Detalis about human memory

2. Memory?

3.  Author: Bisma
 Pages: 35
 Institute: GCUF Sahiwal Campus

4. Definition
Memory is the faculty of the brain
by which information is encoded,
stored, and retrieved when needed.

5. Memory
There are three types of memory function:
Sensory memories
Short-term memory or working memory
Long-term memory Selection of
stimuli governed by level of arousal.

6. PHENOMENON OF MEMORY
 In 1987, Zimbardo , Atkinson and Hilgard explained that memory require three
mental processes that is….
 ENCODING  STORAGE  RETRIEVAL
 These are known as three stages of memory.
 ENCODING :
Encoding is a process of depositing something into memory. Encoding is
the translation of incoming stimulus energy into a unique neural code that our
brain can process. The encoding process involves acquiring information and then
repeating it in the mind.

7. CHARACTERISTICS OF ENCODING
 The manner of encoding affects what gets stored. Some of its
characteristics are under:-
 Attending only to features(letters of a word) versus developing
associations(meaning of the word)
 Generally, the more meaningful the stimuli, the better are the
recall.
 Affect of imaginary pictures are better recalled than words, and
more imaginable words are better recalled than less imaginable
(more abstract).

8. TYPES OF ENCODING
 Visual encoding: Information is represented as a picture.
 Acoustic encoding: information is represented as a sound.
 Semantic encoding: information is represented by its
meaning to you.
 The point that should be kept in mind while encoding is
attention.

9. Phenomenon Of Memory

10. Sensory memory
• Buffers for stimuli received through senses
– iconic memory: visual stimuli
– echoic memory: aural stimuli
– haptic memory: tactile stimuli
• Examples
– “sparkler” trail
– stereo sound
• Continuously overwritten

11. Short-term memory (STM)
• Scratch-pad for temporary recall
– rapid access ~ 70ms
– rapid decay ~ 200ms
– limited capacity - 7± 2 chunks

12. SHORT TERM MEMORY:
 Short term memory is the second stage of multi store memory . This was proposed by Atkinson
Shiffrin . The duration of STM seems to be between 15 -30 seconds and the capacity about 7
items .
 Short term memory is closely related working memory is like a receptionist for the brain. As
one of two main memory types short term memory is responsible for storing information
temporarily.
 STM is the information we are currently aware of or thinking about. It is the information that
help our for the short period of time before it is either dismissed of or transfer to a long term
memory .
 Working Memory: It is a sub part of short term memory applied to cognitive tasks that
temporarily stores organizes and manipulate information .

13. It has 3 key aspects
1. Limited Duration: (storage is very fragile and information can be last with destruction or passage of time.
2. Encoding: (primarily acoustic, even translating visual information into sound.
There are two ways in which capacity is tested , one being span the other being recency effect the magic number
7(plus or minus two)provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory. Most adult can store between 5 and 9
items in short term memory.
 Miller's theory supported by evidence from various studies such as Jacob (1887) He used the digits span test with
every letter in the alphabet and numbers apart from ‘’W’’ and ‘7’’ because they had two syllables .
 He found out that people find it easier to recall numbers rather than letters.
 The duration of short term memory seems to be between 15 and 13 seconds according to Atkinson and Shiffrin
(1971) .
 Items can be kept in the short term memory by them verbally.
 Using a technique called Brown Peterson the possibility of retrieval by having participant count backwards in 3s.
Short-term memory (STM)

14. Examples
 212348278493202
 0121 414 2626
 HEC ATR ANU PTH ETR EET

15. Long-term memory (LTM)
• Repository for all our knowledge
– slow access ~ 1/10 second
– slow decay, if any
– huge or unlimited capacity
• Two types
– episodic – serial memory of events
– semantic – structured memory of facts,concepts, skills
semantic LTM derived from episodic LTM

16. Long-term memory (cont.)
• Semantic memory structure
– provides access to information
– represents relationships between bits of information
– supports inference
• Model: semantic network
– inheritance – child nodes inherit properties of parent
nodes
– relationships between bits of information explicit
– supports inference through inheritance

17. LTM - Storage of information
• rehearsal
– information moves from STM to LTM
• total time hypothesis
– amount retained proportional to rehearsal time
• distribution of practice effect
– optimized by spreading learning over time
• structure, meaning and familiarity
– information easier to remember

18. LTM - Forgetting
decay
– information is lost gradually but very slowly
interference
– new information replaces old: retroactive
interference
– old may interfere with new: proactive inhibition
so may not forget at all memory is selective …
… affected by emotion – can subconsciously `choose' to forget

19. LTM - retrieval
recall
– information reproduced from memory can be assisted
by cues, e.g. categories, imagery
recognition
– information gives knowledge that it has been seen before
– less complex than recall - information is cue

20. TYPES of Long Term Memory
 EXPLICT /DECLERATIVE MEMORY
 Episodic Memory
 Semantic Memory
 IMPLICIT /PROCEDURAL MEMORY

21. EXPLICT MEMORY:
 Conscious form of memory that is easily and intentionally
recalled and recited.
 e.g. We use explicit memory when we trying to remember
a person’s name who we have just met.

