Thesis on "Memory Is One of the Most Complex"

Thesis 6 pages (1769 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Memory is one of the most complex and one of the most essential functions of the human brain. Without the ability to create, process, and retrieve memories, anything that required long-term planning or the building up of information would be absolutely impossible. Memory is in many ways responsible not only for the actions we are capable of undertaking, but even for our conceptions of ourselves -- that is, our actual sense of personality and identity is almost wholly dependent on our memories, and our ability to create new memories. This can be established with just a brief and cursory examination of the basic concept of identity. The decisions an individual makes on a daily basis, their tastes, and their expectations are all built on their prior experiences. If a certain food tasted bad in the past, the individual assumes it will have an unpleasant taste in future instances; if a certain situation led to pain or discomfort, most individuals would be likely to avoid that situation whenever possible.

Without the memories of these past instances, the myriad of choices that make up a personality would be completely uninfluenced by anything other than immediate circumstances, and there would be no subjective point of reference -- i.e. personality or identity -- from which these decisions were being made. Memory, then, could be said to be what makes us human, and what makes us individuals. If all human beings had experiences that were absolutely identical in every detail, it could be argued that all human beings would then have the same personality, and the same reaction to current and future events. There are, of course, other subtle factors that play into the development and creation of a personality

Continue scrolling to

download full paper ⤓

and sense of identity, but memory can definitely be considered to be the main constituent, if not the most direct, of the various factors and forces that contribute to an individual's personality and identity.

Due to the extreme importance of memory as a factor in the development of personality, it should come as no surprise that it is a highly complex psychological feature. To simplify and clarify our understanding of memory, scientists and other researchers have determined that there are three distinct types or stages in memory -- sensory memory, short-term or working memory, and long-term memory. A related though slightly different framework developed for the understanding of memory divides the process of developing useful memories into the stages of encoding, storage, and retrieval, which are the three basic functions and mechanisms in which the brain acts on memory. An examination of these two frameworks and the various constituent parts and/or stages that comprise them will lead to a clear background and overview understanding of the phenomenon of memory and its importance.

To begin with, an examination of the differences between sensory memory, short-term or working memory, and long-term memory is essential to a deeper understanding of memory. To suggest that these three types and/or stages of memory development re actually distinct and separable is perhaps disingenuous, as in reality the three interact and influence each other in highly intricate and profound ways. This being said, it is still easier to grasp the different neurological and psychological mechanisms that are at work in the creation and implementation of useful memories when the three stages/types are examined separately, as they do all work by different means, and also have somewhat different results and applications.

Sensory memory is relatively simple, and its function and purpose can largely be intuited from its name -- this type of memory deals with the storage and retrieval of sensory stimuli, or the ability to recall visual and auditory events and specific details after the stimulus has passed (Squire & Kandel 1999). This is where virtually all memory starts; there can simply be no formation of a memory without some initial input in the form of sensory stimuli -- the whiff of the aroma of a new food cooking, the first time a song is heard, the initial reading of a certain piece of information, etc. -- all of these are necessary before any further thought or memory construction regarding the smell, song, or fact is possible (Squire & Kandel 1999). This fact should be fairly self-evident, and explains why sensory memory is considered the simplest and most basic type of memory. This does not mean that it is unimportant, however, in fact far from it. As a sensory memory the initial type of memory formed in response to any external stimulus, the formation of a sensory memory is absolutely essential to the formation of both short-term and long-term memories (Squire & Kandel 1999).

Short-term memory, in turn, is necessary for the formation of long-term memories, and is also something of an intermediary step between sensory memory and long-term memory (Squire & Kandel 1999). This does not mean that short-term memory serves no function in and of itself, however; the fact that short-term memory is also known as working memory should be an indicator that this is not the case. Short-term memory is that type of memory which human beings are able to easily (almost instantly) access for use in everyday tasks and the operations of life (Squire & Kandel 1999). This occurs due to minute physical changes in synapses and neurons as they respond to stimuli, and develop temporary pathways for nerve impulses that facilitate their faster activation when various stimuli are repeated (Kandel 2007).

These temporary changes to synapses and neurons create useful pathways for the conscious and unconscious functioning of memory in given tasks, and in response to given stimuli, but this is not where the usefulness of short-term memories ends. They are also essential in allowing for the creation of long-term memories, which serve their own vital functions in the human psyche (Kandel 2007). The exact, detailed process by which the short-term pathways initially formed in the creation of memory are converted into long-term memories is not completely understood, but evidence shows that it actually has something to do with the synthesis of new proteins, which actually affect the genetic structure of the synapses and neurons involved in the memory (Kandel 2007). This leads to changes that are similar to those that occur in short-term memories (in fact, they often grow out of the same channels), but the genetic change to the cells involved makes these changes more permanent (Kandel 2007).

