CH05 Im

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
Psychology: Core
Concepts
Seventh Edition
By:
Philip G. Zimbardo
Robert L. Johnson
Vivian McCann
CHAPTER 5
MEMORY
▲ TABLE OF CONTENTS
► LECTURE GUIDE
➢ 5.1: What Is Memory? (p. 251)
➢ 5.2: How Do We Form Memories? (p. 252)
➢ 5.3: How Do We Retrieve Memories? (p. 258)
➢ 5.4: Why Does Memory Sometimes Fail Us? (p. 260)
➢ Chapter Summary (p. 265)
▼ FULL CHAPTER RESOURCES

➢ Teaching Objectives (p. 265)
➢ Key Questions (p. 265)
➢ Core Concepts (p. 266)
➢ Psychology Matters (p. 266)
➢ Songs to Launch the Lecture (p. 267)
➢ Lecture Launchers and Discussion Topics (p. 268)
➢ Activities and Exercises (p. 283)
➢ Handouts (p. 296)
➢ Web Resources (p. 302)
➢ Video Resources (p. 303)
➢ Multimedia Resources (p. 305)
➢ CRS or PRS “Clicker” Questions (p. 307)
➢ PowerPoint Slides (p. 307)
➢ Accessing Resources (p. 307)
Instructor’s Manual for Zimbardo/Johnson/McCann, Psychology: Core Concepts, 7th Edition
LECTURE GUIDE
5.1 WHAT IS MEMORY? (textbook p. 172)
Lecture Launchers/Discussions Topics:
➢ Memory Anomalies: Beyond Déjà Vu (p. 181)
➢ Talented, Prodigious, Autistic, and Idiot Savants (p. 269)
➢ Culture and Memory (p. 260)
Classroom Activities, Demonstrations, and Exercises:
➢ What is Memory? (p. 283)
➢ Memory in Film: Memento (p. 283)
Web Resources
➢ Exploratorium
Video Resources
➢ NEW MyPsychLab Video Series (p.303)
Multimedia Resources in MyPsychLab (www.mypsychlab.com) (p. 303)
5.1 LECTURE OUTLINE: What is Memory?

➢ Memory sometimes plays tricks on us; however, many of our memories are quite accurate.
➢ The difficulty lies in knowing when to rely on memory.
5.1 KEY QUESTION
What is Memory?
➢ Cognitive psychologists view memory as a system that encodes, stores and retrieves information.
➢ While this definition applies equally to computers, humans have a cognitive system that
selectively takes information from the senses and converts it into meaningful patterns that are
stored and accessed as needed.
➢ These memory patterns form the raw material for thought and behavior.
5.1 CORE CONCEPT
Human memory is an information processing system that works constructively to encode,
store, and retrieve information.
I. Metaphors for Memory

➢ Metaphors are comparisons that help us to make concepts concrete. There are many metaphors
for memory; some are accurate, but some are not.
➢ Metaphors compare memory to a library, a storehouse; a computer; and a videorecorder.
➢ The videorecorder metaphor is wrong; the human memory system is an interpretive system
that takes in information, discards some details and organizes the rest into meaningful patterns.
➢ Our memories represent our unique perceptions of events, rather than being accurate or
objective representations,
➢ When we retrieve memories, we reconstruct them from the fragments of memory that we
remember; then we fill in the blanks as we remember it, not as it really was.
➢ While some memories are sketchy, we make the most complete and accurate memory records for:
➢ Information on which we have focused our attention;
➢ Information in which we are interested;
➢ Information that arouses us emotionally;
➢ Information that connects with previous experience;
➢ Information that we rehearse.
Chapter 5: Memory Page 251

II. Memory’s Three Basic Tasks

➢ Human memory takes essentially meaningless sensory information and changes it into
meaningful patterns to be stored and used later.
➢ Encoding, the first stage, begins by requiring a selection of some stimulus event from the array of
stimuli inputs and then making a preliminary classification.
➢ Next, the distinctive features of that input are identified.
➢ Finally, a mental label is attached.
➢ Often, encoding is so rapid that there is no awareness of it having occurred.
➢ Emotionally charged occurrences are encoded rapidly, while memories for concepts require
a more deliberate encoding effort to establish a memory.
➢ In a process of elaboration, an attempt is made to connect a new concept with existing
information.
➢ Storage, the second memory task, involves the retention of encoded information over time.
➢ Retrieval, the third stage is the process of accessing the information and bringing it to
consciousness or in a form that influences behavior at an unconscious level.
➢ Retrieval doesn’t always go well because the human memory system sometimes makes
errors, distorts information, or fails completely.
➢ Each of memory’s three stages stores memory for different lengths of time and in different forms.
PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: Would You Want a “Photographic” Memory? (text p. 175)

Eidetic memory is the technical term for photographic memory. It is an especially clear and persistent
form of memory that is quite rare. The term “photographic” memory is inaccurate because a photograph
renders everything in minute detail; an eidetic image does not. It portrays the most interesting and
meaningful parts of a scene most accurately and is subject to the same kinds of distortions as those of
“normal” memories.
Eidetic images can last for several minutes or even for days. People with eidetic memory complain that
the persistence of their images sometimes clutters their minds and interferes with other things that they
want to think about.
Eidetic memory appears most commonly in children and only rarely in adults. It declines as language
skills are acquired.
It is so rare that some psychologists have questioned its existence. If it does exist, is a known component
of memory responsible for it? Where would it fit into the widely accepted model of memory?
5.2 HOW DO WE FORM MEMORIES? (text p. 177)

Lecture Launchers/Discussions Topics:
➢ Episodic  Semantic (p. 270)
➢ The Mind(s) of Mnemonist(s) (p. 271)
➢ The Case of Mr. M (p. 272)
➢ Do We form Accurate Copies of Events in Our Memories? (p. 284)
➢ The Limits of Short-Term Memory (p. 285)

➢ The Value of Chunking (p. 285)

➢ Organization and Memory (p. 286)
➢ Chunking to Increase Meaningfulness (p. 286)
➢ Coding in Long-Term Memory (p. 287)
Web Resources (p. 302)
➢ Amnesia and Cognition Unit
➢ Cognitive Psychology Research Laboratory
➢ H.M. – The Day His World Stood Still
➢ How Dependable is Long-Term Memory?
➢ The Magic Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two
➢ Memory Loss at the Movies
Video Resources
➢ NEW MyPsychLab Video Series (p. 303)
5.2 LECTURE OUTLINE: How do We Form Memories? (text p. 177)

5.2 KEY QUESTION
How Do We Form Memories?
➢ Information, to become part of permanent memory, must be processed in three sequential stages;
first in sensory memory, then in working memory, and last, in long-term memory.
o Sensory memory typically holds sights, sounds, smells, textures and other sensory
impressions for a maximum of a few seconds.
o Next, working memory selectively takes information from the sensory registers and
makes connections with items already in long-term storage.
▪ Working memory holds information for up to 20 to 30 seconds.
o Long-term memory (LTM), the final stage of processing, receives information from
working memory and can store it for long periods, even for a lifetime.
▪ Information in long-term memory includes all our knowledge about the world.
5.2 CORE CONCEPT
Each of the three memory stages encodes and stores memories in a different way, but they work
together to transform sensory experience into a lasting record that has a pattern or meaning.
I. The First Stage: Sensory Memory

➢ Your senses take in more information that can possibly be used.
➢ Sensory memory holds incoming sensations just long enough for the brain to scan it and decide
which stream of information needs attention.
➢ Cognitive psychologist George Sperling demonstrated that sensory memory can hold more
information than can consciously be remembered – possibly 12 or more items.
1. The Capacity and Duration of Sensory Memory

➢ Sensory memory can hold far more information than ever reaches consciousness.
➢ The actual storage capacity can be 12 items, even though all but three or four disappear
before ever reaching consciousness.
A. The Structure and Function of Sensory Memory

➢ There is a separate sensory register for each sense, and each holds the information that that
sense provides.

➢ Images in sensory memory have no meaning; the job of sensory memory is to store the
images.
B. The Biological Basis of Sensory Memory

➢ Memory images take the form of neural activity in the sense organs and their pathways to the
brain.
➢ Sensory memory consists of the rapidly fading trace of stimulation in our sensory systems.
II. The Second Stage: Working Memory

➢ Working memory adds meaning to the sensory information received from sensory memory.
➢ Working memory is the processor of conscious experience, including information coming from
sensory memory, where it is stored until further processing, as well as information being retrieved
from long-term memory.
➢ Everything entering consciousness does it through working memory.
➢ Working memory serves as a mental “work space” where information is sorted and encoded
before adding it to permanent storage.
➢ In doing so, it makes experiences meaningful by blending them with information from long-term
memory.
➢ In effect, working memory is the central processor for the entire memory system, not only
because it is the center of mental action, but also because it is the liaison among other
components of memory.
A. The Capacity and Duration of Working Memory

➢ The storage component of working memory holds about 7 items, plus or minus 2, although
storage capacity varies slightly from person to person.
➢ When working memory storage is overloaded, earlier items usually drop away to
accommodate
more recent items.
➢ When working memory fills up with information demanding attention, however, we can fail
to
notice new information streaming in to our senses.
➢ Research finds that we only process about 50% of incoming sensory information when we
simultaneously drive and talk on a cell phone.
➢ Working memory has the smallest storage capacity of the three memory systems, thus
creating a bottleneck in the memory system.
1. Chunks and Chunking

➢ A chunk is any meaningful unit of information, consisting of whatever information can be
organized into meaning
➢ The grouping of digits in telephone numbers is an example of information organized into
meaningful units, or chunks.
2. The Role of Rehearsal

➢ Repetition, or maintenance rehearsal, is useful for to keep information in working memory,
given its very short storage time.
➢ Maintenance rehearsal keeps information in working memory by preventing competing
inputs from crowding it out.

➢ Repetition is not an efficient way to transfer information to long-term storage; a better

technique is elaborative rehearsal, which connects new information with information
previously stored.
B. The Structure and Functioning of Working Memory

➢ There are four activities that are engaged in working memory: acting as the central
executive; the phonological loop; the sketchpad; and the episodic buffer.
1. The Central Executive

➢ The central executive serves as an information clearinghouse that directs attention to
important input from both sensory memory and long-term memory and interfaces with
the brain’s voluntary (conscious) response system.
2. Acoustical Coding: the Phonological Loop

➢ Words resonate in the mind with the sounds that they represent. The acoustic coding
component of working memory converts words into the sounds of our spoken language
and shuttles them into its phonological loop.
3. Visual and Spatial Encoding: The Sketchpad

➢ Working memory’s sketchpad encodes visual images and mental representations of
objects in space.
➢ Neurological evidence suggests that the sketchpad requires coordination among several
brain systems, including the frontal and occipital lobes.
4. Binding Information Together: The Episodic Buffer

➢ The episodic buffer appears to bind the various pieces of working memory into a
coherent episode.
➢ It acts as a temporary storage facility for the various pieces of information as they are
organized into a meaningful unit.
C. Levels of Processing in Working Memory

➢ The more connections that can be made between information in working memory and
knowledge that is already in long-term storage, the more likely it is to be remembered.
➢ Applying this principle to studying, deeper processing of new information will help to
develop stronger memories of the material.
D. The Biological Basis of Working Memory

➢ While some of the details of working memory are yet unclear, working memory probably
holds information in the form of messages flashed repeatedly in nerve circuits.
➢ Brain imaging implicates brain regions in the frontal cortex, which in turn project to all
sensory parts of the brain and areas known to be involved with long-term storage. Brain
imaging also suggests the frontal lobes house some anatomically distinct “executive
processes” that focus attention on information in short-term storage.
➢ Together, these brain modules direct attention, set priorities, make plans, update the contents
of working memory, and monitor the time sequence of events.
III. The Third Stage: Long-Term Memory

➢ In long-term memory (LTM), words and concepts are encoded by their meanings.
o This connects them with other items that have similar meanings.
o LTM can be conceptualized as a huge web of interconnected associations.
o Good retrieval cues can thus stimulate the web and help locate wanted information.
A. The Capacity and Duration of Long-term Memory

➢ LTM has unlimited storage capacity, as far as researchers know.
➢ LTM can store information of a lifetime: all the experiences, events, information, emotions,
skills, words, categories, rules and judgments that have been transferred from working
memory.
➢ Thus, LTM contains an individual’s total knowledge of the world and himself.
B. The Structure and function of Long-Term Memory

➢ LTM has two main components, procedural memory, a register for the things that we know
how to do, and declarative memory, storing information that can be described –facts we
know and experiences we remember.
➢ The knowledge of the two registers has come from study of brain-damaged individuals who
have lost one but not the other.
1. Procedural Memory
➢ Procedural memory stores mental directions, or well-practiced skills, for such activities
as riding a bicycle or tying shoes.
➢ Much of procedural memory operates outside of conscious awareness; only the early
phases of training that require concentration require conscious awareness.
2. Declarative Memory
➢ Declarative memory is used to store facts, impressions, and events.
➢ Using declarative memory requires conscious mental effort
➢ Declarative memory has two major subdivisions, episodic memory and semantic
memory.
3. Episodic Memory
➢ Episodic memory stores memories of events, or “episodes”.
➢ It stores temporal coding, information about when and where the episode took place.
➢ Episodic memory acts as an autobiographical diary.
4. Semantic Memory
➢ Semantic memory stores the basic meaning of words and concepts.
➢ Usually it contains no information about the time and place in which is contents were
acquired.
➢ Semantic memory acts as a kind of encyclopedia or database.
5. Schemas
➢ Schemas are clusters of knowledge in semantic memory that give us a context for
understanding events.
➢ The content of schemas depends upon culture and personal experience.
➢ Schemas are invoked to make new experiences meaningful.

➢ They help the individual to make sense out of new information by giving a framework for
it.
➢ They can frequently lead to mistaken details, of which the individual is unaware.
6. Early Memories
➢ Childhood amnesia suggests that most people have difficulty remembering events that
occurred under the age of three.
➢ Learning occurs from the moment of birth and thus affects early memories.
C. The Biological Basis of Long-Term Memory

➢ Scientists have been searching for engram, the physical changes in the brain associated with
a memory. It is also known as a memory trace.
➢ The experience of H.M., who as a young man lost most of his ability to form new memories,
has provided a case study for researchers who are looking into memory loss.
o He underwent surgery performed to correct epileptic seizures, and although his memory
for events prior to his surgery remained intact, he could no longer form new memories.
o His condition was diagnosed as anterograde amnesia, a disability in forming new
memories.
o H.M.’s experience demonstrated that the hippocampus and amygdala are active in laying
down new declarative memories, although they seem to have no role in retrieving old
ones.
o In permitting himself to become a case study, H.M. also contributed to knowledge of the
distinction between procedural and declarative memory.
1. Parts of the Brain Associated with Long-Term Memory

➢ It is now known that the hippocampus is implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease, which
involves loss of ability to form new declarative memories.
➢ The amygdala processes memories that have strong emotional associations, which act as
an aid to for quick access and retrieval.
➢ The amygdala plays a role in the persistent and troubling memories reported by soldiers
and others who have experienced traumatic events; these memories can be so disturbing
that they constitute a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
➢ Memories are stored throughout the cerebral cortex, with various various pieces stored in
the part of the cortex that produced the sensory signal.
➢ The details of the process of combining them into a coherent memory are still unknown,
but what is known is that the hippocampus plays an important part in memory
consolidation -- when a memory is retrieved, the hippocampus binds it together.
➢ Every time the memory is produced the neural pathway created grows stronger, until
eventually a single piece of the memory is enough to produce the whole memory.
➢ 7. In H.M.’s case, the surgery that removed his hippocampi removed the hardware
necessary for forming new declarative memories; his ability to form new procedural
memories remained intact, since this process does not require hippocampus activity.
2. Memories, Neurons and Synapses

➢ At the level of individual neurons, memories form initially as fragile chemical traces at
the synapse and consolidate into more permanent synapses over time.

