HUMAN MEMORY

CHAPTER 7
 NATURE OF MEMORY

MEMORY – refers to retaining and recalling information over a period of time depending upon the
nature of cognitive task you are required to perform.
Memory is conceptualized as a process consisting of three independent and interrelated stages.
They are:
1. Encoding – First stage of human memory in which information is recorded and registered for
the first time so that it becomes usable by our memory system and substantial meaning is
derived from the incoming information
2. Storage -Second stage of human memory in which the encoded information is retained and
held over a period of time so that it can be utilized later
3. Retrieval – It is the third stage of memory in which the stored information can be recovered
from our memory as and when the situation demands
 INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACH (STAGE
MODEL)

First proposed by ATKINSON AND SHIFFRIN in 1968. It is known as Stage Model. Existence of three
separate but sequentially linked memory systems:
• Sensory Memory Short-term Memory, Long-term Memory .
• Human memory came to be seen as a system that processes information in the same way a
computer does, both register, store and manipulate.
• For ex, to solve a mathematical problem, the memory relating to mathematical operations are
carried out, activated and put to use and finally receive the output.
• This analogy led to the development of the first model of memory. Stage model.
 MEMORY SYSTEMS :
SENSORY, SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM MEMORIES

1. Sensory Memory - The incoming information enters through sensory memory which has a
large capacity but is of very short duration of less than a second. It registers information from
each of the senses with a reasonable accuracy.
2. Short-term Memory - It refers to the system that holds small amount of information for a brief
period of time. The information is primarily encoded acoustically and unless it is rehearsed
continuously, the information gets lost within 30 seconds.
3. Long-term Memory - The information that survives in short term memory enters the long-
term memory system. Once information enters here, it is never forgotten as it gets encoded
semantically. Thus, it is a permanent storehouse of all the information.
 HOW INFORMATION FLOWS THROUGH VARIOUS
MEMORY STORES?
Control Processes :
1. Selective Attention: only that information which is attended to enters the STM from sensory
registers.
2. Maintenance rehearsal: maintains the information in STM through repetition (silent or vocal).
The information is lost when the repetition is discontinued.
3. Chunking: used to expand the capacity of STM which is otherwise 7+2. For ex, to remember a
string of digits such as 194719492004 (which exceeds the capacity of STM), we may create the
chunks as 1947, 1949, 2004 and remember them as the year (associate), ex, when India
became independent, the year when the Indian Constitution was adopted, and the year when
the tsunami hit the coastal regions of India and South East Asian countries.
4. Elaborative rehearsals:
• Information enters the LTM from the STM.
• Attempts to connect the ‘to be retained information’ to the already existing information in long-
term memory.
• Remembering the meaning of the word ‘humanity’ will be easier if the meanings of concepts
such as ‘compassion’ , ‘truth’ and ‘benevolence’ are already in place.
• Associations with new information determine its permanence. Logical framework and link to
create mental image.
MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL VS ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL
 LEVELS OF PROCESSING

The levels of processing view was proposed by Craik and Lockhart in 1972.
• Suggested that the processing of any new information relates to the manner in which
it is perceived, analysed, and understood, which in turn determines the extent to
which it will eventually be retained.
• It is possible to analyse the incoming information at more than one level:
• Structural – physical or structural is first and shallowest level.
• Phonetic – intermediate level – phonetic sounds attached to letters and letters to
meaningful words.
• Semantic – deepest level – analyze meaning of words – retain for long time.
 TYPES OF LONG TERM MEMORY
Two types –
1. Declarative Memory- All information pertaining to facts, names, dates like a car has four
wheels,14th February is valentine’s day is part of the declarative memory. Facts retained in the
declarative memory are amenable to verbal descriptions.
2. Procedural Memory – It refers to the memories relating to procedures of accomplishing various
tasks like how to drive a car, bake cakes, etc. Contents of procedural memory cannot be described
easily as they are more practical and application-based.
Declarative memory is further divided into two types –
3. Episodic Memory - It comprises biographical details of our life. Its memories relate to our
personal life experiences and its contents are emotional in nature. Ex, First marriage anniversary
celebration, birthday party with friends.
4. Semantic Memory - Semantic memory is defined as the memory of general awareness and
knowledge. All concepts, ideas, rules of logic are stored in semantic memory. Ex, 7*8 is 56, STD
code of New Delhi is 011, etc.
 LONG TERM MEMORY CLASSIFICATION

