Memory

• Sensory register


  Information enters the system through our senses, has an unlimited capacity, and very limited duration of less than one second (approximately 250 milliseconds)
• Coding in sensory register


  Modality specific raw coding, we pay attention to this information
• Short-term memory (STM)


  Limited capacity of 7±2 chunks of information, limited duration of approximately 10-30 seconds, information is coded in an acoustic format
• Long-term memory (LTM)


  Unlimited capacity, lifetime's duration, information is coded semantically (by meaning)
• Information is forgotten in STM due to displacement, limited capacity or decay (lack of rehearsal)
• To recall information from LTM, it may be retrieved back into STM
• Information is forgotten in LTM due to interference (proactive and retroactive)
• Multi-store model of memory

  • Sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory are separate stores that retain different amounts of information, in different ways, and for different lengths of time
• Memory flows through a system which is divided into unitary stores, an information processing approach comparing the human mind to a computer
• Proactive interference


  Forgetting due to information learned previously interfering with the recall of new information
• Retroactive interference


  Forgetting due to new information learned interfering with the recall of old information
• Jeevaltare

  Forgetting due to absence of cues
• Reseval fare


  1. Information is in our memory, but we can't access it because we don't have the right cues

  2. Associated cues are stored at the same time as the information

  3. The memory is just not available

  4. People forget because they have insufficient cues

  5. A cue is a trigger of information that allows us to access the memory
• Encoding Specificity Principle

  The cues present at encoding (when the information goes into your head) need to be present at retrieval (when you recall the information) in order for you to remember
• Context Dependent Forgetting


  The context (environment) you are in at encoding needs to match the context at retrieval, otherwise you will forget
• State Dependent Forgetting


  The internal state (mood, emotion, etc.) you are in at encoding needs to match the state at retrieval, otherwise you will forget
• Supporting evidence (Context Dependent)

  • Godden and Baddeley's study with sea divers learning words on land vs underwater
  • Recall was 42% higher when the encoding and retrieval contexts matched
• Supporting evidence (State Dependent)

  • Carter and Cossaday's study giving participants antihistamine drugs
  • Recall was significantly higher when the encoding and retrieval states matched
• Artificial supporting evidence: Research typically involves artificial tasks and stimuli, and uses repeated measures designs which have issues with order effects and demand characteristics
• It is difficult to test these theories in real-world situations as we cannot be certain that forgetting is due to a lack of cues rather than other reasons like interference