MEMORY

 

MEMORY: INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

1.Can sensation and perception influence our attitudes and behaviour? How?

2. Think of four (4) specific application of sensation and perception in the teaching and learning process

How Do We Know?

How do we form memory?

How long do we remember?

How is memory important?

“Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action.” - Luis Bunuel

NATURE OF MEMORY 

•      Capacity of memory depends on the operation of a complex mental system (Schacter, 1999)

•      To construct memory three processes are required:

1)      Encoding 2) Storage and 3) Retrieve

BASIC MEMORY PROCESS

Encoding
(Code and put into memory)             

Storage
(Maintain in memory)

Retrieval
(Recover from memory)

•      Converting incoming message into the form understood by the brain (memory system)

•      Information is put into several memory cues (mental representation  of physical stimuli)

Three memory cues:

1) Acoustic encoding: information is represented in a sequence of sounds

2) Visual encoding: Information is represented in pictures

3) Semantic encoding: Meaning of information

•      Type of encoding used can influence what is remembered , For example, how do you remember the car you saw in the parking lobby? (meaning, sound or visual?)

What about the song you heard at the church? (meaning, sound, or visual?)

STORAGE

•      This is maintenance of encoded information over time

•      Depends on the processing of the information

RETRIEVAL

•      Location of stored information in memory by the ability to bring it into consciousness

•      Involves both recall and recognition

Recall: remembering without much effort/help

  Recognition: Remembering (locating information) aided by cues eg alternatives in the multiple choice

INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

Why do we forget some stimuli while others remain in our memory forever?, For example, remembering the news we see on television but forget important information we learn in class.

What determines what we remember or forget?

How extensively the information is processed (encoded) when it is first received determines how long we remember it

In order for information to be firmly embedded in memory, it must pass through three stages of mental processing

•  Sensory memory         
• working memory          
• Long term memory

SENSORY REGISTER/MEMORY.

Information picked up by the senses (sights, sounds etc) is briefly retained in memory (for less than a second)

Function: To hold information long enough for it to be processed further (stimulus identification).

Each five senses have separate register capable of registering large amount of stimulus information

Retains complete representation of a sensory stimulus (as it is)

It brings coherence and continuity to the world or smooth flow of information (eg when your eyes are scanning the environment, when you listen to sounds etc)

Sensory information MUST be attended to, analysed and encoded as meaningful pattern (perception)

If the information is perceived, it proceeds to working/short term memory

WHAT DETERMINES ATTENTION

 Novelty: Different stimulus is attended. For example, brightest, loudest, movement

Anticipation: The expected stimuli (what we are motivated to attend)

WORKING MEMORY

•      Allows memory system to develop a representation of a stimulus. For example, when you dial a phone number in your mobile keyboard

•      Stores limited amount of information for up seven different (unrelated) information, for up to five seconds

•      Encoding information in working memory is vital.

•      Visual and acoustic codes are used in short term memory. But visual code fades more quickly

•      How information is organized determines whether it is proceeds to long term memory or fades away

•      Encoding information in working memory is vital.

•      Visual and acoustic codes are used in short term memory. But visual code fades more quickly

•      How information is organized determines whether it is proceeds to long term memory or fades away

Maintenance rehearsal: repeating the information over and over. For example, dialing the same meaningless number for several times

•      Children of certain age use maintenance rehearsal when asked to deal with information they cant handle long enough

•      Keeps information in memory for short time

Elaborative rehearsal: Relating incoming information to the information already stored in memory.

•      Relationship between items. For example, relating the new name with the name of the friend you already know

LONG TERM MEMORY

•      Some information is encoded into long term memory automatically without any conscious effort. However, encoding information into long term memory is often the result of deep level of conscious processing

•      Encoding in long term memory often ignores details and instead encodes the general, underlying meaning of the information

•      Capacity: Extremely large, literally unlimited

                      (Otherwise, we’d stop learning)

•      However, it is subject to distortion (we may waste what we have stored)

Primacy Effect: We remember extremes example first and last (not the middle)

Recency Effect: The easy of recalling near the end

•      Why do we forget some stimuli while others remain in our memory forever?For example, remembering the news we see on television but forget important information we learn in class.

•      What determines what we remember or forget?

TYPES OF MEMORY

Do you remember your first day at the University? Your wedding day?

How do you keep balance when riding a bicycle?

Two types of memories are required for each question

Episodic Memory: Memory of specific events that happened while you were present

Semantic Memory: generalized knowledge of the world which does not involve memory of specific events

Procedural memory: Memory of how to do things (often can not be described by words)

RETRIEVING MEMORIES

Retrieval Cues: Stimuli that help people retrieve information from long term memory

Encoding Specificity Principle: Degree to which cues tap information that was encoded at the time of learning

State Dependence: Recalling is successful when it takes place in the same psychological state as when learning took place (act as retrieval cues)

FORGETTING

Have you ever forgotten? May be not.

Why do you think (most) people forget?

Decay: Gradual disappearance of the mental representation of a stimulus. For example, details of the a certain formulae

Interference:  impairment of the stored or retrieved information by presence of other information. For example, learning Genetics impairs the learning of Evolution

Retroactive Interference:  Learning of new information interferes with recall of older information

Proactive interference: Old information interferes with learning or remembering new information