University of Phoenix Material

Memory Worksheet

Respond to the following questions in 100 to 150 words each.

1. What is primary memory? What are the characteristics of primary memory?

Primary memory can be considered the brain’s short term memory storage, and it is also known as working memory. It comes into play just after a person’s awareness narrows on certain environmental sensory data (most external data is filtered out of awareness). It is defined by the duration and the amounts of data in which it stores at any given time, which as the term short term memory implies is rather short and brief. Using the computer analogy for memory if long term memory is the hard drive for experiences then the primary memory can be viewed as the ram due to the fact that it is supposed to only hold current and relevant information for a present task.

2. What is the process of memory from perception to retrieval? What happens when the process is compromised?

First we retrieve information from sensory data and turn it into meaningful interpretations. Processing information into memory is called encoding. There is a type of encoding process for each of the sensory modalities (visual, auditory, taste, touch). Structural encoding focuses on what words look like, phonemic encoding focuses on how words sound. The encoding process is largely automatic. Next is the storage of information, which is stored sequentially in three memory systems: sensory memory (incoming sensory information in detail but only for an instant), short-term memory (holds information for approximately twenty seconds, longer with rehearsal), and long-term memory (almost infinite capacity and for a lifetime under normal circumstances). The final portion of memory is the retrieval of information; the process of getting information out of memory via Retrieval cues, association and context. In the simplest and most common experience of the memory being compromised is forgetting. Which is when we have a difficult time retrieving information.

3. Is it possible for memory retrieval to be unreliable? Why or why not? What factors may affect the reliability of one’s memory?

Memory retrieval can often be very unreliable. We have a habit of constructing new elements into our memories which is why witness testimony can be very misleading; British psychologist Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett found that research participants changed the story as they tried to remember it - a process called distortion. Also, it is possible for new memories to interfere with old one, causing confusion and misinterpretation. Interference theory is theory regarding human memory. Interference occurs in learning when there is an interaction between the new material and transfer effects of past learned behavior, memories or thoughts that have a negative influence in comprehending the new material. Age is another factor as even thought all of the aspects of aging that effect ones memory are still unknown, there is a correlation between age and a person’s declining memory.