memory Flashcards
who first proposed the multi store model of memory
first proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1950s)
draw the multi store model of memory
What do Atkinson and Shiffrin say
Suggest that there are multiple stores of memory that the stores are unitary and distinct
sensory memory store
Sensory memory refers to very brief storage of information that occurs when your body detects an environmental stimulus
-When you see , hear or smell something , that information is registered and stored very briefly
-if you attend to it , it will transfer to the STM
Encoding
-because we have different senses , information is encoded into different sensory registers
-the sensory register are iconic and echoic , hepatic , olfactory and gustatory
-iconic and echoic - major ones
Iconic sensory register
the brief impression of an image that remains just after you close your eyes . The information is encoded visually
Echoic sensory register
the impression of a sound that lingers just after it has stopped . This information is encoded auditorily
Capacity
-The capacity of the sensory memory is very large - lasting for a small time
-You are being exposed to numerous stimuli all the time
-Most of these stimuli don’t reach conscious awareness , but non consciously your senses register them all
The stimuli will reach your conscious awareness if
1) you deliberately attend to them
2)if they reach a certain threshold and demand attention
-if you do attend to a particular stimulus , it will be encoded into STM
Duration
-the duration of the sensory memory is very br4ief and depends on the type of sensory input
-it varies from 100-200 milliseconds in the iconic register , to 3-4 seconds in echoic register
Evidence of duration
Evidence - Sperling (1960)
-he asked participants to look at a 3x3 grid of nine letters that appeared for 1/20th of a second and then try to recall them
-Sperling - reported that his ppts could remember on average 4-5 of the letters
-He concluded that his ppts had registered all the letters but that the duration of the sensory memory is so brief that the letters faded out of the memory before they could be written down
-Most argue that ppts simply can’t retain nine letters after such a brief viewing
-However his research does give some indication of the brevity of sensory memory
Short term memory - Conrad
Tried to establish if participants use acoustic encoding when stimuli are presented visually
Conrad’s procedure
A random string of 6 consonants were presented one at a time in quick succession
Either:
-acoustically similar (PCVTBD)
-acoustically dissimilar (LZFXHW)
The letter strings were presented briefly (half a second so participants had to rely on memory
Conrad - Why
Conrad hypothesised participants would make substitution errors for similar sounding letters
He thought letters such as B and V were more likely to be confused than letters such as G and L
-what would this tell us about encoding in STM
=we encode acoustically
Conrad findings
Progressively fewer trigrams were recalled as the time intervals lengthens
-After 18 seconds less than 5% of the trigrams were recalled correctly
Conrad Conclusion
We encode in short term memory acoustically
ENCODING
-SMS
-STM
-LTM
SMS
-Variously depending on the mortality
-echoic /iconic
STM
Acoustically
(Conrad)
LTM
-Semantically
(Baddeley)
Capacity
SMS
STM
LTM
SMS
Very large
STM
Limited
-7+/- 2 items
(Miller- digit span)
LTM
-Unlimited
-Humans have 86 billion +/- 8b neurons
10,000 connections
Azevedo Et Al
Duration
SMS
STM
LTM
SMS
Very brief
-sperling
STM
Limited
18-28s
Peterson and Peterson
LTM
Up to a lifetime
Yearbook study -80% cued recall after 48 years
(Bahrick et al )
Encoding in Long term memory - Evidence
(Alan Baddeley)1966
Baddeley procedure
-4 conditions in Baddeley’s experiment
-Condition one :
acoustically similar
.man
.cab
.can
.max
Condition 2 :
-Acoustically dissimilar
.pit
.few
.cow
.pen
Condition 3
-semantically similar
.great
.large
.big
.huge
Condition 4
Semantically dissimilar
.good
.Huge
.Hot
.Safe
having been exposed to a list of words participants had to call them in the correct order
results for acoustically similar and dissimilar conditions
-results for one and two concurred with Conrad’s experiments
-When tested directly after exposure participants made a greater number of errors in the Acoustically similar condition than the acoustically dissimilar condition
-This suggests the results are externally reliable
Results for Semantically similar and dissimilar conditions
-Baddeley gave participants in these conditions a 15 minute break followed by a interference task
-This was to ensure participants were not relying on their short term memory
-He found that a greater number of errors were made by the participants in the semantically similar condition
Evaluation strength -
Lab experiment
.high control of variables - everyone’s is exposed to the same words of similar lengths , everyone does task in same room
-only thing changes us the independent variable
-everything else is standardised
-experiment exactly the same for each participant in each condition
-No extraneous variables
However lacks ecological validity
Case study - HM
The Multi store memory model is supported by the case study of HM , who had his hippocampus removed in order to treat his epilepsy .
