Module 7

MEMORY AND
FORGETTING
 Objectives
1. be familiar with the
memory processes of
encoding, storing and
retrieving,
2. explain the three types
of memory, and
3. realize the reasons why
we remember and why
we forget.
Memory

 is the ability to
retain information
over time through
three processes:
encoding, storing,
and retrieving.
Memory Processes
1. Encoding
 is the first step to processing
a data or information. The
data collected from the
environment through our
senses are converted into
psychological formats that
can be mentally represented
through semantic codes so
that they can be recognized
at once when recalled.
2. Storing
 is the second process
of memory in which
the data or
information are
stored and
maintained in the
memory over time.
3. Retrieving
 is the third process of memory whereby the
stored data or information are taken out of
memory.
Three Systems of Memory
Storage:
Sensory Memory
 refers to an initial
process that receives
and holds
environmental
information in its raw
form for a brief
period of time, from
an instant to several
seconds.
 Sensory Memory Recording
□ Iconic memory
- is a form of sensory
memory that
automatically holds visual
information for about a
quarter of a second or
more; as soon as you shift
your attention, the
information disappears
 Echoic memory
- is a form of sensory memory that holds
auditory information for 1 or 2 seconds.
Short-term Memory
 also called working  two ways to improve
memory, refers to short-term memory
another process that 1. Chunking
can hold only a 2. Rehearsal.
limited amount of
information (an
average of seven
items) for only s short
period of time (2 to
30 seconds).
□Chunking
- involves grouping, or
“packing” information
that exceeds the 7 ±
2 memory span into
higher-order units
that can be
remembered as single
units.
• Now try holding the following in memory
and then write them down:

LOV ETO STU DYP SYC HOL OGY

 The above string of letter is difficult
to remember, even though it is
arranged in chunk. However, if you
chunk the letters to form the
meaningful words Love To Study
Psychology, they become much easier
to remember.
 Rehearsal
 Santrock (2005) defines
rehearsal as the conscious
repetition of information.
 Information stored in short-
term memory lasts half a
minute or less without
rehearsal. If rehearsal is not
interrupted, however,
information can be retained
indefinitely.
Long-term memory

 refers to the process

of storing almost
unlimited amounts
of information over
a long period of
time.
DISTINCTIONS
1. Declarative
memory
- is memory for
factual information:
names, faces, dates,
and facts such as “a
bike has two
wheels”.
KINDS:
Semantic Memory
- is a memory for general knowledge and
facts about the world, as well as memory
for the rules of logic that are used to
deduce other facts.
Episodic Memory
- is memory for events that occur in a
particular time, place, or context.
Procedural memory
□ refers to memory for skills and habits as
how to ride a bike or hit a baseball.
Forgetting
- refers to the inability
to retrieve, recall, or
recognize
information that was
stored or is still in
long-term memory.
Reasons for Forgetting
1. Repression
- is a mental process
that automatically
hides emotionally
threatening or
anxiety-producing
information in the
unconscious.
2. Poor Retrieval Cues
- are mental reminders that we create by forming
vivid mental images or creating associations
between new information and information we
already know.
3. Amnesia
- is the loss of memory
that may occur after a
blow or damage to the
brain (temporary or
permanent), after drug
use, or after severe
psychological stress.
4. Interference
- One of the common-
reasons for forgetting,
this means that the recall
of some particular
memory is blocked or
prevented by other
related memories.
 The theory of interference says that we may
forget information not because it is no
longer in storage or memory but because
old or newer related information produces
confusion and thus blocks retrieval from
memory.
Kinds:
Proactive interference
- occurs when old information (learned
earlier) blocks or disrupts the remembering
of related new information (learned later).
Retroactive interference
- occurs when new information (learned
later) blocks or disrupts the retrieval of
related old information (learned earlier).
 Improving
Memory
(Smith &
Robinson, 2012)
1. Exercise Regularly

2. Enough Sleep
3. Manage Stress

4. Give your brain a workout

 Use mnemonic devices to make
memorization easier
 Mnemonics are clues of
any kind that help us
remember something,
usually by helping us
associate the information
we want to remember
with a visual image, a
sentence, or a word.
Mnemonic
Technique
device
Visual Image Associate a visual image
with a word or name to help
you remember them better.
Positive, pleasant images
that are vivid, colorful, and
three-dimensional will be
easier to remember.
Acrostic Make up a sentence in
(or sentence) which the first letter of each
word is part of or represents
the initial of what you want
to remember.
Example
To remember the name
Rosa Parks and what she’s
known for, picture a
woman sitting on a park
bench surrounded by
roses, waiting as her bus
pulls up.
The sentence “Every good
boy does fine” to
memorize the lines of the
treble clef, representing
the notes E, G, B, D, and F.
Mnemonic Technique
device
Acronym An acronym is a word that
is made up by taking the
first letters of all the key
words or ideas you need
to remember and creating
a new word out of them.
Rhymes and Rhymes, alliteration (a
alliteration repeating sound of
syllable), and even jokes
are a memorable way to
remember more mundane
facts and figures.
Example
The word “HOMES” to
remember the names of
the Great Lakes:
Huron, Ontario,
Michigan, Erie, and
Superior.
The rhyme “Thirty days
hath September, April,
June, and November” to
remember the months
of the year with only 30
days in them.
Mnemonic Technique Example
device
Chunking Chunking breaks a long Remembering a 10-digit
list of numbers or other
phone number by
types of information breaking it down into
into smaller, more three sets of numbers:
manageable chunks. 939-991-5596 (as
opposed to 9399915596).
Method of Imagine placing the For a shopping list,
loci items you want to imagine bananas in the
remember along a route entryway to your home, a
you know well or in puddle of milk in the
specific locations in middle of the sofa, eggs
familiar room or going up the stairs, and
building. bread on your bed.