MEMORY

Defining Memory
● Memory refers to the dynamic mechanisms
associated with storing, retaining, and retrieving
information about past experience.
● Schacter and Tulving said “a memory system is
defined in terms of its brain mechanisms, the kind of
information it processes, and the principles of its
operation”
 Operations of Memory
● Specifically, cognitive psychologists have identified three
common operations of memory: encoding, storage, and
retrieval.
● Each operation represents a stage in memory processing.
– Encoding, you transform sensory data into a form of mental
representation
– Storage, you keep encoded information in memory
– Retrieval, you pull out or use information stored in memory
 ?
● How we memorize things?
● Why do we memorize certain information and not others?
● Where is storage happening? What are the properties of
the store ?
● Why do we forget cerain things?
● Is it possible to improve memory ? How?
 James - two store model
● Two structures of memory:
– Primary memory – holds temporary information
currently in use.
– Secondary memory – holds information
permanently or at least for a very long time.
 Atkinson & Shifrin (3store)
Information processing approach (1968)
● The multistore model of memory (also known as the modal model) was
proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structural model.
● They proposed that memory consisted of three stores:
– Sensory register
– Short-term memory (STM)
– Long-term memory (LTM).

● Information passes from store to store in a linear way, and has been
described as an information processing model (like a computer) with an
input, process and output.
● Information is detected by the sense organs and enters the sensory
memory. If attended to this information enters the short term
memory.
● Information from the short-term memory is transferred to the long-
term memory only if that information is rehearsed (i.e. repeated).
● If maintenance rehearsal (repition) does not occur, then information
is forgotten, and lost from short term memory through the processes
of displacement or decay.
● Encoding is the way information is changed so that it can be stored in the
memory. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded
(changed):

1. Visual (picture)

2. Acoustic (sound)

3. Semantic (meaning)
● Capacity concerns how much information can be stored.
● Duration refers to the period of time information can last in the memory stores.
 The Memory Stores
● Each store is a unitary structure and has its own
characteristics in terms of encoding, capacity and
duration.
● They proposed that memory consisted of three stores:
– Sensory register
– Short-term memory (STM)
– Long-term memory (LTM).
 Sensory Memory
● Sensory memory represents the initial stage of stimuli perception. It is
associated with the senses, and there seems to be a separate section
for each type of sensual perception, each with its own limitations and
devices.

– Duration: ¼ to 3 seconds
– Capacity: all sensory experience (v. larger capacity)
– Encoding: sense specific (e.g. different stores for each sense)
● Iconic Memory - visual
● Echoic Memory - auditory
 Short Term Memory
● The second stage of information processing is the working or
short-term memory.
● This stage is often viewed as active or conscious memory
because it is the part of memory that is being actively
processed while new information is being taken in.
– Duration: 15-30 seconds
– Capacity: 7 +/- 2 items
– Encoding: mainly auditory
 Long Term Memory
● Long-term memory houses all previous perceptions,
knowledge, and information learned by an individual,
but it is not a static file system that is used only for
information retrieval.
– Duration: Unlimited
– Capacity: Unlimited
– Encoding: Mainly Semantic (but can be visual and auditory)
Atkinson-Schriffin Model
 Strengths of the model
● Gives us a good understanding of the structure and
process of the STM
● Many memory studies provide evidence to support
the distinction between STM and LTM (in terms of
encoding, duration and capacity)
● The model can account for primacy & recency effects.
 Weakesses of the model
● The model is oversimplified, in particular when it suggests that both
short-term and long-term memory each operate in a single, uniform
fashion.
● It is unlikely that different kinds of knowledge, are all stored within a
single, long-term memory store.
● Rehearsal is considered a too simple explanation to account for the
transfer of information from STM to LTM. The model ignores factors
such as motivation, effect and strategy (e.g. mnemonics) which
underpin learning.
 The levels of processing model
(Craik and Lockhart, 1972)

● This theory focuses on the depth of processing involved in memory,

and predicts the deeper information is processed, the longer a
memory trace will last.