➢ During this consolidation processes, memories are especially vulnerable to interference

by new experiences, certain drugs or a blow to the head.
➢ The diagnosis, in the event of serious memory loss, would be retrograde amnesia, or loss
of prior memory.
➢ Memories can be strengthened as well as weakened during consolidation, especially by a
person’s emotional state.
➢ Positive and negative emotions have vastly different effects upon attention and therefore
upon memory.
PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: “Flashbulb” Memories: Where Were You When. ..... ? (text p. 189)
A flashbulb memory is a clear and vivid tong-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional
event. The defining feature of flashbulb memories is the source of the memory – vivid images of where
the individuals were at the time they received the news, what they were doing and the emotions they felt.
The emotional charge of the memory, its “flashbulb” quality does not produce any more accuracy in the
memory than ordinary long-term memories. There are two reasons why this might be so. First, flashbulb
memories are often of public events, not those in which an individual is personally involved, and thus
those memories are dependent upon the accuracy and extent of media coverage. Second, since flashbulb
memories are common to many people and are often discussed, the details may become more and more
distorted. Confidence in the accuracy of the memory is usually high, resulting in the possibility of
memory errors.
5.3 HOW DO WE RETRIEVE MEMORIES?

Lecture Launchers/Discussion Topics:
➢ Amnesia and Implicit Memory (p. 273)
➢ Musical Memories (p. 273)
➢ Context and Its Effect on Memory (p. 287)
Web Resources
Improve Your Study Skills
Video Resources: NEW MyPsychLab Video Series (p. 303)
5.3 LECTURE OUTLINE: How Do We Retrieve Memories? (text p. 190)

5.3 KEY QUESTION
How Do We Form Memories?
5.3 CORE CONCEPT
Whether memories are implicit or explicit, successful retrieval depends upon how they were
encoded and how they were cued.
I. Implicit and Explicit Memory

➢ People with no memory defects can know something without knowing they know it.
➢ Implicit memory is memory than can affect behavior without coming into full awareness.
➢ Explicit memory requires conscious awareness.
➢ Procedural memories are often implicit.
➢ Information in semantic store can be either explicit, such as remembering material studied for a
test, or implicit, such as knowing the color of the building in which psychology class is held.

➢ Since H.M. could learn new material from implicit channels such as crossword puzzles, that
yielded information when the filled-in boxes were matched with their clues, H.M.’s problem was
primarily loss of explicit memory.
II. Retrieval Cues

➢ Both implicit and explicit memory require good retrieval cues.
➢ A retrieval cue is a stimulus used to bring a memory to consciousness or to cue a behavior.
The use of cues for information retrieval can be thought of as using a mental search engine like
Google -- type in the correct cue, and information quickly appears, but if an incorrect cue is typed
in, either no information or internet garbage will appear.
➢ Types of retrieval cues vary and may include sensory stimuli such as smells, or emotions.
➢ Some memories, especially semantic memories, are difficult to cue.
➢ The more extensive the web of associations, the greater the chance of retrieving the information.
A. Retrieving Implicit Memories by Priming

➢ In real life situations it can be hard to say what prompts an implicit memory to surface.
➢ In the laboratory psychologists have found that priming, a procedure of providing cues that
stimulate memories without awareness, can be effective.
B. Retrieving Explicit Memories

➢ Memories in LTM must be filed away according to a pattern or meaning.
➢ The best way to add material to LTM is to associate it while in working memory with
material already stored in LTM. This is the process of elaborative rehearsal.
1. Meaningful Organization
➢ Storing information in LTM means making it meaningful while it is in working memory.
➢ One way of doing this is to get the gist, or general idea of an event, rather than a memory
of the event as it actually occurred. We tend to remember the general meaning rather
than the specific details of an event.
➢ When details are required to be memorized, it is important to associate them with
information previously stored that will give them a meaningful framework.
2. Recall and Recognition

➢ Explicit memories can be cues in two ways, recall and recognition.
➢ Recall is a retrieval method in which one must reproduce previously presented
information using minimal retrieval cues. Constructing an essay on a test is an example
of a task requiring recall.
➢ In a recognition task such as taking a multiple choice test, the stimulus has been
previously presented and must be identified.
➢ Recognizing a previously recognized stimulus doesn’t necessarily mean that the stimulus
matches the current context. In a multiple choice test, for example, several concepts
previously presented appear in the array of options, but only one is correct.
➢ Recognition produces more memories than recall, but it also increases the probability of a
false memory.
III. Other Factors Affecting Retrieval

➢ The ability to retrieve information from explicit declarative memory depends on whether the

information was encoded and elaborated to make it meaningful.

➢ Alertness, stress level, drugs and general knowledge also affect retrieval.
➢ Several other factors, less well known, also affect retrieval.
A. Encoding Specificity
➢ The more closely that retrieval cues match the form in which the information was encoded,
the better they will cue the appropriate memory, the encoding specificity principle.
➢ Students can utilize this principle by anticipating test questions and organizing their studying
around them.
B. Mood and Memory

➢ Information processing isn’t about facts and events only, it’s also about emotions and moods.
➢ Moods can affect what is remembered, a phenomenon called mood congruent memory.
➢ Depression, for example, can perpetuate itself through retrieval of depressing memories.
C. Prospective Memory
➢ A common memory task is remembering to perform an action in the future – prospective
memory has received relatively little study.
PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: On the Tip of Your Tongue (text p. 194)

A near-miss experience, in which individuals almost retrieve a memory, but not quite has been called the
TOT phenomenon. Most people have a TOT experience about once a week. The most common TOT
experience centers on the names of personal acquaintances, names of famous persons and familiar
objects. One possible explanation for TOT is the lack of context cues. Another is the interference,
another memory blocks access or retrieval. Last, there may be a weak match between retrieval cues and
the encoding of the information in long-term memory.
5.4 WHY DOES MEMORY SOMETIMES FAIL US? (text p. 195)

➢ The Lost Memories of Early Childhood (p. 274)
➢ Why You Don’t Remember Your First Birthday (p. 275)
➢ Aging, Culture, and Memory (p. 276)
➢ Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease (p. 277)
➢ Eyewitness Testimony (p. 278)
➢ The Fallibility of Eyewitness Testimony (p. 278)
➢ How False Memories are Formed (p. 279)
➢ Hypnosis and Memory (p. 279)
➢ The Chowchilla Kidnapping (p. 280)
➢ Telephone Game in the Classroom (p. 288)
➢ Schemas and Memory (p. 288)
➢ Decay and Interference in Short-term Memory (p. 289)
➢ Can You Trust an Eyewitness? (p. 289)
➢ Memories of 9/11 (p. 291)
➢ Improving Memory (p. 291)
Web Resources
➢ Elizabeth F. Loftus (p. 302)
➢ Elizabeth Loftus Interview for Frontline’s “What Jennifer Saw” (p. 302)
➢ Imagination Inflation: Imagining a Childhood Event Inflates Confidence that it Occurred (p.302)
➢ Memory Techniques and Memories
➢ Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse
Video Resources
➢ NEW MyPsychLab Video Series (p. 303)
5.4 LECTURE OUTLINE: Why Does Memory Sometimes Fail Us? (text p. 195)
5.4 KEY QUESTION
Why Does Memory Sometimes Fail Us?
➢ The “seven sins” of memory, formulated by Daniel Schacter, is a constellation of seven
problems: transience; absent-mindedness; blocking; misattribution; suggestibility; bias;
and unwanted persistence.
➢ Schacter claims that these seven problems are really consequences of some very useful
features of human evolution.
5.4 CORE CONCEPT

Most of our memory problems arise from memory’s “seven sins” – which are really by-products of
otherwise adaptive features of human memory.
I. “Sin” #1 Transience: Fading Memories Cause Forgetting

➢ Human memories weaken and fade over time, a phenomenon known as transience.
A. Ebbinghaus and the Forgetting Curve

➢ In a classic study of transience, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus learned lists
of nonsense syllables and tried to recall them over varying time intervals.
➢ After a delay of weeks or months in which recall failed, Ebbinghaus measured
the number of trials required to relearn the original list.
➢ Because it generally took fewer trials to relearn the original list, Ebbinghaus
referred to the difference as a “savings” that could serve as a measure of
memory.
➢ Ebbinghaus graphed his results, and his forgetting curve shows that the savings
demonstrated by relearning drops rapidly and then plateaus, below which little
more is forgotten.
• This forgetting curve captures the pattern of transience by which much of
the original material learned is forgotten.
➢ Ebbinghaus discovered that for relatively meaningless material, there is a rapid
initial loss of memory followed by a declining rate of loss.
➢ Meaningful material fades at a slower rate.
➢ Well-used motor skills, however, remain substantially intact in procedural
memory for many years, even without practice.
B. Interference
➢ Interference, a common cause of transience, occurs when one item prevents us
from forming a robust memory for the other item.
➢ This often occurs when here is an attempt to learn two conflicting things in
succession, such as a French lesson after a Spanish lesson.

➢ The more similar the two sets of material, the greater the likelihood of
interference.
➢ Meaningless material is more vulnerable to interference than meaningful
material.
➢ Emotional material can be a powerful cause of interference.
1. Proactive Interference
➢ An old memory disrupts the learning of the new information by
acting forward in time (“pro”).
2. Retroactive Interference
➢ New information prevents the remembering of old information,
reaching back in time (“retro”).
3. The Serial Position Effect

➢ The serial position effect is a form of interference in which the
sequence in which information influences the ability to remember it.
➢ The first item, the primacy effect, and the last item, the recency
effect, are usually easier to remember than the middle items, which
suffer from both proactive and retroactive interference.
II. “Sin” #2: Absent-Mindedness: Lapses of Attention Cause Forgetting

➢ Absent-mindedness occurs when a retrieval failure is caused by shifting attention
elsewhere.
➢ Absent-mindedness often comes from trying to do several things at the same time, such
as studying while watching television.
III. “Sin” #3: Blocking: Access Problems

➢ Blocking occurs when access to information is lost.
➢ Blocking can be caused by the tip-of-the tongue phenomenon (TOT), in which a person
that the information is there, but just can’t get to it. It is usually caused by poor retrieval
cues.
➢ Stress can also cause blocking, perhaps through failure to sustain focus of attention.
IV. “Sin” #4: Misattribution: Memories in the Wrong Context

➢ Misattribution is a memory fault that occurs when memories are retrieved but are
associated with the wrong time, place or person.
➢ Misattribution can also prompt people to mistakenly believe that other people’s ideas are
their own.
➢ Another type of misattribution can cause people to remember something that they did not
experience at all, which occurs when a person hears an idea and keeps it in memory, but
forgets its source.
V. “Sin” #5: Suggestibility: External Cues Distort or Create Memories
➢ Suggestibility is the creation or distortion of memories as a result of a deliberate or
inadvertent suggestion.
➢ This “sin” is of particular concern to the law enforcement community that is attempting
to get at a set of facts.

A. Memory Distortion
➢ The misinformation effect is the distortion of memory caused by misinformation
injected in the process of memory retrieval.
B. Fabricated Memories
➢ Memories can be created, or fabricated, by others and given to the individual
who is alleged to have had them.
➢ Stories about a child’s behavior can be told so often that the child thinks that she
has remembered them, when in fact she has not.
➢ Doctored photographs can also create false memories.
C. Factors affecting the Accuracy of Eyewitnesses

➢ Eyewitness reports can be tainted by fabricated or distorted memories, with the
following factors tainting eyewitness reports:
➢ Leading questions: “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each
other?”
➢ The passage of substantial amounts of time;
➢ Repeated retrieval: Each time that a memory is retrieved, it is reconstructed and
restored, increasing the chances of error;
➢ The age of the witness: Younger children and older adults may be more
susceptible to influence by misinformation.
VI. “Sin” #6: Bias: Beliefs, Attitudes and Opinions Distort Memories
➢ Schacter, the psychologist, defines bias as the influence of personal beliefs, attitudes, and
experiences on memory.
➢ Two forms of bias are:
A. Expectancy Bias
➢ Expectancy bias is the unconscious tendency to remember events that match our
expectation of an event.
B. Self-Consistency Bias
➢ Self-consistency bias is refers to the commonly held idea that we are more
consistent in our attitudes, opinions and beliefs than we actually are.
➢ People abhor the thought that they are inconsistent, even though research
suggests that this thought is mistaken.
➢ This mistaken view can influence the content of memories by altering those
memories that make our memories more congruent with our sense of self.
VII. “Sin” #7: Unwanted Persistence: When We Can’t Forget

➢ Unwanted memories sometimes cannot be put out of mind.
➢ This persistence can result in the constant recycling of unwanted memories and in the
case of unpleasant memories, give rise to depression and phobias.
VIII. The Advantages of the “Seven Sins” of Memory

➢ Despite the problems that they cause, Schacter thinks that the “seven sins” arise from
memory’s role in adapting to our environment.
➢ 2. An example is the adaptive nature of transience, which can prevent information
overload.
IX. Improving Your Memory with Mnemonics

➢ Mnemonic strategies are techniques for improving memory by making connections
between new material and information already present in log-term memory.
A. The Method of Loci

➢ In this method, items on a list are associated with a sequence of specific physical
locations.
➢ This method, dating back to the ancient Greeks, is based upon the fact that visual
imagery is one of the most effective forms of encoding.
➢ Remembering a shopping list by associating each item with a location around the
house (visualizing a can of tuna on a bed) is an example.
B. Natural Language Mediators

➢ Natural language mediators associate meaningful word patterns with new
information to be remembered.
➢ Putting the items on a shopping list in a story is an example.
➢ Acronyms – words made up of initials – can help remember specific details.
➢ An example of an acronym is Roy G Biv – red, orange, yellow, green, blue
indigo, violet –used for remembering colors of the visible spectrum in their
correct order.
C. Remembering Names
➢ Remembering names is a common memory problem.
➢ People who are good at it make a deliberate effort to associate a name with some
characteristic of the person.
PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: Using Psychology to Learn Psychology (text p. 204)

Having studies the structure and processes of memory, students can apply their new learning so that
memories are no longer transient. Here are some strategies:
▪ Make the material personally meaningful.
▪ Spread learning out over time.
▪ Take active steps to minimize interference.
To avoid blocking on the test, students could:
▪ Retrieve and elaborate on the material.
▪ Test yourself with retrieval cues you expect to see on the examination.
All of these principles are based upon well-established principles of learning and memory.
CRITICAL THINKING APPLIED: The Recovered Memory Controversy (text p. 206)

Recovered memory is the notion that memories long suppressed in the unconscious can be brought to
light by therapists who, assuming that conscious behaviors represent these repressed memories, work
through suggestion or cues to bring them to light. Controversy over this notion and practices related to

the goal of recovering these memories centers on the accuracy of these suggested memories. How can
their accuracy be judged?
Application of critical thinking questions to the claims that recovered memories are accurate has raised
many questions about the methodology used to revive or cue the memories. Memories are not always
accurate to begin with, and repetition of the memories in therapy can cause the client to believe them,
rather than question their accuracy. Furthermore, the assumption of a traumatic event buried in the
unconscious being revealed by current behavior is an example of the Post Hoc fallacy. Looking
backward, “post hoc”, can impose relationships where none existed. Furthermore, people can be just as
certain about false memories as they are about accurate ones. Finally, early memories are likely to be
misattributions, and actual traumatic events are more likely to be remembered than repressed.
CHAPTER SUMMARY (textbook p. 207)

➢ Gingko Biloba and Memory (p. 280)
➢ A Combined Demonstration and Review (p. 292)
➢ Debate – Do Adults Repress Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse? (p. 293)
➢ Additional Discussion Questions (p. 293)
➢ Crossword puzzle (p. 294)
Multimedia Resources in MyPsychLab (www.mypsychlab.com) (p. 302):
Teaching Objectives for Chapter 5

After reading this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Identify the metaphors used by psychologists to describe memory.

