Memory - Different Types Of Memory And The Different Models Flashcards
Who made the Multi store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffinn (1968)
What is the sensory register/memory?
Initial contact for stimuli. SM is only capable of retaining info for a short time.
What is the short term memory?
The info we are currently aware of or thinking about. The info comes from paying attention to sensory memories (saying info over and over in your head).
What is long term memory?
Continual storage of info largely outside our awareness, but can be called into working memory to be used when needed.
What is the Multi-store memory model
(Maintenance rehearsal)
Environmental stimuli —> SM —> attention —> STM —> elaborative rehearsal —> LTM
I I
Decay Decay
What happens in the brain when new info is learnt?
New neural pathways are formed.
What happens in our brain when we rehearse info?
The neural pathways become stronger the more we use them.
What is the duration of the SM?
1-2 seconds
What is the capacity of the SM?
Said to be unlimited/large but info doesn’t stay there long enough to confirm.
How is the SM encoded?
Through the 5 senses
What is the duration of STM?
Up to 30 seconds without rehearsal.
What is the capacity of the STM?
About 5-9 items.
How is the STM encoded?
Acoustically (through sound).
What is the duration of the LTM?
Said to be a Lifetime
What is the capacity of the LTM?
Unlimited
How is the LTM encoded?
Semantically (through meaning, must understand info you are trying to remember).
Define capacity.
How much info this store can hold.
Define duration.
How long this store can hold info for.
Define coding.
The form in which the memory is processed.
What was Miller’s magic seven?
- Capacity of human memory = 7 +/- 2 or 5-9.
- We can recall 5 words as easily as 5 letters - this is called chunking.
What is chunking?
Miller found that the capacity of the STM could be considerably increased by combining/organising separate bits of info. E.g. you tell your phone number 3 numbers at a time.
Describe Peterson and Peterson experiment, 1959.
Aim = investigate the duration of STM. Method = showed people trigram of letters and asked them to count backwards from a random number in 3’s for different amounts of time each trigram. Results = 80% remembered after 3 secs, 50% after 6, after 18 less than 10%.
Describe Baddeley’s experiment in coding STM and LTM.
Gave a different list of words to four groups of participants to remember.
Group 1 = acoustically similar words.
Group 2 = acoustically dissimilar words.
Group 3 = semantically similar words.
Group 4 = semantically dissimilar words.
Participants tended to worse with acoustically similar words in the STM but not in the LTM, whereas semantically similar words posed little problem for STM but led to muddled LTM’s. This suggests STM is encoded acoustically and LTM is encoded semantically.
(For LTM Baddeley let the P’s listen to the words for 20 mins)
Describe Bahrick’s study (1975).
He investigated the duration of LTM using 392 US Uni graduates. Group 1 participants were shown photographs from there high school year book and for each photo the participants needed to match a name to a face.
- > 90% were able to correctly match names and faces 15 years after graduating.
- > 70% were able to correctly match names and faces 48 years after graduating.
Group 2 participants ha d to free recall the names of fellow students.
- > 60% accurate after 15 years.
- > 30% accurate after 48 years.
People remember LTM info better with a prompt.
Evaluate Bahricks study.
- > Lacks population validity.
- > Research is unable to explain whether LTM becomes inaccurate over time due to a limited duration or due to simply age.
-> Study has high ecological validity.
What are the two case studies learnt in memory?
The case of Clive Wearing and the case of Henry Molaison (CW and HM).
What happened in the case of Clive Wearing?
A virus effected parts of his body including his brain.
- his hippocampus was almost completely destroyed.
- he was still able to play the piano and could remember he had a wife and kids but doesn’t know who they are.
- cannot make any new LTM.
What happened in the case of Henry Molaison?
He underwent an operation to remove parts of the brain (including his hippocampus) in an attempt to control his epileptic fits.
- intact IQ.
- memory until operation.
- can’t form new LTM’s.
- can learn new motor skills but cannot recall learning them.
What can psychologists use to find out what parts of the brain are being used and when?
They can use MRI scans to show which parts of the brain are being used when certain tasks are being carried out.
Who proposed the different LTM stores and what was his criticism about the multi-store model?
Tulving (1985) said that the multi-store models was too simplistic and inflexible in regards to LTM. He proposed that there were 3 different LTM stores with 3 different types of info in each.
What is episodic memory and what are its properties?
Refers to our ability to recall events in our lives e.g. what you had for dinner last night.
- time stamped so you will remember when they happened.
- your memory of the episode, so you will remember several details such as who was there, places and objects.
- you make a conscious effort to recall them, explicit memories.
What is semantic memory and what are its properties?
Knowledge of the world (people, places, facts).
- not time stamped, we don’t remember when or how we learnt about them.
- have to deliberately recall these facts, explicit memories.
What is procedural memory and what are its properties?
Memory of actions/skills, how we do things. Includes memory of previously learnt skills.
- we can recall these without conscious awareness, implicit memories.
What are the different parts of the brain and what do they do?
Frontal lobe - stores semantic and episodic memories.
Prefrontal cortex - involved in the storage of STM’s.
Temporal lobe - involved in the formation and storage of LTM (semantic and episodic ones) and contributes to the processing of new material in STM.
Amygdala - vital to the formation of new emotional memories.
Hippocampus - plays a pivotal role in the formation of new LTM’s (semantic and episodic ones).
Cerebellum - plays an important role in the storage of procedural memories.
Motor cortex - involved in storing procedural memories.
Diagram of the brain in notes + double check if need to learn this.
Based on what you know about the 3 different LTM stores explain the case studies of HM and CW.
HM - he could make new procedural memories but only had his episodic and semantic memories before the operation.
CW - he had procedural memories, limited episodic memories and had his semantic memories up until his illness.
What does the working memory model explain and who developed it?
This model explains our STM and was developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) as they argued STM in the MSM was far too simplistic. According to the WMM the STM has subsystems.
Where is each subsystem in the WMM located?
Central executive - prefrontal… Articulatory control process - left frontal, Broca’s area. Visual cache - inferior temporal. Phonological loop - left parietal. Spatial tasks - occipital.
What is the central executive and what are its properties?
It’s has overall control.
- a limited capacity.
- processes info via the 5 senses and decides what to pay attention to (inhibiting irrelevant info)
- allocates tasks to the slave systems (sub-systems).
- most important component.
- coordinating activity needed to carry out more than one process at a time.
- has the capacity to focus, divide and switch attention (can only do this if 2 different parts of the brain are being used for the 2 different tasks).
What is the Phonological loop (slave system 1) and what are its properties?
The ‘inner ear’ + ‘inner voice’.
- inner ear, deals with auditory information and holds words we hear.
- inner voice, repeats info you are trying to remember in your head.
- hold auditory speech information.
- has a limited capacity.
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad (slave system 2) and what are its properties?
The ‘inner eye’.
- limited capacity.
- temporary memory system for holding visual and/or spatial info.
- visual cache (collection of data) linked to an active ‘inner scribe’ that acts as a rehearsal mechanism e.g. planning a route.
- Geographical orientation.
What is the episodic buffer and what are its properties?
Storage component for the central executive.
- temporary store for info, integrating info being processed by other stores.
- maintains sense of time sequencing.
- links working memory to LTM and other cognitive processes.
What is dual task theory?
It is when you cannot do 2 tasks at the same time that require the same part of the brain.
