Introduction to Memory
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Explicit | 外显 | wài xiǎn |
| episodic | 情景 | qíng jǐng |
| semantic | 语义 | yǔ yì |
| Implicit | 内隐 | nèi yǐn |
| procedural | 程序性 | chéng xù xìng |
| Long-term potentiation | 长时程增强 | zhǎng shí chéng zēng qiáng |
| multi-store model | 多重存储模型 | duō zhòng cún chǔ mó xíng |
| sensory memory | 感觉记忆 | gǎn jué jì yì |
| iconic | 图像记忆 | tú xiàng jì yì |
| echoic | 声像记忆 | shēng xiàng jì yì |
| working memory model | 工作记忆模型 | gōng zuò jì yì mó xíng |
| levels of processing model | 加工水平模型 | jiā gōng shuǐ píng mó xíng |
| structural | 结构 | jié gòu |
| phonemic | 音位 | yīn wèi |
You can ride a bicycle but not describe how
- Some memories can be put into words; others can only be performed.
- That is the first clue that memory is not one system.
- This topic names the systems and the models that describe them.
Kinds of memory
- Explicit 外显 memories can be consciously stated: episodic 情景 (events) and semantic 语义 (facts).
- Implicit 内隐 memories cannot: procedural 程序性 skills and conditioned responses.
- Memories differ by how they are processed, stored and retrieved — not by how important they feel.
Explicit or implicit?
Sort each memory by whether it can be consciously stated.
Select all that are explicit memories.
Riding a bicycle is procedural, and procedural memories are implicit.
What a memory is, physically
- Long-term potentiation 长时程增强 is the process by which synaptic connections strengthen with repeated firing.
- It is the biological account of why practice works.
- A memory is a changed connection, not an object stored somewhere.
Long-term potentiation refers to...
LTP is the biological account of why repeated practice makes a memory stick.
The three memory models are not rivals to be ranked. The CED presents them as different descriptions of the same system, and an answer that says one is "correct" and the others "wrong" has misread what a model is for.
Order the levels of processing from shallowest to deepest.
Deeper processing produces the more durable memory, which is why meaning beats repetition.
Brief sensory memory for sound is called ____ memory.
Echoic memory holds sound; iconic memory holds a visual image.
Three models of the same thing
- The multi-store model 多重存储模型 proposes sensory memory 感觉记忆 (including iconic 图像记忆 and echoic 声像记忆), short-term and long-term stores.
- The working memory model 工作记忆模型 treats the primary system as active, not a passive store.
- The levels of processing model 加工水平模型 says depth matters: structural 结构 (shallowest), phonemic 音位, then semantic 语义 (deepest).
The CED presents the three memory models as rivals, one of which is correct.
They are different descriptions of the same system, each useful for a different question.
Choosing which model to use
- Use the multi-store model when a question is about where information sits and for how long.
- Use the working memory model when it is about what the mind is doing with information right now.
- Use levels of processing when it is about why one study method beat another.
Two students study the same list. One repeats the words aloud (phonemic), the other writes a sentence using each one (semantic). The second remembers more — not because she worked longer, but because levels of processing predicts deeper encoding lasts.
Memory splits into explicit (episodic, semantic) and implicit (procedural). Long-term potentiation is its physical basis. The multi-store, working memory and levels of processing models each describe the same system from a different angle.