2. Name the basics tasks of memory.
3. Describe in detail the structure and function of sensory memory.
4. Describe in detail the structure and function of working memory.
5. Identify the two divisions of long-term memory and describe the types of memories stored by
them.
6. Discuss how the memory stages work together to create our memories.
7. Diagram the biological structures involved in memory.
8. Differentiate between implicit and explicit memory.
9. Describe the processes of priming, recall, and recognition and their function in memory retrieval.
10. Differentiate between the types of forgetting.
11. Identify the “seven sins” of memory and explain how each creates problems.
12. Evaluate the controversy over repressed memories and the formation of false memories.
13. Describe some of the methods for improving retention of learned material.
▲ Return to Chapter 5: Table of Contents
Chapter 5 Key Questions

1. What is memory?
2. How do we form memories?
3. How do we retrieve memories?

4. Why does memory sometimes fail us?
Chapter 5 Core Concepts

1. Human memory is an information-processing system that works constructively to encode, store,
and retrieve information.
2. Each of the three memory stages encodes and stores memories in a different way, but they work
together to transform sensory experience into a lasting record that has a pattern or meaning.
3. Whether memories are implicit or explicit, the success of their retrieval depends on how they
were encoded and how they are cued.
4. Most of our memory problems arise from memory’s “seven sins”–which are really by-products of
otherwise adaptive features of human memory.
Chapter 5 Psychology Matters

1. Would you want a photographic memory? This ability is rare, and those who have it say that the
images can sometimes interfere with their thinking.
2. “Flashbulb” memories: Where were you when…? These especially vivid memories usually
involve emotionally charged events. Surprisingly, they aren’t always accurate.
3. On the tip of your tongue: It is maddening when you know the word, but you just can’t quite say
it. But you’re not alone. Most people experience this about once a week.
4. Using the Psychology of Memory to Learn Psychology: In studying psychology, there isn’t much
you will need to memorize. Instead, you will need mnemonic techniques that will help you learn
and remember the concepts.

Songs to Launch the Lecture (See Suggested Activity 1 in Chapter 1 for instructions):
Memory in general: “Remember” (Harry Nilsson)
“Memory” (from Cats)
“The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand)
“Yesterday” (The Beatles)
“Try to Remember” (Andy Williams, from The Fantastiks)
Episodic Memory: “The Shadow of Your Smile” (Andy Williams)

▼ LECTURE LAUNCHERS AND DISCUSSION TOPICS

Memory Anomalies: Beyond Déjà Vu (p. 268)
Talented, Prodigious, Autistic, and Idiot Savants (p. 269)
Culture and Memory (p. 269)
Episodic  Semantic (p. 270)
The Mind(s) of Mnemonist(s) (p. 271)
The Case of Mr. M (p. 272)
Amnesia and Implicit Memory (p. 273)
Musical Memories (p. 273)
The Lost Memories of Early Childhood (p. 274)
Why You Don’t Remember Your First Birthday (p. 275)
Aging, Culture, and Memory (p. 276)
Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease (p. 277)
Eyewitness Testimony (p. 278)
The Fallibility of Eyewitness Testimony (p. 278)
How False Memories are Formed (p. 279)
Hypnosis and Memory (p. 279)
The Chowchilla Kidnapping (p. 280)
Gingko Biloba and Memory (p. 280)
Lecture/Discussion: Memory Anomalies: Beyond Déjà Vu
The déjà vu experience is perhaps the best-known anomaly of memory, but it is by no means the only one. Like déjà
vu, these anomalies are relatively harmless (unless they occur quite frequently) and may occur in most people’s lives
at some point.
◼ Jamais vu. The opposite of déjà vu, jamais vu refers to experiencing a lack of familiarity in a particular
situation when this should clearly not be the case. For example, someone who insists that they have never before met
a fairly well-known acquaintance might be having a jamais vu experience. Clearly, jamais vu needs to be
distinguished from the memory disruptions found among Alzheimer’s patients (who often fail to recognize familiar
objects, people, or settings), from the effects of amnesia (whether physical or psychogenic in origin), or from simply
a faulty memory (such as not encoding information about a person in the first place). A defining quality of jamais
vu, then, is the feeling of astonishment or incredulity at encountering the object (“Are you sure we’ve met
before?!?”).
◼ Time-gap experience. “I left work, and then I arrived at home. I’m not sure what happened in between.”
Most of us have shared the experience of doing a fairly complicated task (such as driving a car) and upon
completion realizing that we have no recollection of the task at all (such as which turns were made, when we
stopped, the route we took, and so on). This time-gap experience can be explained using the distinction between
automatic and effortful processing. An effortful task, such as one that is new or unfamiliar, demands our cognitive
resources for its completion. Even a fairly intricate task, however, once it has become automatic, can be performed
outside of conscious awareness.
◼ Cryptomnesia. Cryptomnesia can be thought of as unintended plagiarism: A person honestly believes

that some thought, publication, composition, or other work is an original creation when in fact it is not. Many
musicians, for example, seem to fall prey to this memory anomaly. The most celebrated case involved George
Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord,” which a court ruled was unintentionally based (quite closely, actually) on the
Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine” (Brown & Murphy, 1989). A song by Huey Lewis and the News, “I Want A New Drug,”
also came under scrutiny as a too-close variant of Ray Parker’s “Ghostbusters,” and Aerosmith recently came under

fire for lifting the line “Mister, you’re a better man than I” from the Yardbirds song of the same name. In each case
the similarities were determined to be unintentional, suggesting that cryptomnesia was at work.
Brown, A. S., & Murphy, D. R. (1989). Cryptomnesia: Delineating inadvertent plagiarism. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 432–442.
Searleman, A., & Herrmann, D. (1994). Memory from a broader perspective. New York: McGraw-Hill.
► Return to Lecture Guide: Psychology Now

5.1 What is Memory?
5.2 How Do We Form Memories?
5.3 How Do We Retrieve Memories?
5.4 Why Do Memories Sometimes Fail Us?
Chapter Summary
◄ Return to complete list of Lecture Launchers and Discussion Topics for Chapter 5
▲ Return to Chapter 5 Table of Contents
Lecture/Discussion: Talented, Prodigious, Autistic, and Idiot Savants
What to call someone of clearly impaired abilities who nonetheless exhibits remarkable memory skills? There are
many choices, but they all describe a fascinating aspect of memory.
Savant syndrome, as it is commonly called, refers to people with very low general intelligence who show
prodigious abilities in one or a few areas of functioning. Originally called idiot savants (through a combination of
what were once scientifically acceptable terms), such people were thought to be mentally retarded. However,
savants are found at a rate of about 1 in 2000 among the mentally retarded, compared to estimates of about 10
percent among the autistic population (Rimland & Fein, 1988). In fact, the term autistic savant is used to describe
just these cases: Someone who is autistic, yet shows extraordinary skill in a particular area. Contrast this with the
term talented savant (used to describe someone mentally retarded but able to perform a task at a comparatively high
level, given the degree of retardation) or prodigious savant (used to describe a mentally retarded person capable of
feats that would be remarkable by any standards).
Autistic savants are usually limited to a narrow range of talents. For example, many show fantastic abilities
in art or music, or can perform arithmetic or calendar calculations quickly and accurately. Beyond these areas of
expertise, however, their abilities are clearly below average. This observation is just one of many curiosities
surrounding savant syndrome. For example, it is not at all clear how or why these abilities develop. Explanations
invoking left hemisphere damage, heredity, compensatory development, and just plain practice have all been
advanced. What is clear is that more research into the abilities of these remarkable individuals is needed.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: Culture and Memory
All cultures place certain memory expectations on their members. For example, in Western culture we are expected
to remember (through honors, ceremonies, observances) significant dates, persons, or activities. The Fourth of July,
Thanksgiving Day, Presidents Day, and, most obviously, Memorial Day, are examples of a kind of culturally-shared
memory system. Although often there are no explicit guidelines for activities on these occasions and no particularly
dire sanctions for not observing them, we will certainly be looked at askance if we don’t remember when they are or

what they signify. Other cultures and subcultures have similar occasions, such as religious observances (e.g., first
Friday of the month) or anniversaries (e.g., the Tianemen Square demonstration).
Cultures and subcultures also have ritualized reminders for memory events. For example, people in
Western cultures automatically know that a string around one’s finger or an image of an elephant serve as reminders
to do something, just as rosary beads help Catholics remember their prayers or a flag at half-mast helps remind a
large group to honor someone’s memory. The use and form of these reminders can vary from culture to culture,
although like the memory tasks themselves they typically are learned implicitly within a cultural context.
Beyond these aspects of a “general cultural memory,” there is also evidence that gender stereotypes play a
role in what gets remembered and by whom. As discussed in the chapter on sex and gender, the formation of gender
stereotypes and gender role expectations are often culture-bound. That cultural learning can in turn inspire certain
types of memory. For example, Stephen Ceci and Urie Brofenbrenner (1985) showed that remembering when to
terminate an event is better if the event is consistent with gender stereotypes. Boys were better at remembering when
to stop charging a motorcycle battery than remembering when to take cupcakes out of the oven, whereas girls
showed the opposite pattern. Similarly, Douglas Herrmann and his colleagues (1992) showed that female and male
undergraduates had differential memory for an ambiguous paragraph depending on its title. When given a “male-
like” title (“How to Make a Workbench”), men remembered more details than did women, although the opposite
was true if the ambiguous passage had a “female-like” title (“How to Make a Shirt”). The influence of culture on
memory, then, also occurs indirectly through the expectations and stereotypes set up within a cultural context.
Ceci, S. J., & Brofenbrenner, U. (1985). “Don’t forget to take the cupcakes out of the oven”: Prospective memory, strategic time-
monitoring, and context. Child Development, 56, 152–164.
Herrmann, D. J., Crawford, M., & Holdsworth, M. (1992). Gender-linked differences in everyday memory performance. British
Journal of Psychology, 83, 221–231.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: Episodic  Semantic
The daily lives of Beth, Jon, and Kate sound nightmarish. The 14, 19, and 22-year-olds cannot remember where they
have been shortly after they’ve been there, cannot recall who they have seen shortly after they have seen them, and
cannot recognize familiar buildings shortly after they have walked out of them. Each of these young people suffered
from brain seizures at an early age that produced extensive damage to the hippocampus. And, if the story ended here
we’d shake our heads dejectedly, mumbling about the grace of God and knocking on available wood, as the trio
walked away under the constant supervision of their parents.
It turns out, though, that Beth, Jon, and Kate all attended mainstream schools, have good speech and
language skills, read and spell as well as their peers, and have acquired lots and lots of factual knowledge. Their
abilities in these areas, contrasted with their disabilities in others, highlight the difference between semantic memory
and episodic memory. What’s more, they suggest that the areas of the brain responsible for these types of memory
are different. Researchers led by Faraneh Vargha-Khadem of University College London Medical School studied
these unusual individuals and concluded that although the hippocampus regulates recall of personal experiences, it
plays only a minor role in the storage and acquisition of factual knowledge. In short, while episodic memory has
been tragically disrupted for these three, semantic memory has remained largely intact.
Bower, B. (1997, August 2). Factual brains, uneventful lives. Science News, 152, 75.

