IV Memory

4.1 Nature and Definition

 Memory is the retention of information/what is learned earlier over time. It is the

way in which we record the past for later use in the present.
 Memory is a blanket label for a large number of processes that form the bridges
between our past and our present.
 To learn about the nature of memory, it is useful to separate the process from the
structure.
4.1.1 Memory Processes
 Memory process is the mental activities we perform to put information into
memory, to keep it there, and to make use of it later.
 This involves three basic steps:
a) Encoding: Taken from computer science, the term encoding refers to
the form (i.e the code) in which an item of information is to be placed in
memory. It is the process by which information is initially recorded in a
form usable to memory. In encoding we transform a sensory input into a
form or a memory code that can be further processed.
b) Storage: To be remembered the encoded experience must leave some
record in the nervous system (the memory trace); it must be squirreled
away and held in some more or less enduring form for later use. This is
what memory specialists mean when they speak of placing information
in storage. It is the location in memory system in which material is saved.
Storage is the persistence of information in memory.
c) Retrieval: is the point at which one tries to remember to dredge up a
particular memory trace from among all the others we have stored. In
retrieval, material in memory storage is located, brought into awareness
and used.
 Note that failures to remember can result from problems during any of the three
phases of the memory process. If, for example, you encode a new item of information
only as a sound pattern, there would be no memory trace of its meaning. If both the
sound and the meaning were encoded and held for the length of the retention interval,
the item might have been misfiled in memory. If so, the item might be impossible to
retrieve even though it is still stored in memory.

4.1.2 Structure/stages/forms of Memory

 Memory structure is the nature of memory storage itself- how information is
represented, how it is organized in memory and how long it lasts.
 Although people usually refer to memory as a single faculty, the term memory
actually covers a complex collection of abilities and processes.
 The cognitive perspective has dominated psychology’s view of memory for the past
years although in recent years it has become integrated with understanding of the
neuro-psychology of memory.
 Many cognitive psychologists relate the mind to an information processor, along the
lines of a digital computer that takes items of information in; processes them in
steps or stages, and then produces an output.

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 Consider how the computer works; First, it takes in information (for instance via
keystrokes) and translates the information into an electronic language, then the
computer permanently stores the information on a disc, and finally it retrieves the
information (file) stored on a disc on to a working memory (which also receives new
information from the keyboard) and the information is put on to the screen as part
of the working memory.
 Models of memory based on this idea are Information processing theories. Like the
computer, we also store vast amounts of information in our memory store house.
From this storehouse, we can retrieve some information onto a limited capacity
working memory, which also receives information from our current experience. Part
of this working memory is displayed on the mental “screen” we call consciousness.
 A number of such models of memory have been proposed. One of the most
important and influential of these is the one developed by Richard Atkinson and
Richard Shiffrin(1968). According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, memory has three
structures:
1. Memory/Sensory Register: It is the entry way to memory. It is the first
information storage area. Sensory memory acts as a holding bin, retaining
information until we can select items for attention from the stream of stimuli
bombarding our senses. It gives us a brief time to decide whether
information is extraneous or important. Sensory memory includes a number
of separate subsystems, as many as there are senses. It can hold virtually all
the information reaching our senses for a brief time. For instance, visual
images (Iconic memory) remain in the visual system for a maximum of one
second. Auditory images (Echoic memory) remain in the auditory system for
a slightly longer time, by most estimates up to two second or so. The
information stored is sensory memory is a fairly accurate representation of
the environmental information but unprocessed. Most information briefly
held in the sensory memory simply decays from the register. However, some
of the information that has got attention and recognition pass on short-term
memory for further processing.
2. Short-term Memory: is part of our memory that holds the contents of our
attention. Unlike sensory memories, short-term memories are not brief
replicas of the environmental message. Instead, they consist of the by-
products or end results of perceptual analysis. STM is important in a variety
of tasks such as thinking, reading, speaking, and problem solving. There are
various terms used to refer to this stage of memory, including working
memory, immediate memory, active memory, and primary memory. Short
term memory is distinguished by four characteristics:
 It is active- information remains in STM only so long as the person is
consciously processing, examining, or manipulating it. People use
STM as a “workspace” to process new information and to call up
relevant information from LTM.
 Rapid accessibility - Information in STM is readily available for
use. In this respect, the difference between STM and LTM is the
difference between pulling a file from the top of a desk versus
searching for it in a file drawer, or between searching for information
in an open computer file versus searching for a file stored on the hard
drive. Preserves the temporal sequence of information-

