Chapter 5: Short Term and Working Memory

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

the process involved in retaining and using cognitive information

Question 2

what is encoding?

Answer 2

a process of memory where you are ADDING info

Question 3

what is retrieval?

Answer 3

a process of memory where info is REMOVED or pulled out of the brain

Question 4

what is sensory short term memory?

Answer 4

new and currently used information

Question 5

what is long term memory?

Answer 5

memory that is stored

Question 6

we talk about the capacity of memory in terms of…

Answer 6

pieces of information

remember this….object, letter, word, person

Question 7

information decays with…

Answer 7

time

Question 8

what was Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Answer 8

changed the game by creating the “modal model of memory?

Question 9

what is the modal model of memory?

**should prob know how to draw

Answer 9

divided into 3 subparts and all can feed into one another:
1. sensory memory- experiencing info
(must use before it decays)
2. short term memory - using information
(must rehearse before it decays)
3. long term memory- storing it for later
(must retrieve before it decays)

if information is not used then it will be lost (aka forgotten)

Question 10

word description of the modal model of memory:

Answer 10

begins with an input
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v
input taken in by the sensory memory
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V
moved to the short term memory where it will be OUTPUT but also can be —> rehearsed
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V
information may or man not be then moved to long term memory

Question 11

what is sensory memory?

Answer 11

the short term retention of sensory stimuli

when the stimuli is remove, but the perception remains BUT only lasts a few seconds

Question 12

what is iconic memory

Answer 12

the sensory memory of vision

Question 13

what is echoic memory?

Answer 13

the sensory memory of sound

Question 14

what is haptic memory?

Answer 14

the sensory memory of touch

Question 15

what was sperling (1960)?

Answer 15

studied the capacity of sensory memory

individuals were shown 12 letters for 50 ms

participants could recall 37% of letters, but really the recal depended on how fast could you write

“can you write fast enough before your sensory (iconic) memory runs out?

2nd part:
indiviuals were instructed which line to recall numbers from AFTER a pause

they only recalled 10% of letters

Question 16

according to sperling 1960, how long does decay of sensory memory take to occur

Answer 16

.5 seconds

Question 17

what is short term memory?

Answer 17

information you are thinking about right now

made up of
1. newly acquired sensory memory
2. newly recalled information from long term memory

Question 18

how long does short term memory last before it decays OR stored in LTM?

Answer 18

15-20 seconds

Question 19

who was patient HM?

Answer 19

Henry Molasion

had part of his hippocampus (ablasion) to control seizures

-he lost his ability to convert STM to LTM
-lived life one STM at a time
-However he still had childhood memories

this is called ANTERGRADE AMNESIA

Question 20

what was Miller 1956?

Answer 20

“magic number study”
“how long does STM last?”

tested the capacity of short term memory

gave participants a digit span task by asking them to recall a series of numbers

results: we can remember 7+/-2 (5-9)

Question 21

what was Luck 1997?

Answer 21

found that memory changes depending on what input information you’re using

when participants were asked “which squares changed colors, they had a more difficult time remembering

Question 22

what is chunking

Answer 22

a way to aid out STM capacity

it is where you combine unrelated pieces of info into fewer related pieces

ex. 0, 1, 2, 1, 1, 8, 1, 9
see as 01/21/1819

Question 23

who was patient SF?

Answer 23

with 200 hours of chunking and training, could remember 79 digits!!

was very efficient at creating meaning (chunks)

ex. 2654921031
a 6’2” runner ran a 5:49 mile 2 times on 10/31

Question 24

what is working memory?

Answer 24

holding on to information and using information

the ability to use STM being held
-comprehend
-practice using
-making connections

(is the rehearsal part of the MMM)

Question 25

what is the Baddely and Hitch working memory model?

Answer 25

An adaptation of the MMM to expand working memory

added the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketch pad, and the central executive systems

Question 26

what is the phonological loop?

Answer 26

the ability to use and store VERBAL and AUDITORY information

Question 27

what is the visiospatial sketch pad?

Answer 27

the ability to use and store VISUAL and SPATIAL info

Question 28

what is the central executive?

Answer 28

the ability to connect this back to STM and LTM

Question 29

the phonological loop details

Answer 29

-handles auditory information in the mind

ex. Jim sounds like Gym, and Jim looks strong

-repeating words to ourselves
-includes auditor errors

Question 30

what are auditor errors?

Answer 30

1. phonological similarity error
   -we confuse 3 and T, not E and F
2. word length error
   -longer sounding words are harder to remember
   ex. apartment v. house
   engineering, mosquito, gymnastics,
   and mathematics
3. articulatory suppression error
   -words are harder to remember if you have to remember other sounds

Question 31

visiospatial sketchpad details

Answer 31

handling visual imagery and physical space in the mind

“are these two shapes the same” example
(the more you had to mentally rotate the object in your head, the longer it took to answer

Question 32

the prefrontal cortex

Answer 32

holds onto temporary info, and is involved in working memory