Chapter 4 and 5 Review Questions Flashcards
Sperling Experiment
What were the results for whole report? _____ letters recalled (___%)
4.5/12
37%
Sperling Experiment
What were the results for partial report? _____ letters recalled (___%)
3.3/4
82%
Sperling Experiment
What is the effect of delaying the tone by 1 second?
Why does this occur?
only able to report 1 letter per row
Sensory memory can register large amount of info but only for very brief time - starts to fade within less than 1 second
What does Sperling’s Experiment tell us about sensory memory?
Takes in all sensory input
Short lasting - held for very brief amount of time
The most common type of coding for Short-Term Memory is ____________
Phonological Coding
Conrad’s Study: subjects saw “Q” what letter might they get it confused with?
“U”
What is a radical _________________?
visual symbol with no associated sound (can only be coded visually)
What is a character _______________?
visual symbol that has an associated sound (can be coded phonologically)
Why do subjects remember more characters vs. radicals?
Because phonological coding lasts longer than visual coding
What is proactive interference? Give a real-life example.
previous info interferes with ability to learn/recall new info because the new info is from the same semantic category
It is easier to study and retain info for a history test when you have just finished studying for a math test rather than if you have just finished studying for another history test.
How many digits can be retained in STM?
Most people have digit span of 5-9 items
(7 plus or minus 2)
How can you increase STM capacity?
Chunking - small units can be combined together into larger meaningful items (using semantic coding)
What is the duration of STM?
15 - 20 seconds
What is the reason for decrease in memory when recall is delayed?
decay (and proactive interference?)
Method for testing the cocktail party effect
dichotic listening task - shadowing
Type of sensory memory involved in talking on the phone.
echoic memory
Model in which filtering occurs after all meaning is processed
late selection model
Articulatory suppression affects this aspect of working memory
Phonological loop - inhibits the articulatory rehearsal process
This type of task load explains early selection models of attention
High-task load - all cognitive resources used - Only attended items are processed
Difficulty in detecting changes in a scene
change blindness
Contains stored words, each word has a threshold of activation
dictionary unit
Chefs can remember a list of food ingredients better than me.
using semantic coding, participants familiar with a particular topic are able to chunk info
Having many friends hinders my ability to learn the names of new people.
proactive interference
Duration of short-term memory when you can’t rehearse the information.
15 - 20 seconds
Difficulty remembering “fake, take, bake, lake”.
phonological similarity effect
This structural component holds lots of detail, but only for a moment.
sensory memory
Why I have difficulty remembering the long names of Russian hockey players.
word length effect
Keep information in working memory by repeating it several times.
rehearsal
This component allows both attended and unattended stimuli to reach the dictionary unit.
attentuator
Why singing a song while studying is a bad idea.
continuous partial attention
How do early and late selection models differ?
In late selection models, final processing of info doesn’t occur until all incoming info has been processed for meaning but in early selection models, info is filtered out or weakened early in the process.
What type of attention is common in daily life?
Selective attention
Attention influences what aspects of cognition?
perception, memory, problem solving
Attention is what kind of process - single or several processes?
(several processes) - different mechanisms
What is the cost of attention?
exclusion of other features
How many participants in the Moray - own name - experiment heard their own name?
33%
How does task load relate to:
Early selection models
Late selection models
In early selection models the task load is likely higher so all cognitive resources are being used and only attended items can be processed, therefore unattended items are filtered out.
In late selection models the task load is likely lower so not all of the cognitive resources are being used and the unattended items can also be processed.
What does proactive interference tell us about STM?
Accuracy recalling words from STM depends on the word’s meaning (release from PI improved recall)
What kind of coding does chunking use?
semantic coding
The prefrontal cortex receives info from where?
Receives input from sensory areas - auditory & visual
Input from the temporal lobe is involved in what?
LTM
If there is a lesion to the PF, monkeys can no longer perform task of…
delayed working memory