● Craik defined depth as:

"the meaningfulness extracted from the stimulus rather than in

terms of the number of analyses performed upon it.”
● Unlike the multi-store model it is a non-structured approach. The
basic idea is that memory is really just what happens as a result of
processing information.
● Memory is just a by-product of the depth of processing of
information , and there is no clear distinction between short term and
long term memory.
● Therefore, instead of concentrating on the stores/structures involved
(i.e. short term memory & long term memory), this theory
concentrates on the processes involved in memory.
● As per the theory humans process information in 3 ways:
– Structural processing (appearance) which is when we
encode only the physical qualities of something. E.g. the
typeface of a word or how the letters look.
– Phonemic processing – which is when we encode its sound.
– Semantic processing, which happens when we encode the
meaning of a word and relate it to similar words with similar
meaning.
● Shallow Processing
– Involves maintenance
rehearsal (repetition to
help us hold something in
the STM) only
– Leads to fairly short-term
retention of information.
● Deep Processing
– Involves elaboration
rehearsal which involves a
more meaningful analysis
(e.g. images, thinking,
associations etc.) of
information
– Leads to better recall.
Zinchenko- levels of recall
 Working memory model of
Baddeley& Hitch
● Baddeley and Hitch (1974) argue that the picture of short-term memory (STM)
provided by the Multi-Store Model is far too simple.
● According to the Multi-Store Model, STM holds limited amounts of information
for short periods of time with relatively little processing. It is a unitary system.
This means it is a single system (or store) without any subsystems.
● According to the theorists instead of information going into one single store,
there are different systems for different types of information.
● The model proposes that every component of working memory has a limited
capacity, and also that the components are relatively independent of each other.
● Central Executive
– Drives the whole system (e.g., the boss of working
memory)
– Allocates data to the subsystems
● The phonological loop
● The visuospatial sketchpad.

– It also deals with cognitive tasks such as mental

arithmetic and problem-solving.
● Visuospatial Sketchpad (inner eye)
– Stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form.
– Visual information refers to what things look like.
– It is likely that the visuospatial sketchpad plays an important role in
helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we
move through our environment
– The sketchpad also displays and manipulates visual and spatial
information held in long-term memory. For example, the spatial layout of
your house is held in LTM.
● Phonological Loop
– Part of working memory that deals with spoken and
written material. It can be used to remember a phone
number.
– It consists of two parts
● Phonological Store (inner ear) – Linked to speech
perception. Holds information in a speech-based form
(i.e., spoken words) for 1-2 seconds.
● Articulatory control process (inner voice) – Linked
to speech production. Used to rehearse and store
verbal information from the phonological store.
 The Episodic Buffer
● The original model was updated by Baddeley (2000) after the
model failed to explain the results of various experiments.
● An additional component was added called the episodic
buffer.
● The episodic buffer acts as a 'backup' store which
communicates with both long-term memory and the
components of working memory.
Updated Model
 ACT R Model
● ACT-R is a general theory of cognition developed by John Anderson
and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy that focuses on memory
processes (1976, 1983, 1993, 2005; Anderson, Budiu, & Reder,
2001).
● Called the adaptive control of thought (ACT) model of memory, it has
evolved over the almost 30 years of its existence, and various
versions.
● Based on analogies to computers, ACT has given rise to several
computer simulations of cognitive processing of different tasks.
● ACT models distinguish among three kinds of memory systems.
– The first is working memory, thought to contain information the system is
currently using.
– The other two kinds are declarative memory and procedural memory.