The processes of encoding, storing, and retrieving memories are closely related to the formation of sensory, short-term, and long-term memories, and can perhaps be better understood after an explanation of these three types of memory formation. The encoding process takes place as described above, moving through sensory and short-term memory to long-term memory, if the pathway is used enough (Squire & Kandel 1999). Storage is also largely the same; memories exist either as the short-term changes in neural pathways and synapses, or in the permanent changes made through protein synthesis and subtle genetic changes that result in the formation of long-term memories (Squire & Kandel, 1999; Kandel 2007). Retrieval, however, is a process that is far more complicated and is only now beginning to be understood.

In our experiment, the ability to recognize partial words (i.e. words with letters missing) is examined for its relationship, if any, to the memory of having seen the words previously in a list. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the role that memory plays in word and pattern recognition, and to test the effectiveness of memory in enabling people to absorb and process information. This could help lead to a better understanding of the role memory plays in learning, which could in turn lead to better models and frameworks for teaching, as well as adding to the less immediately practical but still vital body fo knowledge concerning the working of memory and the human brain in general. because this experiment is specifically related to the knowledge of words, but presents them in unfamiliar (i.e. incomplete) ways, it draws on various types of memory and recognition, relying on the long-term declarative memory of words in general, and the short-term memory of the words from the list.

These words were kept long enough to ensure that they could still be recognizable and exclusionary of other words even when letters were removed to make the words incomplete. To aid in consistency and to standardize recognition, words both on the list and when presented individually with letters missing were printed entirely in upper-case block letters in a uniform font. Examples of the words used in this experiment include BEAUTIFUL, BACHELOR, GAZETTE, PHARAOH, ROTUNDA, THEOREM, and WARRANTY, among many others. The object was to choose words that would be familiar enough to most speakers and readers of English, without making the words either so common or so unique that they would be easily recognized with letters missing, but that at the same time would still be recognizable.

The process of this experiment is designed to be very simple and straightforward. One group of the… READ MORE

Download Full Paper

Write a New Paper for Me

Quoted Instructions for "Memory Is One of the Most Complex" Assignment:

“

1. Start the Introduction discussing memory generally. You can discuss

a. The three stages of memory: sensory memory, short-term memory (also known as working memory), and long-term

memory AND/ OR

b. The three stages of long-term memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval

You can find this information in a recent Introductory Psychology textbook in the chapter on memory or in a Cognitive

Psychology textbook. All information in your paper must come from published sources. This means that no information

from class lectures or that you *****just know***** can be included. INTERNET SOURCES ARE NOT ALLOWED. This means no

Wikipedia!

2. Next you should summarize the experiments in the three articles that are on reserve in the library. In your summaries,

you should discuss what the researchers did and found. For example,

- What were the different conditions/ groups?

- Define terms (e.g., don*****t mention the Abstract Paired Associate Group without explaining what it is).

- What did participants in the different groups do?

- How was behavior measured?/ What kind of test did participants take?

- What were the results/ findings? Include numbers (e.g., participants recalled 75% of the words in the different context

condition and 42% of the words in the same context condition.) However, do not include statistical information such as the

type of statistical test performed or statistical values such as F or t .

- Be sure to use past tense when discussing research that was done

You do not have to write about everything in the researchers***** experiments. Select what you think is relevant to our

experiment.

Assume that you are writing for someone who does not know anything about the research. Show your introduction to a

friend. S/he should be able to understand it.

3. Next state the purpose of the experiment. End the Introduction with the hypothesis.

Style/ other paper guidelines:

- The introduction should be at least 7 pages.

- QUOTING OF OTHER SOURCES IS NOT PERMITTED. See section in syllabus.

- Use size 10 or 12 point type. Use regular type such as Helvetica, Geneva or Courier. No weird type (e.g., italics).

- Margins should be 1 inch on each side.

- Numbers should be done in APA style. Generally, numbers below 10 are written in word form (i.e., two instead of 2)

whereas numbers 10 and above are written as figures (i.e., 11 instead of eleven). Some exceptions include:

* If the first word in the sentence is a number, it is written in word form

* Numbers that come right before a unit of measurement are written as figures (e.g., 1 tsp of liquid Tylenol)

* Most numbers that refer to math or statistics are written as figures, including percentages, decimals and ratios

* Also written as figures are numbers that refer to dates, time, ages, the number of participants, and amounts of

money

- Avoid using I or you.

- Write to communicate (e.g., don*****t say *****Memory is a very interesting topic to study*****. It is, but that sentence doesn*****t really

tell the reader anything.

