Phase II Part IV

Short term memory:

Information that is briefly stored is a part of the short term memory. Usually, our short term memory can store about seven items. For instance, when students cram right before a math test they use their short term memory to remember formulas. When they get the test they quickly write the formulas on the test before they forget them.

The role of emotion in memory:

Emotion allows us to remember certain situations and information better than we do without emotion because we are able to create a strong link between that emotion and the information. For instance, Dr. Stenberg reads our vocabulary words to our class at the beginning of each section. When he reads them he makes comments or pronounces the words in a way that we will remember. One word in particular is murky. He pronounces murky with an eire tone, so we remember that murky means brackish or dirty.

The Steps of Encoding:

First, we receive information through one of our senses. Then the information is transformed into information that our memory system can understand. Finally, the information is stored for later recall in our memory system.

Ebbinghaus' retention curve:

Herman Ebbinghaus, a German philosopher, pioneered research of verbal memory. He showed that the amount remembered depends on the time spent learning by reading a list of nonsense words everyday until he could recite the list by memory. He found that as the days went on he needed to read the list fewer and fewer times in order to recite the list by memory.

Spacing Effect:

This is the tendency to remember information, in the long run, better by practicing or studying over a longer period of time rather than practicing or studying a lot over a short period of time. For example, if you try to memorize a song in one day then you might forget it in a couple of weeks; whereas, if you practice memorizing the song for a whole week then you would be more likely to remember that song in a couple of weeks.

What we encode:

We encode all of the information that enters through one of our senses. Furthermore, we usually can only recall the encoded message, how we interpreted the information, instead of the literal message.

Kinds of Encoding:

There are three kinds of encoding: acoustic encoding, visual encoding, and semantic encoding. Acoustic encoding is the process of remembering or understanding through hearing. If you are reading or talking aloud to yourself when you are studying or doing homework, you are using acoustic encoding. Visual encoding is remembering by looking at something. This is the least effective way to encode and remember information. Semantic encoding is when we remember something by creating our own meaning, instead of just remembering the words or picture. For example, if we see a list of random familiar words we might make up a sentence that relates all of the words together.

Levels of processing:

We can either process information automatically or effortfully. In automatic processing we do not need to concentrate or work hard to remember certain information or details. An example of automatic processing is recalling what show you watched on tv last night. On the other hand, effortful processing requires specific attention and effort. For instance, when you are reading a chapter in the psychology book you need to make a conscious effort to remember what you read because it does not come automatically.