COURSE NOTES: Introductory Psychology

Notes for Psychology 101: based on Myers's text, Exploring Psychology, with supplements and modifications by the instructor, Prof. Cloninger.

denotes a term that you should know how to define, and to recognize and give examples. denotes an important person. You should remember this person's name and what (s)he has done. denotes an important research finding. denotes an issue that you should be able to discuss or explain.

The Phenomenon of Memory

What were you doing when....
the World Trade Center towers collapsed
the Challenger blew up?
JFK was assasinated?
flashbulb memories, for various generations

Memory as Information Processing

encoding
storage
retrieval
sensory memory
long-term memory
short-term memory

working memory

Encoding: Getting Information In

Automatic Processing

example: learning to read reversed sentences
example: Stroop effect [demonstration in class]

Effortful Processing

rehearsal: conscious repetition

Ebbinghaus's studies

the next-in-line effect
just before sleep (no "sleep learning")
spacing effect
serial position effect

Encoding Meaning

Memory is improved if you think about the meaning of words (instead of, for example, the sounds of the words).

"think" is remembered:

better, as a synonym for "analyze"

worse, as a word that rhymes with "sink"

Encoding Imagery
imagery (mental pictures)

mnemonic devices

One Memory Strategy: Pegwords

one is a bun
two is a shoe
three is a tree
four is a door
five is a hive
six is sticks
seven is heaven
eight is a gate
nine is wine
ten is a hen

Organizing Information for Encoding

Chunking

149217761812
vs. 1492 1776 1812

Hierarchies [categories]

celery squash potato corn
celery antelope book dandelion

DEMONSTRATION: Improving Memory (the importance of context)
[in class]

Storage: Retaining Information

Sensory Memory

iconic memory (Sperling)
echoic memory

Sperling's study

E X Q
S R V
B L X

Short-Term Memory

limited capacity
lasts while being rehearsed
not permanent

Long-Term Memory

unlimited capacity
lasts forever
must be retrieved to be useful

Storing Memories in the Brain

"memory trace"

Synaptic Changes

long-term potentiation (LTP): neural changes to make memory permanent
LTP can be influenced by enzymes, and is helped by serotonin in synapses.
Perhaps there can be a memory-enhancing drug.

NEUROSCIENTISTS REPORT: neural changes associated with memory:
changes in the number of synapses
changes in the distribution of presynaptic vesicles
changes in the size of synaptic boutons
changes in the shape and size of synaptic contact zones, including development of concave synapses that allow more efficient uptake of neurotransmitters
(Based on Weiler et al, 1995.)

Stress Hormones and Memory

emotion (stress) strengthens memory
traumatic events are well remembered

Storing Implicit and Explicit Memories

stored differently

Memories lost to brain damage can influence some kinds of memory while leaving others unaffected. (Oliver Sachs's patients)

amnesic patients

implicit memory (procedural memory or nondeclarative memory)
skills: motor and cognitive
includes "procedural knowledge"
dispositions: classical and operant conditioning effects

explicit memory (declarative memory)
semantic memory (facts; general knowledge)
sometimes called "declarative knowledge"
episodic memory (personally experienced events)

The Hippocampus

The hippocampus is involved in some memories, but not others.

Also, it is lateralized, with the left hippocampus involved in verbal memory, and the right hippocampus involved in memory for visual designs and locations.
The hippocampus is involved in these kinds of memories:

declarative memories
explicit memories
memories of the relationships between things

The hippocampus is not involved in these kinds of memories:
(From information in Squire, 1992.)

implicit memories
skills and habits
simple conditioning
priming

The Cerebellum

a temporary processing site for explicit memory (Myers, 2005, p. 271)

involved in eye-blink conditioning (a form of implicit memory)

Amygdala: involved in emotional memories (Myers, 2005, p. 272)

DEMONSTRATION (in class)
The moral of this demonstration: memory can be wrong!

Retrieval: Getting Information Out

Measures of Memory

recall: remembering without cues
relearning: time saved learning again
recognition: picking out the remembered material

Retrieval Cues

priming: associations that are active, influencing recall

see picture of rabbit
after, respond "hare" instead of "hair"

Context Effects

déjà vu ("already seen")

Moods and Memories

state-dependent memory
mood-congruent

Forgetting

Encoding Failure

Storage Decay

Retrieval Failure

Interference

proactive interference
retroactive interference

Motivated Forgetting

repression (Freud)

Memory Construction

Misinformation and Imagination Effects

misinformation effect
imagination effect

Source Amnesia

also called "source misattribution"

Children's Eyewitness Recall

suggestibility

Repressed or Constructed (False) Memories of Abuse?

Experts agree that:
Injustice happens.
Incest and other sexual abuse happens.
Forgetting happens.
Recovered memories are commonplace.
Memories "recovered" under hypnosis or the influence of drugs are especially unreliable.
Memories of things happening before age 3 are also unreliable.
Memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting.

Improving Memory

some advice...

Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. ("overlearn")
Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material.
Make the material personally meaningful.
To remember a list of unfamiliar items, use mnemonic devices.
Refresh your memory by activating retrieval cues.
Minimize interference.
Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what you do not yet know.

Alzheimer's disease: Warning signs

All of these symptoms also occur in people without significant memory disorders, but they can also be early signs of Alzheimer's disease, especially when they occur as a change from earlier behavior.
1. asking the same question over and over again
2. telling the same story over and over again
3. forgetting how to do daily activities that previously were not a problem
4. becoming unable to pay bills or balance the checkbook
5. getting lost in familiar surrounding or misplacing household items
6. neglecting personal hygiene
7. relying on someone else to make decisions or answer questions
(Source: National Eldercare Institute on Long Term Care and Alzheimer's Disease, 1993)

Students: You can also use resources for this text supplied by the publisher. These include a chapter overview, self-tests, and other resources.

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