memory: chapter 3

Question 1

What are the three phases of memory?

Answer 1

Acquisition-the process of gaining information and placing it into memory
storage- holding the information until it is needed.
retrieval- where you locate the information and you bring it into active use.

Question 2

Describe the information processing approach’s modal model and its components

Answer 2

when information first arrives, it is stored briefly in sensory memory, this form of memory holds on to the input in “raw” sensory form- an iconic memory for visual and an echoic memory for auditory. then a process of selection and interpretation moves the information into short-term memory a place where you hold information while you are working on it, some of the information is then transferred into long term memory.

Question 3

Define working memory and long-term memory

Answer 3

working memory is used now to emphasize the function of this memory, the ideas and thoughts in this memory are currently activated, currently being thought about and so their the ideas your currently working on.

long-term memory-contains all of your knowledge and beliefs most of which you aren’t thinking about ( aren’t working on) in this moment.

Question 4

What are the four fundamental differences between working memory and long-term memory?

Answer 4

• working memory is limited in size and LTM is enormous, containing all your knowledge
• getting information into short-term memory is easy, getting information into LTM takes work
• getting information out of STM is also easy, finding information in LTM can sometimes be difficult and slow, or fail completely.
• the contents of working memory are quite fragile, working memory contains the ideas you’re thinking about right now, LTM is much less fragile, information remains in storage whether you’re thinking about it right now or not.

Question 5

Describe the serial position effect/curve, the primacy effect, and the recency effect and explain why they occur

Answer 5

in experiments participants will remember the first words and the last words on the list better than the words in the middle, creating a U shape.

primacy effect refers to the words at the start of the list being remembered better, these words have been rehearsed more, more time, than the other ones on the list and therefore have a greater chance of being recalled.

recency effect refers to the words at the end of the list, these words are still in working memory when the list ends because no other words have come to push them out, and working memory contents and easy to retreive.

Question 6

Explain what happens to the primacy and recency effects when we include a filled or an unfilled delay after the presentation of the word list

Answer 6

the recency effect stays the same as if there was no delay, but when the delay is filled by another activity the recency effect disappears as the content of working memory is now focused in the new task and therefore the words at the end of the list are lost.

primacy effect is not changed

Question 7

Explain what happens to the primacy and recency effects when we present the word list at a faster or slower rate

Answer 7

when the words are presented slower there was no effect on primacy effect but because their was more time to remember each word the pre-receney portions of the curve were improved as their was more time to rehearse them into LTM but their was also no effect on the receney.

Question 8

What is the digital span task and what does it tell us about the capacity of working memory?

Answer 8

the participants are given a sequence of numbers starting with 3-4 and then extending them longer and longer until the participant begins to make mistakes. the number of digits the person can echo back without errors is referred to as that person`s digit span.
the procedures tell us that working memory is typically around 7 item, reaching to 9 and atleast 5.

the “7 plus or minus 2 principle”

Question 9

What are operation span tasks and what do they measure?

Answer 9

chunking is one way of grouping bit of information, so working memory holds 7 plus or minus 2 packages of information and what in those packages is largely up to the individual person.

operation span: a measure of working memory when its working
they measure how many spaces or slots their are available in working memory, so the idea of each digit is places in its own slot.

or when reading a sentence they need to remember the last word in each sentence until they start making mistakes, this is to find working-memory capacity WMC

Question 10

Describe the articulatory rehearsal loop and its function

Answer 10

it is a helper of the executive function, holding information through silent speech (Subvocalization) to launch the rehearsal loop, this produced an inner voice produced a representation of the target numbers in the phonological buffer, a passive storage system used for holding representation (essentially an internal echo) of recently heard or self-produced sounds. basically creating an auditory image in the “inner ear”

Question 11

What happens when people are given a concurrent articulation task while trying to remember a list of words or numbers?

Answer 11

their span is usually 7+ - 2 items but with is task of have to say tah tah tah constantly while trying to remember the digits, drops to 4-5 items. the tah tah blocks the articulatory loop, and its this loop, that the sound like errors occur. with concurrent articulation and visual presentation of the item, sound-alike errors are largely eliminated.

Question 12

Describe the central executive and its function

Answer 12

helps to govern and sequence thoughts and actions, that enables you to set goal, and select steps needed for implementing those plans. executive control help when you want to overcome habits orr routine

the selection of idea that is present at anytime

Question 13

What are the two types of rehearsal and how are they different?

Answer 13

maintenance rehearsal, in which they simply focus on the to-be-remembered items themselves, with little thought about what the items mean or how they relate to one another. this is rote, mechanical process, recycling items in working memory by repeating them over and over.

elaborative rehearsal- involves thinking about what the to-be-remembered items mean and how they’re related to one another to other things you already know.

Question 14

Why do we need active encoding?

Answer 14

it is needed to lodge information into LTMm the higher levels of this activity lead to better memory

Question 15

What does Hyde and Jenkin’s (1969) experiment tell us about intentional vs incidental learning?

Answer 15

intentional learning- learning that is deliberate, with the expectation that memory will be tested later.
incidental learning- that is learning in the absence og any intention to learn
they performed at the same level, whether they were intending to learn or not, memory can be just as good without the intention provided that you approach the materials in the right way.

intention to learn adds little,

Question 16

How do “levels of processing” affect memory?

Answer 16

shallow processing- is engaging in material in a superficial way (eg stating whether the words were printed in capitals)
Deep processing- this is the process that requires thought about the meaning (the meaning of the words if they fit in a particular sentence)

Deeper processing with more attention to meaning increases memory

Question 17

Why do connections promote the retrieval of information from memory?

Answer 17

The more connections that you have to a sought after piece of information, the more opportunities your mind has to reach that information. If there is only one specific cue and connection to that information then the harder it is to retrieve.

Question 18

How does elaborate processing promote retrieval?

Answer 18

when you pay attention to the meaning and how it relates to knowledge you already know the more connections it makes, as it it crossing the ideas and linking thoughts this therefore makes it easy

Question 19

What are mnemonic strategies? Provide some examples.

Answer 19

they are ways of organising information to enable better recall. for example grouping sequences to remember whole things eg, to remember music scales, every, good, boy, deserves, fruit, EGBDF. 
also mental imagery is a useful technique, if trying to remember two things its important to remember the relationship between the two thing, imagine them intertwining.   
you can also use peg-word system: such as this;
one is a bun
two is a shoe
three is a tree
four is a door
five is a hive 
six are stick 
seven is heaven 
eight is gate 
nice is a line 
ten is a hen

the peg words are the bun, shoe, tree etc. then when you are trying to remember things you attach them to these words
basically to remember better you organise information into a tightly organised structure, this helps you remember different items and also items in order.

Question 20

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using mnemonic strategies?

Answer 20

they are useful for remembering information while studying, grouping lists and anatomies. downside is that because you are focusing on something superficial to place it in a sequence or attach it to something you might not think about the meaning and fully understand it. Therefore you don’t deeply think about the information and make more connections.

Question 21

How does understanding improve memorising?

Answer 21

if you understand the material than you can connect it to other material and knowledge that you already have this increases the connections and allows more retrieval cues.
need to have the previous knowledge to “hook” the new material onto.