5.1 What is Memory?


Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: The Mind(s) of Mnemonist(s)
We are often awed, sometimes jealous, and occasionally resentful of those who have prodigious memories. Perhaps
it is their smarty-pants attitude that they can remember the details of an event that escape us. Their smugness soon
fades, however, in the face of truly extraordinary memory.
S., also known to his mother as S. V. Shereshevskii, was able to recall even the most meaningless drivel with
great accuracy and sometimes years after learning it by relying on mnemonics; visualizing the information, forming
elaborate associations, capitalizing on synesthetic experiences, and so on. However, S. is not without company.
There are several other people who have demonstrated similar abilities.
For example, V. P., a Latvian born in 1934 in a small town coincidentally close to S.’s birthplace, read at
age 3½, memorized the street map of a large city at 5, and committed 150 poems to memory at age 10. Both V. P.’s
short-term and long-term memory appear impressive. On standard short-term memory tasks, such as recalling three
consonants over an 18-second interval while counting backwards by three, V. P. showed virtually no disruption.
Similarly, he could remember the War of the Ghosts with the same extraordinary accuracy after 1 hour or after 1
year. The secret to his success, however, appears to be different from that of S. V. P.’s strategy seems to be based on
quickly forming verbal associations to information using any of the several languages that he speaks (Latin, English,
Estonian, Latvian, Russian, Spanish, Hebrew, French, German). Information that would stump most of us might call
up a bawdy Latin verse for V. P., and thus contribute to his memorization.
Rajan Mahadevan’s specialty is numbers. Rajan came to the public’s attention while a graduate student in
psychology, but his memory feats occurred regularly even as a young boy. People in his native Mangalore, India
were astounded by his ability to remember anything numerical. So were the folks at the Guinness Book of World
Records; in 1981, Rajan was able to recite the first 31,811 digit of pi. Like V. P., Rajan relies on idiosyncratic
associations drawn from a vast knowledge base: Like most of us, he remembers “111” because Admiral Nelson had
1 eye, 1 arm, and 1 leg.
Finally, S. F. represents a “manufactured memorist.” While an undergraduate at Carnegie-Mellon
University in 1978, S. F. embarked on a laboratory project initiated by K. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues (e.g.,
Chase & Ericsson, 1981) that lasted 2 years. The task was simple enough. S. F. would read a sequence of random
digits at one per second, then recall them in the correct order. If successful, the next group would be increased by
one digit, and if unsuccessful it would be reduced by a digit. By the end of the training session S. F. had mastered a
sequence of some 80 digits, compared to most people’s typical performance of about 7. The secret was in S. F.’s
avocation. As a long-distance runner he formed meaningful chunks from the digits he read, such as 1076 for an
important race in October, 1976, or other sets of digits for best times, typical distances, and so on. Sadly, S. F. died
in 1981 from a chronic blood disorder, although others (such as D. D., also a long-distance runner, who commands a
digit span of 106) have continued this project.
Chase, W. G., & Ericsson, K. A. (1981). Skilled memory. In J. R. Anderson (Ed.), Cognitive skills and their acquisition (pp. 141–
189). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: The Case of Mr. M
The case of Mr. M is one of the most well known in psychology. In his book Memory's Ghost, Philip Hilts
(1995) pieces together what happened to Mr. M over the course of a decade-long investigation.
Mr. M was born in 1926 in Hartford; his early life was rather uneventful. At age seven a boy riding a bike
downhill hit M, knocking him unconscious and cutting his face and head. In retrospect, this accident may have been
a cause of the epilepsy that would lead to his famous surgery. At age 16, Mr. M, his mother and father were riding to
Hartford to celebrate his birthday when he experienced a seizure; his limbs stiffened, his head jerked violently, he
wet his pants, and bit his tongue until it bled. Up until that time he had noticed only short moments of blankness;
small interruptions in the middle of conversations when he would stare blankly for a moment.
He graduated from high school; however, the teachers feared the possibility of a seizure so they would not
allow him to march to receive his diploma. As time passed, M experienced more minor seizures (in which he
blanked out for a moment several times a day) and major ones (sometimes weekly). Eventually Mr. M experienced
about ten minor blackouts each week. Dr. William Scoville, a neurosurgeon who had performed lobotomies, was
consulted and recommended a radical surgery.
On an August morning in 1953, Scoville administered a local anesthetic (skull area only) to Mr. M and then
used a hand-held rotary drill to bore two holes above the eyes. Scoville then used a lever to lift up the frontal lobes;
evidence of the resulting compression of the frontal lobes could be seen in brain scans taken 40 years after the
surgery. Mr. M was awake throughout the procedure in which central portions of his brain were sucked out. The
neurosurgeon hoped he had removed the source of the epilepsy. Scoville expected Mr. M to exhibit some
disorientation and memory loss after the operation, but the results were far worse than expected. Mr. M could not
find his way to the bathroom in the hospital. Nurses entered his room, spoke to him, and left. Upon their return, he
had no memory of them. He recognized no one, did not know where he was, how he got there, or why. After the
operation, Mr. M did have fewer and less severe seizures; however, they did not cease entirely. In fact, he had a full
seizure the day after surgery. Upon discharge, Scoville described Mr. M as "improved."
Scoville tried to duplicate the effect of the operation (which we now know is due to removal of the
hippocampus) by removing parts of the brains of animals. Scoville described the surgery as "frankly experimental"
and urged surgeons not to try such procedures.
Shortly after arriving home after the surgery, Mr. M's mother found she could not let him walk two blocks
to the store because he was unable to find his way back. His IQ of 110 to 120 seemed unchanged after the operation.
In the 1960s and 1970s Mr. M was sent to a center for retarded children, where he was able to do so some work such
as inserting metal clasps into folders. However, he needed to be reminded from time to time of what the task was.
When he went to the bathroom he could not find his way back to his workstation even though it had been marked
with a flag.
Independent life has been impossible for Mr. M. He lived with his parents until 1980, when at age 95 his
mother was too old and too ill to care for him. He moved in with a retired psychiatric nurse and a distant relative of
his. Mr. M can read a newspaper or magazine, put it down, pick it up a short time later and read it over as if for the
first time. The date on the cover does not offer any help because he doesn't know the day, month, or year.
Hilts, P. J. (1995). Memory's ghost. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Adapted from Davis, S. F., & Palladino, J. J. (1996) Interactions: A newsletter to accompany Psychology, 2(Spr), 1.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: Amnesia and Implicit Memory
Implicit memory effects occur when there is improvement on a task, in which participants are not asked to
consciously remember prior information. Instead, increases in performance on implicit memory tasks demonstrate
priming effects. Implicit memory effects have been found in amnesic individuals who perform poorly on explicit
memory tasks of recall and recognition, relative to normal controls. Interestingly, individuals with amnesia perform
at the same level as normal controls with implicit memory tests, suggesting that previously learned information is
available in memory but not accessible with traditional memory measures of recall and recognition.
H.M. suffers from anterograde amnesia due to removal of several brain areas associated with memory, including the
segments of the hippocampus. While H.M. cannot explicitly remember newly experienced events, such as solving
the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, he shows improved performance on such tasks on later trials, indicating an implicit
memory effect.
Schacter, D. L. (1998). Memory and awareness. Science, 280, 59–60.
Warrington, E. K., & Weiskrantz, L. (1970). Amnesic syndrome: Consolidation or retrieval? Nature, 228, 629–630.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: Musical Memories
Most students can relate to the power of music to evoke emotions and memories. Music is often a powerful retrieval
cue for a variety of other memories. In a 2005 study (Nature, March 10, 2005), researchers at Dartmouth University
discovered that if individuals are listening to familiar music, they mentally retrieve auditory imagery, or memories
to fill in the gaps if the music stops playing. By studying the brains of participants with functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), it was shown that participants were able to mentally fill in the spaces if a familiar song
was missing short segments. The auditory cortex remained active even when the music had stopped. The
investigators report that this finding expands earlier studies that demonstrate that sensory-specific memories are
stored in the brain areas that created those events. Researchers also discovered that lyrics influence the different
auditory brain areas that are utilized when musical memories are reconstructed.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: The Lost Memories of Early Childhood
You may want to begin by asking students to write a brief answer to the question, “What is your earliest memory
from childhood?”
People cannot recall autobiographical memories before their third or fourth year. Yet children have remarkable
memories in other ways. A two-year-old can remember where grandmother keeps the cookies even if she hasn't been
to grandmother's house for a month. The ability of children to acquire language before the age of three also indicates
considerable memory capacity. Children also store and remember motor skills. If a child learns to ride a tricycle
before he is three, he will probably still be able to do it at 70 (if he has one of those big tricycles). So why can't we
remember any autobiographical data? Why doesn't episodic memory begin until the age of three or four?
Theory 1: Freud thought that forgetting is essential to get safely through the Oedipal years with their violent and
incestuous impulses. In Freud's theory, childhood amnesia results from repression of these impulses, and he thought
memories from these years could be retrieved in psychoanalysis by the use of methods like free association and the
analysis of dreams.
There is some evidence that people tend to have a cluster of childhood memories from about the time Freud thought
the Oedipus complex is resolved. However, like many aspects of Freud's theory, his ideas about childhood amnesia
cannot be confirmed or rejected by research.
Theory 2: Another theory points to the immaturity of brain structures. Animal studies have shown that animals that
have mature brains at birth, like guinea pigs, are able to store permanent memories early in life, and that animals,
like rats, that are born with immature brains cannot.
It is true that the brains of children are immature. They do not have the synaptic connections of a mature brain.
However, a problem with this theory is, again, why does the amnesia affect only autobiographical or episodic
memory?
Theory 3: Another theory that utilizes the idea of immaturity of brain structures was proposed by a French
psychiatrist, Juan Pascual-Leone, who worked with Piaget and suggested that childhood amnesia occurs because of
limited M-space capacity. M-space is described as “attentional capacity” and seems to be similar to the concept of
short-term memory. Whereas adults can retain seven chunks in their M-space, small children can retain only one.
For this reason, they are unable to store retrieval cues--they can't use what they already know to establish retrieval
cues because there isn't room in M-space to bring material from long-term memory.
Research shows that the capacity of short-term memory is small in early childhood and increases to adult capacity
by puberty. However, this theory does not account for children's ability to comprehend and produce speech. For
example, if a child's attentional capacity is so small, how can the child comprehend a sentence of seven or eight
words?
Theory 4: There are also explanations that emphasize the difference between the schemas of small children and
those of adults. Children's schemas tend to be idiosyncratic. For example, a small child's daddy schema may include
all adult males, football games on TV, Daddy's favorite chair, and the lawn mower. Processes like Piaget's
assimilation and accommodation proceed to alter these schemas as the child's organization of reality comes to be
more like that of the adults of his or her society. Memories of early childhood may be altered and revised until they
are adult memories rather than actually early childhood memories. The early memories are altered to “fit” into
schemas that the child develops with age. This theory is similar to interference in that as the child matures, new
memories interfere with or replace older memories.
This theory seems reasonably credible because it can be applied to both episodic and semantic memory. Children do
not remember the overgeneralizations they made of words or the restricted context in which they used early
vocabulary. They also do not remember the grammatical structures they used as they began to combine words into
sentences.

Theory 5: Another explanation that emphasizes schemas also points to the difference between the schemas of early
childhood and those of later years. Early memories would have to be represented by actions, images, and feelings,
rather than symbols, primarily words. Even after children begin to use words, some psychologists claim that
language is used for expressive purpose and communication, but not as a tool for thought. A child might be four or
five years old before memories begin to be symbolically stored with language. As language takes over as the
primary vehicle for the organization of reality, the ability to retrieve autobiographical memories stored as emotions,
actions, or images is lost because there are no retrieval cues.
There are aspects of this theory that have appeal, particularly because it specifically takes the child's lack of
language into account.
The three primary theories of adult forgetting are motivated forgetting or repression, interference, and cue-
dependent memory. Versions of these same theories can be used to explain childhood amnesia, along with theories
that emphasize immaturity of brain structures. The bottom line is that childhood amnesia remains a mystery. At
present we can only speculate about why it occurs.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture /Discussion: Why You Don’t Remember Your First Birthday Party
Humans typically don’t remember events in their lives that happened prior to their third or fourth birthday.
Explaining why has been somewhat up for grabs. Freudians might suggest that this infantile amnesia is due to some
murky unconscious process. However, infantile amnesia has been observed in frogs, mice, rats, dogs, and wolves
(Spear, 1979), making it difficult to defend an “amphibian theory of repression” or “canine defense mechanisms.”
Similarly, the sheer passage of time cannot account for this kind of forgetfulness. Many of us can remember quite
clearly and accurately events that happened long ago (such as an 80-year-old remembering her first ride in an
automobile), and people with extraordinary memories routinely recount incidents from the distant past. Something
different must be at work.
A more promising explanation implicates the retrieval process. It’s quite likely that information is encoded and
organized by infants in a manner that is very different from what an adult might do. For example, adults routinely
rely on language to help store information in memory (e.g., through verbal rehearsal, through mnemonics, and
through the very process of translating experiences into information that can be communicated). Preverbal infants
and children clearly would not have this same strategy, or at least not developed to the same extent as in an adult.
Consequently, when an adult tries to retrieve memories from childhood, his or her schemas would not likely match
the schemas used to encode the information in the first place. Much like the reinstatement of context suggested by
the encoding specificity principle, an adult retrieval strategy for child-encoded information isn’t going to get very
far.
Spear, N. E. (1979). Experimental analysis of infantile amnesia. In J. F. Kihlstrom & F. J. Evans (Eds.), Functional disorders of
memory (pp. 75–102). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: Aging, Culture, and Memory
As people age, it takes them longer to retrieve names, dates, and other facts. In this case, the reason does seem to be
their impaired perceptual-motor skills and their slower reaction times, not impaired memory itself. Some of the
memory decline that occurs in older adults is a result of poor health, poor education, or lack of practice. One study
found that years of schooling and current enrollment in school were better predictors of differences in memory
ability than age was (Zivian & Darjes, 1983). Another found that college students (ages 18 to 25) were more likely to
use encoding strategies to help them remember, whereas older adults (ages 61 to 84) relied more on planning and
making lists (Loewen, Shaw, & Craik, 1990). It is unfortunate, therefore, that many older people are so hard on
themselves about retrieving memories. When they cannot remember a name, they say “Drat, I’m getting old.” When
younger people cannot remember a name, they just say “Drat.”
Implicit memory, unlike explicit, appears to show no decline with age, meaning that people do not
invariably lose the ability to learn and remember as they get older (Graf, 1990). Moreover, just as studies document
the beneficial effects of training programs on intelligence scores, they also show that older adults can do as well as
people in their 20s, even on explicit memory tests, when given guidance and cues for retrieving memories (Loewen,
Shaw, & Craik, 1990). Older adults are also just as good as young ones at long-practiced abilities, which is why all
kinds of people—physicians, lawyers, teachers, farmers, and insurance agents—continue their work well into old
age.
A recent study conducted by Becca Levy and Ellen Langer (1994) suggests that cultural beliefs about the
elderly and the aging process may play an important role in determining the extent to which the elderly “lose” their
memories. The authors compared attitudes about aging in three cultures: Chinese culture, American deaf culture, and
American hearing culture. They argue that in China and in the American deaf community, the elderly are viewed as
wise role models and mentors. American hearing culture, on the other hand, views old people in a much less positive
light, stereotyping the elderly as mentally incompetent. The researchers tested elderly and young individuals in each
of the three cultures and had them complete several tests of memory, as well as a measure of attitudes toward the
elderly. As predicted, Levy and Langer found that the American hearing sample had the least positive views about
the elderly, and the Chinese sample had the most positive views. Scores on the tests of memory indicated that while
memory performance did not differ among the younger samples from each culture, the Chinese elderly outperformed
the American deaf elderly, who outscored the American hearing elderly. In fact, memory performance by the elderly
Chinese sample did not differ from that of the younger Chinese! The authors argue that these effects demonstrate the
potential for cultural beliefs about aging to determine memory loss, a sort of cultural “self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The impact of culture on cognition is a topic most students probably have not considered, and you might
ask them to consider other ways in which a society’s beliefs, traditions, and practices might influence cognitive
development and performance. You might also use this opportunity to help students work on critical thinking skills;
the data reported by Levy and Langer is correlational, and while compelling, one cannot rule out alternative
explanations. Can students think of any plausible ones?
Graf, P. (1990). Life-span changes in implicit and explicit memory. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 28, 353–358.
Levy, B., & Langer, E. (1994). Aging free from negative stereotypes: Successful memory in China and among the American deaf.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 989–997.
Loewen, E. R., Shaw, R. J., & Craik, F, I. (1990). Age differences in components of metamemory. Experimental Aging Research,
16(1–2), 43–48.
Zivian, M., & Darjes, R. (1983). Free recall by in-school and out-of-school adults: Performance and metamemory. Developmental
Psychology, 19, 513–520.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease tragically afflicts many elderly people each year, resulting in a gradual deterioration of
memory, reasoning ability, and personality. Even more disturbing is that the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s can only be
made conclusively upon autopsy, when the plaques and tangles in the brain, characteristic of the disorder, can be
confirmed. Recently, however, the results of an archival study have suggested that linguistic markers may predict
Alzheimer’s with some degree of accuracy.
David Snowdon, an epidemiologist at the University of Kentucky, led a research team that examined the
writings of 93 nuns. In the 1930s, when these women entered a Milwaukee convent, they composed brief
autobiographical essays, which subsequently were scored by Snowdon’s team for linguistic markers such as the
density of ideas or grammatical complexity. For example, a nun who might have written “I plan to give my all to
God” probably would score low on such measures, whereas a nun who composed the beatitude “I long to linger in
the sweet garden of Christ, rejoicing in the splendor that He is and thanking Him daily for His abundances” might
not win a literature contest, but certainly shows a greater degree of complexity in her writing. All of the nuns lived
under highly similar conditions. Sixty years later, however, those nuns who scored low on the psycholinguistic
markers were more prone to develop Alzheimer’s. Of the 14 nuns who had died, in fact, five had low idea density
scores, and all five had Alzheimer’s disease.
What this reveals about the course of Alzheimer’s is still something of a mystery. It may be, for example,
that as young women these nuns were already showing signs of the disorder, suggesting that Alzheimer’s develops
slowly and insidiously over a prolonged period of time. Studies showing that some forms of Alzheimer’s can afflict
people in their 20’s complement this idea. An alternative, however, is that linguistic skills may offer some
“immunity” to the development of Alzheimer’s, much as the adage “use it or lose it” suggests. Perhaps those nuns
with more highly developed linguistic ability were better able to stave off the effects of this disorder. As with most
studies of this nature, the causality of events remains murky. Other archival data, or other markers of ability (such
as mathematics scores, or measures of reasoning or memory) may shed more light on this encouraging line of
research.
Indeed, Snowdon and his associates have imposed on the generous nuns of the School Sisters of Notre
Dame one more time. The research team has recently discovered an important link between strokes and declines in
mental abilities seen in Alzheimer’s patients. Among 61 deceased nuns whose brains all clearly showed signs of
Alzheimer’s, 19 seemed in life to have escaped the confusion, dementia, and mental deterioration so characteristic of
the disease. In one case, a 101-year-old nun remained, by all accounts, as sharp as a tack, even though her brain was
a battlefield of plagues, tangles, and gaping holes. The key was that she, like 18 of the others, had not suffered from
strokes during old age. In fact, only 57% of stroke-free nuns developed Alzheimer’s, compared to 93% of nuns who
had a history of ministrokes. In an additional comparison, Snowdon looked at the brains of 41 nuns who did not
have Alzheimer’s-like brains but who had suffered strokes; these women had no significant decrease in their overall
mental competence.
An avenue for treatment suggests itself. By preventing strokes it may be possible to delay the onset of
symptoms in Alzheimer’s patients. The “double-whammy” of dealing with two brain diseases in a single individual
may be halved, providing substantial comfort to those dealing with Alzheimer’s.
Nash, J. M. (March 24, 1997). Medicine. Time, 80-82.

