Cognitive Psychology/Memory Flashcards
Define memory
An organism’s ability to store, retain, and subsequently retrieve information
What are the stages of memory
Sensory input - Encoding - Storage - Retrieval
What is the encoding stage of memory?
Converts sensory input into a usable code that can be stored in memory
What is the storage stage of memory?
Holds encoded information for a period of time
What is the retrieval stage of memory?
Locates stored information and returns it into consciousness when needed
Provide an example demonstrating the stages of memory
Encoding: When you met the person and were told the name (“this is Joe”)
Storage: When you retained or stored the name (“hmm, Joe”)
Retrieval: When you retrieved/recovered the name from memory (Yeah, you are Joe!”)
Define sensory memory
A short-term memory store for information being processed through the senses
What are the 2 main sensory registers for memory
Iconic memory
Echoic memory
Define Iconic memory with one example
The sensory register for visual information e.g., you look at a flower, close your eyes, and an icon of a flower is imprinted in your consciousness. The image you “see” in your mind is your iconic memory of that visual stimuli
Define echoic memory with one example
The sensory register for auditory information
E.g., when someone talks, your echoic memory holds each syllable. Your brain recognizes words by connecting each syllable to the previous one
Iconic memory- what it holds, duration stored, and storage capacity
It holds: exact replica of visual information (an icon)
Duration stored: approx. 1/3-1/2 of a second
Storage capacity: relatively unlimited
Echoic memory- what it holds, duration stored and the storage capacity
It holds: exact replica of auditory information (an echo)
Storage capacity: approx 3-4 seconds
Duration stored: relatively unlimited
Define short term memory
Where we store info that we only need to remember for a short period (15-30 seconds)
What is Miller’s magic number 7?
Most people can store 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their short term memory
What is ‘chunking’ according to Miller’s theory? Provide 1 example.
Taking individual pieces of information and grouping them into larger meaningful units. e.g., “5932” would be 4 seperate numbers for most people unless they’re your PIN numbers, then they would form a single “chunk”