3.5 Memory

Question 1

Memory process

Answer 1

• Memory Encoding – info comes into our memory system from sensory input and meaning/understanding is given. (perception)
• Memory Storage – where info is stored, how long and also refers to capacity.
• Memory recall/retrieval – this refers to assessing the info when needed.

Question 2

Memory capacity

Answer 2

The ability to recall information is based on the amount of encoding that occurs as information passes from the external environment through a series of ‘storage’ sites in the brain to end up in the long term memory.

•There are three of these sites to store such memories:

• Short term sensory storage (for up to 1 second),
• Short term memory (for 60 seconds only) and if it is to be retained,
• Into the long term memory (permanently).

•Memory allows us to process information, store information, and then access it later when we need it.

Question 3

Short term sensory storage

Answer 3

• Short term sensory storage has the ability to receive much information, will retain it for a very brief time (1 second), and relay important information to the second storage which is termed short term memory.
• Information not relayed on to the short term memory in this brief time will be lost.
• Being able to selectively attend will increase this storage areas capacity to ‘sift’ out irrelevant signals or cues.
• This stage of memory helps to explain how some athletes seem to ‘know’ where others are without apparently ‘looking’.
• They use the information they hold for a split second, perhaps the running speed and direction of a team mate, to provide a pass which is perfect. When asked they will often say ‘I just knew where they would be.”
• Scientists believe that STSS occurs prior to conscious involvement by the performer and therefore entails very little processing.

Question 4

Short term memory and influence on selective attention

Answer 4

Short term memory also has a limited capacity. It gives you the ability to recall information immediately after you have been exposed to it. Information received by the short term memory is either lost or transferred to the next stage (long term).

• The information that passes from the STSS into Short Term Memory is usually that which is most relevant to the learner/performer. We learn to selectively attend to that which is most useful to the situations in which we find ourselves.
• A person’s selective attention mechanism selects some of the information from the STSS for further processing, with the remainder being lost or replaced.

Question 5

Short term memory

Answer 5

• The capacity of STM is quite limited. The accepted range is 5 – 9 items of information.
• STM can be improved by chunking (putting single pieces of data together into groups. We then remember the groups which contain more information than just the individual items).

•This obviously increases the total volume of information which can be stored in STM

Question 6

Application of STM

Answer 6

• A good example is a rugby player who, over time, will realise/learn that the important information necessary to catch a ball is the flight of the ball, the positioning of the hands and the pressure applied to the ball by his hands.
• This would be the information regularly presented to his Short Term Memory for rehearsal and eventual placement into his long term memory.
• An approaching opponent who may tackle is not relevant to catching the ball and should not be attended to. Once the catch is completed avoiding a tackle may become important.

Question 7

Factors that affect STM

Answer 7

Relevance and meaningfulness

Interference

Chunking or coding

Rehearsal or practice

Overloading

Question 8

Relevance and meaningfulness

Answer 8

You will find it easier to remember information if it is relevant to what you are attempting to achieve and/or if it has particular meaning to you.

• For example you are less likely to remember the sequence…
• DFY FUJ GMP than the sequence CAT DOG PIG

•You can more easily transfer information to your Short Term Memory if the information has meaning to you and if you believe it is relevant to the task. An athlete’s level of interest also has an effect on this aspect of memory. It is easier to understand and learn from instructors that are appropriate to the athletes’ age and level of development.

Question 9

Interference

Answer 9

•‘Noise’ can interfere with your ability to concentrate on sensory information and transfer it to the short term memory.

Question 10

Chunking or Coding

Answer 10

As previously mentioned, short term memory can be improved by chunking (putting single pieces of data together into groups).
•Chunking is the process of organizing objects into meaningful wholes. These wholes are then remembered as a unit rather than separate objects.
•Motor skills are an example of chunking, where instead of simply thinking about subroutines of the skill we perceive and remember their meaningful wholes: motor program.
•The use of chunking increases the number of items we are able to remember by creating meaningful “packets” in which many related items are stored as one.
•Understanding of this chunking process can enable memory to be enhanced.

Question 11

Rehearsal or practice

Answer 11

• You must rehearse information for it to be transferred into the STM.
• It is vital that the rehearsal occurs as soon as possible following presentation of the cue.
• Practice of a physical skill not only allows you to better process and remember motor information, but it also allows you to correct and refine your performance of that skill.

Question 12

Overloading

Answer 12

As the STM is limited to 5-9 items of information which can only be retained for around 60 seconds, any number of stimuli above this will mean that certain information is lost as capacity is ‘overloaded’.
•Trying to teach a beginner a new motor skill will not be successful if a coach tries to instruct with too much information at any one time, thus overloading the system.
•Instructions should be brief and to the point, and should be given when the learner’s attention is guaranteed.

Question 13

Long term memory

Answer 13

Long term memory exists for information which has been repeated or rehearsed.
•Long term memory is the permanent storage area of encoded information.
•It contains information about past experiences and movement patterns which may be compared with information about new stimuli.
•Long term memory capacity is limitless. The LTM holds information and experiences; it is believed to be vast in capacity and unlimited in duration.

Question 14

Muscle Memory

Answer 14

Muscle Memory refers to the ability to perform a skill without any conscious effort.
•Muscle memory (or motor learning) describes the process of committing a specific motor task into long-term memory, through repetition.
•
•For example, every time Steph Curry shoots a free throw, the movement is effortless. He’s practiced that particular skill so many times that it’s been retained as muscle memory, so he is able to retrieve the memory and complete the movement automatically with no thought required.
•
•An important element of long term memory is not just the skill/movement but the contextual components provided by the environment and how we may perform a skill under changing environmental parameters. This is referred to as Schema.