6 - Memory

Question 1

Types of memory

Answer 1

• memory is not unitary
• it is comprised of Long Term Memory (LTM)
• and Working Memory (short term)

Question 2

Items in short term memory

Answer 2

Miller (1950s) discovered that the average healthy person can recall 5-9 items in their short term memory
- an item can be a ‘chunk’ of information (like a phone number

Question 3

Disproving the modal model of memory

Answer 3

Shallice and Warrington found that LTM was not formed from rehearsal of STM

• thus STM and LTM do not have the same neural structure
• there is not a sequential route from STM to LTM

Question 4

The Working Memory Model

Answer 4

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) showed that verbal recall and spatial reasoning tasks done at the same time do not effect each other, thus the two short-term memory stores are different

The Working Memory Model

• items from our Long Term Memory that we keep in mind, suited to our current task
• these items can be manipulated actively

Question 5

Robbins et al (1996)

Answer 5

• tested expert chess players
• 4 conditions:
  > tap rhythmically on the table (control)
  > randomly generate numbers and say them out loud (central executive)
  > tap clockwise continually (visuo-spatial)
  > repeatedly say see-saw (phonological)

Results:

• quality of moves remained high in the control and phonological conditions
• quality was significantly effected by Central Executive and Visuo-Spatial load

Thus:
- chess is an executively demanding and visuo-spatial task, with no verbal component

Question 6

Phonological Store (Paulesu et al, 1993)

Answer 6

Phonological store = Verbal Working Memory (VWM)
- tested english vs korean letters and rhymes

Results:

• Left Parietal Cortex stores Verbal Working Memory
• Frontal area is to do with sounds themselves (rhyming)

Question 7

Stages of Long Term Memory

Answer 7

Encoding
- creating a memory representation

Consolidation
(perhaps stronger memories are more consolidated and require less to bring them to mind)

Retrieval

Question 8

Amnesia

Answer 8

Retrograde amnesia

• forget previously made memories
• has a temporal gradient (memories made earlier are recalled better)
• very rare on its own (focal retrograde amnesia)

Anterograde amnesia

• cannot form new memories
• has been found that people can still learn, though they won’t recall their learning

Question 9

Episodic vs Semantic memory

Answer 9

• Episodic memory is the personal version of events
• Semantic memory is the factual recall of events
• in some cases, people can have diminished episodic memory and when recalling events it it told in a depersonalised way