Cognitive Psychology

Paper: V
Code: PSY. 555
Credit: 3
Full Marks: 100 (Theory: 60 + Practical: 40)
Teaching Hours: 48
 Unit 4: Memory

1. Memory storage models: Sensory, Short-term and Long-

term storage
2. Working memory (Baddeley's Three component working
model), F. Craik.
3. Episodic memory and Semantic memory: Tulvings model,
Flashbulb, Autobiographical, Eye witness memory, inducing
false memory.
4. Implicit and Explicit memory
Introduction
• Memory is the process by which information is acquired,
stored and later retrieved. The process by which we encode,
store, and retrieve information.
• Memory is the mental system for receiving, storing,
organizing, altering and recovering information.
• Memory is a system through which we acquire new
information, hold the information over time and organize the
information so that it becomes easy to recall later on.
Process of Memory
Stages/Models/Types of Memory
• This was proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968.
• It is also called The Modal Model of Memory, or The Multi Store Model
of Memory.
• It is also called Three System Approach to Memory.
• Atkinson and Shiffrin believed that once information enters the brain,
it must be either stored or maintained and that the information which
is stored goes into three distinct memory systems.
• They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory
register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
 Sensory Memory
• The sensory register is the first memory system that information passes
through.
• It is also called immediate memory.
• Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary storage of information
that lasts only an instant.
• The sensory register perceives and retains information that is received
via the five senses for a very short amount of time, i.e. a few seconds.
• It is the gateway for all the information coming from environment.
• The storage duration of sensory memory is 0.25-0.5 seconds (¼ to ½
seconds).
 Sensory Memory
• The sensory registers do not process the information carried by the
stimulus, but rather detect and hold that information for use in short-term
memory. The sensory registers act as "buffers“.
• Atkinson-Shiffrin model focuses on two major sensory memory:
• Iconic Memory: It is the memory from the visual system (sight). The duration is less
than 1 second.
• Echoic Memory: It is the memory from the auditory system (hearing). The duration is
about 5 seconds.
• The storage capacity of sensory memory is huge but the duration is very
brief.
• The major reason of loss of information is decay of information due to
passage of time, where memory traces becomes weaker if they are not
timely used.
 Short Term Memory
• Most of the information that gets into sensory memory is forgotten, but
information that we turn our attention to, with the goal of remembering it,
may pass into short-term memory.
• Short-term memory (STM) is the place where small amounts of information
can be temporarily kept for more than a few seconds but usually for less than
one minute. It holds information for about 15-25 seconds.
• George Miller suggested that short term memory can hold 7±2 chunks. A
chunk is any meaningful piece of information. It is the because of the process
of chunking that we can make large amount of information into smaller
amounts. Chunking is the process of organizing information into smaller
groupings (chunks), thereby increasing the number of items that can be held
in STM.
• The loss of information from short term memory takes place due to decay
and displacement.
 Short Term Memory
• Information in short-term memory is not stored permanently but rather becomes
available for us to process, and the processes that we use to make sense of,
modify, interpret, and store information in STM are known as working memory.
• Although it is called memory, working memory is not a store of memory like STM
but rather a set of memory procedures or operations.
• Working memory is a set of active, temporary memory stores that actively
manipulate and rehearse information. It permits to keep the information in an
active state so that we are able to use the information for further processing.
• Short-term memory is like an information-processing system that manages both
new material gathered from sensory memory and older material that has been
pulled from long-term storage. In this sense, short-term memory is referred to as
working memory and defined as a set of temporary memory stores that actively
manipulate and rehearse information.
 Working Memory
• Working memory is a cognitive system with a limited capacity that is
responsible for temporarily holding information available for processing.
• Working memory is important for reasoning and the guidance of decision-
making and behavior.
• Working memory is often used synonymously with short-term memory, but
some theorists consider the two forms of memory distinct, assuming that
working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information, whereas
short-term memory only refers to the short-term storage of information.
• Working memory is a theoretical concept central to cognitive psychology,
neuropsychology, and neuroscience.
• Working memory is the part of short-term memory which is concerned with
immediate conscious perceptual and linguistic processing.
 Working Memory
• In 1974, Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch introduced the multicomponent model of
working memory.
• The theory proposed a model containing three components: the central executive,
the phonological loop, and the visuospatial sketchpad with the central executive
functioning as a control center of sorts, directing info between the phonological and
visuospatial components.
• The central executive is responsible for directing attention to relevant information,
suppressing irrelevant information and inappropriate actions, and coordinating
cognitive processes when more than one task is simultaneously performed.
