Chapter 6: Memory

Remembering

Three Processes in Memory

- The act of memorisation requires the successful completion of three processes: encoding,
storage, and retrieval.
- Encoding is the transformation of information into a form that can be remembered. It
requires our selective attention to screen out unnecessary details and focus on relevant
information.
- Storage is the process of keeping and maintaining memory that has been encoded.
- The storage of encoded information requires a physiological change to occur; this is
called consolidation, when there is a synthesis of protein molecules in the brain.
- The final process of memory is retrieval, when memory encoded and stored in the brain
is brought back to mind.

Three Memory Systems

- The Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of memory claims three types of memory: sensory, short-
term, and long-term.
Sensory Memory
- All information transmitted to the senses is held very briefly in sensory
memory; visual information lasts long enough so that vision is undisturbed
when blinking.
- Its capacity is large, but it is stored temporarily.
Short-Term Memory
- Short-term memory is used to carry out tasks which require immediate
attention, such as a conversation or remembering a telephone number.
- It encodes most information according to sound, some short-term memory is also
encoded in visual and semantic forms.
- It has a very limited capacity; when it is filled, displacement, or the removal of
certain items of newer ones, occurs. This can be overcome by chunking
information together into smaller bits.
- Items in short-term memory are lost in less than thirty seconds. This can be
avoided through rehearsal, or the act of purposely repeating information until it
is transferred to long-term memory.
- This type of memory is also called ‘working memory’ because it is what allows
us to produce conscious cognitive activity. The prefrontal cortex is primarily
responsible for the creation of working memory.
Long-Term Memory
- When information is processed correctly in short-term memory, it is passed into
long-term memory. It is virtually limitless, and is relatively permanent.
- It is usually in semantic form, although it may also be sensory.
- It is divided into two main subsystems: declarative, and non-declarative.
- Declarative memory stores any information that can be elucidated verbally or
through images. It, too, is divided into two systems: episodic and semantic
memory.
 Episodic memory is the memory of events that have been personally
experienced.
 Semantic memory is the memory of facts and objective information.
- Non-declarative memory consists of motor skills, habits, and classically
conditioned responses that have been slowly learned through repetition and have
become unconsciously used.
The Levels-of-Processing Model of Memory
- The levels-of-processing model is similar to the thee-tiered model of memory, except if
proposes a unified system whereby the type of memory is defined by how deeply
processed the information is.

Measuring Memory
- There are three main methods of measuring memory: recall, recognition, and relearning
method.
Recall
- In recall, information must be retrieved from memory without retrieval cues,
which are stimuli to aid in the finding of information.
- With retrieval cues, recall can be much easier, especially when memorized in a
certain order (consider the alphabet).
Recognition
- In recognition, a certain cue will cause us to recall a certain memory, such as
remembering a face or a name.
- As the name suggests, recognition does not require one to supply information,
only to recognize that one knows it.
Relearning Method
- The relearning method determines the amount of time required to relearn a set
of information, compared to when it was originally learned.
- The percentage of time saved—or not saved—is called the savings score, which
reflects how much of the information has been retained in long-term memory.
- It reflects information that may have still been within one’s long-term memory,
but that could not have been elucidated through recall or recognition.