- Avoid redundancy: If you already said something, don*****t say it again.

- Don*****t abbreviate. For example, do not refer to the paired associate group as the PA group.

- Do not write about what you don*****t understand. See me and I*****ll help.

- Write more than one draft of your paper. Papers get better with multiple drafts!

- I encourage you to show me drafts of your paper. I will give you feedback.

- Please do not put your name anywhere in the paper except on the title page.

- Staple the paper together. Do not put it in a folder.

Writing

Your paper grade will be severely affected by misspellings, incorrect use of words, incomplete sentences and other

grammatical errors.

The following is an example of a summary of an experiment. Your summaries will probably be longer.

In one experiment, Loftus, Miller and Burns (1978) presented participants with a set of slides that showed an auto-

pedestrian accident. The slides showed a red car traveling along a side street along a side street toward an intersection

where there was a yield sign. The car turned right and hit a pedestrian crossing at the crosswalk. Immediately after the

slide presentation, participants responded to 20 questions about the event on a questionnaire. For participants in the

misled condition, the information contained in one of the questions was inconsistent with a detail they had seen in the

slides. The question was *****Did another car pass the red Datsun when it was stopped at the stop sign?***** (Loftus et al., 1978,

p. 20). For participants in the control condition, the question did not mention specific information about the critical detail:

*****Did another car pass the red Datsun when it was stopped at the intersection?***** (Loftus et al., 1978, p. 22).

The participants were given a forced-choice recognition test in which they were shown a series of pairs of slides and

asked to choose the slides they had seen. The critical discrimination was between the slide they had viewed and the slide

that contained the item on which they had been misled after the original slide presentation. Would they choose the slide

they had seen that contained the yield sign or the misleading slide that contained the stop sign? On that question, Loftus

et al. (1978) found that participants who had been misled chose the incorrect item as the one they had seen more than did

the participants who had not been misled.

Loftus, E. F., Miller, D. G., & Burns, H. J. (1978). Semantic integration of verbal information into a visual memory. Journal

of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4, 19-31.

NOTE: To save space, the above description is single-spaced. In an Introduction, it would be double-spaced. The page

number is mentioned twice because there are two quotes. You will NOT use quotes in your paper, so you will not include

page numbers in the body of the paper

OUR EXPERIMENT:

Our experiment had to do with priming individuals to see if seeing words before hand helps participants fill in word spaces B__UTI__L (Beautiful).

Our hypothesis: Priming participants will help them recall the words better then if they weren't first primed.

Our word list:

AGNOSTIC

ANYBODY

BACHELOR

BEHAVIOR

CABARE T

COCONUT

ELLIPSE

GAZETTE

HORIZON

ISTHMUS

LETTUCE

MUSTARD

ORATION

PHARAOH

QUARTET

ROTUNDA

SHERIFF

THEOREM

TRICYCLE

WARRANTY

Reference citations in text (body of the paper)

You must reference everything that is not your own work or your opinion. Failure to do

so is plagiarism.

Two ways:

1. Include the researchers***** names as part of the narrative

Example:

Clifford and Hollin (1981) found that...

2. Don*****t include the researchers***** names are part of the narrative--put the names in parentheses

Example:

The results of a related experiment (Clifford & Hollin, 1981) showed that...

- Do not include the authors***** first names or initials in the body of the paper. Do not include the name of

the journal article, journal, or book in the body of the paper. This information belongs on the reference

page.

- The publication year of a given work only needs to be mentioned once per paragraph as long as it cannot

be confused with other works mentioned.

- If a work has two authors, cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text

- If a work has three, four or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs. If the work is

cited again, include et al. after the name of the first author.

Payne, Toglia and Anastasi (1994) found... (first citation)

Payne et al. (1994) found... (second citation)

- If a work has six or more authors, cite only the first author*****s last name followed by et al. the first time and

for all later citations. Do the same on the reference page.

- All references cited in the reference list must be cited in the text and vice versa.

*****

How to Reference "Memory Is One of the Most Complex" Thesis in a Bibliography

“Memory Is One of the Most Complex.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.

Memory Is One of the Most Complex (2009). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654

A1-TermPaper.com. (2009). Memory Is One of the Most Complex. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654 [Accessed 5 Oct, 2024].

”Memory Is One of the Most Complex” 2009. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654.

”Memory Is One of the Most Complex” A1-TermPaper.com, Last modified 2024. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654.

[1] ”Memory Is One of the Most Complex”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2009. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654. [Accessed: 5-Oct-2024].

1. Memory Is One of the Most Complex [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2009 [cited 5 October 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654

1. Memory Is One of the Most Complex. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/memory-one/64654. Published 2009. Accessed October 5, 2024.

Related Thesis Papers: