Chapter 5 - STM and Working Memory

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

the process involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present.

Question 2

Five Types of Memory

Answer 2

short-term/working, sensory, semantic, episodic, procedural

Question 3

Short-Term/Working Memory

Answer 3

information being focused on in the present moment; once we stop thinking about it, the information can no longer be remembered

Question 4

Sensory Memory

Answer 4

stored for as long as the sense is being stimulated; comes from the five sense (hearing, seeing, touch, smell and taste)

Question 5

Episodic Memory

Answer 5

life experiences

Question 6

Semantic Memory

Answer 6

facts

Question 7

Procedural

Answer 7

muscle memory/coordination

Question 8

Modal Model of Memory

Answer 8

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
Structural Features: sensory memory; STM; LTM
Steps: all info. enters S.M., stimuli focused on enters STM, stimuli is rehearsed to enter LTM, stimuli is retrieved back into STM for use.

Question 9

Encoding

Answer 9

storing memory into LTM

Context dependent –

factors in the environment help improve recall when they match between encoding and retrieval;
example could include the diving experiment where word list is remembered better when studying and testing happened either under the water or on the beach.
For a student writing an exam, familiarity with the exam room could help or picturing the exam room as you study.

State-dependent learning

Internal state such as your emotional state can affect encoding and improve recall if you are in a similar state during testing
Example could include intoxication study or mood studies, where the mood of the participant is elevated during study and they did better if their mood was also elevated during test.
For a student, practicing with a timer to mimic the time stress of writing an exam could help emulate the internal state during the exam.

Question 10

Retrieval

Answer 10

remembering information stored in LTM to be used.

Question 11

Persistence of Vision

Answer 11

continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present; optical illusion. (ex. sparklers cause a trail of light when it is moved rapidly; this trail occurs because the perception of the light is briefly held in the mind)

Question 12

Sperling’s Experiment: Measuring the Capacity and Duration of the Sensory Store.

Answer 12

how much information people can take in from briefly presented stimuli

Question 13

Whole Report Method

Answer 13

participants were asked to report as many letters as possible from the entire 12-letter display; average of 4.5/12 letters

Question 14

Partial Report Tone Immediate Method

Answer 14

person saw all 12 letters, as before, but immediately after they were turned off, a tone indicated which row the person was to report; average 3.3/4

Question 15

Partial Report Tone Delayed Method

Answer 15

same as above but tone is heard after letter are already turned off; average 1/4

Question 16

Iconic memory or visual icon

Answer 16

brief sensory image for visual stimuli. ~1 second duration

Question 17

Echoic memory

Answer 17

brief sensory image for auditory stimuli; (when you hear someone say something, but you don’t understand at first and say “what?” but even before the person can repeat what was said, you “hear” it in your mind). ~1-2 seconds duration.

Question 18

Digit Span

Answer 18

the number of digits that can be remembered as a measure of STM capacity; average 5-9 digits - suggested by Miller

Question 19

Change Detection

Answer 19

recongizing change of pattern (ex. Luck and Vogel’s stimuli test - like the behavioural test for the PSYC 203 second research assignment; performance rapidly decreased after 4 squares)

Question 20

Chunking

Answer 20

created by Miller - small units (like words) can be combined into larger meaningful units, like phrases, or even larger units, like sentences, paragraphs, or stories. (grouping stimuli together in a meaningful way - like we grouped colour shades to remember colours in the change detection test for assignment two). 7 digits without chunking 79 with chunking in S.F. experi.

Question 21

Chunk

Answer 21

collection of elements that are strongly asscoiated with eachother but weakly associated with other elements in other chunks.

Question 22

Phonological Loop

Answer 22

verbal and auditory information

Question 23

Phonological Store

Answer 23

limited capacity; holds info for a few seconds.

Question 24

Articulatory Rehearsal Process

Answer 24

rehearsal to keep items in the phonological store from decaying

Question 25

Visuospatial sketch pad

Answer 25

visual + spatial information; forms picture in head

Question 26

Central Executive

Answer 26

major work of working memory occurs; pulls information from long-term memory and coordinates with the other two groups

Question 27

Phonological Similarity Effect

Answer 27

confusion of letters or words that sound similar

Question 28

Word Length Effect

Answer 28

memory for lists of words is better for short words than long words; shorter words are more likely to be recalled (long words take more time to be rehearse)

Question 29

Articulatory Suppression

Answer 29

repetition of irrelevant sound which interferes with rehearsal.

Question 30

Preservation

Answer 30

repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if it is not achieving the deserted goal - common in patients with frontal lobe damage.

Question 31

Episodic Buffer

Answer 31

stores information and is connected to LTM in Baddely’s model (WIP); integrates information from long-term memory and working memory.

Question 32

Delayed Response Task

Answer 32

monkey to hold information in working memory during delay period (period where stimuli isnt present).
Can be trained to do well, but if PFC is removed chances are 50/50.

Question 33

Synesthesia

Answer 33

stimulation in one sense leads to an impression in another sense

Question 34

Amnesia

Answer 34

loss of memory.

Question 35

Interference

Answer 35

information that interferes can enter memory before or after the target.

proactive interference: old memories disrupt the retrieval of new memories.

retroactive interference: new memories disrupt the retrieval and maintenance of old memories.