Stages of Memory

Encoding Storage and Retrieval

“Memory is the process of maintaining information over time.” (Matlin, 2005)
“Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use
this information in the present’ (Sternberg, 1999).
Memory is the term given to the structures and processes involved in the storage
and subsequent retrieval of information.
Memory is essential to all our lives. Without a memory of the past we cannot
operate in the present or think about the future. We would not be able to
remember what we did yesterday, what we have done today or what we plan to
do tomorrow. Without memory we could not learn anything.
Memory is involved in processing vast amounts of information. This information
takes many different forms, e.g. images, sounds or meaning.
For psychologists the term memory covers three important aspects of information
processing:

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1. Memory Encoding
When information comes into our memory system (from sensory input), it needs
to be changed into a form that the system can cope with, so that it can be stored.
Think of this as similar to changing your money into a different currency when
you travel from one country to another. For example, a word which is seen (in a
book) may be stored if it is changed (encoded) into a sound or a meaning (i.e.
semantic processing).
There are three main ways in which information can be encoded (changed):
1. Visual (picture)
2. Acoustic (sound)
3. Semantic (meaning)
For example, how do you remember a telephone number you have looked up in
the phone book? If you can see it then you are using visual coding, but if you are
repeating it to yourself you are using acoustic coding (by sound).
Evidence suggests that this is the principle coding system in short term memory
(STM) is acoustic coding. When a person is presented with a list of numbers and
letters, they will try to hold them in STM by rehearsing them (verbally).
Rehearsal is a verbal process regardless of whether the list of items is presented
acoustically (someone reads them out), or visually (on a sheet of paper).
The principle encoding system in long term memory (LTM) appears to be
semantic coding (by meaning). However, information in LTM can also be coded
both visually and acoustically.

2. Memory Storage
This concerns the nature of memory stores, i.e. where the information is stored,
how long the memory lasts for (duration), how much can be stored at any time
(capacity) and what kind of information is held. The way we store information
affects the way we retrieve it. There has been a significant amount of research
regarding the differences between Short Term Memory (STM ) and Long Term
Memory (LTM).
Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory. Miller
(1956) put this idea forward and he called it the magic number 7. He though that

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short-term memory capacity was 7 (plus or minus 2) items because it only had a
certain number of “slots” in which items could be stored.
However, Miller didn’t specify the amount of information that can be held in
each slot. Indeed, if we can “chunk” information together we can store a lot
more information in our short-term memory. In contrast the capacity of LTM is
thought to be unlimited.
Information can only be stored for a brief duration in STM (0-30 seconds), but
LTM can last a lifetime.

3. Memory Retrieval
This refers to getting information out storage. If we can’t remember something,
it may be because we are unable to retrieve it. When we are asked to retrieve
something from memory, the differences between STM and LTM become very
clear.
STM is stored and retrieved sequentially. For example, if a group of participants
are given a list of words to remember, and then asked to recall the fourth word on
the list, participants go through the list in the order they heard it in order to
retrieve the information.
LTM is stored and retrieved by association. This is why you can remember what
you went upstairs for if you go back to the room where you first thought about it.
Organizing information can help aid retrieval. You can organize information in
sequences (such as alphabetically, by size or by time). Imagine a patient being
discharged from hospital whose treatment involved taking various pills at various
times, changing their dressing and doing exercises. If the doctor gives these
instructions in the order which they must be carried out throughout the day (i.e.
in sequence of time), this will help the patient remember them.

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Criticisms of Memory Experiments
A large part of the research on memory is based on experiments conducted in
laboratories. Those who take part in the experiments - the participants - are
asked to perform tasks such as recalling lists of words and numbers. Both the
setting - the laboratory - and the tasks are a long way from everyday life. In
many cases, the setting is artificial and the tasks fairly meaningless. Does this
matter?
Psychologists use the term ecological validity to refer to the extent to which the
findings of research studies can be generalized to other settings. An experiment
has high ecological validity if its findings can be generalized, that is applied or
extended, to settings outside the laboratory.
It is often assumed that if an experiment is realistic or true-to-life, then there is a
greater likelihood that its findings can be generalized. If it is not realistic (if the
laboratory setting and the tasks are artificial) then there is less likelihood that the
findings can be generalized. In this case, the experiment will have low
ecological validity.
Many experiments designed to investigate memory have been criticized for
having low ecological validity. First, the laboratory is an artificial situation.
People are removed from their normal social settings and asked to take part in a
psychological experiment. They are directed by an 'experimenter' and may be
placed in the company of complete strangers. For many people, this is a brand
new experience, far removed from their everyday lives. Will this setting affect
their actions, will they behave normally?
Often, the tasks participants are asked to perform can appear artificial and
meaningless. Few, if any, people would attempt to memorize and recall a list of
unconnected words in their daily lives. And it is not clear how tasks such as this
relate to the use of memory in everyday life. The artificiality of many
experiments has led some researchers to question whether their findings can be
generalized to real life. As a result, many memory experiments have been
criticized for having low ecological validity.