22.  EPISODIC MEMORY:
Consciously recollected memories related to personally experienced events.
e.g. First time travelled by airplane, detail bout how u learned of a relatives death.
 SEMANTIC MEMORY:
Memory that process ideas and concepts that are not drawn from personal
experience OR recollection of facts gathered from the time we are young. e.g; Knowing that
grass is green, understand how to put words together to form sentence.
Types of Explicit Memory

23. IMPLICIT MEMORY:
 Unconscious form of memory that uses past
experiences to remember things without thinking
about them no matter how long ago those
experienced occurred. e.g. Recalling words to a
song when someone sings the first few words,
riding a bike, typing on a key board.

24. Other Types of Memory
 Topographic Memory
Topographic memory involves the ability to orient oneself in space to recognize
familiar places. Getting lost when travelling alone is an example of topographic
memory failure.
 Flash bulb Memory
The sudden onset of a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or
event. When you are trying to remember something and then it all of a sudden comes
to you, you have experienced a flashbulb memory. It is like the turning of light. For
example: One can still remember the day, the smell of the elevator, one first thought
and concomitant response when he was stuck in the elevator for the first time.

25.  Transience: Memories degrade with the passing of time. This occurs in the storage stage of
memory, after the information has been stored and before it is retrieved. This can happen in
sensory, short-term, and long-term storage. It follows a general pattern where the information is
rapidly forgotten during the first couple of days or years, followed by small losses in later days or
years.
 Absentmindedness: Memory failure due to the lack of attention. Attention plays a key role in
storing information into long-term memory; without proper attention, the information might not be
stored, making it impossible to be retrieved later.
 Aging: One of the main reasons of memory failure is old age called aging as older adults' experience
of memory loss, especially as it is one of the hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. However,
memory loss is qualitatively different in normal aging from the kind of memory loss associated with a
diagnosis of Alzheimer's. Research has revealed that individuals' performance on memory tasks that
rely on frontal regions declines with age. Older adults tend to exhibit deficits on tasks that involve
knowing the temporal order in which they learned information.
Reasons of memory Failure

26. Disorders
 Much of the current knowledge of memory has come from
studying memory disorders, particularly amnesia. Loss of
memory is known as Amnesia. Amnesia can result from extensive
damage to:
 (a) the regions of the medial temporal lobe, such as the
hippocampus, dentate gyrus, subiculum, amygdala, the Para
hippocampal, entorhinal, and perirhinal cortices.

27. Introduction to Thinking
 Cognitive abilities like thinking reasoning and problem solving may
be considered the chief characteristics whish distinguish human
beings from other species including the higher animals.
 The challenges and problems faced by the individual or by society,
in general are solved through series of efforts involving thinking and
reasoning. So thinking may be considered the essential fool for
welfare and meaningful existence of the individual as well as
society.

28. Thinking
1.Ross: “Thinking is a mental activity in its cognitive
aspect or mental activity with regard to psychological
aspects”
2.Mohsin: “Thinking is an implicit problem solving
behaviour”

29. Types of Thinking
 Concrete Thinking: - It is the simplest form of thinking carried out on the
perception of actual or concrete objects and events
 Abstract Thinking: - It is the regarding as superior to perceptual thinking as it
economies efforts in understandings and problem solving.
 Reflective Thinking: - This type of thinking aim in solving complex problems,
thinking process takes all the relevant facts arranged in a logical order into an
account in order to arrive at a solution of problem.
 Creative Thinking: - This type of thinking is associated with one’s ability to
create or construct something new, novel or unusual.
 It looks new relationships and associations to describe and interpret the nature of
things, events and situations.

30. Development of Thinking
 Thinking is one of the most important aspects of learning
process. Our ability to learn and solve the only those men
who can think distinctly, constructively and carefully can
very much contribute something worthwhile to the society.
 As no person is born thinker, one has to acquire
knowledge of technique and practice of proper thinking

31. Language
A system of communication used by
a particular country or community is
called as language.

32. Language in Memory
 The nature of language exists in brain process between the sensory and motor
system, especially between visual or auditory income and written or spoken
outcome. The biggest part of the knowledge about brain mechanism for
language is deduced from studies of language defects resulting from brain
damage. For bilingual people, this
means certain memories are more closely linked to one language then the other
a phenomenon is called “language dependent in memory”. For instances
childhood memory is more likely to be remember when the language spoken
during that childhood event is spoken again. Memory and language are
cognitive functions, but also connected, for example, Part of semantic and
many be episodic memory. So, if you use language you also use your memory.
If you are digging and storing something in your memory you are using
language.

33. Difference
 Memory can consist of pictures, moving pictures, stories,
numbers, and more combination of all that. There is a different
kind of memory that move together working memory,
procedural memory, episodic memory, semantic memory.
 Language consists of grammatical rules, phonological rules
which are stored in some kind of memory
 For example, items in lexicon are part of semantic memory,
 So, if you use language you will also use your memory.