PSY101 Lecture 23

Recap
• Cognitive approach to learning

• The contribution of Wolfgang Kohler
• Learning by insight
• Tolman’s Latent learning experiments
• Latent learning and cognitive maps
• Application of latent learning in real life
situations: for animals as well as humans
• Observational learning
• Application of observational learning in real
life situations
Ask yourself:
• What happens next once we have learnt
something?
• How come the learnt material stays with
us?
• Why do we forget telephone numbers
learnt for calling our favorite TV host,
once we have made a call?
• Why don’t we forget the multiplication
tables learnt at school?
• Why does it take longer to learn a
subject we do not like, and learn quickly
All these questions relate to
memory and allied issues;
Like long and short term memory, and
the role if interest and attention
Memory
• Usually considered as the storehouse of
information alone, but it is more than just
that
• Memory is the process of encoding,
storing and retrieving information
Woodworth defined memory as;
Memory = L- I - R
Where;
o“L” is the act of “ learning”
o“I” the time duration between the act of
learning and remembering; and
o“R” the act of “ remembering”
The recollection and reinstatement of the
past experiences is a part of memory, in which
the new conscious experiences also are, or
may be, added all the time
Storage
Encoding Retrieval
Memory
Encoding
• The process of initial recording of
information; information is recorded in
such a form that is ready for use by our
memory any time
Storage
• Information saved in the memory has to
be maintained in an identifiable form;
this is the storage part of the memory
processes
Retrieval
• The information recorded and stored is

approached, located, brought into
awareness, and used; this is the memory
retrieval system
The Memory Storage Systems:
Memory Storehouses
Sensory
Memory
Short-term
Memory
Long- term
Memory
The Memory Storage Systems: Memory
Storehouses
Sensory Short-term Long- term

Memory Memory Memory
These three are not separate , mutually
exclusive entities found in separate brain
centers;
These differ in terms of the functions
they perform and their capacity for
retaining information for a specific period
of time i.e., for how long can they keep the
information stored
 These are abstract divisions on the basis
of their primary characteristics
Sensory Memory:
Storage of memory lasting for a while; this is
the initial momentary stage
The person’s sensory system records
information as a raw and nonmeaningful
stimulus :
 e.g a fly that sat on your nose in the park this
morning, the sound of the car that passed by you,
or the feel of the dry leaf that landed on your
head when you were waiting for the bus
Types of Sensory Memories
Iconic
Memory
Echoic
Memory
Memories
related to
other senses
Iconic Memory :
The information gathered by our visual sense is
reflected by the iconic memory; memory in the
visual domain
Echoic Memory :
The information coming from our auditory
sense is dealt with by the echoic memory;
memory for sounds
Sensory memory is short lived. Ranging
from just about one second to a few seconds,
its duration depends upon the intensity of the
stimulus too.
Iconic memory may fade in less than a
second, whereas the echoic memory may last
for 3-4 seconds
The stimuli that have a high intensity may
stay for a bit longer
Sensory memory is like a temporary
image that may vanish forever, and may be
replaced by another if it is not shifted to
another processing system or memory
storehouse
The representation of the world around us
captured by sensory memory is relatively
complete, full, and detailed
Short-term Memory
This system is higher in functioning than sensory
memory, as it stores information in terms of
meaning and not just simple sensory stimulation
Sensory information is meaningless and therefore
discarded
 If it is sent to the short term memory then a
meaning is added to it
Since now it is meaningful it will be retained,
though for not very long
Short-term memory retains information for 15 to
25 seconds , unless moved into the long- term
How is sensory memory
transformed into short term
memory?
• The exact process is not yet clearly known
• Main theories:
a) The transformation takes place when
the
sensory stimulus is converted into
words
b) The transformation takes place after
the
sensory information is converted into
Chunking and the capacity of
Short-term memory
• The information stored in short-term
memory is in the form of a single unit,
comprising several chunks
• A chunk is an understandable or
meaningful set or grouping of stimuli e.g
“001023” learnt as
• “0 0 1 0 2 3” or “00 10 23”
• Short-term memory can carry seven
chunks at a time on average; the capacity
may be two more or two less than seven;
Chunking is a process whereby the items
to be learnt are configured by grouping them
considering their similarity, or combining them
into larger patterns based upon information
residing in long-term memory , or on the basis
of some other principle of organization
For example see “111222333444”;
You do not usually learn it as
“11 12 22 33 34 44” .
But as “111 222 333 444”.
Or even as :
“triple one triple two, triple three, triple
four”
No restrictions on the size of the chunks
The Role of Rehearsal in Short-
term memory
• How can short-term memory be more