Rogers, A. (1996, March 4). The weight of words: Can writing style predict dementia? Newsweek, 55.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Lecture/Discussion: Eyewitness Testimony
What about the effect of incorrect information given after the fact? In this experiment, Loftus showed subjects a
three-minute video clip taken from the movie Diary of a Student Revolution. In this clip, eight demonstrators disrupt
a classroom and eventually leave after interrupting the professor’s lecture in a noisy confrontation. At the end of the
video, two questionnaires were distributed containing one key question and ninety “filler” questions. The key
question for half of the subjects was, “Was the leader of the four demonstrators who entered the classroom a male?”
The other half was asked, “Was the leader of the twelve demonstrators who entered the classroom a male?” One
week later, a new set of questions was given to all subjects in which the key question was, “How many
demonstrators did you see entering the classroom?” Subjects who were previously asked the “four” question stated
an average recall of 6.4 people, while those who read the “twelve” question recalled an average of 8.9 people. Loftus
concluded that subjects were trying to compromise the memory of what they had actually seen—eight
demonstrators—with later information.
A Second Study: Loftus, E.F. (1975, April 4). “Eyewitness testimony: Does the malleable human memory interfere with legal
justice?” The Daily, University of Washington.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: The Fallibility of Eyewitness Testimony
A number of studies have shown that eyewitness testimony is not very trustworthy. How do you account for this?
People have difficulty in distinguishing members of other races.
To get the original identification of the accused, the police use a line-up that includes the accused and
several “distractors.” The distractors may be much different from the accused, so the eyewitness chooses
the only Hispanic, the only tall person, or the only person with a beard.
The eyewitness has a desire to please the police and prosecutor, and lets them slant the testimony.
Police and lawyers can make subtle suggestions to the eyewitness in the language they use. For example,
they might say “when the murderer was beating the victim” instead of “when the murderer and the victim
were struggling.”
When eyewitnesses are the victims, as might occur in the case of rape, the eyewitnesses are angry and
humiliated and the desire for revenge may cause them to be more certain of an identification than is
justified by their memory of the event.
People tend to remember only some aspects of an event. To make their account of the event coherent, they
construct the event, filling in with material that is created by the mind to make sense of the event.

5.1 What is Memory?


Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: How False Memories are Formed
Researchers at Northwestern University have used MRI technology to study how people form false memories. The
purpose of the study was to create laboratory conditions that set up a circumstance in which people would remember
something that did not happen. Participants were asked to look at pictures of objects and to imagine other objects
while their brain activity was being measured. Researchers found that the brain areas associated with generating
visual images were highly activated when people imagine images. Many of the images that the participants were
asked to imagine were incorrectly identified as actually having been seen. According to Kenneth Paller, co-
investigator of the study, parts of the involved in perceiving an object and those involved in imagining an object
appear to overlap. This would allow a vividly imagined event to leave a memory trace in the brain that is similar to a
real event.
Three brain areas (precutaneous, right inferior parietal cortex, and anterior cingulate) showed greater
responses in the study phase to words that would later be falsely remembered as having been presented with photos.
Brain activity during the study phase could predict which objects would subsequently be falsely remembered as
having been seen as a photograph. The false memories appeared to be associated with more vivid visual imagery
that left a trace in the brain that was mistaken for a true memory.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: Hypnosis and Memory
Dr. Elizabeth Bowman (1996) has summarized the following points from research on hypnosis and memory:
• Hypnotized subjects report more accurate and inaccurate information than subjects who are not
hypnotized do. So even though hypnosis makes it easier to recall some memories, it also makes it
easier to recall false ones.
• Hypnosis enhances the confidence subjects have in their memories, regardless of their accuracy or
inaccuracy.
• Subjects cannot always distinguish between memories, which they have always had, and new
“memories” recently recovered under hypnosis.
• False memories can be created when directly suggested by the hypnotist during age regression.
• Hypnotic age regression does not appear to increase the accuracy of childhood recall. (Remember,
Chapter Four discussed the findings that regressing someone to an earlier age seems to result in
play-acting rather than a real “return” to childhood.)
• The impact of hypnosis on the reliability of later memory depends on the type of question asked.
Open-ended questions cause less memory “contamination” than closed-ended, leading questions.
• Some pseudomemories (false memories) suggested by hypnosis do not persist after the hypnosis.
• Pseudomemories reported during hypnosis do not replace real memories; and the subject
frequently does not believe them.
In addition to the above points from research on hypnosis and memory, she summarizes the following points from
research on hypnotizability (how susceptible a person is to being hypnotized) and memory:
• High hypnotizability is a more important factor in the production of pseudomemories than actually
being hypnotized.

• High hypnotizability and hypnosis together produce the highest rates of pseudomemories.
Clearly, memories obtained through hypnosis should not be considered as accurate without solid evidence from
other sources.
Bowman, E. S. (1996). Delayed memeories of child abuse: Part II: An overview of research findings relevant to understand their
reliability and suggestibility. Dissociation: Progress in Dissociative Disorders, 9, 232–243.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: The Chowchilla Kidnapping
In the summer of 1976, a busload of children, together with their bus driver, Ed Ray, were kidnapped—bus and
all—from a country road in Madera County in California. The abductors ditched the bus, hiding it in a drainage
ditch nine miles west of Chowchilla. They drove the kidnap victims (19 girls, 7 boys, and Ray) around for eleven
hours in two vans, finally putting all of the children and the driver into a moving van that was buried in a rock
quarry. The moving van was 8 feet by 16 feet.
After 16 hours underground, they dug their way out and were eventually found and returned to their homes
in Chowchilla. Ed Ray was hypnotized and eventually was able to remember five of the six numbers on the license
plate of one of the vans used in the abduction, which led to the arrest of three young men who were tried and found
guilty. A draft of a ransom note had been found in the home of one of the young men along with other evidence
tying them to the crime (Terr, 1981, 1983).
This case marked the increased interest of law enforcement personnel in the use of hypnosis as a tool for
helping witnesses to remember crime details. Unfortunately, this case is the exception to the rule: memories
recovered under hypnosis cannot be assumed to be accurate without some other kind of evidence that the memories
are real. In the Chowchilla case, the ransom note and other things found in one of the kidnapper’s homes were that
evidence, but those things might not have been found if not for Ray’s hypnotically aided recall. (In this instance,
hypnosis helped Ray relax enough to recall the memory of the number that he had actually tried to memorize. If he
hadn’t made that initial effort to remember the number, hypnosis would not have helped his recall.)
Questions for Further Discussion:
1. What is the danger in using hypnosis to enhance memory in court cases?
2. How might hypnosis have been used to help the children who were kidnapped recover from
their ordeal?
Terr, L. C. (1981). Psychic trauma in children: Observations following the Chowchilla bus kidnapping. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 138, 14–19.
Terr, L. C. (1983). Chowchilla revisited: The effects of trauma four years after the school bus kidnapping. American Journal of
Psychiatry, 140, 1543–1550.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Lecture/Discussion: Gingko Biloba and Memory

Although there are ways to improve one’s memory by using strategies for organizing and retrieving information as
discussed in the Study Skills section of this text, people down through the ages have hoped for an easier way to get
better memory. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to take a simple little pill and have improved memory ability without
all the effort? Or help prevent or at least relieve the memory problems that come with aging, such as Alzheimer’s?
One of the most recent substances that has been proposed as an aid to memory is an herbal extract from the
leaves of the gingko biloba tree, the oldest living tree species currently known to be in existence. Commonly
prescribed as a drug in Germany and France, gingko biloba extract (GBE) is one of the most well researched
herbal treatments world-wide (Murray, 1996).
GBE, in the form of a daily supplement, is said to increase blood flow to the brain, has been credited with a
number of health-enhancing effects: countering the effects of aging, reducing the ringing in the ears that often comes
with age, controlling cholesterol, enhancing circulation in the brain, and improved memory skills (Murray, 1996;
Solomon et al., 2002). It is the effect of GBE on memory that will be the focus here. Testimonials from people who
have used GBE are numerous, but they are still only testimonials. As stated in Chapter One of the Ciccarelli text,
people who take supplements and then notice an improvement in whatever the supplement was said to improve may
be experiencing the placebo effect—they notice improvement because they expect to improve. What does the
scientific research say about the effects of gingko biloba on memory?
There have been numerous double-blind studies of the effects of GBE on memory, both in people with
Alzheimer’s-type dementia and in people with normal cognitive functioning. In people with dementia-related
memory problems, the tendency for GBE to open up blood vessels and improve the oxygen flow to the brain cells
seems to significantly improve cognitive functioning and memory when compared to a placebo treatment (Haase et
al, 1996; Le Bars et al., 2000, 2002). Those studies did find that the improvement was dependent upon the degree of
impairment: those who were showing only mild to moderate symptoms did improve, but those who suffered from
more severe symptoms experienced only a slowing down of the worsening symptoms or a stabilization of those
symptoms (Le Bars et al., 2002).
Does gingko biloba extract help people who have normal mental functioning? Can taking a simple herbal
supplement have a positive impact on memory for the average adult? The research shows mixed support for the
positive effect of GBE on the memory abilities of people who have no serious memory problems. In two studies
with healthy young volunteers, ginkgo biloba and a gingko biloba-ginseng combination (ginseng is an herbal
supplement taken from the root of the ginseng plant) were associated with significant improvement in attention and
memory when compared to a placebo (Kennedy et al, 2000, 2001). Similar effects have been found for older
participants (Rigney et al., 1999; Stough et al., 2001; Wesnes et al., 2000).
More recent research has found evidence to the contrary: in healthy, normal older adults, gingko biloba
extract produced no difference in participants’ performances on a battery of neuropsychological tests, including
measurements of memory, concentration, and the use of language (Solomon et al., 2002). In this experiment,
participants were measured on various cognitive abilities both before and after a six-week double-blind trial in
which half of the participants received GBE and half a placebo. It is not yet clear if long-term use of the supplement
might have a different impact, while manufacturers of the supplement typically claim that results will be seen in four
weeks. Although gingko biloba might help those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s or similar dementias, its use for
ordinary memory improvement in healthy people is questionable at best in light of these new findings.
Questions for Further Discussion:
1. Is there any possible harm in taking an herbal supplement such as GBE for the purpose of enhancing
memory?
2. What might be some of the dangers in taking supplements that are not approved by the Federal Drug
Agency?
3. What other memory-improving “home remedies” have you encountered? Is there any scientific
evidence that any of them actually work?
Haase, J., Halama, P., & Horr, R. (1996). Effectiveness of brief infusions with Ginkgo biloba. Special Extract EGb 761 in dementia of
the vascular and Alzheimer type. Gerontology and Geriatrics, 29 (4), 302–309.
Kennedy, D. O., Scholey, A. B., & Wesnes, K. A. (2000). The dose-dependent cognitive effects of acute administration of Gingko
biloba to healthy young volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 151 (4), 416–423.
Kennedy, D. O., Scholey, A. B., & Wesnes, K. A. (2001). Differential, dose-dependent changes in cognitive performance following
acute administration of Gingko biloba/Panax ginseng combination to healthy young volunteers. Nutrition and Neuroscience,
4(5), 399–412.

