Memory

Tip of the tongue phenomena:

In tip of the tongue phenomena the forgotten information feels like its just out of reach. You have probably endured this while taking exams.

What is memory?

The process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information Encoding: involves forming a memory code Storage: involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time Retrieval: involves recovering information from memory stores.

Role of attention:
Attention involves focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events Attention is usually linked to a filter that screens out important stimuli & pass it into conscious awareness In other words attention is selection of input.

Levels of processing:

Craik & Lockhart propose that incoming information can be processed at different levels.
Shallow

processing: which involves structural encoding (emphasize the physical structure of the stimulus) For e.g. Is the word written in capital letters?

 Intermediate

processing: which involves Phonemic coding (emphasizes what a word sounds like) Deep processing: involves Semantic encoding (emphasizes the meaning of verbal input; it involves thinking about the objects & actions the words represent) For e.g.

I ______ an apple (ate, threw, forgot, hate)

Systems of memory:

There are 3 kinds of memory storage system:

Sensory

memory: the initial momentary stage of information, lasting only an instant Short term memory: memory that holds information for 15 to 25 seconds Long term memory: memory that stores information on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve.

Capacity of storage
Short term memory is limited in the number of items it can hold. The small capacity of STM was pointed out by George Miller. He noticed that people could recall only about 7 items in tasks that require them to remember unfamiliar material.

You can increase the capacity of STM by combining stimuli into chunks. A chunk is a group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit.

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How to enrich encoding?

Elaboration: is linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding Visual Imagery: forming a visual code of the information Self referent encoding: involves deciding how or whether information is personally relevant

Why do we forget?
Ineffective encoding: the information has not been stored properly at the time of encoding Decay: forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time Motivated forgetting: also known as repression. People forget information that is painful or unpleasant for them.

Interference: people forget information because of competition from other material

Retroactive

interference: occur when new information impairs the retention of previously learned information Proactive interference: occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information

War of the Ghosts

One night two young men from Egulac went down to the river to hunt seals, & while they were there it became foggy & calm. Then they heard war cries, & they thought : may be this is a war party. They escaped to the shore, & hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, & they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, & they said: what do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people.

One of the young man went, but the other returned home. The warriors went up the river to the other side of Kalama. The people came down the water, & they began to fight, & many were killed. When the canoes went back to Egulac, the young man went ashore to his house, & made a fire. And he told everybody & said: Behold I accompanied the ghosts, & we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, & many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit, & I didnt feel sick

He told it all, & then he became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up & cried. He was dead.

Reconstructing memories & the misinformation effect:

To some extent, your memories are sketchy reconstructions of the past that may be distorted & may include details that did not actually occur. Research on misinformation effect has shown that reconstructive distortions show up frequently in eyewitness testimony.