Memory Flashcards
What are the two assumptions of the Multistore Model of Memory?
Memory consists of a number of separate stores and memory processes are sequential (flowing from one to another).
Who came up with the Multistore Model of Memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
Briefly describe the multistore model of memory
Info from enironment —> sensory register
–attention– > STM –rehearsal –> LTM
What sensory registers are linked with hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell?
Echoic, iconic
haptic, gustatory and olfactory
What is the duration for iconic and echoic information in the sensory register?
iconic - only milliseconds
echoic - 2 seconds
What is maintenance rehearsal?
When something is rehearsed over and over again.
What is the coding, capacity and duration for the sensory register?
Coding: sense-specific
Capacity: All sensory experiences (large and detailed)
Duration: Different for all senses
What is the coding, capacity and duration for the STM?
Coding: Acoustic
Capacity: 7+/-2 items
Duration: 18-30s
What is the coding, capacity and duration for the LTM?
Coding: Semantic
Capacity: Unlimited
Duration: Lifetime
Evaluate the Multistore Model of Memory
+ Case study evidence: HM could remember old LTM and STM but not new LTM.
- Oversimplified: HM could learn new skills (and Clive Wearing)
+ Supporting research: Brain scans show activation of different areas of the brain when doing STM than LTM tasks.
- Oversimplified: KF Hard to process verbal info in STM, but fine processing visual info.
What are the different types of LTM? Describe them.
Episodic: Personal experiences - explicit
Semantic: Facts, concepts and knowledge - explicit
Procedural: Skills - implicit
What does explicit and implicit mean?
Explicit = requires conscious recall
Implicit = doesn’t require conscious recall - automatic
What was Tulving’s experiment? What did he find?
Used brain scans on 6p’s while performing memory tasks. He studied the prefrontal cortex.
Episodic memories had more blood flow to anterior regions of the PFC.
Semantic memories had more blood flow to posterior regions of the PFC.
Procedural memory was located in the cerrebellum.
+ Objective - separate stores of LTM
- Only 3/6 p’s showed the difference
Evaluate Types of LTM (1S & 1L)
+ Supporting Case Studies: e.g. KC inability to recollect personal experiences after an accident but could recall facts and general knowledge.
- Studying brain damaged people may have other complications - e.g. lack of concentration - affecting performance of tasks.
Who came up with the Working Memory Model?
Baddeley and Hitch
Why did Baddeley and Hitch criticise the MSM?
- STM too simplistic and STM not one single store.
- STM seen as an active store, holding info that is currently being worked on.
Describe the WMM (overview)
Phonological loop <—- Central executive —-> Visuo-spacial sketchpad
CE —> Episodic buffer –> LTM
Describe the central executive
Acts as a filter, determining which info is paid attention to.
Oversees and co-ordinates the other ‘slave’ components.
Limited capacity of 4.
Coded sense-specific.
Describe the phonological loop
Deals with auditory info in speech form (coding is acoustic - inner ear). Capacity is around 2 seconds.
Divided into:
- Phonological store (stores what you hear)
- Articulatory process (rehearsal of info)
What is the articulatory suppression experiment?
When someone has to remember a list of words while counting out loud. This fills up the phonological loop’s capacity, so words are harder to remember.