Le Bars, P. L., Kieser, M., & Itil, K. Z. (2000). A 26-week analysis of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of gingko biloba extract
EGb 761 dementia. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. 11(4), 230–237.
Le Bars, P. L., Velasco, F. M., Ferguson, J.M., Dessain, E. C., Kieser, M., &Hoerr, R. (2002). Influence of the severity of cognitive
impairment on the effect of Gingko Biloba extract EGb 761 in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychobiology, 45(1), 19–26.
Murray, F. (1996). Gingko biloba: Therapeutic and antioxidant properties of the “tree of health” (Keats Good Herb Guide) . Keats
Publishing.
Rigney U, Kimber S, Hindmarch I. (1999). "The effects of acute doses of standardized Gingko biloba extract on memory and
psychomotor performance in volunteers." Phytotherapy Research, Aug: 13(5), 408–415.
Solomon, P.R., Adams, F., Silver, A., Zimmer, J., & DeVeaux, R. (2002). Gingko for memory enhancement: A randomized controlled
trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288 (7), 835–840.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

▼ ACTIVITIES, DEMONSTRATIONS, AND EXERCISES

What is Memory? (p. 283)
Memory in Film: Memento (p. 284)
Do We Make Accurate Copies of Events in Our Memories? (p. 284)
The Limits of Short-Term Memory (p. 285)
The Value of Chunking (p. 285)
Organization and Memory (p. 286)
Chunking to Increase Meaningfulness (p. 286)
Coding in Long-Term Memory (p. 287)
Context and its Effect on Memory (p. 287)
Telephone Game in the Classroom (p. 288)
Schemas and Memory (p. 288)
Decay and Interference in Short-term Memory (p. 289)
Can You Trust an Eyewitness? (p. 289)
Memories of 9/11 (p. 291)
Improving Memory (p. 291)
A Combined Demonstration and Review (p. 292)
Debate: Do Adults Repress Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse? (p. 293)
Additional Discussion Questions (p. 293)
Crossword Puzzle (p. 294)
Activity: What Is Memory?
Objective: To illustrate that human memory differs from a photograph or recording

Materials: None
Procedure: Ask 10 or so students to leave the room. Bring the first student back in and read the paragraph below
aloud to him or her.
Veteran teachers will tell you how much things have changed in the past 20 years. And you will
find that today's teacher has more responsibilities than ever before. For one thing, there is simply
a lot more to know about teaching and learning. The knowledge explosion of the past few decades
means that much more information is available to the new teacher starting out today than was
available to graduates of schools of education only a few short years ago. It also means that
teachers need to know more.
Call in a second student and have the first student try to recite the paragraph from memory. Next, call in a third
student and ask the second student to recite the paragraph to him or her. Repeat the procedure until the last student
has had the paragraph recited to her or him. Compare the original version to the last version. Advise the rest of the
students who are watching the activity not to give any clues or to laugh.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
◄ Return to complete list of Activities, Demonstrations and Exercises for Chapter 5

Activity: Memory in Film: Memento
Guy Pearce stars in this unusual film about a man whose wife has been murdered. A murder-mystery is not so
unusual; what’s odd is that the film is told entirely in reverse. In the first scene we see Pearce’s character gunning
down his wife’s murderer, and each subsequent scene shows the events that took place right before the previous
scene. Imagine reading a book from the last page to the first and you’ll get the idea. Oh, and complicating matters is
the fact that Pearce’s character suffers from the inability to form short-term memories. This leads him not only to
develop novel ways of keeping track of information, but also hinders his ability to remember who he’s after, whom
he can trust, and why he’s doing whatever he’s doing at a given moment. The filmmakers did their research on
short-term memory and the biological systems underlying it. They’ve also constructed a gripping film with more
than a few twists to it. Recommended!

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Do We Make Accurate Copies of Events in Our Memories?
It is relatively simple to demonstrate the inaccurate and incomplete nature of some memories. Read the following
story at the beginning of class, asking students to listen carefully because their memory of the story will be tested
later. Five to ten minutes before the end of class, ask students to recall the story verbatim.
Monday night, a 17-year-old suburban youth was shot in the abdomen by an unknown gunman.
Witnesses claimed the shot was fired from a blue Chevrolet van that moved down the street slowly
until after the shooting, when it turned a corner and disappeared before anyone could get more than
the first two letters from the license plate. The victim dropped out of school in the 10th grade and is
believed to be one of the ‘superior seven,’ a group of teenagers who sell marijuana on street corners
near several local high schools. A spokesperson for the police department declined to say whether
the police believe the shooting is related to the continuing war between rival gangs over territories
for selling drugs. The condition of the victim is described as stable.
Read several of the recalled stories to the class, and note how memories are reconstructed to be consistent with the
cognitive schemas of the writer. For example, the incident occurred in a suburban area and no mention is made of
sex, race, or ethnicity of the victims, yet you may find such elements included in the students’ reports. You could
also check memory for particular words or phrases, like “suburban youth,” “shot in the abdomen,” “selling
marijuana,” and “letters of the license plate.”

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

Activity: The Limits of Short-Term Memory
This demonstration reveals the limited capacity of short-term memory (approximately 7 +/– 2 items by many
accounts) through the use of a digit-span test. Instruct students to take out a sheet of scratch paper and pencil. Tell
them that you will read a string of unrelated numbers and their task is to memorize those digits in the exact order
presented. After reading the numbers, pause, then signal the students to record their answers by saying “Go.” Here is
a sample list. Read at an even pace and in a monotone voice.
Span of four “Ready? 2,8,3,1 Go.”

Span of five “Ready? 7,4,1,3,9 Go.”
Span of six “Ready? 4,9,7,2,1,5 Go.”
Span of seven “Ready? 5,1,8,3,9,2,6 Go.”
Span of eight “Ready? 1,9,5,6,3,4,7,2 Go.”
Span of nine “Ready? 3,6,2,5,1,9,7,4,8 Go.”
Span of ten “Ready? 6,1,5,4,9,8,3,2,8,7 Go.”
Span of eleven “Ready? 8,9,3,1,6,4,2,7,5,1,3 Go.”
Read the answers or display them on a transparency so students can score their performance. Then ask for a show of
hands to indicate the largest memory span they successfully completed. The majority of students should be
successful up to and including the 6-digit span.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: The Value of Chunking
The purpose of this demonstration is to illustrate how short-term memory performance can be enhanced by the use of
“chunking” procedures; that is, by grouping items into larger, meaningful units. In the following two-part
demonstration, ask a student to volunteer. Inform the volunteer that he or she will be presented with a set of items to
be memorized in exact order. Then read the following list of letters:
X I B M C I A F B I C B S M T V.
After a short delay, ask the student to recall as many of the letters as possible.
In the second part of the demonstration, tell the student that you will improve his or her memory with a little help.
Then read the letters in the following “chunked format”:
X IBM CIA FBI CBS MTV.

The student should have nearly perfect recall. Grouping the letters reduced the memory task from 16 items to 6
items.
5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary


Activity: Organization and Memory
Several previous exercises have demonstrated the important role that meaning plays in our ability to remember
information. Another important factor in memory is organization. George Mandler was an early proponent of the
view that the organization of material (i.e., grouping items together based on shared relationships) is crucial to
memory because it effectively reduces the amount of material that needs to be processed and stored (Searleman &
Herrmann, 1994). Indeed, research shows that subjects will often spontaneously organize items into groups in order
to remember them better.
John Fisher suggests a simple exercise that demonstrates the importance of organization in memory.
Handouts 6–3a and 6–3b each contain a list of 12 words that students should study briefly and then try to recall.
Note that both lists contain the same dozen words but in a different order: The words in list B are arranged so that
each word has some natural association with the word that precedes it, whereas the words in list A are arranged
randomly. Photocopy an equal number of each handout and randomly distribute them (face down) to students so that
half have one version of the word list and half have the other (do not mention that the lists are different). Instruct
students to turn the list over and briefly study the words; give them about 30 seconds for this task and then have
them put the list away. Then, distract your students for about a minute (e.g., by talking to them or by having them
count backwards from 100) and then have them take out a clean sheet of paper and write down all the words they
can recall. After about 45 seconds, have them stop writing and score their recall list (by comparing it to the original
word list). Explain that there were different versions of the word lists and ask students which group they would
expect to have superior recall. Most will immediately state that the group with the organized word list should
perform better. Verify that this is the case by creating a frequency distribution on the board (and listing the number
of correctly recalled words for each student in group A and in group B). Discuss these results with your students.
What implications do they have for improving recall on exams? What techniques do students currently use to take
advantage of this principle? Can they think of new ways to increase organization and recall?
Fisher, J. (1979). Body magic. Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein and Day.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Chunking to Increase Meaningfulness
Objective: To demonstrate the importance of meaning in encoding and retrieval

Materials: Handout attached (2nd page) as an overhead or copied and cut in half
Procedure: Present the first sentence to students (if you hand it out, only give out the top half). Give them about 30
seconds to memorize this first string of letters in order. Next challenge them to recall the letters by writing them
down on paper. Inquire as to whether it would make a difference to present the letters in chunks, then show the
second string of letters, which are clearly chunked into meaningful units. There are many other examples of the
effects of chunking (e.g., IBMCBSCNNDOA becomes IBM, CBS, CNN, DOA). Think about putting your school's
initials (e.g., UCLA; UM; UNI; NDSCS) in this example. The military also has a habit of using chunks (e.g., Bomb
Damage Assessment with three chunks now becomes BDA with one chunk).

5.1 What is Memory?


Chapter Summary
Activity: Coding in Long-Term Memory
Searleman and Herrmann suggest a simple exercise (adapted from Sachs, 1967) that demonstrates that information
in long-term memory is typically coded by meaning rather than by literal content. Tell your students that they should
carefully read the story presented on the overhead (see attached handout) and that they should be prepared to have
their memory tested for one of its sentences. After students have had time to read (but not study) the story, present
the sentences (students should choose which one was presented in the story) and remove the story. Most students
will quickly eliminate choice C (which has a different meaning than the other sentences) but will have difficulty
deciding among the other three choices (which differ in form and structure but not meaning). Thus, it appears that
people quickly forget verbatim information while retaining its general meaning. In actuality, our coding process is a
very flexible and adaptive one. When we absolutely need to (e.g., when we must memorize a poem, riddle, or
quotation), we can code verbatim information into long-term memory. Most of the time, however, because it is most
important that we remember the meaning of events, we code the gist of information rather than its literal content.
[Note: If your class is too large or you don’t have access to an overhead machine, this exercise can be conducted
orally as well.]
Sachs, J. S. (1967). Memory in reading and listening to discourse. Memory & Cognition, 21, 73–80.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Context and Its Effect on Memory
Objective: To demonstrate the effects of context on memory

Materials: An overhead transparency with the following matrix on it, making sure that the number 13 looks like a
cross between a B and 13:
12
A 13 C
14
Procedure: Divide the room in half by identifying an individual in the middle and telling one half to start from the
top of the display and process downward and the other half to process from left to right. Ask for a show of hands
and ask, "Who saw 12, 13, and 14?" Most of one side will raise their hands. The other half will look puzzled. Now
ask, "Who saw A, B, and C?" The other half will respond. Now show them the matrix again, and discuss the effect
of psychological set on processing.
5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary


Activity: Telephone Game in the Classroom
This demonstration allows students to play the childhood “telephone game” to illustrate the role of schemas in
memory. Tell students that one person in the class will receive a message from the instructor, and they should
whisper the message to the next person, and so on, until the message makes its way around the room. The last
person should then report the message to the class.
Whisper the following message to the first student:
After doing this, Joe found the article. He then walked through the doorway and took a piece of
candy out of his pocket. Next, he got some change and saw a person that he knew. Subsequently,
he found a machine. He realized he had a slight headache and was very thirsty. After he aligned
the original, Joe put in the coin and pressed the button. (Based on Trafimow & Wyer, 1993)
One of two things may occur in the class with regard to the above storyline: either the [correct] copy machine
schema may be reported or a story that includes putting money into a soda machine may be reported. Regardless of
what story theme emerges at the end of the demonstration, the message will be altered significantly from the original
message. Ask the first student to report the original message again, then read the original message to the classroom.
Ask students to discuss why they think the story changed as it was “passed around” the classroom. Discuss how
rumors are spread and may be distorted. Segue into Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts and subsequent work on schemas
and memory.
Trafimow, D., & Wyer, R. S. (1993). Cognitive representation of mundane social events. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 64, 365–376.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Schemas and Memory
Frederick Bartlett's schema theory describes how our past experiences and expectations can affect memory.
Specifically, Bartlett argues that our schemas (i.e., organized mental frameworks that we rely on to interpret and
filter incoming information) greatly influence the retrieval of information stored in long-term memory. To
demonstrate this effect in your classroom, replicate an exercise suggested by Drew Appleby. Tell students that you
are going to show them a list of 12 words and that they should try to remember them. Then, slowly display (by using
index cards or transparencies) the following words one at a time as you read them aloud:
REST, TIRED, AWAKE, DREAM, SNORE, BED, EAT, SLUMBER, SOUND, COMFORT,
WAKE, NIGHT
After you've completed the list, distract your class for 30 seconds or so (to ensure that the words are no
longer held in short-term memory) and then give them 2 minutes to write down as many words as they can recall.
Ask for a show of hands from all those who recalled the word AARDVARK. Your students, none of whom will
have mistakenly recalled AARDVARK, will look at you as if you're crazy. Then ask for a show of hands for those
who remembered SLEEP. Appleby reports that 80 to 95% of the students typically recall the word SLEEP, and are
astonished to discover that SLEEP was not on the list (prove it to them). Asked to explain the effect, most students

will intuitively understand that schemas influenced their recall. That is, because all of the words were associated
with each other and related to the topic of sleep, their schema for "sleep" was invoked and it seemed only natural
that it would be on the list. Thus, this demonstration suggests that schemas can cause us to fabricate false memories
that happen to be consistent with our schemas. You might also want to discuss with students the following
interesting implication: If people sometimes mistakenly remember information because it is consistent with their
schemas, is it possible that they can mistakenly forget information that is inconsistent with their schemas? Ask
students to provide examples from their own lives or from cases they've heard about in the media.
Appleby, D. (1987). Producing a déja vú experience. In V. P. Makosky, L. G. Whittemore, & A. M. Rogers (Eds.), Activities
handbook for the teaching of psychology: Vol. 2 (pp. 78–79). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Decay and Interference in Short-term Memory
This simple exercise uses the Brown-Peterson distracter technique to demonstrate the effects of delay and
interference on short-term memory. Tell students that you want them to remember a sequence of three consonant
letters while counting backwards from a number you provide them. When they're ready, say, "W T K" and then
"701." They should then say "701, 698, 695, 692, 689, 686" and so on. After 15 to 18 seconds, say "write" as a
signal to students to recall the three letters. According to Peterson and Peterson (1959), students should have a fairly
difficult time accomplishing this because the counting task prevents them from rehearsing the letters and thus allows
the memory trace to decay. Keppel and Underwood (1962) later argued that the forgetting in the Brown-Peterson
task was primarily due to the buildup of proactive interference. As evidence, they pointed to the fact that students
could often remember the letters during the first trial or two, but had much greater difficulty remembering letters on
any subsequent trials, when proactive interference would develop (i.e., they would have trouble distinguishing
between letters presented earlier and on the current trial). Verify this effect with your students by conducting several
trials. Examples of potential letter/number combinations might include PZX 317, BVQ 421, LFC 991, JHG 187, and
SRN 275. Students will be astonished at their atrocious performance, which, if typical of experiments of this type,
should yield about 1 in 10 correct recalls after only 18 seconds of the distracter task!
Keppel, G., & Underwood, B. J. (1962). Proactive inhibition in short-term retention of single items. Journal of Verbal Learning and
Verbal Behavior, 1, 153–161.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Can You Trust an Eyewitness? (Can be used as a Group Activity)
Students apply research on eyewitness testimony to four questions. The student handout for this exercise is included
as Handout Master 5.1.
Suggested answers:

