memory

Question 1

coding

Answer 1

the format in which information is stored in the various memory stores

Question 2

capacity

Answer 2

the amount of information that can be held in a memory store

Question 3

duration

Answer 3

the length of time information can be held in memory

Question 4

short-term memory

Answer 4

the limited capacity memory store. coding is mainly acoustic (sounds), capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average, duration is between about 18 and 30 seconds

Question 5

long-term memory

Answer 5

the permanent memory store. coding is mainly semantic (meaning), it has unlimited capacity and can store memories for up to a lifetime

Question 6

multi-store model

Answer 6

a representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. it also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten

Question 7

sensory register

Answer 7

the memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store). coding in the iconic sensory register is visual and in the echoic sensory register, it is acoustic. the capacity of sensory registers is huge (millions of receptors) and information lasts for a very short time (less than half a second)

Question 8

episodic memory

Answer 8

a long-term memory store for personal events. it includes memories of when the events occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort

Question 9

semantic memory

Answer 9

a long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world. this includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. these memories usually also need to be recalled deliberately

Question 10

procedural memory

Answer 10

a long-term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things. this includes our memories of learned skills. we usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort

Question 11

working memory model

Answer 11

a representation of short-term memory. it suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system

Question 12

central executive

Answer 12

the component of the working memory model that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory. it also allocates processing resources to those activities

Question 13

phonological loop

Answer 13

the component of the working memory model that processes information in terms of sound. this includes both written and spoken material. its divided into the phonological store and the articulatory process

Question 14

visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 14

the component of the working memory model that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our “inner eye”