Human Memory

Our experience of the world is highly subjective.

Behavior is determined by multiple causes.
o Sensation you have to have sensory contact with
information, to have hope of remembering it later on.
Very brief and simple form, decays very quickly
o Encoding
Selecting and converting information to prepare for
storage
A demonstration of human memory codes
Structural Encoding based on the physical
structure of the stimulus
Phonemic Encoding based on the sound of
the stimulus, e.g. rhyming words
Semantic Encoding based on the meaning of
the stimulus
o Self-referent Encoding asking yourself
what the information means to you,
relating it to your own life
o
o Storage short term, long term
Short term Memory
Limited capacity storage area that can hold
unrehearsed information for 20-30 seconds.
o Limit: 7 bits of unfamiliar information, +/2.
Stretching the limits of short-term memory
o Chunking organizing information into
larger units that are familiar in some
way.
Long term Memory
An unlimited capacity storage area that holds
information for lengthy periods.
o Semantic networks associated
meanings in memory
o Schemas organized clusters of
knowledge about an object/event,
relating new memory to old memory
Racial stereotypes
Multiple Systems
o The Procedural MS skills, e.g. typing
and guitar, handles implicit memories
o Declarative Facts and figures, explicit
o Retrieval Recovering the memory

Elizabeth Loftus
Gordon Bower State-Dependent Memory retrieval
that depends on being in the same temporary
condition as at athe time of encoding
Depends on state, e.g. drunken state
College study of people random assigned to
good or bad moods, to remember memories
RFK, OJ Simpson
Encoding Specificity using the same system to
recall information in that you used to learn it in the
first place
o Chapter 8 Intelligence (and Psychological Testing)
Psychological tests are standardized measures of a
sample of a persons behavior.
Types of Psychological Tests
Tests of mental ability: intelligence tests,
aptitude tests, and achievement test.
o Intelligence tests measure general
mental ability (not accumulated
knowledge); verbal, mathematical, and
analytical abilities. Ex: The Wechsler
Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS).
o Aptitude tests measure specific types of
mental abilities. (Ex: mechanical
aptitude, accuracy in computations,
ability to translate.)
o Achievement Tests measure knowledge
of various subjects.
Personality Tests: measure various individual
differences in behavior. Ex: tests of activity
level, tests of sensitivities to reward and
punishment, tests of openness to experience,
and test of psychopathology.
Standardized tests have uniform procedure
for administering the tests and scoring them.
Psychological tests also have norms, where a
score ranks relative to other scores.
o Almost half (47%) of IQ scores are
between 90 and 110.
o What qualities must a Psych Test have?
Reliability consistent
measurement

Test-retest reliability
scores on the test are
consistent over time.
Equivalent forms
reliability two versions of
the test give comparable
results.
Internal consistency all
the questions on the test
are measuring the same
thing.
Validity the test measures what it
is supposed to measure.
Criterion-related validity
scores on the test
approximate ideal sources
of info.
o Predictive validity
results of the test
match future
performance
o Concurrent validity
results of the test
agree with some
expensive criterion
available at the same
time
Issues in the Validity of Personality
Tests
Socially Desirable
Responding
o Consciously or
unconsciously
inaccurately depicting
themselves
Issues in the Validity of Intelligence
Tests Controversy over IQ Testing
Do they measure general
mental capability, or specific
scholastic knowledge?
Arthur Jensen
Adrian Dove African
American psychologist
Truecrimereport.com

The Bell Curve

Low IQ is associated with
crime and social dysfunction.
High IQ people set up the
hoops for everyone to jump
through. Low IQ people are
sidelined.
Social policies should
improve opportunities for low
IQ.
CRITICISM
o Cant raise IQs, so give
up on social change
o Head Starts effects
fade because later
environments dont
reinforce
o Most IQ tests do not
measure innate mental
ability or potential.
o Most still measure a
narrow range of
abilities.
o Howard Gardners Eight Intelligences
LIST OF THEM, largely independent
Logical-Mathematical
Linguistic
Naturalist
Spatial
Musical
Kinesthetic
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
o Signs of Emotional Intelligence
Knowing oneself emotionally and considering
emotions when making decisions
Managing emotions to keep them from impairing
ones ability to think
Motivating oneself despite persistent setbacks
Signs of EI
Stay hopeful
Delaying gratification
Empathy and rapport with others
Being able to cooperate in relationships

What about common sense?

Robert Sternbergs Practical Intelligence
Knowing how to adapt to demands at work and
in life identifying what youll need to learn in
order to do well in a new situation
Predicts job success at least as well as IQ
Few ethnic differences
Video: Testing and Intelligence