L4: Short-Term and Working Memory

Question 1

Computer Metaphor for LT and ST Memory

Answer 1

Short-Term Memory -> RAM (Random Access Memory)
Long-Term Memory -> SSD (Solid State Drive)

Question 2

3 Stages of Memory

Answer 2

1. Encoding: Process involved in learning something
2. Storage: Process involved in storing material in the memory system
3. Retrieval: Process involved in extracting information that has already been stored

Question 3

How are Recognition Tests done?

Answer 3

1. Learn a list of words
2. Discriminate between old and new words

Question 4

How is Cued Recall done?

Answer 4

1. Learn pairs like cut-tape
2. Tested with cue: ie. cut

Question 5

How is Serial and Free Recall done?

Answer 5

1. Learn a list of words
2. Serial: Recall in specific order; Free: Recall in any order

Question 6

Describe how Sensory Stores works

Answer 6

1. Holds an exact copy of the information perceived by the senses for a very brief duration
2. Modality-specific -> separate sensory stores for different modalities
3. Very large capacity -> despite large capacity, duration of storage is short-lived
4. Attention determines what information is transferred to short-term memory

Question 7

Describe Sperling’s Partial Report technique

Answer 7

1. Some letters are briefly flashed on the screen
2. A short while later, a tone is sounded to ask to report letters in a particular row
3. Subjects were able to recall a lot more information from that particular row
4. Suggests that visual sensory memory decays within 500ms

Question 8

Iconic vs Echoic Memory

Answer 8

• Visual sensory memory (Iconic memory)
• Auditory sensory memory (echoic memory)
• Echoic memory is stored longer and decays after about 2s

Question 9

How is short-term memory capacity determined?

Answer 9

Number of chunks (meaningful bits) rather than absolute amount of information

Question 10

What is the estimate of short-term store capacity in chunks

Answer 10

Around 4

Question 11

Distinction between Short-Term Storage vs Long-Term Store

Answer 11

1. Primacy Effect: People tend to remember items presented at the start of a list -> higher likelihood of being transferred to LT memory
2. Recency Effect: Tendency to better remember items at the end of a list -> present in short-term storage
3. Double dissociation in brain-damaged patients ->shows a functional dissociation between 2 memory stores

Question 12

Why is forgetting so rapid?

Answer 12

1. Decay: Memory fades away due to passage of time
2. Interference from previously learned items, or items you learn subsequently

Question 12

What is proactive interference?

Answer 12

Earlier learned information interfere with the learning of later learned trigrams

Question 13

What are some limitations of multi-store approach?

Answer 13

Unitary-store perspective: STM is a subset of LTM activated at any given time. Some findings show similarities between STM and LTM -> top-down semantic information is involved when trying to encode information in STM

Question 14

Parts of the Working Memory Model

Answer 14

1. Central Executive: deploys attentional resources
2. Phonological Loop: holds phonological or speech information
3. Visuo-spatial sketchpad: Used for spatial and visual encoding
4. Episodic buffer: temporary storage system to integrate information from the loop, sketchpad and LTM

Question 15

Evidence for the phonological loop

Answer 15

1. Similar phonological structure more likely to interfere with each other in the loop ie. cat, fad, map
2. Word length effect -> longer words take more time to rehearse, more decay

Question 16

What are the 2 parts of visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 16

1. Visual cache: Stores information about form & color (visual)
2. Inner scribe: Stores spatial & motion information (spatial)

Question 17

What is the relationship between working memory and intelligence?

Answer 17

+.5 correlation between working memory capacity and general intelligence. Working memory more strongly correlated with fluid (IQ) compared to crystallized intelligence.