3. When a lasting memory is formed and used, certain activities must take place.
a. Encoding/storage.
b. Maintenance, which can be affected by:.
i. interference.
ii. decay, or inability to access.
c. Retrieval, which is affected by the brain's tendency to infer, and can take place as:.
i. recall, in which memories must be reassembled.
ii. recognition, in which brain only forms a connection.
C. In general, the brain's system for creating and using memories is very effective, but problems often occur.
II. Memory problems can occur in any of the three activities associated with memory (encoding, maintaining, retrieving).
Cite: Sharon Begley, Newsweek science/technology writer, who compiled the article "Memory's Mind Games" from interviews and published works from university professors and psychological researchers .
A. Memory malfunctions can be grouped into basic categories, although any memory failure may involve more than one of these categories.
1. Blocking involves an incomplete memory.
a. This includes problems like knowing the 1st letter of a word only.
i. Research finds that proper names are blocked more often than any other words.
ii. Part of this problems is because names in Western culture are arbitrary.
iii. Sound is encoded separately from meaning.
b. Frequency of use has a major impact on blocking.
2. Misattribution involves an incorrect connection between a memory and its source.
a. For example, in giving this speech, I might remember that I read a certain fact in Sharon Begley's article when it actually came from the book States of Mind.
b. In a more disastrous situation, people can attribute something from their imagination (such as a dream) to something in reality.
3. Bias involves the influence of current events or preconceived notions to alter memory, such as:.
a. a divorcing couple remembering only bad things.
b. Yale experiment in which people remembered stereotyped "black" names as criminals.
