Basic principles of memory Flashcards
What is primary memory?
Portion of present space of time
Linked to conscious experience
Retrieval is effortless
What is secondary memory?
Genuine past
Unconscious- present
Retrieval is effortful
What is the modal model of memory?
Stimulus
Sensory memory - can lead to forgetting
Attention
Short term memory - can lead to forgetting or rehearsal
Encoding and retrieval
Long term memory - can also lead to forgetting
What is sensory memory?
Sensations persist after the stimulus has disappeared
Subject to rapid decay
Stores exist for visual (iconic), auditory (echoic) sensory information
What is the working memory?
Short term memory store
Different tasks are able to be done simultaneously therefore working memory must comprise different components
What is the phonological store
Coding depending on the phonology of the words
Encoding for the memory
Acts as a tape recorder for a limited time
Contents are actively refreshed by an articulatory loop
Disruption of the articulatory loop results in poor retention in the phonological store
What is meant by a selective impairment to the phonological store?
Several patients have been described as having severely reduced verbal spans
Intact word perceptions and no problems with speech production
Damage in left hemisphere. Usually affecting parietal and temporal lobes- stroke
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
Necessary for holding online a sequence of visually guided actions. Also necessary for seeing in the mind’s eye.
Spatial span
What did De Renzi find with brain damaged patients
Some patients had impaired digit spans and others had impaired spatial spans
How can the visuospatial sketchpad be divided?
Visual cache – passively stores visual information about form and colour
Inner scribe – stores spatial and movement information and can rehearse the contents of the visual cache
What is meant by levels of processing?
Different levels of processing information
More deeply you process the information, the better the retention. Orthographic, phonological and semantic
What is the best way to learn new material?
Deep encoding or elaboration
Processing per se that leads to durable memories
Semantic connections between information
What is the problem with the concept of levels of processing?
is memory strong because encoding was “deep” or do we infer that strong memories must have been “deeply encoded”?
What is deep or shallow levels of processing?
What is the retrieval practice effect?
Studying and then testing leading to better retention- retrieving the information and rehearsing again
What is meant by transfer appropriate processing?
Transferring the knowledge from processing to retrieval when there is a match with encoding and processing
