Ch.5, PART 2, Working Memory

Question 1

Short Term Memory Capacity
Traditional View, Miller’s Magic Number:

Answer 1

7 plus or minus 2, somewhere between 5–9 items can be stored

Question 2

Schema:

Answer 2

mental representation that organizes info into categories of information and relationships between them; experts have better schemas than novices at a particular task

Question 3

Chase and Simon’s Chess Experiment:

Answer 3

asked participants to remember where chess pieces were; master players are only better in cases where it relies on their expertise/schemas THEY ARE NOT JUST BETTER AT MEMORY IN GENERAL

Question 4

Wicken’s Study on Semantic Coding:

Answer 4

participants asked to remember 3 words while counting backwayds
Proactive interference can impact memory depending on how much of the same info you gathered previously
Short term facility

Proactive interference refers to the interference effect of previously learned materials on the acquisition and retrieval of newer materials. An example of proactive interference in everyday life would be a difficulty in remembering a friend’s new phone number after having previously learned the old number.

Question 5

Difference between short term and working memory

Answer 5

Short term is about a brief period of storage vs working memory is about the manipulation of info
Working memory is concerned with the manipualtion/active processing of info in that short term period

Question 6

Working Memory:

Answer 6

memory system enabling a limited of info to be stored in the mind temporarily and to be manipulated and used executing cognitive functions

Question 7

Using Sensory/Long Term Memory Inputs to Manipulate Info in Working Memory

Answer 7

Inputs from sensory stimuli or long term memory: then can use your working memory based on this information,
(Seeing confused faces in a lecture based on sensory stimuli, then use working memory to figure out a solution= INPUT FROM SENSORY STIMULI)
(iNPUT FROM LONG TERM MEMORY: remember that students wree confused about this problem last year and manipulate this info in working memory to solve the problem

Question 8

Importance of Working Memory

Answer 8

Keep in mind the reason you stepped into the kitchen: allows us to keep in my mind why we need to go where we’re going
Making decisions, like what to order for dinner
Contemplating how to create an “inclusive and equitable” environment at work

Question 9

Academic Applications of Working Memory

Answer 9

Overall and specific working memory scores are strongly correlated with IQ, verbal SAT SCORES, reading ability, comprehension, reasoning, note-taking
Low working memory: may forget what you said on the first slide out of 5 slides on a particular topic

Question 10

Phonological Loop and its two components

Answer 10

Processes a limited number of sounds FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME
“Sound guy” in a move analogy
Articulatory Loop: responsible for rehearsing information, active during subvocalization, CONSCIOUS (internal speech/dialogue, RECITING A PHONE NUMBER)
Acoustic/Phonological Store: limited capacity storage tank, holds information for a few seconds at a time (Remembering a phone number briefly)

Question 11

Articulatory suppression and the word length effect

Answer 11

Articulator suppression also eliminates the word length effect: effect of short words vs long words no longer apply
Regardless of how long words are, if you are unable to rehearse, you no longer benefit from the list of short words: NO LONGER ENJOY BENEFITS

Question 12

Primary Functions of Phonological loop

Answer 12

Gateway to Long term memory and allows us to remember something and repeat it over and over again
self-instruction/walkign yourself through something complicated (setting up belay) or reminding yourself to do something in the future (prospective memory)
Language: learning new, unfamiliar words when you first see them/talking conversations
Math: keeping numbers in mind

Question 13

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad Definition, Cinemaphotographer

Answer 13

Responsible for processing LIMITED amount of visual and spatial info for a short period of time
Visual image that we can hold in our mind: even in the absence of visual stimulation, WE CAN STILL HAVE THIS IMAGE IN OUR MIND (STIMULUS INDEPENDENT)

Question 14

Example of Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad Operation, 1st Piece of Evidence that Visuo-Dpatial Sketchpad Exists, Mental Rotation Experiment

