Memory and attention

Question 1

What was the old model of working memory?

Answer 1

1. called ‘short term memory’
2. thought of as a storage depot
3. length of maintenance rehearsal determines likelihood of long term storage

Question 2

Who developed the working memory model?

Answer 2

Baddely

Question 3

What was different about Baddely’s working memory model?

Answer 3

emphasised the nature of processing mechanisms over the length of time held in the store

Question 4

Define maintenance

Answer 4

mentally holding info for brief periods after actual stimulus presentation is over

Question 5

What is manipulation?

Answer 5

performing a mental operation on info over and above maintenance

Question 6

What is the modern idea of working memory?

Answer 6

1. made of processes that serve maintenance and manipulation function
2. operates in multiple sensory-perceptual modalities

Question 7

What are the components of working memory?

Answer 7

1. central executive
2. phonological loop
3. episodic buffer
4. visuospatial sketchpad

Question 8

What is the central executive?

Answer 8

1. modality free
2. attention like
3. resource allocator
4. linked to subsystems
5. may link to long term memory

Question 9

What is the phonological loop?

Answer 9

1. processes speech-based info
2. storage buffer

Question 10

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 10

1. processes visuospatial info
2. storage buffer

Question 11

What is the episodic buffer?

Answer 11

1, processes diverse info
2. demanding of central executive
3. holds, integrates, and binds info together, including from other sub-systems

Question 12

What is declarative long term memory also known as?

Answer 12

explicit memory

Question 13

What are the subtypes of declarative LTM?

Answer 13

1. semantic
2. episodic

Question 14

What is semantic LTM?

Answer 14

facts in the broadest sense

Question 15

What is episodic LTM?

Answer 15

events over time

Question 16

How is declarative memory linked to communication?

Answer 16

stored info (e.g. facts, events, items) are necessary for speech, language, literacy, social interaction

Question 17

How might working memory be assessed?

Answer 17

digit span immediate recall (forwards and backwards)

Question 18

How might LTM be assessed?

Answer 18

word lists, sentence/story recall after a longer interval

Question 19

How might verbal fluency be tested?

Answer 19

e.g. name as many animals as you can in one minute

Question 20

How does verbal fluency use memory?

Answer 20

1. needs LTM to access stored items
2. need WM to monitor spoken items and not repeat them

Question 21

Define sensation

Answer 21

the effect of a stimulus on sensory organs

Question 22

Define perception

Answer 22

the elaboration and interpretation of a sensory stimulus based on our knowledge

Question 23

What is the order of cognitive processes occurring when we hear someone speak?

Answer 23

1. sensory reception (speech sounds)
2. sensory processing (temporal and spectral waveform features)
3. perception (speech sounds)
4. memory (stored speech sounds and combined speech sounds)

Question 24

What is attention?

Answer 24

from a psychological perspective, can be used to describe various behaviours, cognitive processes, and states of being

Question 25

What are the main parts of attention?

Answer 25

1. physical orientation 2. cognitive resource allocation

Question 26

What is physical orientation?

Answer 26

1. putting the sensory system within gathering range of the stimulus 2. move as needed to achieve this 3. overt attention

Question 27

What is cognitive resource allocation?

Answer 27

1. filtering stimuli from sensory-perceptual input so certain elements are available for further processing 2. diverting focus between cognitive processes to prioritise 3. sustained concentration over time 4. covert attention

Question 28

What experiment is a famous example of inattentional blindness?

Answer 28

Gorillas in the midst

Question 29

What is the dichotic listening technique and shadowing?

Answer 29

One message is played to the left ear and another to the right. The listener repeats one message while both are presented

Question 30

What did the experiment using the dichotic listening techniques show?

Answer 30

1. little info recalled from non-shadowed ear 2. initially thought that only the attended message was processed from secondary perceptual info to memory 3. however, experience improved recall of non-shadowed message

Question 31

What test can be used to assess higher order cognitive attention?

Answer 31

the stroop test

Question 32

What were the results of the stroop test?

Answer 32

1. speed reading was the fastest 2. speed ink colour naming where the written words read different colour to ink was the slowest

Question 33

How is attention related to perception?

Answer 33

1. overt physical orientation shapes sensory input 2. covert filtering will shape perception 3. covert prioritising of info will shape memory and higher order cognitive function