Short and Long Term Memory

Short and Long Term Memory Chapter 3

Short Term Memory • Anything in your conscious mind at any one moment • Does not necessarily involved paying close attention • Repeating what someone said word for word • Will not comprehend until you repeat it back • Memory lasts as long as you hold it there • Numerous strategies to improve short-term memory

Rehearsal • Repetition of information • Mentally or out loud • Maintenance rehearsal • Keeps info in short term • Does not connect info to meaning • Elaborative Rehearsal • Transfer info to long term • Think about meaning • Connect to info already in storage

Practicing Rehearsal • 440-835-9471 • B H A N W O L K D • Sheep, phone, book, shoe, card, chip, drum

Chunking • Chunking puts items into groups • 1 group = 1 piece • 7 pieces of grouped items = greater memory • Phone numbers • 4408675309 vs 440-867-5309 • STM limited in duration and capacity • Can hold 5-9 pieces of information • Average is 7 • *Applies to unrelated items

Chunking Practice

Mnemonic Devices • Named after Greek goddess of memory Mnymosyne • Unusual associations made to material in order to aid memory • Not always logical • Replace rote memorization • If you can already make sense of the task at hand, don’t use a mnemonic device • Must be used from the beginning when learning info

Mnemonic Examples • King Henry Died Drinking Chocolate Milk • All Cows Eat Grass / FACE • Roy G. Biv • 30 Days Hath September, April, June, and November • In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue • Never Eat Soggy Waffles • Please Excused My Dear Aunt Sally

Long Term Memory • Sensory storage filters out the unnecessary • Short-term memory holds onto the knowledge needed right away • Information stored for future use • Representations of countless facts, experiences, and sensations • Holds onto ideas and themes

Types of memory Semantic Memory • Ideas and concepts not drawn from personal experience • Ex: Concept of a cat Explicit Memory* • Consciously recall and use as needed • Ex: Knowledge • Explicit memory used when taking a test • Episodic Memory • Memory of our own life • Ex: What you did this morning • Time of occurrence is important • Implicit Memory* • No conscious recall • Ex: Skills • Lose ability to describe tasks

Priming • Form of implicit memory • Information is learned • Cues given later to aid in recall • Ex: Fill in the blank question • First letter of the answer included

Schemas - Revisited • Long term memory organized into schemas • Brain is a filing cabinet with many drawers and each drawer has many folders • Way we mentally represent the world

Examples of Schemas • Same little girl sees a miniature horse and calls it a dog • Dogs are small, have four legs, and a tail • Parents explain that it is actually a very small horse • Modifies existing schema for horses to remember that they can be tall or short • Little girl sees a horse • Horse is tall, has four legs, and a tail • Sees a cow for the first time and calls it a horse • Cow is tall, has four legs, and tail • Modify existing schema for a horse and add new one for a cow

Prejudice • Existing schemas can inhibit learning • Prevents people from seeing the world as it really is • No new info taken in • Interpret situations incorrectly • Come up with alternate explanations of events that challenge pre-existing beliefs

Short and Long Term Memory