Answer 14

Mental Rotation Experiment, Shepherd and Metzlers: two lego block items, decide whether these items are identical to each, this is our ability to “rotate” an image on our brain, MORE YOU HAVE TO ROTATE THE IMAGE, THE LONGER IT TAKES FOR PARTICIPANTS TO RESPOND
CONCLUSION: INFER THAT WE TAKE THIS ITEM AND ROTATE IT IN REAL TIME AS THOUGH IT IS A PHYSICAL OBJECT, we keep this visual imagery in our mind the same way we process the physical stimuli of visual information

Question 15

2nd Piece of Evidence that Visuo-Dpatial Sketchpad Exists, Visuospatial Interference

Answer 15

Visuospatial Interference: pointing to something is much harder than saying the words = we have separate systems for pointing (SPATIAL FUNCTION) and saying something out loud (PHONOLOGICAL) (indicating inner vs. outer corner of the F, using pointing and saying it out loud makes it easier when visuospatial skectchpad and phonological loop are working together)

Question 16

Using visuospatial sketchpad while doing a visual task

Answer 16

Harder to listen to hockey game while doing visual task (because you are using the visuospatial sketchpad when listening to this)

Question 17

Why is it difficult to study the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 17

Very difficult to study; we tend to verbalize information and experience
Some people may complete a visospatial task using the phonological loop, so we don’t know if people are using the phonological loop or not (talking out loud while solving hre previous lego problem example***** with mental rotation
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS: HOW TO GET AROUND THIS PROBLEM OF PEOPLE USING THE PHONOLOGICAL LOOP WHILE USING THE VISUOSPATIAL SKETCHPAD: use up the phonological loop so they cant use it (like singing while doing a task)

Question 18

Episodic Buffer,

Answer 18

Limited capacity, temporary storage, TAKES IN EVERYTHING THAT ENDS UP IN THE WORKING MEMORY
Holds and combines info from all subsystems, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long term memory
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Combine different across modalities: was this person upset with me? (integrates their facial expression using visuospatial sketchpad, recall what they said using phonological loop, remember their normal actions when they’re mad using long term memory

Question 19

Central Executive, “Director”

Answer 19

Control center that hellps allocate and coordinate attentional resources
Makes decisions about what needs our attention, what should be ignored, what strageties should be used to maintain attention, how to know whether to switch these strategies
Coordinates AND MAKES DECISION: WHICH IS WHY IT IS STILL ABOVE THE EPISODIC BUFFER
BADDALEY ARGUES THAT THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF WORKING MEMORY

Question 20

Example of a disorder that may exhibit perseveration

Answer 20

EXAMPLE: OCD often shows perseveration/inflexibility

Question 21

Working Memory Tasks/Tests

Answer 21

Digit Span Test: assessing working memory CAPACITY, how much info you can hold in your mind and work with it depending on backward or forward recall of the digits, how MUCH INFO YOU CAN HOLD (7 PLUS OR MINUS TWO IDEA)
N-Back Task
report whether the current letter is the same n letters back (same as 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 letters back)
0-Back: respond when letter is the same as target letter, compare current letter to letter X
1-Back: respond when current letters is the same as 1 letter back
2-Back: respond when current letters is same as 2 letters back
^^CONSTANTLY NEED TO KEEP UPDATING IT AND USING WORKING MEMORY TO DO SO
What, Where, When Elements of Working Memory
What, where, when? Does this occur first or does that occur first? Who was at the party, where was the party, when was the party?
Encoding: first get some kind of squares on screen
Maintence Phase: nothing is showing, attempting to maintain the initial stimuli in your working memory (FORCES YOU TO TRY TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAW ORIGINALLY
Retrieval Phase/Processing/Response: see if the new set of squares matches the original ones you were shown
Identity: is this the same as this? (what)
Relation: which object was shown in this location (where)
Relation: which object was presented second (when)
UNDERSTAND WHAT BRAIN REGIONS ARE INVOLVED, WHAT WORKING MEMORY DOES