effective, considering its limited capacity?
•If the material in the short-term memory is
rehearsed, or repeated, it may enter the long-term
memory; but not necessarily, not always e.g
learning someone’s e mail address, or a phone
number.
The information may be with you just temporarily

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU GET OUT
OF THE EXAMINATION ROOM?
CAN YOU TAKE THE SAME TEST

AGAIN, SOON AFTER YOU HAVE JUST
FINISHED IT?
Several repetitions help retain information
in the short-term memory but do not ensure its
admittance to long-term memory
For transferring short-term memory
information into long-term memory we need
other aids and processes like elaborative
rehearsal and mnemonics
Elaborative Rehearsal
• A technique or process whereby the
material to be learnt or remembered is
elaborated upon in order to improve
encoding of information
• The information is organized in a

manner easy to be stored or encoded
Examples of Elaborative
Rehearsal
• Imagining a relationship that strengthens the
association between material to be learnt e.g
learning a new name by relating it to an emperor
with the same name
• The information may be expanded to fit into an
already
• existing logical framework e.g learning a car’s
number “2346” by considering the relationship
i.e., 23x2=46
•Making a story line also helps e.g “foot-in-the-door”
•Forming a mental image can also be used e.g if you forgot

to make a list of toiletries to be bought from the super
market, you can simply imagine your toilet from corner to
corner and see what items are required for which point
Mnemonics
• Strategies used for organizing material to be

learnt in such a way that encoding and
recall is facilitated
• These are short, verbal devices that help
form association between material to be
learnt and material that is familiar and is
already stored in memory
Mnemonics
• Method of loci: Associating names, people, or

objects to be remembered with places you are
familiar with e.g. you have to learn names of
six famous people. You mentally place each
one in separate room of your home. For
learning you start, mentally, and enter from the
main door and using the way you usually do
you find one person in one room. The same is
repeated for recall
• Ancient Greeks used this method. loci is the

plural of locus i.e., place
Acrostic-like Mnemonic
• Learning material by using the first
letter of each word to be learnt as a cue
e.g BODMAS, or USA, or MIS
Acronym Mnemonics
• Each letter in a word to be retained in
memory represents a name or familiar piece
of information e.g Joseph L.D can be learnt
with reference to your friends Javed,
Omer,Sana, Ehsan,Pasha, Hassan who live in
Lahore’s Defence
• Or the famous example by Zimbardo and
Gerrig; Roy G.Biv can be associated with the
colors in the spectrum i.e., red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
Short-term Memory As Working
Memory
• Short-term memory is not a single system
but a process that consists of a number of
components
• Alan Baddeley’s Theory:
• Short-term memory is a three-part working
memory’
Components of Working Memory
Central Executive:
coordination of
Visuospatial sketch pad:
material to focus on
concentrates upon visual
during reasoning and
and spatial information
decision making;
two sub components
Phonological loop:
holds and manipulates
material related to speech,
words, and numbers

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Recap

• Cognitive approach to learning

• The information recorded and stored is

Sensory Short-term Long- term

• How can short-term memory be more

The information may be with you just temporarily

CAN YOU TAKE THE SAME TEST

• The information is organized in a

•Forming a mental image can also be used e.g if you forgot

• Strategies used for organizing material to be

• Method of loci: Associating names, people, or

• Ancient Greeks used this method. loci is the

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