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 Subjects provided with a list will generally remember it (and repeat
it if asked) in just that order.
 Limited capacity- Years ago, George Miller (1956) estimated its
capacity to be “the magic number seven plus or minus 2”. That is, on
the average, people can hold about seven pieces of information in
STM at a time; with a normal range from five to nine items. Some
researchers have questioned whether Miller’s magical number is so
magical after all. Everyone agrees, however, that the number of
items that short-term memory can handle at any one time is small.
According to most models of memory, we overcome this problem, by
grouping small groups of information into larger units or chunks.
Chunking is the grouping or “packing” of information into higher
order units that can be remembered as single units. Chunking
expands working memory by making large amounts of information
more manageable. The real capacity of short-term memory,
therefore, is not a few bits of information but a few chunks. A chunk
may be a word, a phrase, a sentence, or even a visual image, and it
depends on previous experience. STM memory holds information
(sounds, visual images, words, and sentences and so on) received
from SM for up to about 30 seconds by most estimates. It is possible
to prolong STM indefinitely by rehearsal- the conscious repetition of
information. Material in STM is easily displaced unless we do
something to keep it there.

3. Long term Memory

 It is a memory system used for the relatively permanent storage of meaningful
information.
 The capacity of LTM seems to have no practical limits.
 The vast amount of information stored in LTM enables us to learn, get around in
the environment, and build a sense of identity and personal history.
 LTM stores information for indefinite periods. It may last for days, months, years, or
even a lifetime.
 The LTM is assumed to be composed of different sub systems:
o Declarative/ explicit memory- the conscious recollection of information
such as specific facts or events that can be verbally communicated. It is
further subdivided into semantic and episodic memories. Semantic
memory- factual knowledge like the meaning of words, concepts and our
ability to do math. They are internal representations of the world,
independent of any particular context. Episodic memory- memories for
events and situations from personal experience. They are internal
representations of personally experienced events.
o Non-declarative/ implicit memory- refers to a variety of phenomena
of memory in which behaviour is affected by prior experience without that
experience being consciously recollected. One of the most important kinds of
implicit memory is procedural memory. It is the “how to” knowledge of
procedures or skills. Knowing how to comb your hair, use a pencil, or swim

Serial Position Effect

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 The three-box model of memory is often invoked to explain interesting
phenomenon called the serial position effect. If you are shown a list of items and
are then asked immediately to recall them, your retention of any particular item
will depend on its position in the list.
 That is, recall will be best for items at the beginning of the list (the primacy effect)
and at the end of the list (the recency effect). When retention of all the items is
plotted, the result will be a U-shaped curve.
 A serial position effect occurs when you are introduced to a lot of people at a
party and find you can recall the names of the first few people you met and the
last, but almost no one in between.
 According to the three-box model, the first few items on a list are remembered well
because short-term memory was relatively “empty” when they entered, so these
items did not have to compete with others to make it into long term memory. They
were thoroughly processed, so they remain memorable.
 The last few items are remembered for a different reason: At the time of recall,
they are still sitting in STM. The items in the middle of the list, however, are not so
well retained because by the time they get into short-term memory, it is already
crowded. As a result many of these items drop out of short-term memory before
they can be stored in long-term memory.

