Ch6 - Memory Aquisition Flashcards
3 basic steps in acquiring a memory
Acquisition: info is first learned
Storage: info is held even while it is not needed
Retrieval: info is remembered and used
modal model of memory
brief description
- information percieved
- sensory memory
- short term memory
- is either rehearsed, transfered to LT or lost
- long term memory
important updates to the modal model of memory
- sensory memory is less important in current theories
- short term memory replaced by working memory –> emphasizes thoughts that are currently in use
if participants are asked to recall a set of words immediately after hearing them, what pattern can we expect?
why does this happen?
U-shaped pattern where the first words are remembered more frequently than the words at the middle of the list, and words at the end are remembered the most frequently
- primacy effect occurs because words at the start of a list are rehearsed more
- recency effect occurs because words at the end of the list have just entered working memory so they are easiest to retrieve
see figure 2 - word list recall for a graph of this effect
what happens if there is a break between hearing a list of words and recalling the list?
what if a cognitive task is performed during this break?
what if the list is presented at 2 words per second instead of 1 word per second?
a break where nothing happens will have next to no effect on recall
a break where a cognitive task is performed will eliminate the recency effect
presenting the list faster will decrease the percentage of words recalled EXCEPT for the last few words
digit span
definition + how this is tested + average human digit span
the number of digits a person can echo back without error
tested by presenting increasingly longer lists of digits and asking the person to repeat them
7 ± 2 items can be remembered on average
what is a chunk?
what does “chunking” do to our working memory?
in the context of working memory
a package of information (eg: a syllable, a number, a date…)
“chunking” reduces the load on our working memory, we can remember more total information (eg: more letters if they are chunked as words) but still only 7 ± 2 chunks
how do we measure working memory capacity?
operation span measures working memory capacity by giving participants items to remember while they perform a task
it is thought to measure how much information can be stored while simultaneously working with other information
digit span is not as valid a measure as this because it is static
components of the working memory system
list + purpose
central executive: planning, decision making, active thinking…
“helpers”:
- articulatory rehearsal loop: using !subvocalisation to repeat information
- visuospatial buffer: imagining images
- episodic buffer: tracks the sequence of events
!inner voice
concurrent articulation task
description + what it shows + effects on other tasks
person asked to articulate a syllable (eg: tah) while performing a span test
shows that while mechanisms for speech are in use, rehearsal loops using subvocalisation are hindered
- digit span test: items remembered reduced by 2
- sound alike errors eliminated when shown images of letters
rehearsal types (memory)
name + description
maintenance rehearsal: simply repeating or thinking about the item to be remembered
- eg: repeating the word “apple”
relational or elaborative rehearsal: thinking about the meaning of an item and how it relates to other items
- thinking about how an apple is a fruit
- imagining an apple
- comparing it to other fruits like pears…
relational/elaborative rehearsal is superior: information retained longer and easier to transfer to LTM
Intentional vs Incidental learning
describe study + identify the groups and how they performed
participants given a list of words, # of words remembered tested
- intentional learning by group told they were going to be tested beforehand
- incidental learning by group told to think about how pleasant each word is to them
- poor depth of processing by groups told to count letters or see which words had an e
intentional and incidental groups performed the same other groups performed half as well
see figure 3 - learning words for graph
types of processing (memory)
name + examples
shallow processing: identifying features of an item
- eg: it’s blue, in capital letters, center of the page…
moderate processing: thinking about arbitrary features of an item
- eg: does it rhyme with a cue word…
deep processing: goes beyond the information given by the item alone, think about it’s meaning
- eg: does the word fit in this sentence, how pleasant is the word…
effect of intention on learning
in trials where participants are assigned a level of processing, their intention to learn the words mostly did not affect performance
(eg: participants performing deep processing performed almost the same whether they were told they would be tested after or not)
mnemonic strategies
- link the first letters of words (eg: ROY g BIV)
- image mnemonics (connect items in one image)
- peg word systems (using an easy to remember ‘skeleton’)
