P335 Cognitive Psychology, Prof. Kruschke

Three Themes of Memory

  1. Selective Encoding and Processing.
    An event can be encoded and processed different ways. We remember our selective, interpreted encoding of the event, not the "pure" external event itself.

    Examples:

  2. Bound to Context.
    Memory tends to associate events with their external context and with our internal state, but this link to context can be weak or lost.

    Examples:

  3. Retrieval is Inferential Reconstruction.
    Memory is reconstructive: It uses context and knowledge structures (schemas) to reconstruct the seemingly most likely event from an imperfect and ambiguous trace in memory.

    Examples:

Copyright © 1998 John K. Kruschke