PSYA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Explicit Memory, Joshua Foer, George Sperling
PSYA01 – Lectures 18 -23: Memory – Not a Singular Noun
Clive Wearing – famous conductor, musician (pianist + vocalist). Has herpes (syphilis) which
impacted his memories kept track in a journal; always felt like he JUST woke up, living
completely in the present but forgets everything else. HE STILL REMEMBERS Deborah,
procedural memory (muscle memory) piano playing
Book: Forever Today written by his wife
Memory Systems
- Brain has a # of diff memory systems which sometimes do their own things + sometimes
interact
1. Sensory Memory – “sensory trace”/ stimulus remains after the stimulus is gone (very
short-lived)
a. Extensively studied by cognitive psychologist George Sperling
i. Studies focused on visual sensory memory = “iconic memory” disappears
in approx. 1 sec (9 items will briefly be presented in box then will
disappear, how many could be remembered?)
Full Report Condition – overall, as a whole
Partial Report Condition – just a row
Document Summary
Psya01 lectures 18 -23: memory not a singular noun. Clive wearing famous conductor, musician (pianist + vocalist). Has herpes (syphilis) which impacted his memories kept track in a journal; always felt like he just woke up, living completely in the present but forgets everything else. He still remembers deborah, procedural memory (muscle memory) piano playing. 1 sec (9 items will briefly be presented in box then will disappear, how many could be remembered?) Full report condition overall, as a whole. Partial report condition just a row: echoic memory auditory version of sensory memory, disappears in approx. Examples: number memorization, word memorization (14 words: importance of structure, good memory is not about the size of the memory, it(cid:859)s often how info is stored. If it(cid:859)s linked to potential retrieval cues in some systematic manner, ten it can be much easier to find that information better (e. g. tagging pictures, keyword searches: long-term memory, explicit memory - requires conscious thought.
