CHAPTER 5- SHORT TERM MEMORY Flashcards
define memory
a process involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli after the original information is no longer present
what is another definition of memory?
something active anytime some past experience has an effect on the way one thinks or behaves
which memory is associated with perception?
sensory memory
which memory is also known as the working memory?
short-term memory
which memory has 3 components? semantic, episodic, procedural
long-term memory
name the 3 parts of Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin’s Modal Model of Memory?
sensory, short-term, long-term
what are control processes?
dynamic processes associated with the structural features that can be controlled
what is rehearsal?
repeating the stimulus over and over
what process is storing information into long-term memory?
encoding
what process is remembering information from long-term?
retrieval
define sensory memory
the retention for brief periods of the effects of sensory stimulation
what is the persistence of vision?
the continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present
name the 3 report methods Sperling used in his capacity and duration of the sensory store experiment
whole
partial
delayed partial
what is iconic memory?
corresponds to the sensory memory stage of the Modal Model by Atkinson and Shiffrin
what is echoic memory?
the persistence of sound
define short-term memory
the system involved in storing small amounts of information for a brief period of time
which experimental method is used for recollection of events/facts or report back the previously presented stimuli ?
recall
memory can be measured as a ______ of stimuli remembered
percentage
what is serial recall?
recalling items in the same order they were presented
what is free recall?
recalling items without regard to their order of presentation
how did Llyod Peterson and Margret Peterson use recall in their experiment?
to determine the duration of short-term memory by getting participants to recall 3-grouped letters after counting backwards from a random number after a certain amount of time
what is digit span?
the number of digits a person on average can remember (5-9)
what is change detection?
being asked to differentiate between 2 scenes presented sequentially
who used change detection in their experiment? what did they discover?
Luck and Vogel
the number of items on display makes it harder to differentiate due to STM limited capacity
what is chunking?
process that shows how small units can be combined into larger meaningful units
what is a chunk?
collection of elements that are strongly associated with one another but are weakly associated with elements of other chunks
chunking in terms of what increases the ability to hold information in STM?
in terms of meaning
what is recoding?
packing more information into each chunk
what is a mnemonic?
a technique for improving memory
who used change detection in their experiment and how did they modify it?
Alvarez and Cavanagh
added more complex objects to each display of the same category
what id Alvarez and Cavanagh discover?
the greater the amount of information in an image, the fewer items can be held in STM
in what 2 terms can memory be measured ?
number of items or amount of detailed information
define working memory
a limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks
multiplying 43 by 6 is an example of what memory at work?
working memory
how does working memory work?
the simultaneous use of storage and active processing
who made a working memory model? what premise did he use?
Baddeley
under certain conditions it is possible to carry out 2 tasks simultaneously
what is Baddeley’s working memory model?
considers the dynamic process involved in cognitions and the fact people can carry out 2 tasks simultaneously
what are the 3 components of Baddeley’s working memory model?
phonological loop
visuospatial sketch pad
central executive
what is the phonological loop (what does it work with) and what are its 2 components?
it works with language
phonological store
articulatory rehearsal process
what is the phonological store?
holds information for only a few seconds
what is the articulatory rehearsal process?
responsible for rehearsal that can keep items in the phonological store from decaying
what does the visuospatial sketch pad do?
holds visual and spatial information
what does the central executive do?
pulls info from LTM and coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad by focusing on how to divide attention
what are 3 things the phonological loop deals with in terms of language?
phonological similarity effect
word length effect
articulatory suppression
what is the phonological similarity effect?
the confusion of letters or words that sound familiar
who’s experiment involved the phonological similarity effect and what did they discover?
R. Conrad found that participants would misidentify the target letter with a letter that sounded like the target
what can be concluded from Conrad’s discovery about the phonological similarity effect
verbal information is recoded into acoustic format when visually exerienced
what is the word length effect?
when memory for lists of words is better for short rather than long words
why are shorter words easier to remember than long words?
long words require more pronunciation and rehearsal
short words require less pronunciation and rehearsal
what is articulatory suppression?
the repetition of an irrelevant sound which reduces memory due to speaking interfering with rehearsal
what is visual imagery?
the creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical stimulus
who found that same/different reaction times were longer for greater differences in orientations of objects
Shepard and Metzler
what is mental rotation?
the ability to rotate an image in one’s mind
how does the central executive make the working memory work?
it is the control center of the working memory system
what did Baddeley refer the central executive to be?
the attention controller
what component was later added to Baddeley’s model of the working memory but is not officially established?
the episodic buffer
what is the episodic buffer?
it stores information and is connected to long term memory
people with frontal lobe damage is found to be characterized by?
perseveration
what is perseveration?
repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if its not achieving the desired goal
what was the delayed-response task?
observes holding information during a delayed period
what 3 neural network changes allow information to be stored
activity state
synaptic state
remembering
what is the activity state?
when information to be remembered causes neurons to briefly fire
what is the synaptic state?
when a number of neural connections are strengthened
what is remembering?
when a memory is being retrieved it is characterized by a pattern of firing neurons
what are the 2 kinds of interferencce?
retroactive
proactive
what is retroactive interference?
when newer material interferes one’s recollection of older items
what is proactive interference?
when older material interferes with learning and remembering newer material
who concluded that similarity affects memory by interfering proactively?
Wickens
what are the 3 serial positions?
primacy
asymptote
recency
what is primacy and how does it affect memory?
the information at the beginning of a sequence
associated with superior memory
what is asymptote and how does it affect memory?
the information in the middle of a sequence
associated with adequate memory
what is recency and how does it affect memory?
the information at the end of a sequence
is associated with superior memory
what letter does the serial position curve resemble?
a U
what is dissociation?
an independent variable affecting one situation differently from another
what is double dissocuation?
2 situations are affected in opposite ways by one or more of the same independent variables