However, this resulted in severe anterograde amnesia .
HM could no longer transfer information from the STM to the LTM.
His STM was intact and therefore this is evidence that the two stores are unitary and distinct as the model claims .
Additionally it appears the rehearsal loop is an analogy of the hippocampus .
HMs memory deficits are exactly what the model would predict if you removed the rehearsal loop ; memories can no longer be consolidated .
However he was able to learn new procedural memory suggesting that there is more than one type of rehearsal loops and more than one type of LTM and this is a weakness of the model .
This also suggests the model is overly simplistic
Baddeley -AIM
baddeley-PROCEDURE
baddeley-FINDINGS
badelley-CONCLUSION
Baddeley- ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY
Conrad
Conrad
Conrad
Conrad
Conrad
Miller
Miller
Miller
Miller
Miller
Miller
Peterson and Peterson
Peterson and Peterson
Peterson and Peterson
Peterson and Peterson
Peterson and Peterson
Bahrick et al
Bahrick et al
Bahrick et al
Bahric et al
Bahrick et al
Who was the working memory model proposed by and what was it in a response to ?
-The working memory model was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch as a response to the criticism of the multi store mould of memory and its reductive nature
What did they argue about the STM
They argued that the STM was reductive; information is not simply stored , memory is a dynamic process , we work with information hence working memory
What is the STM based on
It is based on the principle that two tasks can be carried out at the same time as long as they use separate components of working memory.
What happens if we try and complete two tasks on the same component
If we try and complete two tasks on the same component we become overloaded and cannot complete it. This highlights the limited capacity of each of the stores.
What are often referred to as slave systems
The stores (phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad) are often referred to as slave systems.
What was added to the working memory model by Baddeley later in 2000
he episodic buffer was added to highlight how the information is all bound together from the different components and then transferred to LTM.
DRAW THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL
working memory model evidence
The dual task experiment
Dual task experiment -PROCEDURE
The dual task experiment-
Condition One
Baddeley asked participants to solve a logical problem by pressing a button that was either true of false in response to statements .
Condition two
He asked people to repeat the word the while doing the task . This occupied the central executive and phonological loop
Condition 3
Participants had to generate random three digit numbers out loud . This occupies the central executive .
It took people far longer to answer the logical problems and there was a greater number of errors
We can only do two things at once if we are using two different components
Working memeory model -A03
Strength - DUAL TASK
One strength is that the studies of the dual task experiment support the separate existence of the visuo spatial sketchpad . When Baddeley et al participants carried out a visual and verbal task at the same time , their performance on each was similar to when they carried out the tasks separately . But when both tasks were visual or when both tasks were verbal performance on both declined substantially . This is because both visual tasks compete for the same slave system , where as there is no competition when performing a verbal and visual task together . This shows that there must be a separate slave system that processes visual input and one for verbal processing.
Working memory model - A03
strength from brain scans
One strength of the WMM is that there is research support from brain scans .Cohen et Al found that brain activity was higher in the Broca’s area (linked to speech production) when doing a verbal task whereas the occipital lobe (linked to visual processing) when doing a task using the VSSP .This is a strength because it provides physiological evidence for the existence of the PL and VSSP. It also supports to PL’s role in auditory and speech based tasks and the VSSP’s role in visual task . Therefore This validates the WMM
Working memory model - A03
Limitation
However Despite offering a more detailed explanation of short-term memory (STM) compared to the multi-store model, the Working Memory Model (WMM) has faced criticism for its perceived oversimplification and lack of clarity. For instance, there is uncertainty surrounding the nature and specific function of the central executive, particularly in relation to attention. Laboratory experiments investigating the WMM often obtain results with low ecological validity, meaning they may not accurately reflect real-life scenarios. Tasks such as repeating sequences like ‘the the the’ are arguably not representative of typical everyday activities. This means the working memory model has a low ecological validity .
What are the two reasons for forgetting ?
Interference
Retrieval Failure
What is interreference
Forgetting because one memory blocks another , causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten
two types of interference
-proactive
-retroactive
Retroactive - definition and example
-recent learning interferes with information we have previously learnt
-example - your new phone number interferes with the recall of your old number
Proactive interference
previously learned information interferes with more recent learning
example - calling your new boyfriends name your ex boyfriends name
