Main Focus

I. Memory as a process Memory II. Memory improvement

III. Problems with memory

Memory: 3 systems/stages of the process by which memory information is I. Sensory Memory - acquired, II. Short -Term Memory -stored, & III. Long-Term Memory - retrieved (capacity & duration)

I. Sensory Memory: I. Sensory Memory 1. Iconic (1/20 sec) initial storage of information 2. Echoic: blends together auditory info (3-4 sec) that is received by our senses. 3. Tactile: integrates series of touch sensations (1-2 sec)

1 II. Short -Term Memory

Info proceeds to STM because: Chunk is a unit of meaningful - attention information

- meaning

ST memory: Duration (Peterson & Peterson, 1959) Duration of ST memory

If we don’t process the information

further it will be gone in

20 sec

Long-Term Memory Types of LT Memory Duration: Relatively permanent storage 1. Implicit (procedural) - skills

Capacity: 2. Explicit (declarative) - facts Enormous/unlimited a) semantic: general knowledge Quality: b) episodic: specific life events Most meaningful information

2 Where are the memories stored? There is no specific center, they are distributed in various arias of the brain.

Memory Improvement 1. Emotional arousal Memory Improvement - stimulate synapses - increase blood glucose level epinephrine (adrenaline) • Flashbulb memories

4. Form bizarre, unusual, 2. Attention exaggerated images spaced vs massed practice carta = “letter” 3. Self-reference effect

3 Context/State - dependent memory

memory can be improved if ones body is in the same condition during recall as it was during original learning

III. Problems with Memory Brain Damage

- Brain damage (amnesia) Amnesia: - Childhood amnesia severe loss or deterioration - Eyewitness Identifications of memory

a) Anterograde Amnesia a) Anterograde Amnesia - damage to hippocampus inability to store new LT memories - retain/acquire procedural memory (problem with episodic memory)

4 b) Retrograde amnesia : inability to retrieve memory acquired prior to brain damage

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