1. People might unconsciously distort perception or memory of an event to make it consistent with their cognitive
schemas. For example, ethnic prejudice might result in a person’s making an error about who struck the first
blow in a fight. Witnesses to a bank robbery might wrongly identify a suspect who fits his/her schema of what
bank robbers look like.
Memory is reconstructive and can be affected by leading questions, other memories, media accounts,
assumptions about the world, etc.
Our capacity to process and store information is limited. When a crime occurs, there is more going on in the
environment moment by moment than a person can notice. Different witnesses attend to and remember different
aspects of an event. That helps explain, for example, why there is disagreement concerning how many shots
were fired when President John Kennedy was assassinated.
Often at the moment when a crime is committed, the witnesses are paying attention to other things, and so they
do not encode the criminal event very well in the first place.
If a person is terrified during a crime, he or she may focus on one aspect of it, such as a weapon, and ignore
everything else.
2. A person in charge of interrogating witnesses should avoid leading questions and let the witness tell the story in
his or her own words. It is better to ask “Can you tell me any more about the way the person walked” than “Did
you notice that the person had a slight limp?”
The interrogator might ask the witness to repeat his or her testimony several times to check for consistency and
give the person a chance to fill in details or draw on further retrieval cues.
The interrogator might provide the witness with retrieval cues by encouraging the witness to relive the event,
taking the witness to the scene of the crime, and encouraging the witness to draw on mental images of the event.
The interrogator should question the witness as soon after the event as possible, because intervening events and
contact with other witnesses could affect the person’s memory.
3. A 10-year-old might be more reliable because: children’s testimony may be less distorted by existing cognitive
schemas about events and people; children may be less inclined to draw inferences in order to make their
testimony coherent and believable; children may have better sensory acuity than older people and therefore may
encode and store information more accurately; and children may be less influenced by social expectations.
A 40-year-old may be more reliable because: an adult has a broader range of experience with which to
understand events and place them in context; an adult may have better rehearsal skills and thus retain
information better over time; an adult may be better at generating useful retrieval cues; and brain mechanisms
involved in memory may be better developed in adults than in children. Adults may also have a better
understanding of the importance of being a reliable witness, and may be less likely to confuse reality with TV
drama and fantasy.
The effect of age, however, will depend on the type of event that was witnessed. A child might be more accurate
in reporting on a little league game; an adult would be more reliable in recalling a conversation about politics.
4. The purpose of this item is to encourage students to understand that memory is reconstructive for them as well
as for other people, a notion they often resist. In their answers, students typically mention memories of events
that occurred early in childhood, unpleasant memories they have tried to forget, memories that threaten their
self-image, memories that reflect negatively on someone they care about or positively on someone they dislike,
and memories for events that occurred during a stressful period when they were preoccupied with problems.
Sometimes students tell of “remembering” an event only to discover that it happened to someone else or did not

occur at all. Students should be assured that all personal disclosures will be kept confidential.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Memories of 9/11
In class before a discussion of flashbulb (FB) memories, you might want to ask students to write a memory report
about everything they remember when they first heard the news of the terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington, DC. Then discuss Brown and Kulik's research on FB memories.
A flashbulb memory refers to memory for a situation in which you first learned of a very surprising and
emotionally arousing event, usually of international significance. Examples of FB memories include the
assassination of JFK, assassination of MLK, the Challenger explosion, the O.J. Simpson verdict, the death of
Princess Diana, the death of JFK Jr., the Columbine High School shooting, and now the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001. Brown and Kulik (1977) examined FB memory reports of the assassination of JFK and derived
six 'canonical' categories of information that are reported in FB memory reports across individuals: the location
(remembering where you heard the news); the ongoing event (remembering what you were doing at the time you
heard the news); the informant (remembering who told you about the event); emotional affect in others (noticing the
emotional reactions of others); emotional affect in self (noticing the emotional reactions of oneself); and
aftermath/consequentiality (remembering what you did after you heard the news).
Ask students to now analyze their own memory reports for the six categories of information typically
reported in FB memory reports. As part of a homework assignment, you may want to have students collect memory
reports from a few of their friends, then analyze the data set as a whole for the six categories. Students will quickly
notice that while the details of the memory reports may differ, all tend to report the same general categories of
events.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Improving Memory
This exercise, like the behavior modification project suggested in a previous chapter, asks students to put what
they've learned to practical use. For this assignment, students should target some specific aspect of their memory
that they would like to improve and then apply one or more memory principles from the text or lecture to make the
improvement. Students might, for example, strive to enhance their performance on exams, to recall important
birthdates and anniversaries, to remember people's names following introductions, or to reduce absentminded
actions, such as misplacing keys or a wallet. Potential memory strategies include the use of established (e.g.,
Pegword, method of loci) or home-made mnemonics, eliminating distracters and paying careful attention when
studying, meeting new people, or putting keys down, trying to encode material deeply and by multiple methods
(e.g., by meaning, by self-referencing, and by encoding visually), making better use of retrieval cues, engaging in
active, elaborative rehearsal while reading, applying the SQ3R method, and so on. Students might also be
encouraged (but not required) to consult additional sources for ideas. One potential resource for this assignment is

an excellent, well-written book by Kenneth Higbee. After implementing their plan, students should write a short
paper in which they report on their experiences. Specifically, students should describe (a) the aspect of memory they
targeted for improvement (and why), (b) the memory principles or strategies they used (including the rationale
behind them), and (c) any results (positive or negative) from applying these techniques. After grading students'
papers, you might want to devote some class time to discussion so that students can share their successful
experiences with others.
Higbee, K. L (1993). Your memory: How it works and how to improve it. New York: Paragon House.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: A Combined Demonstration and Review
Ask the class to memorize the following list of words. Read the list aloud slowly to the class at a rate of about one
word every 4 seconds.
bed turn night toss

silence quilt night artichoke
snoring fatigue dark rest
tired night clock dream
Read the answers or display them on a transparency so students can score their performance. On average, students
will recall about ten items correctly, which is considerably better than the usual recall rate of about seven words
when the words are unrelated. Students generally recall more words from this list because the list is loaded with
memory aids, such as the following:
Primacy effect: Most people recall “bed” because this word is the first presented. In general, the first bit of
information to enter the memory has an advantage, because people rehearse the item more frequently.
Recency effect: Nearly everyone remembers “dream” because this word is presented last. In general, the most recent
information is better recalled because the information is still fresh in the mind.
Frequency: The word “night” also enjoys a memorial advantage because it is presented three times. The more we
rehearse material, the more likely is the material to enter our memory.
Distinctiveness: Students generally have little trouble recalling “artichoke” because it is distinctly different from the
other words, all of which involve sleep.
Organization: Many students recall “toss” and “turn” consecutively. This illustrates that the mind imposes an
organization on new material; it organizes small units, “toss” and “turn,” by chunking them into one larger unit:
“toss and turn.”
Reconstruction: Many people “remember” hearing “sleep,” although “sleep” is not included in the list of words. We
tend to fill in the gaps in our knowledge with words or ideas that ought to be there according to our schemas.
Thus, memory is not a direct sensory readout of previous experience, but in large part an inference about what
the past must have been like.

Visual imagery: Many students try to remember the words by forming a visual image of a bedroom. They can then
use their “mind’s eye” to look around the room, locating objects that were on the list. This process is a very
useful mnemonic device.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Debate--Do Adults Repress Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse?
It is difficult to imagine another psychological issue in recent memory that has garnered as much public attention as
has the validity of repressed memories (e.g., sexual abuse memories that surface many years after the fact). There is
no doubt that sexual abuse occurs and is a serious and undeniable trauma; what is in question, however, is whether
all recovered memories are in fact accurate or whether at least some memories are unwittingly but falsely shaped by
others. This volatile but important issue has been the subject of television shows, symposia, journal issues,
conferences, and has even spawned an organization, the False Memory Syndrome Foundation (www.fmsonline.org).
Your students may have already formed opinions on this issue from what they have seen or heard in the media.
Encourage them to explore this issue in more depth – and from both sides – by considering the scientific evidence
and arguments in a debate format. Assign students to research this issue and to be prepared to defend either side.
Taking Sides presents both pro and con viewpoints on this controversial topic, and students should be encouraged to
find more recent sources from journal articles (see, for example, the American Psychologist) and from the popular
media. Among other things, this debate should give students insight into the nature of long-term memory, conflict
among psychologists from different perspectives, and the relationship between the media and psychological issues.
Slife, B. (2003). Taking sides: Clashing views on controversial psychological issues (12th ed.). Guilford, CT: Dushkin Publishing
Group.

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Additional Discussion Questions
1. Suppose you had only short-term memory (working memory), say, up to a minute. What would a day in
your life be like? Why might you become paranoid in your suspicions about other people? Now think about
what it would be like if you had only long-term memory. What would your life be like? How would you
compensate for this lack of memory?
2. You notice your child has more of a photographic memory than you do. How do you explain these
differences in eidetic memory? What can you do to improve your own eidetic memory?
3. How can you improve your memory strategies using what you have learned in this chapter?

4. If you were an elderly person who was concerned about memory loss, but you learned that exercising your
mind and your body (e.g., getting involved in discussion groups, reading, doing crossword puzzles, doing
aerobic exercises) would help, would you do it? What if you were tired or just wanted to watch television–
would it be worth the trade-off to motivate yourself to engage in the exercises for the sake of keeping your
mind healthy? If you knew/know an elderly person who complains about memory but has “a million
excuses” for not doing anything about it, how would you respond? What plan can you make for yourself as
you age?
5. Where were you when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans? Write down your memories of the events of
those days. Now, research the event and compare your recollection with the reports of events. How does
the concept of flashbulb memory explain your accuracy?
6. The repressed memory debate is one that often engenders strong emotions. Summarize the arguments on
each side of the issue. Which side makes the strongest case? Why?
7. Considering the “Seven Deadly Sins” described at the end of the chapter, which of those have you
experienced? How have they worked for you and against you? Now that you know about them, what can
you do to improve your memory? How can you use this information to help you be successful in college?

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary
Activity: Crossword puzzle
Copy and distribute Handout Master 5.2 to students as a homework or in-class review assignment.
Answers for the Crossword puzzle:
Across
4. the very first stage of memory, the point at which information enters the nervous system through the sensory
systems. Sensory
5. the brief memory of something a person has just heard. Echoic
7. the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input. Selective attention
11. loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories.
Anterograde amnesia
13. memory that is consciously known, such as declarative memory. Explicit
14. the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently. LTM
15. any memory strategy that aids in encoding, storage, and retrieval of memories. Mnemonic
16. holding onto information for some period of time. Storage
19. visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second. Iconic
Down
1. the memory for events and facts related to oneself. Autobiographical Memory
2. the tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that
follows. Primacy
3. an active system that receives information from the senses, organizes and alters it as it stores it away, and then
retrieves the information from storage. Memory
5. the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more. Eidetic Imagery
6. the inability to retrieve memories from much before the age of three. Infantile Amnesia

8. type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the
person remembering it. Flashbulb
9. getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used. Retrieval
10. type of declarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others, such as daily
activities and events. Episodic
12. loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used. Decay
17. the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact. Recognition
18. the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form
that is usable in the brain’s storage systems. Encoding

5.1 What is Memory?
Chapter Summary

▼ Handout Masters for Chapter 5: Memory
Handout Master 5.1 Can You Trust an Eyewitness?

Handout Master 5.2 Crossword Puzzle Activity
Handout Master 5.3 Fill-in-the-Blank Activity

Handout Master 5.1

Can You Trust an Eyewitness?
This exercise asks you to consider the problems of eyewitness testimony.
1. Eyewitnesses to crimes are not always reliable; they think they remember the facts about an event, yet they
make errors. Describe three psychological factors that might account for such errors.
2. If you were a police officer, lawyer, or prosecutor who had the job of interrogating witnesses and you wanted to
increase eyewitness accuracy, what are two things you might do?
3. In general, how would a 10-year-old child be a more reliable eyewitness regarding the facts of an event than a
40-year-old adult, and vice versa? Why?
4. We are all eyewitnesses to our own lives, and we are not completely accurate in what we remember. Which of
your autobiographical memories do you think might be somewhat distorted or inaccurate? Why?
► Return to Activity: Can You Trust an Eyewitness?

▼ Return to complete list of Handout Masters for Chapter 5

Handout Master 5.2

Crossword Puzzle activity
Memory

Across
4. the very first stage of memory, the point at which information enters the nervous system through the sensory
systems.
5. the brief memory of something a person has just heard.
7. the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input.
11. loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories.
13. memory that is consciously known, such as declarative memory.
14. the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently.
15. any memory strategy that aids in encoding, storage, and retrieval of memories.
16. holding onto information for some period of time.
19. visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second.
Down
1. the memory for events and facts related to oneself.

2. the tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that
follows.
3. an active system that receives information from the senses, organizes and alters it as it stores it away, and then
retrieves the information from storage.
5. the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more.
6. the inability to retrieve memories from much before the age of three.
8. type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the
person remembering it.
9. getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used.
10. type of declarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others, such as daily
activities and events.
12. loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used.
17. the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact.
18. the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form
that is usable in the brain’s storage systems
► Return to Activity: Crossword Puzzle


Memory
1. is an active system that receives information from the senses, organizes and alters
it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage.
2. is the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert
that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systems.
3. is the process of holding onto information for some period of time.
4. is getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used by the
individual.
5. The very first stage of memory is called , and it is the point at which
information enters the nervous system through the sensory systems.
6. The visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second is called the
.
7. The rare ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more is called
.
8. The is a brief memory of something a person has just heard.
9. The memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used and is also
called the working memory is known as .
10. The ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input is called
.
11. is when bits of information are combined into meaningful units, or chunks, so that
more information can be held in STM.
12. The practice of saying some information to be remembered over and over in one’s head in order to
maintain it in short-term memory is called .
13. The system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently is
called .
14. The type of long-term memory including memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned
responses is called . These memories are not conscious but are implied
to exist because they affect conscious behavior.
15. The type of long-term memory containing information that is conscious and known is called
.
16. is the loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma
forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories.
17. is the type of declarative memory containing general
knowledge, such as knowledge of language and information learned in formal education.
18. is the type of declarative memory containing personal
information not readily available to others
19. A stimulus for remembering information is called a .
20. memories are formed during a particular physiological or
psychological state will be easier to recall while in a similar state.
21. The type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved must be “pulled” from memory
with very few external cues much like on an essay test is called .
22. effect is the tendency of information at the beginning and end of a
body of information to be remembered more accurately than information in the middle of the body of
information.
23. The is the tendency to remember information at the beginning of a
body of information better than the information that follows.
24. The is the tendency to remember information at the end of a
body of information better than the information ahead of it.
25. The ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact – much like the
information on a multiple choice test is called .
26. The type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional
associations for the person remembering it is called .

