Basic principles of memory Flashcards
Primary memory system
Portion of present space of time
Linked to conscious experience
Retrieval is effortless
Secondary memory
Genuine past
Unconscious- permanent
Retrieval is effortful
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) modal model of memory
Stimulus–>
Sensory memory–>
Short term memory–>
Long term memory
(forgetting can occur at each stage)
Sensory memory
Sensations persist after the stimulus has disappeared
Subject to very rapid decay
Stores exist for visual (iconic) and auditory (echoic) sensory information
Sterling’s experiments for sensory memory
Presented matrix of letters for 1/20 seconds
Report as many letters as possible
Subjects recalled only 5-6 of the letters
Working memory
To solve problems
Baddeley (1986)
Dual task
Reasoning time increases with digit load
Increase in reasoning time is modest
Error rate does not increase at all
Baddeley: phonological similari effect
Present lists of 5 works to write down in order
Large effect of phonological similarity
No effect of semantic similarity
Baddeley: word length effect
Present 6 words to write down in order
Strong correlation between speed and correct recall
Phonological store
Acts like a tape recorder for a limited time
The contents are actively refreshed by an articulatory loop
Disruption of the articulatory loop results in poor retention in the phonological store
Lesion localisation for short term memory patients
Left hemisphere
Usually affecting the parietal and temporal lobes
The visuospatial sketchpad
Necessary for holding online a sequence of visually guided actions
Also necessary for seeing in the minds eye
Evidence for the visuospatial sketchpad
De Renzi and Nichelli showed some patients with brain damage had impaired digit spans some had impaired spatial spans
Subsequent research shown visuospatial sketchpad itself can 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
