3.3 Neurobiology and communication Flashcards
Define what memory is
Memory involves encoding, storage and retrieval of information.
All information entering the brain passes through sensory memory and enters
short-term memory (STM). Information is then either transferred to longterm memory (LTM) or is discarded.
Memories include past experiences, knowledge and thoughts
Encoding
– This is the first step in creating a new memory which begins with
the perception of a stimulus through the senses and its transfer into either
short-term or long-term memory
Storage
– This is the placement of new information into memory
Retrival
The ability to access and recall information from storage which is
aided by the use of contextual cues.
State the role of sensory memory.
Sensory memory retains all the visual and auditory input received for a few
seconds. Only selected images and sounds are then encoded into the shortterm memory.
Compare the capacity and span of the short-term memory (STM) and longterm memory (LTM).
Short-term memory (STM) has a limited capacity of 7 items +/- 2 and holds
information for a short time (up to 30 seconds).
Long-term memory (LTM) has an unlimited capacity and holds information for a
long time (a lifetime).
State the effect of chunking
Chunking increases the capacity of the short-term memory by gathering
several pieces of information together as single item, a ‘chunk’ e.g. organisation
of a single long telephone number 07977558099 (11 items) into groups of
numbers 079 77 55 80 99 (5 items)
Displacement and decay
Displacement happens when new content entering the short-term memory
gradually pushes out older content. Unless this older content is actively
protected against displacement by rehearsal to re-enter the short-term or
elaboration to transfer it into the long-term memory it will decay and be lost
from the short-term memory.
Describe what is meant by the term ‘rehearsal’
Rehearsal can allow information to be retained in the short-term memory for a
longer period of time. Rehearsal is the repetition of the item so that it reenters the short-term store and is retained for an extended period.
Explain the serial position effect
The serial position effect describes the probability of recalling any word from
a list depended on its position in the list (its serial position)
The improved recall of words at
the beginning of the list is called
the primary effect, this is because
the person has time to put them
into long-term memory.
Recency (Serial position effect)
The improved recall at the end of
the list is called the recency
effect, this is because the words from the end of the list are still within the
short-term memory which can typically hold about 7 items.
Words in the middle of the list had been there too long to be held in shortterm memory (STM) due to displacement and not long enough to be put into
long-term memory (LTM).
State what is meant by ‘working memory model’
Short-term memory (STM) can process data, to a limited extent, as well as
storing it. This ‘working memory model’ explains why the STM can perform
simple cognitive tasks.
State the three main ways in which information is transferred from STM to
LTM
The transfer of information from STM to LTM by :
* Rehearsal
* Elaboration
* Organisation
Rehersal
Rehearsal – a shallow form of encoding information into the long-term memory
involving the repetition of information over and over
Elaboration
a deeper form of encoding which leads to improved information
retention by considering the meaning and actively relating the new information
to knowledge that is already stored in the memory.