• A "central executive" is responsible for supervising the integration of information
and for coordinating "slave systems" that are responsible for the short-term
maintenance of information.
• One slave system, the phonological loop (PL), stores phonological information (that
is, the sound of language) and prevents its decay by continuously refreshing it in
a rehearsal loop. It can, for example, maintain a seven-digit telephone number for as
long as one repeats the number to oneself again and again.
 Working Memory
• The other slave system, the visuospatial sketchpad, stores visual and spatial
information. It can be used, for example, for constructing and manipulating
visual images and for representing mental maps.
• The sketchpad can be further broken down into a visual subsystem (dealing
with such phenomena as shape, color, and texture), and a spatial subsystem
(dealing with location).
• In 2000, Baddeley extended the model by adding a fourth component,
the episodic buffer, which holds representations that integrate phonological,
visual, and spatial information, and possibly information not covered by the
slave systems (e.g., semantic information, musical information). The episodic
buffer is also the link between working memory and long-term memory.
• The component is episodic because it is assumed to bind information into a
unitary episodic representation.
• Working memory is thought to contain a central executive processor that is involved in reasoning and
decision making. The central executive coordinates three distinct storage-and-rehearsal systems: the visual
store , the verbal store , and the episodic buffer .
• The visual store specializes in visual and spatial information, whereas the verbal store holds and
manipulates material relating to speech, words, and numbers. The episodic buffer contains information
that represents episodes or events.
 Working Memory
• Fergus Ian Muirden Craik is a cognitive psychologist known for his research
on levels of processing in memory.
• This work was done in collaboration with Robert Lockhart at the University of
Toronto in 1972 and continued with another collaborative effort with Endel
Tulving in 1975.
• Craik has received numerous awards and is considered a leader in the area
of memory, attention and cognitive aging. Moreover, his work over the years
can be seen in developmental psychology, aging and memory, and
the neuropsychology of memory.
• The most well-known and notable of Craiks’ research analyzed how memory is
encoded and various levels of depths of processing.
 Level of Processing
• Craik and Lockhart postulated that during the first stage of memory where
information is acquired, the encoding stage, there is a series of processing
hierarchies.
• During the initial phase of encoding, an individual experiences "shallow"
processing and may reach into the deepest level.
• Memory traces form as a result of these processes, containing coding
characteristics and persistence in memory.
• A deeper depth of processing implies that a greater amount of semantic or
cognitive analysis must be conducted.
• Therefore, a stimulus that has undergone a deep level of processing will have a
longer, more durable storage and retention.
 Level of Processing
• The levels of processing framework was presented by Craik & Lockhart (1972)
as an alternative to theories of memory that postulated separate stages for
sensory, working and long-term memory.
• According to the levels of processing framework, stimulus information is
processed at multiple levels simultaneously depending upon its characteristics.
• Furthermore, the “deeper” the processing, the more that will be remembered.
For example, information that involves strong visual images or many
associations with existing knowledge will be processed at a deeper level.
• Similarly, information that is being attended to receives more processing than
other stimuli/events. The theory also supports the finding that we remember
things that are meaningful to us because this requires more processing than
meaningless stimuli.
• The levels-of-processing-approach is an alternative to the modal view of
memory.
• Its focus is on the different kinds of cognitive processing that people perform
on information at the time of encoding.
• The fundamental principle is that retention and coding of information
depends on the type of analysis done on the material at the time of
encoding.
• This means that a shallow level of processing will not lead to good retention,
while a deeper level of processing will lead to better recall.
• Craik and Lockhart proposed three levels of processing:
• Physical processing
• Acoustic processing
• Semantic processing
 Level of Processing
• Processing of information at different levels is unconscious and automatic
unless we attend to that level.
• For example, we are normally not aware of the sensory properties of stimuli,
or what we have in working memory, unless we are asked to specifically
identify such information.
• This suggests that the mechanism of attention is an interruption in processing
rather than a cognitive process in its own right.
• The primary application of the levels of processing framework was to verbal
learning settings; however, it has been applied to reading and language
learning.
 Level of Processing
• Perfetti extends the levels of processing framework to language
comprehension.
• He proposes seven levels: acoustic, phonology, syntactic, semantic, referential,
thematic, and functional.
• The first levels are normally transparent while the fourth level (semantic) is the
conscious interpretation of the utterance or sentence.
• Processing of the last three levels depend upon context and will result in
comprehension.
Principles
• The greater the processing of information during learning, the more it will be
retained and remembered.
