Visual Encoding

Part 1

Visual encoding is the process of encoding images and visual sensory information. If you see something, you are more likely to remember it than if you hear it. For example, if you are presented a list of words, each shown for one second, you would be able to remember if there was a word that was written in all capital letters, or if there was a word written in italics.

        Acoustic encoding is the processing of sound, particularly the sound of words. Repetition of words or putting information into a song or rhythm uses acoustic encoding. Learning the multiplication table, for instance, can be an acoustic process. You see the numbers on the chart, and you do the work on paper, but many people can rhythmically recite “six times six is thirty-six” because of the attention that was given to the sound of the numbers when spoken. If you find yourself talking or reading aloud while doing your homework, you are using acoustic encoding.        

        Semantic encoding is a specific type of encoding in which the meaning of something (a word, phrase, picture, event, whatever) is encoded as opposed to the sound or vision of it. For example, if you visit Israel, you may notice that the children can sing the top rock songs from the United States but that they do not know what the words mean. This is because they are using an acoustic code to remember a song and sing it, but they do not have a semantic code for the meaning of the words.

Part 2

Implicit memory is a type of memory in which previous experiences aid the performance of a task without conscious awareness of these previous experiences. Some examples are riding a bike, driving a car, or brushing your teeth. Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information. Some examples are writing a research paper, remembering your phone number, or remembering what time to be at school for a game.

Part 3

Evidence is very important is criminal cases. You pretty much don’t have a case unless you have evidence. Evidence helps out the jury, judge, and the defendant in some cases. Eyewitness testimony is sometimes a good thing and in other cases bad. Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander gives in the courtroom, describing what that person observed that occurred during the specific incident under investigation. It is usually a detailed statement, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. This recollection is used as evidence to show what happened from a witness’s point of view. Like trace evidence, eyewitness evidence can be contaminated, lost, destroyed or otherwise made to produce results that can lead to an incorrect reconstruction of the crime committed. Eyewitness testimony can make a deep impression on a jury, which is often exclusively assigned the role of sorting out credibility issues and making judgments about the truth of witness statements. Sometimes thought people lie just to make themselves look better or because they are scared of what might happen to them if the person that committed the crime scares them.