Chapter 7. Memory
Chapter Resources
Amelia Liangzi Shi
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Memory is like a computer in that it processes and stores information over time. Memory involves three main processes: encoding (inputting information), storage (retaining information), and retrieval (getting information back).
- Encoding happens automatically for things like what you had for lunch, but it takes effort for complex information like studying for a test. Visual encoding (images) and verbal encoding (words) affect memory differently, with high-imagery words being remembered better.
- Memory is stored in stages, including sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Short-term memory is limited in capacity and duration but can be improved with strategies like chunking. Long-term memory has a large capacity, and there’s no known limit to what can be remembered.
- Retrieval is the process of recalling information from memory, and it can happen through recall (accessing information without cues) or recognition (identifying learned information).
- Retrieval cues, such as context or mood, can affect memory recall.
- The serial position curve demonstrates primacy (remembering early items) and recency (remembering recent items) effects in memory.
- Practice retrieval, or testing, enhances long-term memory and is more effective than repeated studying. Spacing out practice sessions over time (distributed practice) is better for learning than cramming (massed practice).
- Long-term memory consists of two primary categories: explicit memory (declarative memory) and implicit memory (non-declarative memory).
- Explicit memory is consciously remembered information, with two types: episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory pertains to personal experiences, while semantic memory involves factual knowledge about the world.
- Implicit memory operates without conscious awareness. Procedural memory enables us to perform tasks automatically, while classical conditioning associates neutral stimuli with responses.
- Priming influences behaviour based on previous experiences.
- Schemas are mental shortcuts that help organise and improve memory for new information. Semantic memories are grouped into categories based on shared features, connected through spreading activation. Semantic encoding, connecting information to existing knowledge, leads to better memory than shallow encoding.
- Autobiographical memory includes specific daily experiences, self-knowledge, and generic events. It serves functions like problem-solving, social bonding, and self-image development. Cultural and social factors influence its development.
- Spatial memory is crucial for remembering the locations of past experiences. It’s encoded quickly and accurately and plays a vital role in personal memories. Visual memory techniques like the method of loci can enhance memorisation.
- Prospective memory involves remembering to perform planned actions in the future.
- Involuntary memory occurs when cues trigger past memories effortlessly, whereas voluntary memory requires a deliberate effort to recall information.
- Long-term memory involves strengthening neural connections in the brain over time, resulting in memory formation. Long-term potentiation refers to the strengthening of synaptic connections through frequent stimulation, contributing to memory.
- Neurotransmitters like glutamate and hormones like estrogen play crucial roles in memory. Stress can lead to increased glutamate secretion, aiding memory in stressful situations. The amygdala and stress-related chemicals like epinephrine and cortisol enhance memory for emotionally relevant experiences.
- Research on memory-enhancing drugs like Ritalin, ginkgo biloba, and amphetamines has shown limited effectiveness in controlled studies. Memory supplements are often no more effective than consuming sugared soft drinks. Future advances in memory-enhancing drugs may hold promise, but their implications remain uncertain.
- While drugs may be used to enhance memory, they may also be explored for helping individuals forget traumatic memories, such as in post-traumatic stress disorder. The ethical implications of erasing memories raise questions about the role of emotional pain in human experience.
- Memory storage in the brain is complex due to the overlapping nature of neural systems. Ablation or lesioning studies in non-human animals help identify memory-related brain areas.
- Individuals, like H.M., who have rare brain injuries provide valuable insights into memory systems. The hippocampus is critical for explicit memory but not implicit memory; other brain areas are involved in different types of learning.
- Emotionally arousing memories are more memorable, and the amygdala plays a role in this phenomenon. Mood-congruent memory influences what we remember based on our emotional state.
- Infantile amnesia prevents most adults from recalling events before age 3 or 4.
- Retroactive and proactive interference can lead to retrieval failure.
- Memory is reconstructive, and false memories can be created, often influenced by subsequent information.
- Source misattribution involves mistakes in differentiating the sources of information.
- The misinformation effect occurs when new information distorts existing memories.
- Flashbulb memories, despite high confidence, can be inaccurate over time.
- The “Recovered Memory Debate” involves controversies regarding the accuracy of recovered traumatic memories.
Student Engagement Ideas
- Summarise the strategies to boost long-term retrieval (e.g., elaborative rehearsal, encoding specificity, and practice testing). Apply these strategies in your everyday studying. Create a feasible plan using each strategy to prepare for a comprehensive examination.
- Find a person or a character (from a movie, a book, or real life) who suffers from a memory disorder; observe their symptoms and create a brief description of what you observed that matches what you have read in the chapter.
- Do you believe that we can encourage children who do not like vegetables to eat brussels sprouts, or help smokers quit smoking, by manipulating their memories? Develop a plan using Loftus’s misinformation paradigm. Discuss the feasibility and potential risks of your plan.
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Chapter Attribution
“Memory” was written and adapted by Amelia Liangzi Shi and is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence. It was adapted and remixed from “Chapter 10. Memory” in Psychology – 1st Canadian Edition by Sally Walters, which is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence, and includes a few sections from “Memory” in Introduction to Psychology & Neuroscience (2nd Edition) edited by Leanne Stevens, Jennifer Stamp, & Kevin LeBlanc, which is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
About the Author: Amelia Liangzi Shi
College of New Caledonia
I — Amelia Liangzi Shi (Chinese: 石靓子) — am a Chinese Canadian woman, and I bring a diverse range of experiences and perspectives to my role as a psychology instructor at the College of New Caledonia (CNC) on the traditional lands of the Lheidli T’enneh. I completed my Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Alberta, located in Treaty 6 territory, focusing my research on metamemory and autobiographical memory. I currently teach courses at CNC in introductory psychology, research methods, cognition, personality, and social psychology. Driven by a genuine desire to support and empower the students of introductory psychology, I am committed to recognising the unique needs and experiences of Indigenous students, People of Colour, individuals under the rainbow umbrella, individuals with disabilities, international students, and other marginalised voices.