discerning True & False Memories False Memories

Repressed or Constructed?
Just like true perception and illusion, real Some adults actually do forget childhood
memories and memories that seem real are episodes of abuse.
difficult to discern.
False Memory Syndrome
A condition in which a person’s identity and
relationships center around a false but strongly
© Simon Niedsenthal

believed memory of a traumatic experience,

which is sometimes induced by well-meaning
therapists.
When students formed a happy or angry memory of
morphed (computer blended) faces, they made
the (computer assisted) faces (a), either happier or (b) angrier. 87 88

Children’s Eyewitness Recall Memories of Abuse

Children’s eyewitness recall can be unreliable if Are memories of abuse repressed or
leading questions are posed. However, if constructed?
cognitive interviews are neutrally worded, the
accuracy of their recall increases. In cases of
sexual abuse, this usually suggests a lower Many psychotherapists believe that early
percentage of abuse. childhood sexual abuse results in repressed
memories.

However, other psychologists question such

beliefs and think that such memories may be
constructed.
89 90
 Constructed Memories Consensus on Childhood Abuse

Loftus’ research shows that if false memories
(lost at the mall or drowned in a lake) are
implanted in individuals, they construct
(fabricate) their memories.
Don Shrubshell
Leading psychological associations of the world agree
on the following concerning childhood sexual abuse:
1. Injustice happens.
2. Incest and other sexual abuse happens.
3. People may forget.
4. Recovered memories are commonplace.
5. Recovered memories under hypnosis or drugs are
unreliable.
6. Memories of things happening before 3 years of age
are unreliable.
7. Memories, whether real or false, are emotionally

upsetting.
91 92

Improving Memory Improving Memory

1. Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. 5. Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate
2. Spend more time rehearsing or actively the situation and mood.
thinking about the material. 6. Recall events while they are fresh — before
3. Make material personally meaningful. you encounter misinformation.
4. Use mnemonic devices: 7. Minimize interference:

associate with peg words — something already 1. Test your own knowledge.
stored 2. Rehearse and then determine what you do not

make up a story yet know.

© LWA-Dann Tardiff/ Corbis

chunk — acronyms

93 94