MEMORY

MEMORY

 Memory is the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
 Memory is the retention of information. It includes skills such as riding a bicycle or tying your shoelaces.
 How do we remember?

Encode storage Retrieval

 Encoding: Process of translating info into neural codes that will be retained in memory
 Storage: The process of retaining neural coded info over time
 Retrieval: The process of recovering info from memory storage
MEMORY FORMATION

 We receive stimuli, perceive it and remembered information as sensory memories

 short-term memory, temporary storage of recent events
 long-term memory, a relatively permanent store.
 Semantic memory is memory of principles and facts, like what you are taught in school.
 Episodic memory is memory for specific events in your life
SHORT TERM MEMORY

 Psychologists have traditionally drawn several distinctions between short-term and long-term memory. One
difference is capacity. long-term memory has a vast, hard-to-measure capacity.
 Short-term memory has limited capacity (5-9 items), visual stimuli are more difficult to remember than auditory
stimuli.
 Mental repetition to maintain information in STM is called maintenance rehearsal
 You can store more information in short-term memory by chunking—grouping items into meaningful sequences or
clusters.
 Consolidation—converting short-term memory into long-term memory—does occur, but not all short-term
memories become long-term memories, even after a long rehearsal.
 Working memory, which is a system for working with current information. Working memory is almost
synonymous with your current sphere of attention (Baddeley, 2001; Baddeley & hitch, 1994; repovš & Baddeley,
2006).
 It includes information you use and then forget, like “summarize the material on page 42” or “go to the first
intersection and turn right.” It also includes the executive functioning that governs shifts of attention the hallmark
of good working memory is the ability to shift attention as needed among different tasks.
 Working memory is a system for dealing with current information, including the ability to shift attention back and
forth among tasks as necessary
LONG TERM MEMORY

 Memory for facts, images, thoughts, feelings, skills, and experiences that may last as long as a lifetime
 long-term memory, a relatively permanent store. for example, while you are playing a game, the current score is in
your short-term memory, and the rules of the game are in your long-term memory.
 Two types of long-term memory, semantic and episodic.
 Semantic memory is memory of principles and facts, like what you are taught in school.
 Episodic memory is memory for specific events in your life (tulving, 1989). For example, your memory of the law
of gravity is a semantic memory, whereas remembering the time you dropped your grandmother’s vase is an
episodic memory.
 Episodic memories are more fragile than semantic memories. If you don’t play tennis for a few years, you will still
remember the rules, but your memory of a particular tennis game will fade.
 Procedural memories, memories of how to do something, such as walking or eating with chopsticks, etc.
 Declarative memories (Implicit), memories we can readily state in words. Declarative memory is the memory of
factual information, general knowledge, data, and events.
 Information that you have to consciously work to remember is known as explicit memory
 information that you remember unconsciously and effortlessly is known as implicit memory
 This kind of memory is both unconscious and unintentional. This type of memory is also known as non-declarative
memory since you are not able to consciously bring it into awareness. Some examples of implicit memory include
singing a familiar song, typing on your computer keyboard, daily habits, and driving a car
FORGETTING

 Forgetting refers to the loss of information from long-term memory. We all forget things, like a loved one’s
birthday, someone’s name, or where we put our car keys. But why do we forget?
 Encoding Failure: Sometimes memory loss happens before the actual memory process begins, which is encoding
failure. We can’t remember something if we never stored it in our memory in the first place. 
 Memory errors: Absentmindedness, blocking, suggestions, bias, persistence, etc.
 Interference: other memories get in the way.
 Proactive interference: when old information hinders the recall of newly learned information.
 Retroactive interference: when information learned most recently hinders the recall of old information.
 Decay: memories fade over time.
 Trying not to remember: we intentionally attempt to keep things out of our minds.
DISORDERS OF MEMORY

 Age-associated memory impairment is a label for the general degradation of memory that results from aging. It is
a natural process, seen in humans, which often begins in our 20s and tends to get noticeably worse as we reach our
50s. While some specific abilities decline with age, overall memory generally remains strong for most people
through their 70s.
 Amnesia (Dementia) is the general term for a condition in which memory is disturbed or lost, to a greater extent
than simple everyday forgetting or absent-mindedness.
 Anterograde Amnesia: where the ability to memorize new things is impaired or lost because data does not transfer
successfully from the conscious STM into permanent LTM.
 Retrograde Amnesia: where a person's pre-existing memories are lost to conscious recollection, beyond an ordinary
degree of forgetfulness, even though they may be able to memorize new things that occur after the onset of amnesia.
 Causes are trauma or injury, psychological trauma, mental disorders, and Mostly damage to the hippocampus.
 Dementia is a general term for a large class of disorders characterized by the progressive deterioration of thinking
ability and memory as the brain becomes damaged. Essentially, when memory loss is so severe that it interferes
with normal daily functioning, it is called dementia.
 In this problem the person can loose its ability to speak, ability to move certain body parts, unable to recognize
known people and objects. (Alzheimer's disease). Causes are psychological and physiological both.
 Alcohol and other drugs, the effects of alcohol and other drugs on memory and general cognitive functioning,
has been the subject of much research over the years. Effects STM, episodic and Semantic Memory.
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

 Intellectual disability involves problems with general mental abilities that affect functioning in two areas:
 Intellectual functioning (such as learning, problem-solving, and judgment).
 Adaptive functioning (activities of daily life such as communication and independent living). Additionally,
intellectual and adaptive deficits begin early in the developmental period.
 Levels of intellectual disability vary greatly in children. Children with intellectual disabilities might have a hard
time letting others know their wants and needs, and taking care of themselves. An intellectual disability could
cause a child to learn and develop more slowly than other children of the same age. It could take longer for a child
with an intellectual disability to learn to speak, walk, dress, or eat without help, and they could have trouble
learning in school.
 Adaptive functioning is assessed through standardized measures with the individual and interviews with others,
such as family members, teachers, and caregivers.
 Intellectual disability is identified as mild (most people with intellectual disability are in this category), moderate,
or severe. The symptoms of intellectual disability begin during childhood. Delays in language or motor skills may
be seen by age two. However, mild levels of intellectual disability may not be identified until school age when a
child has difficulty with academics.
 Causes: genetic syndromes, such as Down syndrome or Fragile X syndrome. It may develop following an illness
such as meningitis, whooping cough, or measles; may result from head trauma during childhood; or may result
from exposure to toxins such as lead or mercury. Other factors that may contribute to intellectual disability include
brain malformation, maternal disease, and environmental influences (alcohol, drugs, or other toxins). A variety of
labor- and delivery-related events, infection during pregnancy, and problems at birth, such as not getting enough
oxygen, can also contribute.
TREATMENTS

 Early intervention (infants and toddlers).

 Special education.
 Family support (for example, respite care support groups for families).
 Transition services from childhood to adulthood.
 Vocational programs.
 Day programs for adults.
 Housing and residential options.
 Case management.