• Processing will be automatic unless attention is focused on a particular level.
 Long Term Memory
• Information from Short Term Memory is transferred to the Long Term
Memory.
• LTM is the memory that stores information on a relatively permanent basis,
although it may be difficult to retrieve the information.
• This memory storage that can hold information for days, months, and years.
• The capacity of long-term memory is large, and there is no known limit to
what we can remember. Although we may forget at least some information
after we learn it, other things will stay with us forever.
• LTM is strong because it stores sensory information, analyzes, rehearses,
compiles and transfers information into the memory. It is a secondary
memory and has unlimited storing capacity.
• Information, skills and knowledge are stored in LTM.
• Long term memory has been divided into implicit and explicit memory.
• Some psychologists use explicit memory as synonymous to declarative
memory and implicit memory to procedural memory.
• Implicit memory refers to the memory of which we are not consciously
aware but can affect subsequent performance and behavior. Skills that are
operated automatically and without thinking are stored in the implicit
memory. This memory is often referred to as procedural memory.
• Explicit memory refers to the memory of which we are consciously aware.
It is the conscious or intentional recollection or retrieval of information.
• When we want to remember something, it is stored in the explicit memory.
We find it easy to express such memories verbally. We can talk about it,
explain it or discuss about it with others.
• Usually, we explain it verbally, we use it whenever we need.
Tulving’s Model
 Tulving’s Model
• Endel Tulving (born May 26, 1927) is an Estonian-born Canadian
experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist whose research on
human memory has influenced psychological scientists, neuroscientists,
and clinicians.
• He helped separate declarative memory into two distinct parts.
• Tulving first made the distinction between episodic and semantic
memory in a 1972 book chapter.
• Episodic memory is the ability to consciously recollect previous experiences
from memory, whereas semantic memory is the ability to store more
general knowledge in memory.
 Tulving’s Model
• Tulving splits declarative memory into two sub-types:
• Episodic memory is the memory of particular events and specific
information: events, names and dates. It includes memories of things that
have happened to you and information like a person’s address.
• Semantic memory is the memory of relationships and how things fit
together. It includes the memory that you have brothers or sisters, where
things are located and what they do.
 Flashbulb Memory
• Flashbulb memories are a type of long-term memory.
• These memories are focused around specific, shocking, emotional events.
• Flashbulb memories are high in details such as location, emotion, and surroundings.
• Many people feel that they can correctly remember all of these details because of the
vividness of the event.
• Flashbulb memories, in actuality, are far from complete. Evidence has shown that
although people are highly confident in their memories, the details of the memories can
be forgotten.
• The flashbulb memories are stored on one occasion and retained for a lifetime.
• These memories are associated with important historical or autobiographical events.
Examples of flashbulb events are earthquake, accidents.
• Each of these events sparked a strong emotional response from many people around
the country.
• Today many of us have been asked, "where were you when earthquake occurred?"
Almost all of us will feel that our memory of this event is correct, despite research
telling us that errors will be in the memory.
 Flashbulb Memory
• People also may form flashbulb memories of important personal events,
such as hearing about the death of a family member or witnessing an
unusual trauma such as a disaster.
• Emotions play such an important role in flashbulb memory that the
amygdala, responsible for emotions, triggers them faster than our
conscious awareness.
• What makes the flashbulb memory special is the emotional arousal at the
moment that the event is registered to the memory.
• It is the emotions elicited by a flashbulb memory event that increase the
ability to recall the details of the event.
• One reason that the flashbulb memories are remembered is because these
memories tend to be retold over and over again. Sometimes, though, these
memories are not necessarily accurate.
 Autobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory is a memory system consisting of episodes recollected
from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic (personal
experiences and specific objects, people and events experienced at particular
time and place) and semantic (general knowledge and facts about the world)
memory.
• It is thus a type of explicit memory.
• Conway and Pleydell-Pearce (2000) proposed that autobiographical memory is
constructed within a self-memory system (SMS), a conceptual model composed
of an autobiographical knowledge base and the working self.
• The autobiographical knowledge base contains knowledge of the self, used to
provide information on what the self is, what the self was, and what the self can
be.
• This information is categorized into three broad areas: lifetime periods, general
events, and event-specific knowledge.
 Autobiographical Memory
• Autobiographical memory contains information about yourself,
and about personal experiences.
• Specific events you have experienced are only memorable to the
extent that they include details special to that specific occasion.
• Most events in our lives are routine, and are merged in memory
into one generic memory containing the common elements of the
experience.
