memory Flashcards
Duration of sensory register.
According to the Multi-Store Model there is a third type of memory known as the Sensory Register, duration of Sensory memory is very short. The duration of sensory memory is less than half a second. If you do not have time to pay attention to something it will be lost before it can be passed to STM.
Capacity and coding of sensory register.
The are different sensory memory stores for different senses. The main coding stores in sensory memory are: Iconic memory - for visual information and Echoic memory - for sound based information. The carrots study uses your iconic memory. The capacity of sensory memory is very large, this is because the sensory register receives information from all the senses. All information from the environment around us enters sensory memory.
Attention and Rehearsal
These are important processes in order to transfer information through the MSM and prevent forgetting. In order to transfer information from sensory memory to STM you must pay attention to the information.
multi - store model
External information from environment first enters sensory memory where it can be stored very briefly before being passed to STM. Information will only be passed to STM if attention is paid to it. There are different types of information in sensory memory: Visual information enters iconic memory, Sound based information enters echoic memory. Duration is about ½ a second, STM scores information using an acoustic code. STM has a very limited capacity (7±2 chunks) and info can be lost easily due to being pushed out by new information. Memories stored in STM are fragile & can be lost within about 30s unless are rehearsed (repeated). Material that is rehearsed is passed on to LTM which is limitless, it is stored semantically & it can remain for a lifetime. Info can be lost at each stage leading to forgetting.
Working memory model.
Argues STM is more complex and active than stated in multi store model, STM is a working memory that holds all the material you are thinking about at the moment. The model suggests a multi component system for STM (which it calls working memory) with several parts that work either independently or together. Working memory sends & receives info from LTM, Doesn’t attempt to explain LTM.
Central executive
Controls the activity of the working memory, directs attention to particular tasks, determining how the three slave systems are allocated to tasks. The other parts are ‘slaves’ to this one. It has a limited capacity therefore cannot attend to too many things at once. So it directs attention to most important info at the expense of other less important info. Integrates actions of the other systems so that thinking processes appear coordinated. It works independently of the senses.
Phonological loop.
An auditory store which rehearses sound based info to prevent decay (coding is acoustic). Limited capacity. Consists of 2 parts: Phonological store: Deals with perception of sound including speech. It holds the words you hear and is known as the ‘inner ear’. Articulatory loop: Known as ‘inner voice’. It is a verbal rehearsal system used to prevent the decay of verbal material by saying things over and over until it is spoken out loud. The words are silently repeated (looped). It has a duration of about 2 seconds, Holds as much info as we can rehearse in 2 seconds.
VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD.
The ‘inner eye’ (coding is visual), Visual (what things look like) & spatial (the physical relationship between things) information is temporarily stored here. This is used when you have to plan a visual and/or spatial task e.g. by providing a mental map when we want to find our way around. Also acts as the mental rough paper that you might use when doing mental arithmetic. It has a limited capacity of about 3-4 objects.
Episodic buffer.
Baddeley (2000) added a third slave system - the episodic buffer as he realised there was no general store for information. The VSS and the PL both hold specific types of information, but there was nowhere to house information that included both visual and sound based content. The episodic buffer acts as a temporary store and integrates information from all the other components. It has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks of information. It records episodes as they are happening so has a sense of time (e.g. first day at school). It can send information to the long-term memory.
Cognitive interview (CI)
A technique used by the police involving the following: asking open questions (to reduce effects of leading questions), asking witnesses to recall every detail however insignificant (to give cues & triggers), repeating the account from other perspectives e.g. the victim (to give triggers). The cognitive interview is based on 2 principles of memory: Info is organised so that memories can be accessed in a number of ways (not just as the events actually happened) and Memories are context dependent, meaning that retrieval will be more effective if the cues present at the time of storage are reinstated.
The procedure of CI.
Cognitive interviews have no set questions and there are no time limits. The interviewer remains silent and will not interrupt the witness. Any clarification or elaboration is only sought when the recall seems to have ended.
What are the 4 Cognitive Interview Techniques?
- Reinstate the context: Witness needs to be returned (in their mind) to the situation in which the event occurred which will include their mood as well as the environment. 2. Change sequence: Witness asked to recall events in different orders including reversing the order of events. 3. Change Perspective: Witness is asked to recall events from another viewpoint eg what an observer might have seen. 4. Report everything: Witness is asked to report all information even if it seems irrelevant.
