Chapter 6: Memory

P S YC & 1 0 0
A d a m Wr i g h t
 Memory
The storing and later retrieving of information
To function, memory must complete three
steps:
1. Encoding: converting thoughts, feelings, and
perceptions into retainable information
2. Storage: holding encoded information for a
time
3. Retrieval: accessing the stored encoded
information, converting it back into thoughts,
feelings, and perceptions

 Memory errors can happen at any step

 Encoding
Encoding appears to be accomplished by
representing the information as neuronal firing
patterns
During encoding, information is integrated with
related information that is already known, rather
than separately
 A computer with 2 files, FileA and FileB, with the same
content sees two unique files. Our minds see 2 identical files
and links them, consciously and unconsciously
There are multiple methods of encoding that use
different areas of the brain, such as:
 Semantic encoding - by word meaning
 Visual imagery encoding - by visual image (actual or mental)
 Organizational encoding - by category
 Storage

Three main types of storage hold information

for different lengths of time:
 Sensory memory
 Short-term memory
 Long-term memory
 Sensory Memory
Memory for sensations - can hold a lot of
information for a very short time, ranging from
less than a second to a few seconds, depending
on the sense

A fair amount about visual and auditory

sensory memory is known, some about haptic
memory, less about others

As part of perception, information from sensory

memory is processed and enters short-term
memory
 Short-term Memory I
Holds information currently being considered
or manipulated before it has been stored in
long-term memory (STM)
Holds about 7 packages of information for up to
15-20 seconds

Repeating information stored in STM is called

rehearsal. Doing this keeps the info from
being lost
By grouping information together into larger
packages, chunking increases the amount of
info STM can store
 STM II
STM was originally defined as being just for
holding information. However, as we think about
information in STM, we use mental processes
other than just memory
 Holds both conscious and unconscious memories

Working memory: the processes used to

maintain and think about information held in
STM, such as planning
 Has a limited capacity separate from but involving STM’s
capacity
 Has a stronger relationship to intelligence than STM
capacity
 Long-term Memory
Holds information longer than STM, up to decades
and decades, and has no known capacity limit

Consolidation: the (at least) 2-step process used

to turn recent memories into relatively preserved
long-term memories. Unconsolidated memories
are lost
 Involves which brain structure?
 Sleeping improves consolidation, probably during which
sleep stage?
 After retrieving a consolidated memory, it needs to be
reconsolidated. At this point, the memory can be consciously
or unconsciously altered by new information or influences
 Information Flow into Memory

• Sensations detected by sensory receptors

1
• Sensory Memory
• Attention affects but doesn’t solely determine what is
2 perceived

• Short-term Memory (STM)

• Info that is currently being used by working memory
3
• Long-term Memory (LTM)
Retrieval
• Info that is consolidated and stored for later use
4
 Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

First discovered by studying learning and memory,

long-term potentiation has since been found in
multiple areas of the brain, and may exist
everywhere
LTP refers to physical changes in neurons that
occur when a neuron fires in response to activity
from other neurons. Changes to both sides of the
synapse make it easier for the neuron to fire again
next time
 E.g., it’s easier to remember a song you think about every day
than a song you haven’t thought about in 10 years
 Appears to affect many thoughts and behaviors, including
addiction
 Retrieval I

 Aside from the filters involved in perception,

memory itself is not a recording of what we sense
and experience
 When memories are retrieved, the process is
constructive because our minds fill in memory
blanks with details that are expected, assumed,
and taken from similar memories
 People often see themselves in their own memories, a
sign of the constructive nature of memory
 E.g., remember where you sat during class 1 week
ago. What did the area around you look like?
 In addition to the association areas discussed
previously, the frontal lobe plays a role in memory
by facilitating the retrieval of the correct memory
 Retrieval II

External hints that relate to information

stored inside our heads are called retrieval
cues
 Retrieval cues make multiple-choice tests easier than
fill-in-the-blank tests, which are easier than short
answer questions which have even fewer cues

