Unit 4 – Cognition, Memory and Language
Unit 4 – Cognition, Memory and Language
Memory is the ability to encode, store and recall information. Encoding allows the perceived item of interest to be converted and stored within the brain, and then recalled later from short-term or long-term memory. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded:
1. Visual (picture)
2. Acoustic (sound)
3. Semantic (meaning)
An example of encoding is memorizing notecards.
Storage is the process of retaining information in the brain, whether in the sensory memory, the short-term memory or the more permanent long-term memory. Sensory memory is the awareness of stimuli without paying conscious attention, and it preserves information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second (Weiten, 1998). An example of sensory memory is an afterimage of a sparkler. Short-term memory has a limited duration and a limited capacity, believed to be about seven pieces of information. Long-term memory has an unlimited capacity and a very long duration; it is virtually limitless. Recall/Retrieve of memory refers to the re-accessing of events or information from the past, which have been previously encoded and stored in the brain. An example of recall is remembering someone from your child hood that you have not seen in a while, and you see them in the grocery store. They walk up to you and ask if you went to Poe Elementary, which quickly reminds you of them and your brain is able to search and retrieved this person’s name.
Proactive interference is the forgetting information due to interference from the traces of events or learning that occurred prior to the materials to be remembered. Retroactive interference happens when newly learned information interferes with and impedes the recall of previously learned information. Using the principle of multimedia learning will reduce interference because there are more associations or paths to cue recall than if only one modality had
Memory is the ability to encode, store and recall information. Encoding allows the perceived item of interest to be converted and stored within the brain, and then recalled later from short-term or long-term memory. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded:
1. Visual (picture)
2. Acoustic (sound)
3. Semantic (meaning)
An example of encoding is memorizing notecards.
Storage is the process of retaining information in the brain, whether in the sensory memory, the short-term memory or the more permanent long-term memory. Sensory memory is the awareness of stimuli without paying conscious attention, and it preserves information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second (Weiten, 1998). An example of sensory memory is an afterimage of a sparkler. Short-term memory has a limited duration and a limited capacity, believed to be about seven pieces of information. Long-term memory has an unlimited capacity and a very long duration; it is virtually limitless. Recall/Retrieve of memory refers to the re-accessing of events or information from the past, which have been previously encoded and stored in the brain. An example of recall is remembering someone from your child hood that you have not seen in a while, and you see them in the grocery store. They walk up to you and ask if you went to Poe Elementary, which quickly reminds you of them and your brain is able to search and retrieved this person’s name.
Proactive interference is the forgetting information due to interference from the traces of events or learning that occurred prior to the materials to be remembered. Retroactive interference happens when newly learned information interferes with and impedes the recall of previously learned information. Using the principle of multimedia learning will reduce interference because there are more associations or paths to cue recall than if only one modality had
References: Weiten, W. (1998). Psychology: Themes and Variations. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing. Retrieved from website: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwpapajl/evolution/assign2/HBB/modmem1.html Bowles, H. Models of Memory. Retrieved from website: http://www.massey.ac.nz/~wwpapajl/evolution/assign2/HBB/modmem1.html