Chapter 6 Memory

Introduction to Memory

Memory is vital to our life, and we use it every minute of

every day!

Without our memory we would struggle to do things like..

Have The list goes
Walk Talk Eat
relationships on and on..
 Memory
Different types of
memory
Long-Term Short-term
Memory memory

Declarative Non-Declarative Working Memory

Episodic Semantic Conditioning Skills/Habits Reflexes

Which one is easier to remember?

PVGDCET

APXIOQR
Definitions
+ Encoding
+ Processes by which information is transformed into a memory
representation
+ Consolidation
+ Processes by which representations in memory become stable
+ Retrieval
+ Processes by which long term memory is accessed
 Attention

• Are you paying attention to the

incoming information?
• If you are trying to attend to two
things at once encoding is poor
Encoding
Elaboration
Factors
• Adding meaning to the incoming
information (ex. This is a red
chair, it has armrests, it’s plastic)
• There are different levels of
processing
Treisman Model of Attention
Participants wore headphones, and different messages were played to
the two ears; the participant’s task was to attend to one message and to
repeat it back out loud
They did not even realize that this message sometimes changed to a
different language in the unattended ear but could easily tell if the voice
in the unattended ear switched from a male to a female speaker

Sensory aspects of incoming signals are analyzed automatically,

whereas the analysis of meaning requires attention
Levels-of-Processing Model of Memory
+ Craik & Lockhart were the first to propose a level of processing
model of memory
+ The assertion is that information processing has a hierarchy of
processing stages
+ Starting with sensory analyses all the way to conceptual analyses
+ The memory representation depends on the type of analysis
carried out and the level of processing
Levels-of-Processing Model of Memory, cont..
+ The strength of the memory reflects how deeply it was
processed and was aspects were attended to and processed.
+ Perceptual aspects lead to shallow processing
+ Weak representation
+ Semantic aspects lead to deep, elaborative processing
+ Strong/durable representation

+ Elaboration can occur at any level

+ The more processing done through elaboration or enrichment the
better the memory performance is
Levels-of-Processing Model of Memory, cont..

+ Memory performance depends on the amount of processing at

+ Highly meaningful or expected events may be processed faster
to a deep level, with relatively slight amounts of sensory
analysis
+ Concept of short-term memory.
Is Memory Stable
and Reliable?
Faults in memory

Memory is malleable, selective, and

changing

Memories can be distorted or

completely falsified
Memory Distortion
+ True memories can be distorted in many ways a few of the most
common are
+ Integration
+ Combining details from multiple true memories into one false one
+ Suggestion
+ Smashed vs hit
+ Exposure to misinformation
+ Retrieval of misinformation can interfere with your ability to recall accurate information

+ Misinformation effect
+ Inaccuracy in memory caused by information provided after an event
False Memories
+ Similar to distortion there is more than one way to plant false
memories
+ Guided imagination
+ Dream interpretations
+ Hypnosis
+ Exposure to false information
+ The false memories do not have to be plausible to be
“remembered” by the individual
+ Some individuals even add sensory details to the false memory
Suggestion
+Many studies have demonstrated the effects of
suggestion.
+ Lost-in-mall – of participants claimed they had gotten lost
+ Drowning – of participants claimed they nearly drowned
+ Witnessed demon possession
+ Met Bugs Bunny at Disney World
Guided Imagination
+Therapeutic technique in which a therapist has client
close eyes and imagine a potential scenario of abuse
+ Client does not remember experiencing any abuse prior to
the activity
+ Causes imagination inflation
+ A phenomena where someone beliefs something happened after
imagining that it happened.
Implications
+ Eyewitness testimony must be taken with caution
+ Collecting eyewitness evidence must be done carefully with
consideration of the questions being asked
+ Ex. “what color was the car” instead of “was the car red?”
+ Mental health professionals must be careful to not implant
memories while their clients are vulnerable