PSYC 2000 Chapter : Memory Part 1
Memory – Part 1
• What is Memory?
o Memory: An active system that receives information from the
senses, organizes and alters that information as it stores it away, and
then retrieves the information from storage
o An active system:
▪ Receives information
▪ Organizes and alters that information
▪ Retrieves the information
o There are multiple types of memory – it is not one thing in one place
in the brain
• 3 Memory Processes
o Encoding (putting it in): Process of transforming information into a
form that can be stored in memory
o Storage (keeping it in): Holding onto information for some period of
time
o Retrieval (getting it out): Getting information that is in storage into a
form that can be used
• Models of Memory
o Information-Processing Model
▪ Mechanics of how different information is processed through
different stages (or systems) of memory – how memory works
o Parallel Distributed Processing Model
▪ Connections and timing of memory processes – simultaneous
processing of information across multiple neutral networks
o Levels-of-Processing Model
▪ Depth that information is processes and how impacts strength
of parallel connections within memory systems
▪ Strength and duration of memory increases as the level of
processing deepens
• Sensory Memory
o Holds information from the senses for a very brief duration
o Each sense has a sensory memory associated with it
o Visual = Iconic memory (about 1 sec.)
▪ Visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second
o Auditory = Echoic memory (about 4 secs.)
▪ Echoic memory: The brief memory of something a person has
just heard
• Sperling’s Procedure – Iconic Memory
o Showed people an array of letters very fast
o Cued to remember a certain row AFTER seeing the letters (partial
report)
▪ People could remember almost the whole row
o This showed that people could remember more than they could
report
• Information-Processing Model: Short Term Memory (STM)
o The memory system in which information is held for brief periods of
time while being used
o Selective attention: Ability to focus on only one stimulus (or a
narrowed range of stimulus) from among all sensory input present –
information gets into STM through selective attention
o Working memory: An active system that processes the information
present in short-term memory