• Autobiographical memory contains the information you have
about yourself. It includes several domains:
• self-description (the source of a large part of your sense of identity)
• emotional memory, which not only contains our memories of emotional
experiences, but also helps us control our moods.
• event memory
 Eyewitness Memory
• Eyewitness memory is a person's episodic memory for a crime or other dramatic
event that he or she has witnessed.
• Eyewitness testimony is often relied upon in the judicial system. It can also refer
to an individual's memory for a face, where they are required to remember the
face of their perpetrator, for example.
• However, the accuracy of eyewitness memories is sometimes questioned
because there are many factors that can act during encoding and retrieval of the
witnessed event which may adversely affect the creation and maintenance of the
memory for the event.
• Experts have found evidence to suggest that eyewitness memory is fallible.
• It has long been speculated that mistaken eyewitness identification plays a major
role in the wrongful conviction of innocent individuals. A growing body of
research now supports this speculation, indicating that mistaken eyewitness
identification is responsible for more convictions of the innocent than all other
factors combined.
 Eyewitness Memory
• This may be due to the fact that details of unpleasant emotional events are
recalled poorly compared to neutral events. States of high emotional
arousal, which occur during a stressful or traumatic event, lead to less
efficient memory processing.
• Eyewitness testimony is a legal term. It refers to an account given by
people of an event they have witnessed.
• For example they may be required to give a description at a trial of a
robbery or a road accident someone has seen. This includes identification
of perpetrators, details of the crime scene etc.
• Eyewitness testimony is an important area of research in cognitive
psychology and human memory.
• Juries tend to pay close attention to eyewitness testimony and generally
find it a reliable source of information.
 Eyewitness Memory
• Eyewitness accuracy is dependent upon an eyewitness properly sensing, perceiving,
remembering, and recalling events. All eyewitness identifications (accurate or
inaccurate) are based on the initial opportunity to see an event occur.
• First, eyewitnesses take in visual information from the scene around them
through sensation. Next, witnesses must determine what to look at or look for and
where to focus his/her attention. Then, all of this information is combined and
integrated into the perception of the event. These perceptions are then encoded and are
processed in short-term working memory.
• However, working memory is limited in capacity. Eventually, these perceptions
are consolidated into long-term memory and are stored.
• Later on, when the eyewitness is asked to recall the events, he/she must retrieve the
related memories from storage. Vision, attention, and memory processes are very
complex, and changes to memory may occur over time.
• Further, memory encoding, retention, and retrieval are all susceptible to inaccuracies
and suggestion. Because these processes are naturally vulnerable, it is important to
create and utilize procedures that best help eyewitnesses report on events that they
have witnessed.
 False Memory
• A false memory is a psychological phenomenon where a person recalls
something that did not happen or that something happened differently
from the way it happened.
• False memories are mental experiences that people believe are accurate
representations of past events.
• A false memory is a fabricated or distorted recollection of an event. Such
memories may be entirely false and imaginary. In other cases, they may
contain elements of fact that have been distorted by interfering
information or other memory distortions.
• While we all experience memory failures from time to time, false memories
are unique in that they represent a distinct recollection of something that
did not actually happen. It is not about forgetting or mixing up details of
things that we experienced; it is about remembering things that we never
experienced in the first place.
 False Memory
• Factors that can influence false memory include misinformation and
misattribution of the original source of the information.
• Existing knowledge and other memories can also interfere with the
formation of a new memory, causing the recollection of an event to be
mistaken or entirely false.
• Suggestion can lead to false memories.
• Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus has demonstrated through her
research that it is possible to induce false memories through suggestion.
• She has also shown that these memories can become stronger and more
vivid as time goes on.
• Over time, memories become distorted and begin to change. In some
cases, the original memory may be changed in order to incorporate new
information or experiences.
 Implicit and Explicit Memory
• Information that you have to consciously work to remember is known
as explicit memory, while information that you remember unconsciously
and effortlessly is known as implicit memory.
• When you're trying to intentionally remember something (like a formula for
your statistics class or a list of dates for your history class), this information
is stored in your explicit memory. We use these memories every day, from
remembering information for a test to recalling the date and time of a
doctor's appointment. This type of memory is also known as declarative
memory since you can consciously recall and explain the information.
• Things that we don't purposely try to remember are stored in our implicit
memory. This kind of memory is both unconscious and unintentional.
Implicit memory is also sometimes referred to as nondeclarative memory
since you are not able to consciously bring it into awareness.
THANK YOU