The Multi-Store Model

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The multistore model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin and is a
structural model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: sensory
register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Information
passes from store to store in a linear way. Both STM and LTM are unitary stores.

Sensory memory is the information you get from your sense, your eyes and ears.
When attention is paid to something in the environment it is then converted to
short-term memory.
If any information is not important then it decays or disappears. Once in the short
term memory informed can be rehearsed and some information is rehearsed and
then passed into long term memory.
Each store has its own characteristics in terms of encoding, capacity and
duration.
 Encoding is the way information is changed so that it can be stored in the
memory. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded
(changed): 1. visual (picture), 2. acoustic (sound), 3. semantic (meaning).
 Capacity concerns how much information can be stored.
 Duration refers to the period of time information can last in the memory
stores.

Sensory Register
• Duration: ¼ to ½ second
• Capacity: all sensory experience (v. larger capacity)
• Encoding: sense specific (e.g. different stores for each sense)

Short Term Memory

• Duration: 0-18 seconds
• Capacity: 7 +/- 2 items

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 • Encoding: mainly acoustic

Long Term Memory

• Duration: Unlimited
• Capacity: Unlimited
• Encoding: Mainly semantic (but can be visual and acoustic)

Types of Long Term Memory

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One of the earliest and most influential distinctions of long term memory was
proposed by Tulving (1972). He proposed a distinction between episodic,
semantic and procedural memory.

o Procedural memory is a part of the long-term memory is responsible for

knowing how to do things, i.e. memory of motor skills. It does not involve
conscious (i.e. it’s unconscious - automatic) thought and is not
declarative. For example, procedural memory would involve knowledge
of how to ride a bicycle.

o Semantic memory is a part of the long-term memory responsible for

storing information about the world. This includes knowledge about the
meaning of words, as well as general knowledge. For example, London is
the capital of England. It involves conscious thought and is declarative.

o Episodic memory is a part of the long-term memory responsible for

storing information about events (i.e. episodes) that we have experienced
in our lives. It involves conscious thought and is declarative. An example
would be a memory of our 1st day at school.

Cohen and Squire (1980) drew a distinction between declarative knowledge and
procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge involves “knowing how” to do
things. It included skills, such as “knowing how” to playing the piano, ride a
bike; tie your shoes and other motor skills. It does not involve conscious thought
(i.e. it’s unconscious - automatic) . For example, we brush our teeth with little or
no awareness of the skills involved.
Whereas, declarative knowledge involves “knowing that”, for example London is
the capital of England, zebras are animals, your mums birthday etc. Recalling

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information from declarative memory involves some degree of conscious effort –
information is consciously brought to mind and “declared”.
The knowledge that we hold in semantic and episodic memories focuses on
“knowing that” something is the case (i.e. declarative). For example, we might
have a semantic memory for knowing that Paris is the capital of France, and we
might have an episodic memory for knowing that we caught the bus to college
today.

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Evidence for the distinction between declarative and procedural memory has
come from research on patients with amnesia. Typically, amnesic patients have
great difficulty in retaining episodic and semantic information following the
onset of amnesia.
Their memory for events and knowledge acquired before the onset of the
condition tends to remain intact, but they can’t store new episodic or semantic
memories. In other words, it appears that their ability to retain declarative
information is impaired.
However, their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected. They can
recall skills they have already learned (e.g. riding a bike) and acquire new skills
(e.g. learning to drive).

Eyewitness Testimony
→ Misleading Information | Anxiety

Misleading Information
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Loftus and Palmer investigated how misleading information could distort
eyewitness testimony accounts.
Procedure: Forty-five American students formed an opportunity sample. This
was a laboratory experiment with five conditions, only one of which was
experienced by each participant (an independent measures experimental design).
Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and
asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They were
then asked specific questions, including the question “About how fast were the
cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted ) each other?”

Findings: The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied
information about the speed, which systematically affected the participants’
memory of the accident.
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Participants who were asked the “smashed” question thought the cars were going
faster than those who were asked the “hit” question. The participants in the
“smashed” condition reported the highest speeds, followed by “collided”,
“bumped”, “hit”, and “contacted” in descending order.