● Declarative memory contains knowledge, facts, information, ideas—

basically, anything that can be recalled and described in words,
pictures, or symbols.
● In contrast, procedural memory holds information concerning action
and sequences of actions.
● Anderson (1983) believed that declarative memory stores information in
networks that contain nodes. There are different types of nodes, including
those corresponding to spatial images or to abstract propositions. As with
other network models, ACT models allow both for activation of any node
and for spreading activation to connected nodes.
● Procedural memory store represents information in production rules.
Production rules specify a goal to achieve, one or more conditions that
must be true for the rule to apply, and one or more actions that result from
applying the rule.
● The production rules also become activated when the nodes in the
declarative memory that correspond to the conditions of the relevant
production rules are activated. When production rules are executed, they
can create new nodes within declarative memory.
● In the ACT models, working memory is actually that part of declarative
memory that is very highly activated at any particular moment.
 A Taxonomy of the Memory System
● Based on extensive neuropsychological research, Larry Squire has
posited that memory comprises two fundamental types: declarative
(explicit) memory and various forms of nondeclarative (implicit)
memory, each of which may be associated with discrete cerebral
structures and processes.
● Depending on the type of information, or importance, different
organization schemes will be employed in LTM.
● LTM can be divided into explicit (declarative) and implicit
(nondeclarative) memory.
● Explicit memory is further organized into episodic and semantic
memory.
● Implicit memory is divided into procedural and emotional
memory.
 Explicit vs Implicit Memory
● Explicit memory (Declarative
memory) relies largely on the
retrieval of conscious experiences
and is cued using recognition and
recall tasks. It refers to memory for
facts.
● There are two types of explicit
memory: episodic and semantic.
● Implicit memory (Nondeclarative
memory), on the other hand, is
expressed in the form of
facilitating performance and does
not require conscious recollection.
● There are three general types of
implicit memory: procedural
memory, classical conditioning
effects, and priming.
 Semantic vs Episodic Memory
● Semantic memory is the memory of
words, concepts, rules, and abstract
ideas and is necessary for the use of
language.
● It contains all the information underlying
our understanding of the world.
● For example, it provides the information
we use to recognize or describe
different types of animals, objects, etc.,
● Episodic memory stores personally
experienced events or episodes.
● It stores information about the
occurrences that make up a person’s
life along with contextual information
about these events, such as
information about where they
occurred and the person’s thoughts
and feelings about the event.
 Procedural Memory
● Procedural memory refers to our often unexplainable knowledge of how to do
things.
● Procedural memory allows us to perform complex tasks, even though we may
not be able to explain to others how we do them.
● There is no way to tell someone how to ride a bicycle; a person has to learn by
doing it.
● The idea of implicit memory helps explain how infants are able to learn. The
ability to crawl, walk, and talk are procedures, and these skills are easily and
efficiently developed while we are children despite the fact that as adults we
have no conscious memory of having learned them.
 Classical Conditioning
● A second type of implicit memory is classical conditioning effects, in
which we learn, often without effort or awareness, to associate
neutral stimuli (such as a sound or a light) with another stimulus
(such as food), which creates a naturally occurring response, such
as enjoyment or salivation.
● The memory for the association is demonstrated when the
conditioned stimulus (the sound) begins to create the same
response as the unconditioned stimulus (the food) did before the
learning.
 Priming
● The final type of implicit memory is known as priming, or
changes in behaviour as a result of experiences that have
happened frequently or recently.
● Priming refers both to the activation of knowledge (e.g., we
can prime the concept of kindness by presenting people with
words related to kindness) and to the influence of that
activation on behaviour (people who are primed with the
concept of kindness may act more kindly).
● One measure of the influence of priming on implicit
memory is the word fragment test, in which a person
is asked to fill in missing letters to make words
● _ib_a_y
● _h_s__i_n
● _o_k
● _h_is_
● Now read the following sentence carefully:

● “He got his materials from the

shelves, checked them out, and
then left the building.”
● Then try again to make words out of the word
fragments.
 Autobiographical memory
● Autobiographical memories are memories of an individual’s past history.

● It is the memory for events that the rememberer has been part of
● 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
● memory for specific events that have happened to you
● memory for general events,
● a potted summary of your life
 Flashbulb Memories
● Brown and Kulick (1977) coined the term flashbulb memory
● Parts of the brain that are involved in emotional responses activate,
and the cognitive effects of this activation result in the storage of a
great deal of information only indirectly related to the main information
(Brown & Kulik, 1977).
● Flashbulb memories come about because the strong emotions
produced by the event prompt people to retell their own stories of
where they were when they heard the news. Flashbulb memories,
then, result from the retellings of stories.
 Prospective Memory
● Prospective memory is defined as the ability to remember to carry out
intended actions in the future (Brandimonte, Einstein, & McDaniel, 1996;
Kerns, 2000).
● Despite the name, prospective memory actually depends on several cognitive
processes, including planning, attention, and task management.
● Failures of prospective memory typically occur when we form an intention to
do something later, become engaged with various other tasks, and lose focus
on the thing we originally intended to do. Common in everyday life, these
memory lapses are mostly annoying, but can have tragic consequences.
● Dismukes and others have highlighted several other measures
that can help to remember and carry out intended actions
– Use external memory aids such as the alerting calendar on cell phones
– Avoid multitasking when one of your tasks is critical
– Carry out crucial tasks now instead of putting them off until later
– Create reminder cues that stand out and put them in a difficult-to-miss
spot
– Link the target task to a habit that you have already established
 Retrieval
● Retrieval of memory refers to the subsequent re-accessing
of events or information from the past, which has been
previously encoded and stored in the brain.
● In common parlance, it is known as remembering.
● During recall, the brain “replays” a pattern of neural activity
that was originally generated in response to a particular
event, echoing the brain’s perception of the real event.
 Recognition and Recall
● There are two main methods of accessing memory:
– Recognition
● Recognition is the association of an event or physical object with one previously experienced
or encountered and involves a process of comparison of information with memory

e.g. recognizing a known face, true/false or multiple-choice questions, etc.

