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Human Memory – Class 11 Psychology notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 11 Psychology, chapter 7. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Memory is the process of retaining and retrieving information over time. It involves three stages: encoding, storage and retrieval. The Atkinson-Shiffrin stage model describes sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Forgetting can occur due to decay, interference or retrieval failure, and memory can be improved through techniques such as mnemonics and deep processing.

Nature and models of memory

Encoding converts information into a form that can be stored; storage keeps it over time; retrieval brings it back for use.
Sensory memory holds information briefly (iconic for vision, about a second; echoic for sound, a few seconds); short-term memory holds about 7 ± 2 items for about 20–30 seconds unless rehearsed; long-term memory has a vast capacity and lasts long.
Working memory (Baddeley) is an active system with a phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and central executive. Levels of processing (Craik and Lockhart) say that deeper, meaningful processing leads to better memory.

Types, forgetting and improvement

Long-term memory includes declarative memory (episodic: personal events; semantic: general knowledge) and procedural memory (skills such as cycling).
Hermann Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve shows rapid forgetting soon after learning, which then slows; forgetting results from trace decay, interference (proactive: old learning interferes with new; retroactive: new learning interferes with old) and retrieval failure.
Memory is constructive and can be distorted by schemas; memory can be improved with mnemonics using images (method of loci, keyword method) and organisation (chunking, first-letter technique), spaced practice and self-testing.

Key terms

Encoding: converting information into a form that can be stored
Short-term memory: a limited store holding about 7 ± 2 items briefly
Episodic memory: memory of personal experiences and events
Proactive interference: earlier learning interfering with recall of new learning
Mnemonic: a memory aid that organises or links information

Important questions with answers

What is working memory?2 marks

Working memory, proposed by Alan Baddeley, is a short-term system that actively holds and manipulates information for tasks such as reasoning and comprehension. It has a phonological loop, a visuo-spatial sketchpad and a central executive.

Explain proactive and retroactive interference with examples.3 marks

Proactive interference occurs when earlier learning interferes with recall of new learning, for example writing last year's date in January. Retroactive interference occurs when new learning interferes with recall of earlier learning, for example forgetting an old address after learning a new one.

Describe the stage model of memory.5 marks

The stage model, proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin in 1968, describes memory as three stores through which information flows. Sensory memory receives information from the senses and holds it for a very short time: iconic memory for visual information lasts about a fraction of a second to a second, and echoic memory for sounds lasts a few seconds. It has a large capacity, but information is lost unless attention transfers it to the next store. Short-term memory holds information that is being attended to; it has a limited capacity of about 7 ± 2 items and holds information for about 20 to 30 seconds. Information is mainly encoded acoustically, and it can be retained longer through rehearsal; chunking increases capacity. Information that is rehearsed and processed meaningfully passes into long-term memory, which has a virtually unlimited capacity and can hold information for a lifetime. It is mainly encoded semantically and is organised in networks and hierarchies. Long-term memory includes declarative memory, divided into episodic memory for personal events and semantic memory for general knowledge, and procedural memory for skills. Retrieval brings information from long-term memory back to short-term memory when needed. The model has been criticised as too simple, leading to the working memory model and the levels of processing approach.

Quick revision

Encoding, storage, retrieval.
Sensory, short-term, long-term memory; working memory.
Types of long-term memory.
Causes of forgetting; mnemonics.

Exam tips

Remember the forgetting curve of Ebbinghaus: forgetting is fastest at first.
Proactive = old disturbs new; retroactive = new disturbs old.

Practice MCQs

The three stages of memory are encoding, storage and
1. rehearsal
2. perception
3. retrieval
4. attention
Show answer
Answer: (c) retrieval. Retrieval brings information back.
The capacity of short-term memory is about
1. 7 ± 2 items
2. 3 ± 1 items
3. 20 items
4. unlimited
Show answer
Answer: (a) 7 ± 2 items. George Miller proposed this.
Memory for skills such as riding a bicycle is
1. procedural memory
2. episodic memory
3. semantic memory
4. iconic memory
Show answer
Answer: (a) procedural memory. It is often non-declarative.
The forgetting curve was given by
1. Ebbinghaus
2. Pavlov
3. Bartlett
4. Baddeley
Show answer
Answer: (a) Ebbinghaus. He used nonsense syllables.
Memory of general facts such as the capital of India is
1. episodic memory
2. procedural memory
3. semantic memory
4. sensory memory
Show answer
Answer: (c) semantic memory. It is general knowledge.
Grouping digits such as 9-8-4-5 into 98-45 to remember them is
1. interference
2. chunking
3. decay
4. encoding failure
Show answer
Answer: (b) chunking. It increases STM capacity.
When learning a new phone number makes it hard to recall your old number, this is
1. proactive interference
2. retroactive interference
3. trace decay
4. repression
Show answer
Answer: (b) retroactive interference. New learning disturbs old memory.
According to the levels of processing view, information is best remembered when it is
1. processed for meaning (deep processing)
2. repeated mechanically
3. seen only once
4. processed only by sound
Show answer
Answer: (a) processed for meaning (deep processing). Semantic processing is deeper.

All chapters of Class 11 Psychology

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.