Memory

Memory

1. Definition: The mental process that allows us to aquire, retain, and retrieve information.

2. The Three Fundamental Processes

   • 1) Encoding: Transforming information into a form that can be entered and retained by the memory system.
     • Example: Looking at the dots and lines on the page and interpreting them as words.
   • 2) Storage: Retaining information in memory so it can be used later.
   • 3) Retrieval: Calling back stored information so we are consciously aware of it.

3. The Stage Model of Memory

   • Sensory Memory
     • Function: Registers information from the environment. Every sensation you feel/have goes through this.
     • Capacity for information: Large
     • Duration
       • Iconic (Visual)
         • .5 to 1 second
         • Discovered by George Sperling in 1960
           • Test involving subjects being asked to recall letters being flashed on a screen.
       • Echoic (Auditory)
         • 2-4 seconds
   • Short-Term (Working) Memory
     • Working memory is the most accurate term. The memory where information is worked on, encoded, or perceived. Necessary for comprehension. It is the stage where information transferred from sensory memory and information retreived from long-term memory come into consciousness.
     • Function: Encodes information.
       • Visual (only the structure of what's being looked at, not any meaning)
       • Acoustic (what something sounds like- again, without meaning)
       • Semantic: The encoding that does contain meaning.
         • Semantic is most important, but of course it's best to have all three working.
     • Capacity: Very limited.
       • There's a debate over whether the "magic number" for the capacity for information is "7 plus or minus 2" or if it's "4 plus or minus 1".
       • "Chunking" is the name for the act of grouping related items into a single unit to make many things easier to remember.
         • For example, the list of letters "U A V F C I D B D S A I" is much easier to keep in your head if you remember them as DVD, FBI, USA, and CIA.
     • Duration: Brief. Lasts 20-60 seconds if the information isn't attended to in any way.
       • "Maintenence rehearsal (mentally or verbally repeating information)" extends the duration. The information should be repeated every 20 seconds or so.
   • Long-Term Memory
   • A model that gives a simplified overview of the workings of memory.

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