Memory key terms Flashcards
Short term memory
The limited-capacity memory store. In STM, coding is mainly acoustic (sounds). Capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average, duration is about 18 seconds.
Long term memory
The permanent memory store. In LTM, coding is mainly semantic (meaning), it has unlimited capacity an can store memories for up to a lifetime.
Coding
The format in which information is stored in various memory stores.
Capacity
The amount of information that can be held in a memory store.
Duration
The length of time information can be held in memory.
Multi store memory model
A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called the sensory register, STM and LTM. It also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, what makes some memories last and others disappear.
Sensory register
The memory store for each of our 5 senses, such as vision (iconic store), sound (acoustic store). Coding in the iconic sensory register is visual and in the echoic register it is acoustic (sounds). The capacity of the sensory register is huge (millions of receptors) and information lasts for a very short amount of time (less than half a second).
Episodic memory
A long term memory store for personal events. It includes memories of when the event occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously.
Semantic memory
A long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world. This includes facts and our knowledge and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. These memories also usually need to be recalled deliberately.
Procedural memory
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.
Working memory model
A representation of STM that suggests it is a dynamic processor of different types of information using subunits coordinated by a central decision-making system.
Central executive
The component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory. It also allocates processing resources for those activities.
Phonological loop
The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound. This includes both written and spoken material. It’s divided into the phonological store and articulatory process.
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our inner eye.
Episodic buffer
The component of the WMM that brings together materials from other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It also provides a bridge between the working memory and LTM.
