memory structures

• Memory structures


  • Sensory Memory
  • Short/Long term Memory
  • Working memory
  • Episodic and Sertsiotic memory
• Sensory Memory


  Briefest storage
• Encoding


  How info is acquired
• Retrieval


  Calling to mind previously stored info
• Storage


  How info is bored and coded into memory
• Forgetting


  When we cannot retrieve previously stored info
• Modal Model


  • Sperling test: The whole report or partial report
  • Flashed a list of letter and then asked to repeat the either all at once, or row by row
  • Found evidence iconic memory (visual sensory) only lasts around 1 second
  • Sensory memory just oned visual system
  • Things do not need to the attended to be briefly stored here
• Short Term Memory


  • Primacy Effect: participant is typically going to start rehearsing the words immediately and they can get them into a long term memory. But, as there are more words you can't give them all as much attention to the later words
  • Recency Effect: People will try to offload the things from short term memory first before they are forgotten
  • Chunking: Way to increase the # of thing able to recall
  • Typically in short term memory can remember 7 +/-2 things (George miller)
• Forgetting


  • Trace Decay: automatic fading of the memory trace
  • Interference: disruption of the memory trace, by other traces
  • Proactive interference: Old information makes it difficult for you to acquire new information
  • Retroactive iterference: New information makes it difficult for you to recall old info
• Long Term Memory


  • Capacity essentially infinite
  • Just because you can access or retrieve information, doesn't mean it's not there
  • Coded with semantics (meaningful features)
  • Retrieval cues: a point to recover a target memory
  • Interference occurs when a retrieval cue is associated with other targets
  • Bahrick's Spanish Retention Study: shows info can be stored in long term memory for over 50
• Encoding and Specificity Principle

  Recollection of an event, or a certain aspect occurs if and only if properties of the trace of the event are sufficiently similar to the retrieval info
• Context dependent memory


  • Gaudin and Baddeley: asked scuba divers to learn a list of words on land or underwater
  • If learned words underwater, they recalled more underwater vs on land and vice versa
• Working Memory


  Expansion of short term memory
• Semantic/Episodic Distinction


  • Episodic: contains info about one's personal experience
  • Semantic Memory: general knowledge base
• Gene- motorcycle accident
• Gene


  • Damage to frontal lobes (hippocampus included)
  • Has preserved intellectual functions but lost episodic memory
• Patient #2


  • Damage to temporal lobes
  • Lost semantic memory
  • Forgot meaning of common words, cannot recall basic attributes of objects
  • Intact episodic memory
  • Remembers life events with detail
• Anterograde Amnesia


  • Cannot form new memories
  • Effects Episodic Memory (usually)
  • General knowledge remains intact
• Retrograde Amnesia


  • Loss of memory for past event
  • Doesn't affect over-learned skills
  • Usually present with anterograde amnesia (but not always)