Memory

Episode number 5 of Series “Psychology Live”.
This program looks at various theories of memory and the importance of memory. Although tailored to year 12 and tertiary Psychology students, its information is of general interest and contains several practical exercises and self-tests. The presenters support the “ecological approach” of cognitive psychology, which values the research done in situations of everyday life, not just in laboratories. It examines three main types of memory: episodic, semantic and procedural, as well as the processes of encoding, storage and recall of information. Memory theory as developed by both Herman Ebbinghaus and Frederick Bartlett is explained, along with more recent theory of Parallel Distributed Processes (PDP). Theories of forgetting are outlined, including trace decay, interference, amnesia and repressive memory as well as context and state dependency. Practical techniques for assisting memory (mnemonics) are outlined and demonstrated. Study notes included.