Forgetting
 Psychologists generally use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent loss of
information already encoded and stored in the long-term memory.
 The first attempts to study forgetting were made by German psychologist Hermann
Ebbinghaus(1885/1913). Using himself as his only subject, he memorized lists of three
letter non-sense syllables- meaningless sets of two consonants with a vowel in
between, such as FIW and BOZ.
 By measuring how easy it was to relearn a given list of words after varying periods
of time from initial learning had passed, he found that forgetting occurred
systematically.
 The most rapid forgetting occurs in the first hours, and particularly in the first hour.
After nine hours, the rate of forgetting slows and declines little, even after the
passage of many days.
 Ebbinghaus’s research had an important influence on subsequent research, and his
basic conclusions had been upheld. There is almost always a strong initial decline in
memory, followed by a more gradual drop over time.
 Furthermore, relearning of previously mastered material is almost always faster
than starting from a scratch, whether the material is academic information or a
motor skill such as serving a tennis ball.
 Psychologists have proposed five mechanisms to account for forgetting: decay,
replacement of old memories by new ones, interference, motivated forgetting, and
cue dependent forgetting.

1. The Decay Theory

 The decay theory holds that memory traces or engram fade with time if
they are not “accessed” now and then. This explanation assumes that

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 when new material is learned a memory trace or engram- an actual
physical change in the brain- occurs.
 In decay, the trace simply fades away with nothing left behind, because
of the passage of time. We have already seen that decay occurs in
sensory memory and that it occurs in short term memory as well, unless
we rehearse the material. However, the mere passage of time does not
account so well for forgetting in long-term memory. People commonly
forget things that happened only yesterday while remembering events
from many years ago.
 Although there is evidence that decay does occur, it does not seem to be
the complete explanation for forgetting. Memory specialists have
proposed an additional mechanism: Interference

2. Interference
 Interference theory holds that forgetting occurs because similar items of
information interfere one another in either storage or retrieval. The information
may get into memory, but it becomes confused with other information.
 There are two kinds of interference that influence forgetting: proactive and
retroactive. In Proactive Interference, information learned earlier
interferes with recall of newer material. If new information interferes with the
ability to remember old information the interference is called Retroactive
Interference.

3. New memory for old/ displacement theory

 This theory holds that new information entering memory can wipe out old
information, just as recording on an audio or videotape will obliterate/wipe out
the original material. This theory is mostly associated with the STM, where the
capacity for information is limited to seven plus or minus chunks. It cannot be
associated with the LTM because of its virtually unlimited capacity.

4. Motivated Forgetting
 Sigmund Freud maintained that people forget because they block from
consciousness those memories that are too threatening or painful to live with,
and he called this self-protective process Repression.
 To day many psychologists prefer to use a more general term, motivated
forgetting.

5. Cue Dependent Forgetting

 Often when we need to remember, we rely on retrieval cues, items of
information that can help us find the specific information we’re looking for.
 When we lack retrieval cues, we may feel as if we have lost the call number for
an entry in the mind’s library. In long-term memory, this type of memory failure
may be the most common type of all.
 Cues that were present when you learned a new fact or had an experience are
apt to be especially useful later as retrieval aids.

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 That may explain why remembering is often easier when you are in the same
physical environment as you were when an event occurred: Cues in the
present context match from the past.
 Your mental or physical state may also act as a retrieval cue, evoking a state
dependent memory. For example if you are intoxicated when something
happens, you may remember it better when you once again have had a few
drinks than when you are sober.
 Likewise, if your emotional arousal is specially high or low at the time of an
event, you may remember that event best when you are once again in the
same emotional state.

Improving Memory
 Someday in the near future, drugs may be available to help people with
memory deficiencies to increase normal memory performance. For the time
being, however, those of us who hope to improve our memories must rely on
mental strategies.
 Some simple mnemonics can be useful, but complicated ones are often more
bother than they are worth. A better approach is to follow some general
guidelines.
 Pay Attention: It seems obvious, but often we fail to remember because we
never encoded the information in the first place. When you do have
something to remember, you will do better if you encode it.
 Encode information in more than one way: The more elaborate the
encoding of information, the more memorable it will be
 Add meaning: The more meaningful the material, the more likely it is to
link up with information already in long-term memory.
 Take your time: If possible, minimize interference by using study breaks for
rest or recreation. Sleep is the ultimate way to reduce interference.
 Over learn: Studying information even after you think you already know it-
is one of the best ways to ensure that you’ll remember it.
 Monitor your learning: By testing yourself frequently, rehearsing
thoroughly, and reviewing periodically, you will have a better idea of how
you are doing.