Memory for psych

1. THE HUMAN
MEMORY

2. INTRODUCTION
 Memory is the ability to encode, store and
remember information and past experiences in
the brain.
 Encoding: a process of making mental
representation of information. It can also mean
transferring from short term to long term.
 Storing: Process of placing encoded
information into relatively permanent storage
for later recall.
 Remembering: the process of retrieving what
has been stored in short term or long term
memory.

3.  In general terms one can define
memory as the use of past experience
to influence or affect human
behaviour.
• WHERE MEMORY COMES FROM
 Memory is not located on one
particular part of the brain but
instead there is a brain wide process
in which different parts of the brain
work in conjunction with one
another(distributing process).

4. For example: when riding a bicycle,
the whole process is reconstructed by
the brain in different areas.
The memory of how to operate the
bike comes from one area, the
memory of the street paths comes
from another area, the memory of bike
safety rules in another and the
nervous feeling when almost falling or
being hit comes from another part of
the brain.

5. DISTRIBUTIVE PROCESS
DIAGRAM

6. TYPES OF MEMORY
There are three main types of memory.
1) Sensory memory
2) Long term memory
3) Short term memory
 Unlike the other two types, long type
memory is extensive as it lasts a
lifetime and thus has further sub
divisions as can be seen in the
diagram below:

7. Types of memory
diagram

8. a) SENSORY MEMORY
(<1sec)
 Sensory memories the Shortest term element of
memory. In order for anything to enter our
memory, it must be picked up by our senses(
taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell).
 Sensory memory makes use of the five senses
in order to be developed.
 For example, the ability to look at something and
remember what it looked like with just a second
of observation is an example of sensory memory.

9. b) SHORT TERM MEMORY
(<1min)
 Also called working memory. It is everything
you are thinking of at the current moment.
Takes less than one minute to process.
 It is the information we hang on to while doing
another process and it tends to disappear really
fast unless we make an effort to remember it.
 For example, when reading a sentence, you
place the beginning of the sentence in mind so
as to understand the rest of the sentence.

10. c) LONG TERM
MEMORY (life- time)
This is a process of storing unlimited
amounts of information over long
period of time.
Although there is the element of
forgetting, long term memory decays
very little and we are thus able to
recall most of it.

11. Long term memory
 Short term memories can become
long term memories through the
process of consolidation which
involves rehearsal and meaningful
association.
 Unlike short-term memory (which relies
mostly on an acoustic, and to a lesser
extent a visual, code for storing
information), long-term memory encodes
information for
storage semantically (i.e. based on
meaning and association).

12. Long term memory location

13. Characteristics of long
term memory
 It has an unlimited capacity and it is
relatively permanent.
 Chances of retrieval are dependent on
encoding process.
 Its accuracy may be distorted over time

14. TYPES OF LONG TERM
MEMORY

15. a) IMPLICIT
MEMORY(procedural)
 Implicit memory is memory that can be
unconsciously recalled. This is also known as
procedural memory. It is a memory of skills and
how to do things, particularly movement of body
parts and use of objects or machines.
 This is memory acquired through repetition and
practise and is composed of automatic
sensorimeter behaviours that are so deeply
embedded that we are no longer aware of them.
An example is when you teach a child to write over
and over again, eventually it becomes embedded
in him until he is able to do it simply without
thinking so much about it. Other examples include
riding a bike, tying a shoe-lace, playing the guitar
etc.

16. cont....
 This type of long-term memory allows people to
carry out ordinary motor actions more or less
automatically. This is aided by previous
performances of the task without explicit or
conscious awareness of the previous
experiences, like you do not remember how you
learnt how to hold a spoon or how to tie your shoe
lace, yet now you can do it more unconsciously.
 Implicit memory is stored and encoded by the
cerebellum, putamen, caudate nucleus and the
motor cortex- all of which are involved in motor
control.

17. Factors Affecting Implicit
Memory
Stroke
Depression and stress
Drug abuse
Lack of sleep
Nutritional deficiency
Head injury
Medications

18. b) EXPLICIT(declarative
 Declarative memory is a type of long
term memory and it is also known as
explicit memory.
 It is in this memory where we store
memories of fact.
 Your ability to recall addresses, locations
of parking garages, intersection names,
phone numbers, and an experience that
you had at a restaurant are all a part of
declarative memory.

19. 
For example: let's say that you know
that your favourite restaurant is only
open until 6 PM on Sundays. The time
that the restaurant closes is stored as
a declarative memory. We can
consciously recall declarative
memory.

20. Factors Affecting Declarative Memory.
STRESS
Through experimentation method, scholars have
been able to detect that those who are undergoing
stress tend to affect their declarative memory
more than those who are not undergoing stress.

21. i. EPISODIC MEMORY
Episodic memory represents our
memory of experiences and
specific events in time, from which we
can reconstruct the actual events that
took place at any given point in our
lives
Episodic memory is what enables one
to give an account of an event which
happened and will tend to be different
from someone else's.

22. EXAMPLES OF EPISODIC
MEMORY
First day at a new job.
First movie you watched with your
wife.
The first time you travelled by plane.
Your wedding day.

23. ii. SEMANTIC MEMORY
 Semantic memory includes things that are
common knowledge, such as the names of
colors, the sounds of letters, the capitals of
countries and basic facts acquired over a
life time.
 Semantic memory is the recollection of
facts gathered from the time we are young

24. Examples of semantic
memory.
 Knowing that grass is green.
 Knowing how to use scissors.
 Understanding how to put words
together to form a sentence.
 Knowing how to use a phone.
 Recognizing the names of colours.

25. GENERAL FACTORS AFFECTING
MEMORY.
a. Ability to retain:
 This depends upon good memory traces left in
the brain by past experiences.
b. Good health:
 A person with good health can retain the learnt
material better than a person with poor health.
c. Age of the learner:
 Youngsters can remember better than the
aged.
d. Maturity:
 Very young children cannot retain and
remember complex material.

26. Factors cont...
e. Will to remember:
 Willingness to remember helps for better
retention.
f. Intelligence:
 More intelligent person will have better memory
than a dull person,
g. Interest:
 If a person has more interest, he will learn and
retain better.
h. Over learning:
 Experiments have proved that over learning will
lead to better memory.
i. Speed of learning:
 Quicker learning leads to better retention,

27. Factors cont...
j. Meaningfulness of the material:

Meaningful materials remain in our
memory for longer period than for
nonsense material,
k. Sleep or rest:

Sleep or rest immediately after
learning strengthens connections in
the brain and helps for clear memory.

28. THE
END