Memory key words Flashcards
Coding
the format in which info is stored in various memory stores
process of converting info from one form to another
Capacity
the amount of info that can be held in a memory store
Duration
the length of time info can be held in memory
STM
limited capacity memory store
coding mainly acoustic
capacity 7+- 2
duration 18-30 secs
LTM
permanent memory store
coding mainly semantic
unlimited capacity
duration up to a lifetime
Multi-store model (MSM)
representation of how memory works in terms of 3 stores: sensory, short-term, long-term. Describes how info is transferred from one to another, how remembered and forgotten.
Sensory register
the memory stores for each of our 5 senses, vision (iconic store), hearing (echoic store)
iconic- visual coding
echoic-acoustic coding
capacity=huge
duration=very short, less than half a second
Episodic memory
long-term store for personal events
memories of when events occurred, people, objects, places, behaviours involved
Semantic memory
long-term store for our knowledge of the world
facts, what words and concepts mean
Procedural memory
long-term store for our knowledge of how to do things
skills
Working memory model (WMM)
representation of STM
suggests STM is dynamic processor of different types of info using sub-units coordinated by central decision-making system
Central executive (CE)
component of WMM, coordinates activities of 3 subsystems/slave systems in memory
allocates slave systems to tasks
Very limited processing capacity
Phonological loop (PL)
component of WMM that processes info in terms of sound: written/spoken
divided into phonological store (words you hear), articulatory process (allows maintenance rehearsal- capacity 2 seconds)
Auditory info- acoustic coding
Visio-spatial sketchpad (VSS)
component of WMM, processes visual/spatial info in mental space called ‘inner eye’
Subdivided: visual cache (visual data), inner scribe (arrangement of objects in visual field)
Episodic buffer (EB)
component of WMM, brings together material from other subsystems into single memory - maintaining sense of time sequencing, recording events happening
Storage component of CE
Limited capacity (4 chunks)
provides bridge between WMM and LTM
Interference
forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both to be distorted or forgotten
Proactive interference
older memories interfere with ability to recall newer memories
degree of forgetting is greater when memories similar
Retroactive interference
newer memories interfere with ability to recall older memories
degree of forgetting is greater when memories similar
Retrieval failure
form of forgetting occurs when we don’t have necessary cues to access memory
memory available but not accessible unless cue is provided
Cue
‘trigger’ of info that allows us to access a memory
may be meaningful or indirectly linked by being encoded at time of learning
external (environmental context) / internal (mood, degree of drunkenness)
Eyewitness testimony (EWT)
ability of people to remember details of events such as accidents which they observed
accuracy affected by factors e.g misleading info, leading questions, anxiety
Misleading information
incorrect info given to eyewitness after event
different forms: leading questions, post-event discussion
Leading question
question which because of phrasing suggests an answer. ‘Was the knife in his left hand?’ suggests answer is left hand
Post-event discussion
more than one witness to event
discuss what they saw with co-witnesses or other people, may influence accuracy of recall of event
Anxiety
state of emotional and physical arousal
e.g worried thoughts, feelings of tension
physical changes like increased heart rate, sweat
normal reaction to stressful situations, can affect accuracy and detail of EWT
Cognitive interview (CI)
method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help retrieve more accurate memories
4 main techniques: report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, change perspective
Spontaneous decay
disappearance of the physical memory trace over time where there is no external cause
