Chapter 5: Short-Term And Working Memory Flashcards
Memory
- Processing involved in retaining, retrieving and using info about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills adter original info is no longer present
- Active any time some past experience has effect on way you think or behave now or in future
Sensory Memory
Initial stage that holds all incoming info for seconds (or fractions of seconds)
Short-Term Memory
Memory mechanisms that can hold limited amount of info for brief period of time
-Holds 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds
Long-Term Memory
Large amounts of info for years- decades
Control Processes
Active processes that can be controlled by person and that may differ from one task to another
Rehearsal
Process of repeating a stimulus over and over, usually for purpose of remembering
Retrieval
Remembering info stored in LTM
Encoding
Process of storing info in LTM
Persistence of vision
Continued perception of visual stimulus
Iconic Memory
Visual stimuli that lasts for fraction of second after stimulus is extinguished
Echoic Memory
Auditory stimuli that lasts for fraction of second after stimulus is extinguished
Whole Report Method
Participants were instructed to report all stimuli they saw in brief presentation
Partial Report Method
Participants were instructued to report only some of stimuli in briefly presented display
Delayed Partial Report Method
Partial report method with cue tone that was delayed for fraction of second after display was extinguished
Decays
Process by which info is lost from memory due to passage of time
Recall
Subjects asked to report stimuli they have previously seen or heard
Brown and Peterson
Distractor tasks
Confounded vs decay
STM lasts 15-20s
Waugh and Norman
16 letter
Report only some with auditory cue
Time vs Intervening digits
Interference is reason we lose information
Sternberg
How do we search STM?
- Serial (STM) vs Parallel (LTM)
- Exhaustive (STM) vs Terminating (LTM)
Chunking
Combining small units into larger ones, such as when individual words are combined into meaningful sentence
- Used to increase capacity of memory
Digit Span
Number of digits a person can remember
- Ericsson and coworkers (1980)- chunking digits into meaningful units
Central Executive
- Part of working memory that coordiates activity of phological loop and visuospatial sketch pad
- “Traffic cop”- working memory system
Phonological Loop
Verbal and auditory information
- Phonological Store - Articulatory Rehearsal Process
Phonological Store
Holds limited amount fo verbal and auditory info for few seconds
Articulatory Rehearsal Process
rehearsal process involved in working memory that keeps items in phonological store from decaying
Visuospatial Sketch Pad
Visual and spatial information
Baddeley’s Working Memory Model takes into account:
- Dynamic processes involved in cognitions such as understanding language and doing math problems
- Fact that people can carry out two tasks simultaneously
Working Memory
Limited capacity system for temporrary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning
Phonological Loop
- Phological Similarity Effect
- Word Length Effect
- Articulatory Suppression Effect
- Unattended Speech Effect
Phonological Similarity Effect
An effect that occurs when letter or words that sound similar are confused
Ex. T vs P
Word Length Effect
Notion that it is more difficult to remember list of long words than list of short words
Articulatort Suppression Effect
Interference with operation of phonological loop that occurs when a person repeats an irrelevant word
Ex. Repeating ‘the’ while carrying out task that requires phonological loop
Visual Imagery
Types of mental imagery involving vision, in which an image is experiences in absence of visual stimulus
Mental Rotation
Rotating an image of an object in the mind
The Central Executive
- acts as the attention controller- executive attention
- controls suppression of irrelevant information
- perseveration
Persevaration
Difficulty in switching from one behavior to another, which can hinder a person’s ability to solve problems that require flexible thinking
- repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if it is not achieving the desired goal
- prefrontal cortex damage
Episodic Buffer
Holds info longer and has greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad
- Backup store—> communicates with multiple memory systems
Funahashi
Singel cell recordings from monkey’s prefrontal cortex during delayed-response task
Delayed-Response Task
Task in which info is provided, a delay is imposed, and then memory is tested
- Used to study short-term memory by testing monkeys ability to hold info about location of food reward during delay
Working Memory and the Brain
- Neurons responses when stimulus was flashed in a particular location and during delay
- Information remains available via these neurons for as long as they continue firing
Working Memory and Neural Dynamics: Stokes
Information is stored in short-term changes in neural networks
Activity-silent working memory
Short-term changes in neural network connectivity that has been hypothesized as mechanism for holding info in working memory
- Activity state
- Synaptic state
Cognitive Control
Set of functions, which allow people to regulate their behavior and attentional resources and to resist the temptation to give in to impulses
Reading Span Test
Test used by Daneman and Carpenter to measure reading span
Reading Span
Determine individual differences in working memory
- 13-16 word sentences that person can read and them correctly remember last words of all sentences
