Memory Mindmap

Memory Mindmap

1. Decay theory:

   • Suggests that memory traces in the brain will fade over time through lack of use and eventually become unavailable
   • Suggests that forgetting is a physiological process and is based on the idea that when a memory is laid down there is a physical or chemical trace of the experience in the brain

2. Atkinson-Shiffrin's multi-story model of memory

   • Sensory memory: A very brief memory store
     • Iconic memory: refers to visual sensory memory. Lasts for about 0.3 seconds
     • Echoic memory: refers to our auditory sensory memory. Stores sound for 3-4 seconds
   • Short-term memory: A limited store of actively conscious memory. Capacity of 7+/- 2 and a duration of 12-30 seconds
     • Chunking: The grouping together of items that can be remembered as a chunk. Instead of each item occupying a number of locations available in short-term memory, each chunk occupies only one location and therefore frees up the other locations for more information to be stored
     • Maintenance rehearsal: Enables us to keep information in STM for a longer period of time. Does not add meaning to the information or link it to other material already in LTM.
   • Long-term memory: A store of information that is virtually limitless in capacity.

3. Interference theory

   • Refers to difficulties in retrieving information from memory, caused by other material leant either previously, proactive interference, or subsequently, retrograde interference
   • Proactive interference: Where older information moves forward to interfere with our retrieval of more recently learnt similar information
   • Retrograde interference: Where new information acts to interfere with the retrieval of older information stored in memory

4. Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory

   • Phonological loop: Auditory working memory; storage of what we hear. It retains the words from the beginning of the sentence until we have heard the words at the end
   • Visuospatial sketchpad: Storage of what we see. Visual short-term memory. This is the store you use to help picture what your bedroom would look like if you shifted the furniture around
   • Central executive: Puts together the sounds and vision of working memory. Controls our attention and enable us to perform mental manipulation on data
     • Inhibition: An aspect of attention; screening out irrelevant material
     • Switching: Changing attention from one item to another
     • Updating: Modifying items brought in from LTM before re-committing them to memory through the episodic buffer; creating a process of accommodation of the semantic network
   • Episodic buffer: Helps retrieve information from LTM to associate with information which is in working memory and to select and encode information into LTM

5. Craik and Lockhart's levels of processing

   • Refers to the number and types of associations made between new knowledge and previous knowledge. There are three levels at which we encode material and the deeper he processing, the better the chance of retrieval of memory at a later time
     • Structural: Words are learnt by remembering their physical features, such as whether they were in upper or lower case, started with a vowel or consonant, or were long or short (shallow processing)
     • Phonemic: Words are learnt by their sounds (moderate processing)
     • Semantic: Words are encoded by their meaning, which allows them to be placed directly in our semantic networks (deep processing)

6. Storage

   • Elaborative rehearsal: A process by which we give meaning to information and link it to other information already in memory

7. Motivated forgetting

   • Occurs when a person has a reason to forget
   • Suppression
     • A conscious refusal to access memories which are available
       • Example: Ignoring the memory of an unpleasant activity such as a visit to the dentist
   • Repression
     • Where painful or distressing memories are unconsciously pushed to an inaccessible part of the mind and the person is unaware that these memories exist
       • Example: Being mugged and not remembering the faces of the attackers. You do not choose to forget the faces