• Flashbulb memories – These are memories of events that are very

arousing or surprising. They are highly detailed. They are like images
frozen in memory and tied to particular places, dates, and times.
Sometimes act as cues for retrieval.
• Autobiographical memories – These are personal memories. They are not
distributed evenly throughout our lives. Emotionality, novelty, and
importance of events contribute to it.
• Implicit memories - Implicit memory is a kind of memory that a person is
not aware of. It is a memory that is retrieved automatically, ex, typing.
 KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AND
ORGANISATION IN MEMORY
• Concept - The most important unit of representation of knowledge in long-term memory. Concepts
are mental categories for objects and events, which are similar to each other in one or more one way.
• Schema - Concepts may also be organized in schemas, i.e., mental frameworks that are
representative of our knowledge and assumptions about the world. Ex, kitchen.
• Images - it is a concrete form of representation that directly conveys the perceptual attributes of an
object.
• In 1969, Allan Collins and Ross Quillan suggested that knowledge in long-term memory is organized
in terms of concepts, categories, and images, and they are organized hierarchically
• This as a result ensures a high degree of the cognitive economy which means maximum and efficient
use of the capacity of long-term memory with minimum effort.
• Dual Coding Hypothesis - Proposed by Paivio. All concrete objects generate images and knowledge
related to them and is encoded both verbally as well as visually.
 NATURE AND CAUSES OF FORGETTING
Forgetting happens when we fail to retrieve information from our long-term memory. Reasons:
• The information we commit to our long-term memory is somehow lost
• The information to be learned was not memorized well enough
• Improper encoding of the information
• The information to be learned is not stored properly.

Theories of forgetting –
1. Ebbinghaus’s Curve of Forgetting – according to this, rate of forgetting is maximum in the
first 9 hours, particularly during the first hour. After that, the forgetting rate slows down and
not much is forgotten even after many days.
2. Trace theory of forgetting - Disuse theory. Memory leads to modification in the central
nervous system which is akin to physical changes in the brain called memory traces. If the
memory traces are not used for a long time, they simply fade away and become unavailable.
3. Interference - Forgetting also happens because of the interference between various
pieces of information that the memory store contains. Two types:
• Proactive Interference – What one has learned earlier, interferes with the recall of
subsequent learning. Past learning interferes with the recall of later learning. For ex, a
person well-versed with English may find difficulty in learning French.
• Retroactive interference - Difficulty in recalling what one has learned earlier because of
learning new material. Later learning interferes with the recall of past learning. For ex, if
one cannot recall English equivalents of French words that one is currently memorizing.
 ENHANCING MEMORY
There are various techniques to enhance your memory –
Mnemonics Using Images- It requires us to create vivid and interacting images of the material
that we wish to remember. Under this type, there are two techniques:
• Keyword Method- In this method, an English word that sounds similar to the word of a foreign
language is identified. This English word will function as a keyword. It is considered as a simple
method as compared to rote learning. For ex, to remember the Spanish word ‘Pato’ (duck), you
may choose ‘pot’ as the keyword and then evoke interactive images of keyword and the target
word. A duck in a pot full of water.
• Method Of Loci– It helps in learning in a serial order. First visualize places/objects that you know
well in a specific order. Imagine the objects to be memorized and then associate them one by
one to the physical locations. For ex, suppose you want to remember bread, eggs, tomatoes,
and soap on your way to the market, you may visualise a loaf of bread and eggs placed in your
kitchen, tomatoes kept on a table and soap in the bathroom.
Mnemonics Using Organization- Organization refers to imposing certain orders on the material to
be remembered. Techniques :
• Chunking- It helps in increasing STM. Several smaller units are combined to form larger chunks. It
is important to discover some organizational principles which can link smaller units.
• First Letter Technique- We need to pick up the first letter of each word to be remembered and
then arrange them logically to form another word/sentence. For ex, we learn colors of the
rainbow as VIBGYOR (Violet, Indigo, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red).
• Deep Level Processing- As per Craik and Lockhart, processing information in terms of meaning
that they convey leads to better memory as compared to attending to their surface features. It
involves asking as many questions as possible related to the information that is to be learned
• Give Oneself Retrieval Cues- Giving one self-sufficient retrieval cues will make it easier to
remember the information as it will help in linking it to the retrieval cues. Thomas and Robinson –
PQRST technique. Preview, Question, Read, Self-recitation, and Test.