● Recognition is a largely unconscious process,

– Recall
● The recall involves remembering a fact, event or object that is not currently physically present
(in the sense of retrieving a representation, mental image or concept), and requires the direct
uncovering of information from memory

e.g. remembering the name of a recognized person, fill-in-the blank questions, etc.
 Types of Recall
● There are three main types of recall.
– Free recall is the process in which a person is given a list of items to remember and
then is asked to recall them in any order (hence the name “free”).
– Cued recall is the process in which a person is given a list of items to remember and
is then tested with the use of cues or guides. When cues are provided to a person,
they tend to remember items on the list that they did not originally recall without a
cue, and which were thought to be lost to memory.
– Serial recall refers to our ability to recall items or events in the order in which they
occurred, whether chronological events in our autobiographical memories, or the
order of the different parts of a sentence (or phonemes in a word) in order to make
sense of them.
 Confabulation
● Confabulation is a type of memory error in which gaps in memory are
unconsciously filled with fabricated, misinterpreted, or distorted information.

● In these instances, the individual may confuse imaginings with real

memories.

● While there is no conscious or intentional attempt to deceive, the person is

quite confident of the truth of these memories, even when confronted with
contradictory evidence.
Causes

– Confabulation is often the result of brain disease or damage.

– Some of the conditions that are linked to confabulation include memory

disorders, brain injuries, and certain psychiatric conditions. There are
several associated psychological and neurological conditions:

Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome

Alzheimer's disease

Traumatic brain injury

Schizophrenia
 Signs and Symptoms
● There are several common characteristics of confabulation.
– There is a lack of awareness that a memory is false or distorted. When errors are
pointed out, the patient is unconcerned about the apparent unreality of his or her
account.
– There is no attempt to deceive or lie. There is no hidden motivation for the patient to
misremember the information.
– The story is usually drawn from the patient's memory. The basis for the misremembered
information usually is founded in past or current experiences and thoughts of the
patient.
– The story can be either very probable or very improbable. The story might be
completely coherent and plausible, whereas other stories may be highly incoherent and
unrealistic.
 Explanation
● There are a number of different theories, but some research suggests that two factors
play an important role in certain instances of this memory disruption.
● Overlearning may result in some types of information being at the forefront of a
person's mind. Since this information tends to loom large in a person's memory, it also
tends to crowd out other details. When gaps in memory take place, the overlearned
information may dominate and force out more specific facts and memories. This can
lead to memory distortions and other inaccuracies.
● Poor encoding may result in information not being fully stored in long-term memory in
the first place. For example, a person might become distracted during an event and not
really be paying attention to the details. Since the information is not fully encoded into
memory, the person is more susceptible to forgetting and other memory problems.
 Types
● Confabulations are categorized into two different types:
– Provoked
– Spontaneous

● Provoked confabulations occur when a patient creates an untrue story in response

to a specific question. This type of confabulation is the most common and often
occurs in patients with dementia or amnesia.
● Spontaneous confabulations occur when a patient tells a fabricated story without
any obvious motivation or provocation. This type of confabulation tends to be less
common.
 False/Illusiory Memory
● A false memory is a fabricated or distorted recollection of an event.
● False memory refers to cases in which people remember events differently
from the way they happened or, in the most dramatic case, remember
events that never happened at all.
● 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.
● False memories can be very vivid and held with high confidence, and it
can be difficult to convince someone that the memory in question is wrong.
 Factors that cause false memories
● Inaccurate perception : Sometimes the problem begins while the original event is
still occurring, that is, while the memory is being encoded. If the perception of an
event is inaccurate, then it cannot be remembered accurately.
● Inferences : False memories may also arise from inferences made during an event.

