Lecture: 4 hrs/week
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:
- lecture
- audio-visual materials
- seminar presentations
- small group discussion
- research projects/papers
- computer based cognitive experiments and exercises
- practical memory demonstrations
- computer based tutorial exercises
- Historical Factors
- Memory vs. learning distinction.
- Behaviourist tradition.
- Cognitive tradition.
- Theoretical Approaches
- Definition of memory.
- Sensory memory.
- Short term memory.
- Working memory.
- Long term memory.
- Levels of processing.
- Visual Memory
- Imagery and working memory.
- The neuropsychology of memory.
- Encoding and Memory
- Practice and memory.
- Massed and distributed practice.
- Organization and Memory
- The role of organization and the use of mnemonics.
- Memory Failure
- The forgetting curve.
- The role of interference in forgetting.
- Decay and forgetting.
- Memory Distortions and Memory Illusions
- Theoretical issues.
- Eyewitness testimony.
- Repressed and recovered memories.
- False memory syndrome.
- Retrieval
- The concept of retrieval.
- Forgetting due to retrieval failure.
- Recall and recognition.
- Eyewitness testimony.
- Autobiographical Memory
- Strategies for recollection.
- Forgetting autobiographical events.
- Retrograde amnesia.
- Memory, Emotion, and Cognition
- Repression.
- Mood and memory.
- Memory Disorders
- Amnesia.
- Closed head injury and memory.
- Practical Applications
- Mnemonics aids.
- Use of imagery in improving memory for names and faces.
- SQ3R method.
- Method of loci.
- Peg-word system.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Define memory, explain why we need memory, and discuss sensory, visual, and auditory memory.
- Explain the various models of memory such as Short Term Memory (STM), Long Term Memory (LTM), and levels of processing.
- Describe the effects of practice on memory, the role of organization, and the use of mnemonics.
- Explain why memory fails and the role of interference in forgetting.
- Describe memory distortion, explain why and how it happens, and critically analyze the research on eyewitness testimony, repressed memories, recovered memories, and false memory syndrome.
- Explain the concept of retrieval, and how it relates to recall and recognition.
- Discuss the research into autobiographical memory and retrograde amnesia.
- Explain the relationship between emotion and memory.
- Describe research on implicit and procedural memory, and explain how this relates to research on other memory systems.
- Demonstrate practical applications of memory research, such as name-face remembering, use of imagery, the peg word system, method of loci, SQ3R, use of distributed practice.
The course evaluation will be in accordance with Douglas College Evaluation and Psychology Department policies.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
Evaluations will be based on the course objectives. The specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:
| 5 quizzes | 50% |
| Seminar presentation | 10% |
| Term project paper | 20% |
| Final Exam | 20% |
| 100% |
Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:
- Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., Anderson, M. C. Memory (current edition). Routledge. ISBN 9781138326095
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