Chapter 7: Human Memory - Revision
Notes
Key Concepts at a Glance
What is Memory?
Memory = retaining and recalling information over time
● Can hold info for seconds (phone number) or years (childhood skills)
● Central to almost all cognitive processes
Three Stages of Memory Process
1. Encoding - Recording information for the first time
2. Storage - Holding information over time
3. Retrieval - Bringing stored information back to awareness
Memory failure can occur at ANY of these stages!
Stage Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
Three Memory Systems:
System Capacity Duration Encoding
Sensory Memory Large <1 Exact replica
second (iconic/echoic)
Short-Term Memory Small (7±2 < 30 Acoustic
(STM) items) seconds (sound-based)
Long-Term Memory Unlimited Lifetime Semantic
(LTM) (meaning-based)
Control Processes (How info moves between stores):
● Selective Attention → moves info from sensory to STM
● Maintenance Rehearsal → keeps info in STM through repetition
● Chunking → expands STM capacity (e.g., 194719492004 → 1947, 1949, 2004)
● Elaborative Rehearsal → moves info from STM to LTM by connecting to existing
knowledge
Working Memory (Baddeley, 1986)
STM is not just storage—it's a "workbench"!
Three Components:
1. Phonological Loop - holds sounds (2 sec decay)
2. Visuospatial Sketchpad - stores visual/spatial info
3. Central Executive - organizes everything, allocates attention
Levels of Processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972)
Deeper processing = Better retention
1. Structural (shallow) - physical features (e.g., capital letters?)
2. Phonetic (intermediate) - sound (e.g., rhymes with "crew"?)
3. Semantic (deep) - meaning (e.g., fits in sentence? think about meaning)
Tip: Understanding meaning > rote memorization!
Types of Long-Term Memory
1. Declarative vs Procedural
● Declarative - facts, names, dates (easy to describe verbally)
○ Example: India became independent on Aug 15, 1947
● Procedural - skills, how-to knowledge (hard to describe)
○ Example: How to ride a bicycle
2. Episodic vs Semantic (within Declarative)
● Episodic - personal life experiences (emotional, biographical)
○ Example: How you felt when you stood first in class
● Semantic - general knowledge, facts (affect-neutral)
○ Example: 2+6=8, STD code of Delhi is 011
3. Special Types:
● Flashbulb Memories - highly detailed memories of surprising/arousing events
● Autobiographical - personal memories (childhood amnesia before age 4-5)
● Implicit Memory - unconscious memories (like typing without thinking about keys)
Knowledge Organization in LTM
Representation Units:
● Concepts - mental categories for similar objects/events
● Categories - organize concepts by common features
● Schema - mental frameworks of knowledge (e.g., what's in a drawing room)
Hierarchical Network Model (Collins & Quillian, 1969)
● Knowledge organized in hierarchical networks
● Nodes = concepts
● Connections = relationships
● Cognitive Economy - store info at appropriate level, no redundancy
○ Example: "Canary is a bird" verified faster than "Canary is an animal"
Dual Coding Hypothesis (Paivio)
● Concrete objects encoded both verbally AND as images
● Abstract concepts only verbal
● Images lead to mental models for tasks like following directions
Forgetting: Nature & Causes
Ebbinghaus's Findings:
● Sharp drop in memory in first 9 hours (especially first hour)
● Then gradual, stable decline
Three Main Theories:
1. Trace Decay Theory
● Memory traces fade from disuse over time
● Weakness: People forget MORE when awake than asleep (contradicts theory)
2. Interference Theory Most influential
● Proactive Interference - old learning interferes with new recall
○ Example: English makes French harder to learn
● Retroactive Interference - new learning interferes with old recall
○ Example: French makes English harder to recall
3. Retrieval Failure (Tulving)
● Info exists but can't access it
● Missing/inappropriate retrieval cues
● Example: Recalling more words when given category names as cues
Special Case: Repressed Memories
● Traumatic experiences pushed to unconscious (Freud)
● Can cause psychological amnesia or fugue states
Memory Construction (Bartlett, 1932)
Memory is ACTIVE, not passive!
● What we store undergoes changes over time
● Influenced by knowledge, goals, motivation, schemas
● Serial Reproduction showed people:
○ Alter texts to fit their knowledge
○ Gloss over details
○ Elaborate main themes
○ Transform material to be more coherent
Memory is reconstructive, not just reproductive!
Enhancing Memory: Mnemonics & Strategies
Mnemonics Using Images:
1. Keyword Method (for foreign languages)
● Find similar-sounding English word
● Create interactive image
● Example: Spanish "Pato" (duck) → imagine duck in a POT
2. Method of Loci
● Place items in familiar physical locations
● Mental walk to recall in sequence
● Example: bread in kitchen, tomatoes on table, soap in bathroom
Mnemonics Using Organization:
1. Chunking
● Combine small units into large chunks
● Example: 1947, 1949, 2004 instead of 12 separate digits
2. First Letter Technique
● Use first letters to form word/sentence
● Example: VIBGYOR for rainbow colors
General Memory Improvement Tips:
1. Deep Level Processing - focus on meaning, create connections
2. Minimize Interference - don't study similar subjects back-to-back; take breaks
3. Use Retrieval Cues - identify and link cues while learning
PQRST Method (Thomas & Robinson)
● Preview - cursory look at chapter
● Question - raise questions about content
● Read - look for answers
● Self-recitation - rewrite what you read
● Test - check understanding
Important Evidence & Studies
● Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) - first systematic memory research, forgetting curve
● Frederick Bartlett (1932) - memory as constructive process
● Loftus (eyewitness) - misleading questions alter memory ("smashed" vs "contacted")
● Case KF - challenged stage model (damaged STM but intact LTM)