Eg: the reader interprets short stories while reading them, interpreting simple
statements like “Nancy went to the doctor” differently if they know the character is
worried about pregnancy. Applying knowledge changes what people remember; the
reader will misremember the passage to be consistent with the pregnancy theme.
● Interference : Normally memories are retrieved after time has
passed, meaning that many events occur after a memory was stored.
Later events may interfere with retrieval of the original event
● Similarity : False memories can arise when subjects (incorrectly)
endorse new items on a recognition test due to their similarity to
original events
● Misattributions of familiarity : False memories can also arise when
subjects misinterpret why new items on a recognition test feel familiar.
 Reliability of eye witness testimony
● Eyewitness memory is a type of memory that includes both
remembering specific events, using episodic memory, and also
remembering the meanings associated with the events, using
elements of semantic memory.
● A person may use eyewitness memory to recall where they were
on a specific day, or what was happening at a specific time but
they may also use their memory to focus upon what the event
meant to them if they had any personal emotions involved.
● Eyewitness testimony is historically among the most convincing forms
of evidence in criminal trials.

● Probably only a suspect’s signed confession can further convince a

jury about that individual’s guilt.

● But being convincing isn’t the same as being accurate.

● Eyewitness testimony is more fallible than many people assume.

 Study
● According to the Innocence Project , 358 people who had been
convicted and sentenced to death since 1989 have been exonerated
through DNA evidence.
● Of these, 71% had been convicted through eyewitness
misidentification and had served an average of 14 years in prison
before exoneration.
● Of those false identifications, 41% involved cross-racial
misidentifications (221 of the 358 people were African American) and
28% of the cases involved a false confession.
● Memory doesn’t record our experiences like a video camera.
● It creates stories based on those experiences.
● The stories are sometimes uncannily accurate, sometimes completely fictional,
and often a mixture of the two; and they can change to suit the situation.
●
Eyewitness testimony is a potent form of evidence for convicting the accused,
but it is subject to unconscious memory distortions and biases even among the
most confident of witnesses.
● So memory can be remarkably accurate or remarkably inaccurate.
● Without objective evidence, the two are indistinguishable.
 Myths related to eyewitness testimony
● People won’t confess to a crime they did not commit.
● Flashbulb memories, vivid and emotionally compelling memories of the
circumstances of learning about a subjectively important event, are more accurately
remembered than mundane memories.
● Accurate memories can be recovered or enhanced through hypnosis
● We repress traumatic childhood memories but these memories can be recovered
through therapy and they should be taken as valid and accurate (see the lesson
plan on this myth.)
● Lie detector tests reliably detect deception
● Children make good eyewitnesses
Forgetting
● Jill Price, describes her memory as

“like a running movie that never stops.

It’s like a split screen. I’ll be talking to
someone and seeing something
else. . .. Whenever I see a date flash on
the television (or anywhere for that
matter) I automatically go back to that
day and remember where I was, what I
was doing, what day it fell on, and on
and on and on and on. It is nonstop,
uncontrollable, and totally exhausting.”
 Interference with Memory Retrieval

● Interference is one theory to explain how and why forgetting occurs in long-term memory.
● Interference is a memory phenomenon in which some memories interfere with the retrieval of
other memories.
● Essentially, interference occurs when some information makes it difficult to recall similar
material.
● Similar memories compete, causing some to be more difficult to remember or even forgotten
entirely. Because of this, some long-term memories cannot be retrieved into short-term memory.
● There are two main kinds of interference:

– Proactive
– Retroactive.
● Proactive Interference
Proactive interference is the forgetting of information due to interference
from previous knowledge in LTM. Past memories can inhibit the encoding
of new memories. This is particularly true if they are learned in similar
contexts and the new information is similar to previous information.
– Eg. 1 if you move into a new house, you might find yourself accidentally
writing your old address down when filling out forms. The older memory of
your previous address makes it more difficult to recall your new address.
– Eg. 2 This is what is happening when you have trouble remembering your
new phone number because your old one is stuck in your head.
● Retroactive Interference
– Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information interferes
with the encoding or recall of previously learned information. If a participant
was asked to recall a list of words, and was then immediately presented
with new information, it could interfere with remembering the initial list.
– Eg. 1 A musician might learn a new piece, only to find that the new song
makes it more difficult to recall an older, previously learned piece.
– Eg. 2 If you learn to use a new kind of computer and then later have to use
the old model again, you might find you have forgotten how to use it.
 Decay of Memory
● One theory of forgetting is known as decay theory, which suggests that our
memories decay, or weaken, with time. Basically, this theory explains forgetting
as part of the passage of time.
● Trace theory of memory suggests that, the formation of new memories results in
physical and chemical changes in the brain that results in a memory 'trace.'
● Information in short-term memory lasts approximately 15 to 30 seconds and if it
is not rehearsed, the neurochemical memory trace quickly fades.
● According to the trace decay theory of forgetting, the events that happen
between the formation of a memory and the recall of the memory have no impact
on recall.
● Trace theory proposes that the length of time between the memory and recalling
that information determines whether the information will be retained or forgotten.
If the time interval is short, more information will be recalled. If a longer period of
time passes, more information will be forgotten and memory will be poorer.
● One of the problems with this theory is that it is difficult to demonstrate that time
alone is responsible for declines in the recall. In real-world situations, many
things are bound to happen between the formation of a memory and the recall of
that information.
● Another problem with decay theory is it does not account for why some
memories fade so quickly while others linger.
 Encoding Failure
● A common reason why we don't remember information is
because it never made it into long-term memory in the first place.
● Much of what we sense we never notice, and what we fail to
encode, we will never remember.
● Age can affect encoding efficiency. The brain areas that jump into
action when young adults encode new information are less
responsive in older adults. This slower encoding helps explain
age-related memory decline.
 Biological causes
● Biological or organic causes can also be the basis for forgetting.

