LECTURE 5- STM AND FORGETTING Flashcards
What is working memory?
A mental workspace allowing temporary retention and manipulation of information for reasoning, learning, and comprehension.
What is short-term memory (STM)?
Retention and basic processing of information in simple tasks, part of working memory.
How did Miller (1956) describe STM capacity?
As the “magical number” 7 ± 2, meaning most people can remember 5-9 items.
What is chunking in STM?
Grouping information into meaningful units to increase STM capacity.
How does chunking demonstrate STM and LTM interaction?
Chunking relies on prior knowledge from long-term memory to organize information.
How does articulatory suppression affect STM?
It prevents covert rehearsal, reducing STM capacity to around 3-5 chunks (Cowan, 2001).
What is visuospatial short-term memory?
The ability to temporarily store and manipulate visual and spatial information.
What is the visuospatial capacity limit?
Around 4 integrated objects, regardless of their features (Luck & Vogel, 1997).
Why does STM have a capacity limit?
Biological restrictions like neuronal firing speed and the need to avoid interference.
What is the multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson & Shiffrin’s (1968) model with sensory memory, STM, and LTM as separate stores.
What supports the multi-store model?
Evidence from amnesics showing dissociations between STM and LTM.
What is a limitation of the multi-store model?
It oversimplifies STM as a single store and doesn’t account for working memory functions.
What is the multicomponent model of working memory?
Baddeley & Hitch’s (1974) model with the central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer.
What is the phonological loop?
A verbal STM component storing spoken and written language for a brief time.
What are the two components of the phonological loop?
The phonological store (inner ear) and the articulatory control process (inner voice).
What evidence supports the phonological loop?
Baddeley et al. (1975) showed that phonological similarity and word length affect memory.
How does the phonological loop aid language acquisition?
It allows retention and rehearsal of words, which correlates with vocabulary development.
What are the components of the visuospatial sketchpad?
The visual cache (stores shapes and colors) and the inner scribe (stores spatial information and movement).
What is the episodic buffer?
A limited-capacity store integrating verbal, visual, and episodic information (Baddeley, 2000).
How does the episodic buffer interact with LTM?
It organizes information into chunks using semantic and episodic memory from LTM.
What is the central executive?
An attentional control system managing resources, task switching, and response inhibition.
How is the central executive tested?
Through dual-task performance, random generation tests, and task-switching tests.
What is the embedded-processes model of working memory?
Cowan’s (1999) model, where STM is part of activated LTM with a focus of attention on a subset.
How does attention function in the embedded-processes model?
It can be voluntary (central executive) or involuntary, determining memory activation and focus.
What is the levels-of-processing theory?
Craik & Lockhart’s (1972) theory that deeper semantic processing improves memorability.
What is the testing effect?
The phenomenon where retrieval practice (testing) improves long-term retention more than restudying.
How does retrieval benefit learning?
By creating additional memory traces and activating associative information.
What did Roediger & Karpicke (2006) find about testing?
Testing enhances memory after longer delays but not immediately after learning.
What is trace decay in forgetting?
The fading of memory traces over time without reinforcement.
What is interference in memory?
When other information disrupts memory encoding, storage, or retrieval.
What are the types of interference?
Proactive (old memories interfere with new) and retroactive (new memories interfere with old).
What is retroactive facilitation?
Improved memory for original information when participants focus on distinguishing new changes.
What is the distinctiveness effect?
Memory is better for unique or different information processed distinctively.
What is the role of semantic processing in memory?
It strengthens memory encoding and retrieval, making information more accessible.
What are the benefits of forgetting?
Reducing mental clutter, avoiding interference, and prioritizing relevant information.
How do amnesics perform on STM tasks?
They perform well unless tasks require forming new relational memories.
What did Ebbinghaus (1885) demonstrate about forgetting?
Forgetting follows a logarithmic pattern, with rapid loss initially, then slower decline.
What is the dual-memory theory of retrieval?
Testing strengthens original traces and creates secondary memory traces.
How does working memory affect education?
It underpins cognitive development, learning, and task performance (Cowan, 2014).
What are the limitations of unitary-store models?
They don’t explain dissociations in patients or how STM supports learning new vocabulary.
