Unit 4

INFORMATION
PROCESSING

By
SHAH JEHAN
•What is Memory
•In psychology, memory is defined as when
we absorb information from the world,
process and store that information, and
then retrieve that information at a later
time. It is a process in which a person
recalls past information to help him learn
in the present, thereby improving his
adjustment to his surroundings.
Components of memory
Encoding:
Encoding is when the information we take in from
our senses is encoded so that the brain can store that
information. Different types of memory use various
forms of encoding. Encoding refers to the initial
experience of perceiving and learning information.
Storage - after the information is encoded, it is stored
in the brain. There are different types of memory
storage, such as short-term and long-term
Retrieval: information that is stored in the brain is
retrieved at a later date.
Memory consists of two major
abilities of the mind
1. The ability to recognize, at present,
anything that was learnt in the past
2. General power to store information
of past experiences
 Parts of Memory

Sensory Register: The sensory register receives input from

the environment and quickly processes it according to the
individual's preconceived concept of what is important.
Working or Short-Term Memory
Working or Short-Term Memory: Within seconds the
relevant information is passed to the working or short-
term memory where it may temporarily remain or rapidly
fade, depending on the individual's priorities.
•Long-Term Memory: Permanent “bank” within the
brain. Once a memory arrives there, the mind stores
it completely and indefinitely.
What is Forgetting
Forgetting means failure to recall or recognize
an idea or a group of ideas. It is the failure of the
individual to revive in consciousness an idea or
a group of ideas without the help of the original
stimulus. Forgetting is the process of fading of
some impressions from the mind, or in simpler
words, inability to remember is forgetting.
Theories of Forgetting
1. Disuse or Decaying theory: The theory of disuse
suggests that a person forgets those things which are
not used.
Educational Implication:
If students forget information because of disuse,
teachers can provide repetition and review to
remind them of important items
2. Interference: Hindrance of learning new
information because of other information learned
before or after the new information.
A. Proactive Interference: Information learned
previously causes problems with new
information.
B. Retroactive Interference: New information cause
recall problem with previously learned
information.
Positive transfer occurs when previous learning
facilitates new learning while
Negative transfer takes place when previous
learning interferes with current learning;
Educational Implication:
•Teachers have to relate new material to old material,
emphasizing similarities and differences. The
similarities should facilitate positive transfer;
knowledge of differences should minimize negative
transfer.
•3. Retrieval Cue Failure:
•Some psychologists maintain that forgetting
can be explained by the inability to retrieve
from memory, rather than by simple memory
loss, distortion, suppression, or interference.
•In other words, individuals don’t appear to
remember simply because of what is termed
retrieval cue failure. The “retrieval cue failure”
refers to the inability to recall an item of
information from memory.
•Educational Implication:
•There is evidence that for declarative
(semantic) information—the explicit, conscious
sorts of learning with which schools are most
concerned—certain types of retrieval cues are
the most effective.
•Retrieval cues are “words or other stimuli that can
help us retrieve information that is stored in our
memories”.
•A Retrieval Cue is a prompt that help us remember.
When we make a new memory, we include certain
information about the situation that act as triggers
to access the memory. For example, when someone
is introduced to us at a party, we don't only store
the name and appearance of the new acquaintance
in our memory. We also include external cues about
the situation like what kind of party it was, who
made the introduction, or what music was playing.
We also include internal cues like what mood
you were in at the time, or what you thought of
the person being introduced. When we try to
recall the person, having one or more of these
cues present will help us remember better. So,
when you meet the person again, it would be
easier to remember them if you bumped into
them at another party, or you saw them with
the same person who introduced you, or you
were in the same mood as when you first met
them.
Motivated Forgetting or Repression: -
A purposeful process of blocking or "suppressing" information.
There is some evidence that people may forget events that are
particularly unpleasant. One explanation for repression is
Freud’s belief that unpleasant memories filter into the
subconscious mind, where the individual is not aware of them
even though they may continue to have a profound effect on the
person’s emotional life.
•Educational Implication:
•Repression theory holds that memories of
highly unpleasant (traumatic) events may be
unconsciously repressed. Ideally, schools and
teachers seldom provide students with
experiences so horrendous that they end up
being buried in an unconscious place.
Methods to Improve Memory
•Revision or Rehearsal: Fading memory traces
can be retained by revision. Revision of the
learnt material and the application of facts or
skills learnt should be taken up immediately
after learning. Practicing material helps people
remember it. The more people rehearse
information, the more likely they are to
remember that information.
•Overearnings: Overearnings, or continuing to
practice material even after it is learned, also
increases retention.
•Minimizing Interference: People remember
material better if they don’t learn other, similar
material right before or soon after their effort.
One way to minimize interference is to sleep
after studying material, since people can’t learn
new material while sleeping.
•Deep Processing: People also remember material
better if they pay attention while learning it and
think about its meaning rather than memorize the
information by rote. One way to process
information deeply is to use a method called
elaboration. Elaboration involves associating the
material being learned with other material. For
example, people could associate the new material
with previously learned material,
•Focus Your Attention: Attention is one of the major
components of memory. In order for information to
move from your short-term memory into your long-
term memory, you need to actively attend to this
information. Try to study in a place free of
distractions such as television, music, and other
diversions.
•Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain processes
and stores information while you sleep. Try to
review information just before you go to sleep—
even if it’s only for a few minutes—and see if it
helps embed the information in your memory.
•Acronyms: Acronyms are words made out of the
first letters of several words. For example, to
remember the parts of speech, people often use the
name NA PAC VIP (noun, adjective, pronoun,
adverb, Conjunction, verb, interjection, preposition)
•Narrative methods: Narrative methods involve
making up a story to remember a list of words.
• Peg Word Method: When using the peg word method,
people first remember a rhyme that associates numbers
with words: one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree,
four is a door, five is a hive, six is sticks, seven is heaven,
eight is a gate, nine is swine, ten is a hen. They then
visualize each item on their list being associated with a
bun, a shoe, a tree, and so on. When they need to
remember the list, they first think of a bun, then see what
image it’s associated with. Then they think of a shoe, and
so forth.
•Motivation; Motivation can also minimize the
forgetting and maximize the memory power.
•Let the child have no fear; Fearful environment
can also minimize the memory power and
maximize the forgetting ability. Teacher should
keep in mind the liberty and freedom of the
child and provide him free fearful
environment.