Psychology: Memory

Psychology: Memory

1. Coding, capacity and duration of memory

   • Coding
     • The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores
   • Capacity
     • The amount of information that can be held in a memory store
   • Duration
     • The length of time that information can be held in memory
   • Short-term memory
     • The limited-capacity memory store. coding is mainly acoustic, capacity between 5 and 9 items on average, duration is between 18 and 30 seconds.
   • Long-term memory
     • The permanent memory store. coding is mainly semantic (meaning), it has unlimited capacity and can be store memories for up to a lifetime.

2. The multi-store model of memory

   • Multi-store model
     • A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called sensory register, short-term and long-term. it also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.
   • Sensory register
     • The memory stores for each of our five senses such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store). coding in the iconic sensory register is visual and in the echoic sensory register it is acoustic. The capacity of sensory registers is huge (millions of receptors) and information lasts for a very short time (less than half a second).

3. Types of long-term memory

   • Episodic memory
     • long-term memory store for personal events. it includes memories of when the events occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
   • Semantic memory
     • A long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world. this includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. these memories usually also need to be recalled deliberately.
   • Procedural memory
     • A long-term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things. this includes our memories of learned skills. we usually recall these memories without making a conscious or delibetate effort

4. The working memory model

   • A representation of short-term memory. suggests that the STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system.
   • Central executive
     • The component of the WWM that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory.
   • Phonological loop
     • The component of the WWM that processes information in terms of sound. written and spoken material.
   • Visuo-spatial sketchpad
     • The component of the WWM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our inner eye.
   • Episodic Buffer
     • The component of the WWM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands.

5. Interference

   • Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing both memories to be distorted of forgotten.
   • Proactive interference
     • Forgetting occurs when OLD memories disrupt the recall of NEWER memories.
       • PROactive: pro means first, OLD memories happened first
   • Retroactive interference
     • Forgetting occurs when NEWER memories disrupt the recall of OLDER memories.
       • OLDER memories need to be found, RETRO

6. Retrieval failure

   • A form of forgetting that occurs when we don't have the necessary cues to access memory.
   • Cue
     • A 'trigger' of information that allows us to access a memory. such cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of learning,

7. Misleading information

   • Eyewitness testimony
     • The ability of people to remember the details of events such as accidents and crimes which they have observed.
   • Incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event.
   • Leading questions
     • A Question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer.
   • Post-event discussion
     • Occurs when there is more than one witness to an event. witnesses may discuss what they have seen with co-witnesses or with other people. this may affect the accuracy of the recall.

8. Anxiety

   • A state of emotional and physical arousal. The emotions include having worried thoughts and feelings of tension.

9. The Cognitive interview

   • A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories. it uses four main techniques, all based on well-established psychological knowledge of human memory - report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order and change perspective.