The Psychology of Human Memory

The Psychology of Human Memory presents a comprehensive discussion on the principles of human memory. The book is primarily concerned with theories and experiments on the acquisition and use of information. Topics on theoretical ideas that formed the basis for the earliest studies of memory; memory processes; aspects of association theory; capacity limitations; coding processes; types of memories; and applied memory research are also tackled. Psychologists, educators, psychiatrists, and students will find the book a good reference material.

Contents

1 Introduction and Overview

Topic Questions

What is Memory?

Memory Processes

Acquisition

Retention

Retrieval

Memory Structures

Sensory Memory

Short-Term Memory

Long-Term Memory

Levels of Processing

Theoretical Approaches to Memory

Associationism

Cognitive Psychology

Information Processing

The Search for Memory

Chapter Summary

2 Long-term Memory and the Ebbinghaus Tradition

Topic Questions

Historical Background

The British Associationists

Ebbinghaus and the Nonsense Syllable

Procedures in Verbal Learning

Methods of Learning

Measures of Retention

Recall versus Recognition

Interference in Memory

Decay versus Interference

And So to Sleep

The Status of Decay Theory

Varieties of Interference

The RI Paradigm

The PI Paradigm

Context-Dependent Memory

Acquisition and Interference

Stage Analysis of Interference Tasks

Transfer Experiments and Similarity

Interference and Ordinary Forgetting

Chapter Summary

3 Associations and Forgetting in long-term Memory

Topic Questions

Interference Theories of Forgetting

Research Strategy

Response Competition

Unlearning

Unlearning as Extinction

Testing the Two-Factor Theory

Some Problems for Factor X

Measuring Unlearning

Evaluation of the Two-Factor Theory

Elaborations and Amendments to Interference Theory

Response Set Interference

Stimulus Encoding Variability

Interference and Forgetting: Conclusions

The Concept of Mediation

Natural Language Mediation

Image Mediation and Mnemonics

Organization in Free Recall

Associative Clustering

Category Clustering

Organization: Storage or Recall?

Mediation and Organization: Conclusions

Chapter Summary

4 Meaning and Knowledge: Studies of Semantic Memory

Topic Questions

The Bartlett Tradition: Reconstructive Memory

Memory and Meaning: Another Look at Interference

Memory for Themes

Inference in Memory

Studies of Semantic Integration

Imagery and Inference

The Role of Context in Thematic Memory

Organization in Memory

The TOT Phenomenon

A Case of Impaired Memory Search

Models of Semantic Memory

A Network Model of Semantic Memory

Human Associative Memory (HAM)

A Semantic Features Model

Spreading Activation within a Network Model

Episodic and Semantic Memory Revisited

The Intelligent Computer

Constructive Memory: A Model that Reasons

The Talking Computer 128

Another Look at Inference: Script and Text Processing

Chapter Summary

5 Coding Processes: I. Sensory MemorY

Topic Questions

A Memory System: Structure versus Process

A Structural Model of Memory

A Process Model of Memory

The First Stage: Sensory Memory

Visual Sensory Memory

How Much Can We See in a Glance?

The Duration of Iconic Memory

The Content of Iconic Memory

Interpretations of Iconic Memory

Auditory Sensory Memory

The Cocktail Party Problem

The Duration of Echoic Memory

The Content of Echoic Memory

Sensory Memory and a Process Model

Chapter Summary

6 Coding Processes: II. Attention and Capacity

Topic Questions

Aspects of Attention

Definitions of Attention

Some Limits on Attention: Back to the Cocktail Party

Two Concepts of Selective Attention

The Early Experiments

Shadowing Experiments

Split-Span Experiments

Time-Sharing Models of Attention

Broadbent's Filter Theory

An Attenuating Filter

Further Evidence

Capacity Models of Attention

It Takes Attention to Pay Attention

What Requires Capacity?

Flexibility and Task Demands

Data-Limited versus Resource-Limited Processes

Early versus Late Selection: Take Your Choice

Chapter Summary

7 Short-Term Memory

Topic Questions

Approaches to Short-Term Memory

Consciousness and Primary Memory

Short-Term Memory as a Structural Store

Process Views of Memory

The Duplex Hypothesis

The Capacity of Short-Term Memory

Retrieval from Short-Term Memory

The Content of Short-Term Memory 253

Acoustic Confusions in Short-Term Memory

Acoustic versus Articulatory Coding

Coding Formats in Short- versus Long-Term Memory

Forgetting in Short-Term Memory

Distractor Tasks

Serial Probe Tasks

Serial Position Effects

Chapter Summary

8 Levels of Processing and Mental Representation

Topic Questions

Levels of Processing

Depth of Processing and Retention

Task Demands and Depth of Processing

Rehearsal Revisited

Elaboration and Retrieval of Memory Codes: Amendments to the Framework

Elaboration and Spread of Encoding

Encoding Distinctiveness

Encoding Specificity and Compatibility

Depth and Attentional Resources

The Status of Short-Term Memory

Memory Deficits Following Brain Damage

A Concluding View of Short-Term Memory

Visual Memory

The Early Confrontation

Studies of Picture Memory and Mental Rotation

Concepts of Visual Imagery

Dual-Coding versus Abstract Coding

Detection in Memory: An Extended Analogy

Signal Detection Theory

Back to Recognition Memory

Chapter Summary

9 Memory Research on Applied Problems

Topic Questions

Eyewitness Testimony

Estimator Variables

System Variables

Learning How to Learn

Knowing About Remembering

What Children Know About Knowing

Strategies for Remembering

Overcoming Short-Term Memory

Mnemonics

Meaningful Organization

Individual Differences and Memory

An Extraordinary Memory

Abilities and the Functions of Memory

Aging and Memory

Memory Constraints and Modern Technology

Capacity and Processing Limitations

Sleep and Biological Rhythms

Chapter Summary

References

Name Index

Subject Index