The Way The Mind Works

1. The Way The Mind Works

2. Thinking Directed: Logical and goal oriented Given a problem with guidance to solve Non directed: Free flowing thoughts Day dreaming, no guidance

3. Problem Solving Associative: Hit or miss. Behavior is learned from past attempts. Cognitive: Trial and error basis. Mental reorganization of problem until solution is drawn. Person learns through attempts of what works and what doesn’t.

4. Memory 3 types Sensory- comes from 5 senses. Iconic,(visual)lasts 0.03 seconds and Echoic, (auditory) lasts 2-3 secs. Short Term- Conscious process of info,(working memory) can hold more with Chunking. Long Term- once memory goesthrough sensory and short term, its now in long term. Episodic, (personal experience); Semantic, (general knowledge). Lasts years, or forever. *Chunking is unit of info (ex; a phone #)*

5. 3 R’s of Remembering: • Retrieval: How you get information stored in your brain, out. Requires complex organization • Recognition: retrieval in which items are presented to a person who must determine if they were previously encountered (is it familiar?) • Recall: active reconstruction of information, reconstruct memory and use specific facts

6. Sensory Memory • Echoic memory • Sensory memory for auditory input that lasts only 2 to 3 seconds • Why do we need sensory memory?

7. Short-term Memory • Function • Conscious processing of information • Attention is the key • Limits what info comes under the spotlight of short-term memory at any given time • AKA working memory Sensory Memory Working or Short-term Memory Attention Sensory Input

8. Short-term Memory • Limited capacity • Can hold 7 ± 2 items for about 20 seconds • Maintenance rehearsal • The use of repetition to keep info in short-term memory • CHUNK • Meaningful unit of information • Without rehearsal, we remember 4 ± 2 chunks • With rehearsal, we remember 7 ± 2 chunks • Ericsson & Chase (1982) 89319443492502157841668506120948888568772731418610546297480129497496592280

9. Memory Stages: Encoding:info received through 5 senses. Central Processing: info stored in brain Retrieval: ideas or actions resulting from memory. *Eventually things are forgotten when they are of no use.*

10. Memory Encoding Selective Attention: Focus on what is interesting Feature Extract:Focus on most important info

11. Long-term Memory • Once information passes from sensory to short-term memory, it can be encoded into long-term memory Retrieval Encoding Sensory Memory Attention Working or Short-term Memory Long-term memory Sensory Input

12. Long-term memory - Encoding • Elaborative rehearsal • A technique for transferring information into long-term memory by thinking about it in a deeper way • Levels of processing • Semantic is more effective than visual or acoustic processing • Craik & Tulving (1975) • Self-referent effect • By viewing new info as relevant to the self, we consider that info more fully and are better able to recall it

13. 3 R’s of Remembering Retrieval:how info gets stored in the brain Recognition:brain process to see if it is familiar Recall: active reconstruction of info

14. Long-term memory • Procedural (Implicit) • Memories of behaviors, skills, etc. • Demonstrated through behavior • Declarative (Explicit) • Memories of facts • Episodic – personal experiences tied to places & time • Semantic – general knowledge • Semantic network

15. Retrieval • Retrieval • Process that controls flow of information from long-term to working memory store • Explicit memory • The types of memory elicited through the conscious retrieval of recollections in response to direct questions • Implicit memory • A nonconscious recollection of a prior experience that is revealed indirectly, by its effects on performance

16. Retrieval – Explicit Memory • Context-Dependent Memory • We are more successful at retrieving memories if we are in the same environment in which we stored them • State-Dependent Memory • We are more successful at retrieving memories if we are in the same mood as when we stored them

17. Retrieval – Implicit Memory • Showing knowledge of something without recognizing that we know it • Research with amnesics • Déjà vu • The illusion that a new situation is familiar • Eyewitness testimony • Eyewitness transference • Unintentional plagiarism

18. Memory Loss Disorders Amnesia- loss of memory due to trauma or injury. Alzheimer’s- brain deteriorates due to age and progression of disease.

19. QUESTION • How Many of you feel these notes are familiar? • What is the definition of the retrieval method of Recognition?

20. Memory failure • Confabulation: filling in the gaps in memory, sometimes remembering information that was never there • Relearning: having to rehearse already learned information, (implicit memory) • Amnesia: inability to recall information often from brain trama • Déjà vu: illusion that a new situation is familiar. In a way, déjà vu is the opposite of amnesia. Whereas amnesics have memories without awareness or familiarity, the person with déjà vu has a sense of familiarity but no real memory. Estimates vary, but between 30 and 96% of people report having had such an episode.

21. Interference theory • Forgetting is a result of some memories interfering with others • Proactive interference • Old memories interfere with ability to remember new memories • Retroactive interference • New memories interfere with ability to remember old memories • Interference is stronger when material is similar

22. Memory Construction • Schema theory • Preconceptions about persons, objects, or events that bias the way new information is interpreted and recalled • Misinformation effect • The tendency to incorporate false postevent information into one’s memory of the event itself • Illusory memories • People sometimes create memories that are completely false

23. Improving Memory • Practice time • Distribute your studying over time • Depth of processing • Spend ‘quality’ time studying • Verbal mnemonics • Use rhyming or acronyms to reduce the amount of info to be stored