27. syndrome is the creation of inaccurate or false memories

through the suggestion of others, often while the person is under hypnosis.
28. The failure to process information into memory is called .
29. The is the physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is
formed.
30. The memory retrieval problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the
retrieval of newer information is called .
31. is a memory retrieval problem that occurs when newer
information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information.
32. The is the area of brain responsible for the formation of LTMs.
33. The primary memory difficulty in is anterograde amnesia, although
retrograde amnesia can also occur as the disease progresses.
Words for Fill-In-The Blanks

1. Alzheimer’s disease
2. anterograde amnesia
3. chunking
4. declarative memory
5. echoic memory
6. eidetic imagery
7. encoding
8. encoding failure
9. episodic memory
10. false memory
11. flashbulb memories
12. hippocampus
13. iconic memory
14. long term memory
15. maintenance rehearsal
16. memory
17. memory trace
18. primacy effect
19. proactive interference
20. procedural memory
21. recall
22. recency effect
23. recognition
24. retrieval
25. retrieval cue
26. retroactive interference
27. selective attention
28. semantic memory
29. sensory memory
30. serial position
31. short term memory
32. state dependent
33. storage
► Return to Activity: Fill-In-The-Blank


WEB RESOURCES
Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org/

Comprehensive site devoted to the neurodegenerative disease that affects memory.
Creating False Memories: http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/sciam.htm

A nice overview of the literature on the topic by Elizabeth Loftus, originally published in Scientific American,
September 1997, vol. 277 (3), pp. 70–75.
Elizabeth F. Loftus: http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/

Why not go right to the source? Visit the homepage of Elizabeth Loftus.
Elizabeth Loftus Interview for Frontline’s “What Jennifer Saw”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/interviews/loftus.html
Elizabeth Loftus has done some of the most important research on eyewitness testimony. This interview touches on
the validity of eyewitness testimony as well as on many of the other memory issues. This interview accompanies the
Frontline documentary “What Jennifer Saw.”
Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory/magnani/index.html
This branch of San Francisco’s Exploratorium science museum features work by “a memory artist,” who paints his
childhood home from memory. A novel application of memory principles that your students will enjoy seeing.
Eurekalert: www.eurekalert.org
This is the news site and index for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Type “memory” in
the search box and you can be brought up to date on current topics in memory research.
H.M. and the Biological Basis of Memory, Edited Guide Entry: www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A667820
A very readable discussion of the experiences of H.M. and his memory loss
Imagination Inflation: Imagining a Childhood Event Inflates Confidence that it Occurred

http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/Imagine.htm
Article by Maryanne Garry, Charles G. Manning, Elizabeth F. Loftus and Steven J. Sherman summarizing research
on the relationship between imagining an event and confidence that the event really occurred. Originally published
in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (1996), 3 (2), 208–214.
The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: No longer a web resources, but important: the seminal article
for cognitive psychology and the study of short-term memory. Originally published in The Psychological Review,
1956, vol. 63, pp. 81–97.
Brain areas and Memory: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2004/10/kenneth.html

A discussion of false memories
Self-Improvement Online: http://www.selfgrowth.com/memory.html

This site reviews and recommends memory improvement and memory training websites. A service of Self-
Improvement Online.

VIDEO RESOURCES:
NEW MyPsychLab Video Series
Episode 8: Memory
1. The Big Picture: The Woman Who Cannot Forget
2. The Basics: Do You Remember When…?
3. Special Topics: When Memory Fails
4. Thinking Like a Psychologist: Eyewitness Testimony
5. In the Real World Application: The Memories We Don’t Want
6. What’s In It For Me?: Making It Stick
This new video series offers instructors and students the most current and cutting edge introductory psychology
video content available anywhere. These exclusive videos take the viewer into today’s research laboratories, inside
the body and brain through breathtaking animations, and out into the street for real-world applications. Guided by
the Design, Development and Review team, a diverse group of introductory psychology professors, this
comprehensive new series features 17 half-hour episodes organized around the major topics of the introductory
psychology course syllabus. For maximum flexibility, each 30-minute episode features several brief clips that bring
psychology to life.
FEATURES
Format
The MyPsychLab video series was designed with flexibility in mind. Each half-hour episode in the MyPsychLab
video series is made up of several five-minute clips which can be viewed separately or together:
• The Big Picture introduces the topic of the episode and draws in the viewer.
• The Basics uses the power of video to present foundational topics, especially those that students find difficult to
understand.
• Special Topics dives deeper into high-interest and often cutting-edge topics, showing research in action.
• Thinking Like a Psychologist models critical thinking and explores research methods.
• In the Real World focuses on applications of psychological research.
• What’s In It for Me? These clips show students the relevance of psychological research to their lives.
Flexible Delivery
Students can access the videos anytime within MyPsychLab, and each clip is accompanied by enriching self-
assessment quizzes. Instructors can access the videos for classroom presentation in MyPsychLab or on DVD
(0205035817).
Other Pearson Psychology Video Collections:

Introductory Psychology Teaching Films Boxed Set ISBN (0131754327)
Offering you an easy to use multi-DVD set of videos, more than 100 short video clips of 5–15 minutes in
length from many of the most popular video sources for Psychology content, such as ABC News; the Films
for the Humanities series; PBS; and more!
Pearson Education Teaching Films Introductory Psychology: Instructor’s Library 2-Disk DVD
Annual Edition (ISBN 0205652808)
Annual updates of the most popular video sources for Psychology content, such as ABC News; the Films
for the Humanities series; PBS; and more in 5-15 minute clips on an easy to use DVD!
Lecture Launcher Video for Introductory Psychology (ISBN 013048640X)

This 60-minute videotape includes twenty-five segments covering all of the major topics in introductory
psychology. All of the segments have been selected from videotapes in the Films for Humanities &
Sciences collection. The segments are intended to provide brief illustrations of concepts, and to serve as a
starting point for classroom discussions.

FILMS FOR HUMANITIES AND SCIENCES VIDEO LIBRARY (http://www.films.com) Qualified

adopters can select videos on various topics in psychology from the extensive library of Films for the
Humanities and Sciences. Contact your local sales representative for a list of videos and ISBN’s.
Other video series are available, ask your Pearson sales representative for more details.

MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES
On-line Resources: MyPsychLab www.mypsychlab.com
See/Hear/Learn/Explore More Icons integrated in the text lead to web-based expansions on topics, allowing
instructors and students access to extra information, videos, podcasts, and simulations. The in-text icons are not
exhaustive—there are many more resources available to instructors and students on-line at www.MyPsychLab.com.
What Is MyPsychLab? MyPsychLab is a learning and assessment tool that enables instructors to assess student
performance and adapt course content. Students benefit from the ability to test themselves on key content, track their
progress, and utilize individually tailored study plan. In addition to the activities students can access in their
customized study plans, instructors are provided with extra lecture notes, video clips, and activities that reflect the
content areas their class is still struggling with. Instructors can bring these resources to class, or easily post on-line
for students to access.
Instructors and students have been using MyPsychLab for over 10 years. To date, over 600,000 students have used
MyPsychLab. During that time, three white papers on the efficacy of MyPsychLab were published. Both the white
papers and user feedback show compelling results: MyPsychLab helps students succeed and improve their test
scores. One of the key ways MyPsychLab improves student outcomes is by providing continuous assessment as part
of the learning process. Over the years, both instructor and student feedback have guided numerous improvements,
making MyPsychLab even more flexible and effective.
Pearson is committed to helping instructors and students succeed with MyPsychLab.

To that end, we offer a Psychology Faculty Advisor Program designed to provide peer to-peer support for new users
of MyPsychLab. Experienced Faculty Advisors help instructors understand how MyPsychLab can improve student
performance. To learn more about the Faculty Advisor Program, please contact your local Pearson representative.
In addition to the eText and complete audio files, the New MyPsychLab video series, MyPsychLab offers these
valuable and unique tools:
MyPsychLab assessment questions: over 3,000 questions, distinct from the test bank, but designed to help
instructors easily assign additional quizzes and tests, all that can be graded automatically and loaded into an
instructor’s grade book.
MyPsychLab study plan: students have access to a personalized study plan, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy,
arranges content from less complex thinking–like remembering and understanding–to more complex critical
thinking–like applying and analyzing. This layered approach promotes better critical-thinking skills, and helps
students succeed in the course and beyond.
NEW Experiments Tool – On-line experiments help students understand scientific principles and practice through
active learning – fifty new experiments, inventories, and surveys are available through MyPsychLab.
APA assessments: A unique bank of assessment items allows instructors to assess student progress against the
American Psychological Association’s Learning Goals and Outcomes. These assessments have been keyed to the
APA’s latest progressive Learning Outcomes (basic, developing, advanced).
ClassPrep available in MyPsychLab. Finding, sorting, organizing, and presenting your instructor resources is faster
and easier than ever before with ClassPrep. This fully searchable database contains hundreds and hundreds of our
best teacher resources, such as lecture launchers and discussion topics, in-class and out-of-class activities and
assignments, handouts, as well as video clips, photos, illustrations, charts, graphs, and animations. Instructors can
search or browse by topic, and it is easy to sort your results by type, such as photo, document, or animation. You can
create personalized folders to organize and store what you like, or you can download resources. You can also upload
your own content and present directly from ClassPrep, or make it available on-line directly to your students.
MyPsychLab Highlights for Chapter 5: Memory

NEW Experiments Tool to promote active learning

Experiment: Digit Span
Experiment: Serial Position Effect
Survey: What Do You Remember?
Audio File of the Chapter

A helpful study tool for students—they can listen to a complete audio file of the chapter. Suggest they listen while
they read, or use the audio file as a review of key material.

CLASSROOM or PERSONAL RESPONSE SYSTEM (“CLICKER” QUESTIONS)
Pearson Education has partnerships with leading classroom response systems on the market. For more
information about Classroom Response Systems and our partnerships, please go to
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/crs.
Written by Cathleen Campbell-Raufer of Illinois State University, the classroom response questions
(ISBN 020525330X) are designed to complement the critical thinking theme of the
Zimbado/Johnson/McCann Psychology: Core Concepts, Seventh Edition textbook. Students become
active learners and the immediate feedback provides you with insight into their learning. Clicker
questions are available for download at the instructor’s resource center at www.pearsonhighered.com/irc,
as well as on the Instructor’s Resource DVD (ISBN 0205854397).
NEW INTERACTIVE POWERPOINT SLIDES

These slides, available on the Instructor’s Resource DVD (ISBN 0205854397), bring the Psychology:
Core Concepts design right into the classroom, drawing students into the lecture and providing wonderful
interactive activities, visuals, and videos. A video walk-through is available and provides clear guidelines
on using and customizing the slides. The slides are built around the text’s learning objectives and offer
many links across content areas. Icons integrated throughout the slides indicate interactive exercise,
simulations, and activities that can be accessed directly from the slides if instructors want to use these
resources in the classroom.
A SET OF STANDARD LECTURE POWERPOINT SLIDES written by Beth M. Schwartz,

Randolph College, is also offered and includes detailed outlines of key points for each chapter supported
by selected visuals from the textbook. A separate Art and Figure version of these presentations contains
all art from the textbook for which Pearson has been granted electronic permissions.
Both sets of PowerPoint slides are available for download at the instructor’s resource center at
www.pearsonhighered.com/irc, as well as on the Instructor’s Resource DVD (ISBN 0205854397).

ACCESSING ALL RESOURCES for Zimbardo/Johnson/McCann, Seventh Edition:
For a list of all student resources available with Zimbardo/Johnson/McCann, go to

www.mypearsonstore.com, enter the text ISBN (0205183468) and check out the “Everything That Goes
With It” section under the book cover.
For access to the instructor supplements for Zimbardo/Johnson/McCann, Psychology: Core

Concepts, Seventh Edition, simply go to http://pearsonhighered.com/irc and follow the directions to
register (or log in if you already have a Pearson user name and password).
Once you have registered and your status as an instructor is verified, you will be e-mailed a login name
and password. Use your login name and password to access the catalogue. Click on the “online catalogue”
link, click on “psychology” followed by “introductory psychology” and then the
Zimbardo/Johnson/McCann Psychology: Core Concepts, Seventh Edition text. Under the description of
each supplement is a link that allows you to download and save the supplement to your desktop.
For technical support for any of your Pearson products, you and your students can contact
http://247.pearsoned.com.


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INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

▼ FULL CHAPTER RESOURCES

5.1 LECTURE OUTLINE: What is Memory?

I. Metaphors for Memory

Chapter 5: Memory Page 251

II. Memory’s Three Basic Tasks

PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: Would You Want a “Photographic” Memory? (text p. 175)

5.2 HOW DO WE FORM MEMORIES? (text p. 177)

Chapter 5: Memory Page 252

➢ The Value of Chunking (p. 285)

5.2 LECTURE OUTLINE: How do We Form Memories? (text p. 177)

I. The First Stage: Sensory Memory

1. The Capacity and Duration of Sensory Memory

A. The Structure and Function of Sensory Memory

Chapter 5: Memory Page 253

B. The Biological Basis of Sensory Memory

II. The Second Stage: Working Memory

A. The Capacity and Duration of Working Memory

1. Chunks and Chunking

2. The Role of Rehearsal

Chapter 5: Memory Page 254

➢ Repetition is not an efficient way to transfer information to long-term storage; a better

B. The Structure and Functioning of Working Memory

1. The Central Executive

2. Acoustical Coding: the Phonological Loop

3. Visual and Spatial Encoding: The Sketchpad

4. Binding Information Together: The Episodic Buffer

C. Levels of Processing in Working Memory

D. The Biological Basis of Working Memory

III. The Third Stage: Long-Term Memory

Chapter 5: Memory Page 255

A. The Capacity and Duration of Long-term Memory

B. The Structure and function of Long-Term Memory

Chapter 5: Memory Page 256

C. The Biological Basis of Long-Term Memory

1. Parts of the Brain Associated with Long-Term Memory

2. Memories, Neurons and Synapses

Chapter 5: Memory Page 257

➢ During this consolidation processes, memories are especially vulnerable to interference

5.3 HOW DO WE RETRIEVE MEMORIES?

5.3 LECTURE OUTLINE: How Do We Retrieve Memories? (text p. 190)

I. Implicit and Explicit Memory

Chapter 5: Memory Page 258

II. Retrieval Cues

A. Retrieving Implicit Memories by Priming

B. Retrieving Explicit Memories

2. Recall and Recognition

III. Other Factors Affecting Retrieval

Chapter 5: Memory Page 259

information was encoded and elaborated to make it meaningful.

B. Mood and Memory

PSYCHOLOGY MATTERS: On the Tip of Your Tongue (text p. 194)

5.4 WHY DOES MEMORY SOMETIMES FAIL US? (text p. 195)

5.4 CORE CONCEPT

I. “Sin” #1 Transience: Fading Memories Cause Forgetting

A. Ebbinghaus and the Forgetting Curve

Chapter 5: Memory Page 261

3. The Serial Position Effect