Chapter 5-Memory Pt. 2 Flashcards
Working memory
Similar concept to short term memory
Baddeley and Hitch
Working memory: limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning
Baddeley and Hitch’s basic model of working memory
Phonological loop: verbal and auditory information
Visuospatial sketch pad: visual and spatial information
Central executive: coordinates verbal and visual information and focuses attention on relevant information
Phonological similarity effect
- phonological loop
- letters or words that sound similar are confused
Word-length effect
- phonological loop
- memory span for short lists of words is better than for long lists of words because it takes longer to rehearse long words and produce them during recall
Articulatory suppression
-phonological loop
- prevents you from rehearsing items that you need to remember
- reduces memory span
- eliminates word length effect
- reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words
Two parts of the phonological loop
- Phonological store
2. Articulatory control process
Phonological store
Apart of phonological loop
Memory store that retains speech based information for a short period of time. Unless rehearsed, the traces within the store decay within about 2 seconds
Articulatory control process
- apart of the phonological loop
1. translates visual information into a speech based code and deposits it in the phonological store
2. refreshes a trace in the phonological store
Coglab: Phonological similarity effect
When people are asked to recall a list of items, their performance is usually worse when the items sound similar (for e.g. F confused with S)
The phonological similarity effect occurs even when there is no auditory input because the articulatory control process has converted the visual information into phonological information.
If you used visual representation, you would likely confuse items that looked similar (e.g. E and F)
Phonological similarity effect: demonstration based on Murray
-uses articulatory suppression technique to prevent the articulatory control process from translating visual information into phonological information
Quiet condition: you repeat sequence in same order
Speak condition: say “1,2,3..” during sequence then repeat sequence
Length of the lists were classified as being three levels of acoustic confusability: one sound, two sound, five sound
Experimental results of Murray demonstration (phonological similarity effect coglab)
Dissimilar (5 word) quiet had greatest memory span and then dissimilar speak condition
When you did not engage in articulatory suppression (quiet), you should recall more dissimilar than similar letters. Similar letters produce phonological similarity effects.
When you engaged in articulatory suppression, performance should be worse than when you did not, and you should also find no difference in recall of similar and dissimilar letters. articulatory control process is not converting visual info into phonological info and as a result you have reduced (or no) phonological similarity effects and word length effects for that matter.
Memory span is correlated to what
Articulation rate (word length effect)
Our memory span increases as we are able to articulate words more rapidly
Phonological loop (how many items can people remember)
People are able to remember the number of items they can pronounce in about 2 seconds
Baddeley et al
Visual imagery
- apart of the visuospatial sketch pad
- The creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimulus
- Shepard and Metzler
- mental rotation task of cubed objects
- tasks that called for greater rotation took longer
Working memory is set up to ______
Process different types of information simultaneously
Working memory has trouble when similar types of information are presented at the same time
Brooks experiment
Memorize a sentence and then consider each word mentally-phonological loop is used
Phonological: say “yes” if it is a noun and “no” if it isn’t
-difficult to do: overloads the phonological loop
Visuospatial: point to Y if word is a noun and N if it isn’t
-easier (working memory engaged)
Also had the “F” visual experiment to show reverse
-speaking easier than pointing
The central executive
Attention controller
-focus, divide and switch attention
Control suppression of irrelevant information
Damage to the central executive causes
Perseveration: repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if it is not achieving the desired goal
Episodic buffer
Back up store that communicates with long term memory and working memory components
Holds information longer and has a greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad
WM and the Brain
Prefrontal cortex responsible for processing incoming visual and auditory information
Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have difficulty holding information in WM
Funahashi
Single cell recordings from monkeys prefrontal cortex during a delay-response task
Neurons responded when stimulus was flashed in a particular location and the during delay (responded most during delay)
Information remains available via these neurons for as long as they continue firing
Shows that prefrontal cortex is important for holding information in the working memory
Holding information in the visual cortex (Harrison and Tong)
- Sample 1 and sample 2 are shown (have different orientations)
- cue that says which sample to remember
- delay
- test frame appears and participants must say which way it is oriented from the sample
Want to see which brain area produces the neural response pattern so we can distinguish which pattern you saw
Produces a distribution representation
Stokes
Information can be “stored”in working memory by short term changes in the connectivity of a neural network
Activity-silent working memory:
- Activity state: Information to be remembered causes neurons to be fired
- Synaptic state: neuron firing stops, but connections between neurons are strengthened
Reading span test
Read a list of sentences
Report last word of each sentence at end
Reading span test performance correlated with reading ability (and working memory)
