Memory key words

Question 1

Coding

Answer 1

the format in which info is stored in various memory stores

process of converting info from one form to another

Question 2

Capacity

Answer 2

the amount of info that can be held in a memory store

Question 3

Duration

Answer 3

the length of time info can be held in memory

Question 4

STM

Answer 4

limited capacity memory store
coding mainly acoustic
capacity 7+- 2
duration 18-30 secs

Question 5

LTM

Answer 5

permanent memory store
coding mainly semantic
unlimited capacity
duration up to a lifetime

Question 6

Multi-store model (MSM)

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Sensory register

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Episodic memory

Answer 8

long-term store for personal events

memories of when events occurred, people, objects, places, behaviours involved

Question 9

Semantic memory

Answer 9

long-term store for our knowledge of the world

facts, what words and concepts mean

Question 10

Procedural memory

Answer 10

long-term store for our knowledge of how to do things

skills

Question 11

Working memory model (WMM)

Answer 11

representation of STM
suggests STM is dynamic processor of different types of info using sub-units coordinated by central decision-making system

Question 12

Central executive (CE)

Answer 12

component of WMM, coordinates activities of 3 subsystems/slave systems in memory
allocates slave systems to tasks
Very limited processing capacity

Question 13

Phonological loop (PL)

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Visio-spatial sketchpad (VSS)

Answer 14

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)

Question 15

Episodic buffer (EB)

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Interference

Answer 16

forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both to be distorted or forgotten

Question 17

Proactive interference

Answer 17

older memories interfere with ability to recall newer memories
degree of forgetting is greater when memories similar

Question 18

Retroactive interference

Answer 18

newer memories interfere with ability to recall older memories
degree of forgetting is greater when memories similar

Question 19

Retrieval failure

Answer 19

form of forgetting occurs when we don’t have necessary cues to access memory
memory available but not accessible unless cue is provided

Question 20

Cue

Answer 20

‘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)

Question 21

Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Misleading information

Answer 22

incorrect info given to eyewitness after event

different forms: leading questions, post-event discussion

Question 23

Leading question

Answer 23

question which because of phrasing suggests an answer. ‘Was the knife in his left hand?’ suggests answer is left hand

Question 24

Post-event discussion

Answer 24

more than one witness to event

discuss what they saw with co-witnesses or other people, may influence accuracy of recall of event

Question 25

Anxiety

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Cognitive interview (CI)

Answer 26

method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help retrieve more accurate memories
4 main techniques: report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, change perspective

Question 27

Spontaneous decay

Answer 27

disappearance of the physical memory trace over time where there is no external cause