State-dependent retrieval refers to when a

memory is easier to retrieve when we are in
the same state as we were when we encoded
it
 When we’re sad, we easily remember other times we
were sad, and the same is true for other emotions
 Types of Long-term Memory

As demonstrated by Henry Molaison (H.M.),

there are multiple types of memory
 Remember too that auditory memory and visual
memory are stored in association areas which
must be different
Explicit memory
 Semantic memory
 Episodic memory

Implicit memory
 Procedural memory
 Priming
 Explicit Memory I

Memories that you can consciously remember

and therefore talk about
 Also called “declarative memory” because you can
declare what you remember

It is possible to impair explicit memory

without affecting implicit memory, as in H.M.
 It is also possible to impair parts of sub-types, such as
decreasing conceptual priming without decreasing
perceptual priming, which is seen in Alzheimer’s
Disease (AD)
 Conceptual priming: tall, hairy, forest, fictional
(probably?)
 Perceptual priming: four, door, lore, chore, store, pour,
 Explicit Memory II

Semantic memory: knowledge we can recall,

such as the capital of Nevada
 Involves the hippocampus, but is still being studied.
People with hippocampus damage can still retrieve
known words
Episodic memory: memories of situations we
have lived through, like a TV episode
 Episodic memory may be an important indicator of
consciousness
 Storage requires the hippocampus
 Also used to imagine our future selves, which requires
the hippocampus too
 Implicit Memory

Unconscious memories of skills and behaviors

which are difficult or impossible to talk about
 Also called “nondeclarative memory”
 Likely does not involve the hippocampus. People with
damage to the hippocampus can make new implicit
memories

Procedural memory: memories of how to

perform tasks, motor and mental
 From tying shoes to doing long multiplication

Priming
 What might explain the effects of priming?
 Memory Errors I

Details quickly fade with time, and retrieval

becomes more constructive
Similar memories blur together
Shifting attention decreases encoding
Difficulty retrieving information, especially
information without meaning, e.g. people’s
names
Expressing part of a memory can make it
harder to later retrieve unexpressed parts of
the same memory
 Memory Errors II

 Memory misattribution: confusing part of one

memory as being part of another memory, resulting
in attaching an incorrect source to a memory
 People remember the content of messages while
forgetting the sources of the messages
 This explains how obvious falsehoods can eventually end
up being thought of as facts (in addition to other
influences)
 Memory can be manipulated through suggestion,
creating false memories. Implying something
happened through the wording of a question can
cause people to later remember the implied thing
 https://webfiles.uci.edu/eloftus/LoftusPalmer74.pdf
 Memory Errors III

Biases change memory in multiple ways. We

change memories to make ourselves seem
better or more correct. We also confuse what
we think and feel now with what we thought
and felt in the past. Biases also affect how we
construct retrieved memories
Strongly emotional memories can affect
current life by affecting our moods and
behaviors
 Examples of Memory Errors

Remembering seeing people in NJ cheer the

destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11

According to research, underperforming

students overestimate their score on the next
test and remember scoring higher on
previous tests than they actually did, so their
bad study habits continue

Putting a long strip of toothpaste on your

toothbrush that covers all the bristles
 Exceptional Memory

Photographic memory, the idea that some people’s

brains take photos of what they see/experience, doesn’t
exist. It’s only for TV

Eidetic memory, exceptional recall of information that

was encountered a small number of times, has only
been found in children and fades with age

People with exceptional autobiographical memory

usually have deficiencies in other areas as a result, as
well as having other complaints from being unable to
forget
 E.g., Rebecca Sharrock: https://twitter.com/r_sharrock
 Recovered Memories

Memories “recovered” through hypnosis are not

real memories
Memory errors can cause all kinds of false
memories; more than one kind of error can occur.
Think of dreams you had that you remember
today-- can you be certain you’ll never think you
actually lived it?
However, there are reasons why a real memory
can be “lost” and later “recovered,” becoming
retrievable. Although, memories that are
remembered through coaching are suspect . . .
 Let’s look back at slide 9