● This usually refers to damage to the brain brought about by

– Neurodegenerative Diseases

– Brain Injury

– Stroke

– Malnutrition

– Seizure

– Chemical Damage – due to drugs ( including alcohol).

● Various kinds of brain damage impair one kind of memory but not another, enabling us to
draw inferences about how memory is organized.
 Amnesia
● Amnesia is a loss of memory.

● Amnesia results from many kinds of brain damage, including

damage to the hippocampus.

● There are two forms of Amnesia

– Anterograde Amnesia : Inability to store new long-term

memories.

– Retrograde Amnesia : loss of memory for events that

occurred shortly before the brain damage
● Amnesia can occur due to many reasons

– Traumatic brain injuries

– Brain infections

– Stroke

– Prolonged substance use ( Korsakoff ’s syndrome)

● Dementing illness like Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease etc.
Can lead to severe memory disturbances
 Memory Decline over the lifespan
● It is believed that as a person enters middle age & late adulthood that
their memory capabilities begin to decline.
● It appears that the decline is restricted to particular types of memory of
learning. -procedural memory & semantic memory and not much in
episodic memory.
● There is some evidence that older people take a little more time than
younger people to encode information into LTM.
● The greatest difference is seen when memory is tested by recall –
elderly tend to remember significantly less than younger participants.
 Motivated Forgeting
● Motivated forgetting is a theorized psychological behavior in which
people may forget unwanted memories, either consciously or
unconsciously.

● For instance, a person might direct his/her mind towards unrelated

topics when something reminds them of unpleasant events. This
could lead to forgetting of a memory without having any intention to
forget, making the action of forgetting motivated, hence, Motivated
Forgetting.
● Classes : There are two classes of Motivated Forgetting.
● Psychological Repression, an unconscious act
– The concept of psychological repression was first developed in 1915.
– The concept was based on Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic model,
which suggested that people subconsciously push unpleasant
thoughts and feelings into unconscious.
– However, repressed memories, although repressed, have been known
to influence behavior, dreams, decision making, emotional response
and so on.
● Thought Suppression, a conscious act
– The deliberate or conscious attempt to suppress memories is
referred to as thought suppression.
– This phenomenon involves conscious strategies and
intentional context shifts, so it is goal directed.
– For instance, if a person faces with stimulants of unpleasant
memories, he/she might deliberately try to push the memory
into the unconscious by thinking about something else.
● How motivated forgeting happens ?
– One of the major theories of motivated forgetting is about retrieval
suppression.
– The theory suggests that 'People forget things because they either do
not want to remember them or for another particular reason'.
– Human mind tends to push disturbing and painful memories deeper
into the storage so that it’s difficult to retrieve. It’s also referred to as
retrieval suppression. Retrieval suppression is a way to stop negative
memories from surfacing onto our brain.
 Improving your memory : Mnemonics
● Mnemonic (ni-MON-ick) methods are ways to improve encoding
and create better retrieval cues by forming vivid associations or
images, which improve recall.
● The most commonly used methods are
– Method of Loci
– Peg method
 Method of Loci
● If you need to memorize a list of terms, concepts, or names in a
particular order, an efficient way is to use the method of loci.

● The method of loci is an encoding technique that creates visual

associations between already memorized places and new items
to be memorized.
 Peg Method
● Another useful mnemonic device for memorizing a long list, especially
in the exact order, is the peg method.

● The peg method is an encoding technique that creates associations

between number-word rhymes and items to be memorized.

● The rhymes act like pegs on which you hang items to be memorized.